Varnashrama versus Marxism

We cannot have a society without a government, just as no one can live without an organized social structure. Therefore, if a group of men and women wishes to develop and be recognized as a civilized society by other advanced civilizations, some form of government must necessarily be adopted.

For a long time, the most developed nations in the West have called such regimes “democracy.” Yet we must acknowledge that the Gaudiya Vaishnavas have never proposed or developed any comparable political conception, despite their strong advocacy for a social order based on the class system known as varnashrama.

This absence of an explicit political philosophy leaves a clear gap between Gaudiya ideals of divine order and the practical question of governance in human society.

Nowadays, these aspects of preaching —the discussions and speculations about how to reorganize society— are postponed indefinitely, much like sweeping undesirable dust under the carpet. It has become a normal reflex, considering how difficult it would be to re-impose a class-based system in a world where Marxism has revolutionized and reorganized society almost everywhere on the planet. It has become a universal model.

Unfortunately, Krishna devotees have little appetite for the study of what used to be called the natural and social sciences. They prefer the colors of the bhajananandi mood and emphasize its excellence above all else. One devotee’s intervention, for example —“Who are the pure devotees?”— relies on a verse of the Srimad-Bhagavatam and its commentary, while ignoring the long-term effort of Srila Prabhupada to reconnect society with its immediate, practical, and universal pantheistic roots.

"In an assembly of pure devotees, there is no question of discussing material subjects like politics and sociology. In an assembly of pure devotees, there is discussion only of the qualities, forms and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is praised and worshiped with full attention. In the association of pure devotees, by constantly hearing such topics respectfully, even a person who wants to merge into the existence of the Absolute Truth abandons this idea and gradually becomes attached to the service of Vasudeva." - SB 5.12.13.

Purport: The symptoms of pure devotees are described in this verse. The pure devotee is never interested in material topics. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has strictly prohibited His devotees to talk about worldly matters. Grāmya-vārtā nā kahibe: one should not indulge in talking unnecessarily about news of the material world. One should not waste time in this way. This is a very important feature in the life of a devotee. A devotee has no other ambition than to serve Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement was started to engage people twenty-four hours daily in the service of the Lord and in His glorification. The students in this institution engage in the cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness from five in the morning to ten at night. They actually have no opportunity to waste their time unnecessarily by discussing politics, sociology and current events. These will go their own way. A devotee is concerned only with serving Kṛṣṇa positively and seriously. □

Thus, those who are more radical take these instructions literally, for they leave no doubt about the honest and legitimate concerns of a devotee. Criticisms —such as those coming from Marxists, which were very widespread in India during Prabhupada’s time— interpreted this inclination toward bhakti as a sign of ease and sentimentality, in contrast with the serious work required to organize and protect a society.

As you well know, this aspect of bhakti is only one side of the coin. The other is the side where Prabhupada accepts the order of renunciation and decides that the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam must establish themselves as an essential doctrine for societies — Western societies included — and must decisively influence them, from the top down to their very foundations. This is precisely what he set out to do when he left his homeland for North America in 1965.

 [Commenting the picture : Communist and atheist Jews from Europe founded the early kibbutzim in Israel on the principles of equality between men and women, deliberately erasing the traditional markers of social class. Yet within their society they also had politicians, sociologists, and philosophers who looked beyond agricultural labor, understanding that the new country would need broader vision to survive in a world of hostile forces capable of sweeping away their utopia at any moment. Women were thus called to defy the proverb, showing that they were not, as patriarchy had shaped them for millennia, meant only to gather in places of worship to sing and pray. They proved that they could step beyond the narrow roles assigned to them, participating fully in the work and vision required to build and sustain society.]

Obviously, in America one does not speak of brahmanas and sudras. It is democracy that prevails there —that is, the equality of classes demanded by the French Revolution and further reinforced by Marxism. A few years later, Prabhupada would tell his disciples: “I have come here to re-establish varnasrama. I have re-established the Brahminical class. It is for you to re-establish the other classes —the Kshatriya class, the Vaishya class, and the Shudra class.” (Prishnigarbha Dasi)*

* She wrote: --The very first words I heard from Shrila Prabhupada in person was him saying to all of us who were sitting in the Temple room , “I have come here to re-establish varnasrama.  I have re-established the Brahmanical class.  It is for you to re-establish the other classes, the Kesatria class, the Vaisnava class, and the Sudra class.”  The years to date have proven we sure need that management class the kesatrias.  Whomever will strive for it sure has Shrila Prabhupada’s direct support!

I asked : --Was it recorded?

-- I have no idea. It was about 1970ish in the Portland Oregon temple then.  Some devotees were recording things like some were photographing. I know I heard that. There was a packed temple room. I had to miss the first day he was there because I had an office job in Seattle Washington and I had had to work that day.  Then I took the Greyhound bus to Portland the next day.  When I arrived at the temple house finally, there was everyone packed into the temple room with Shrila Prabhupada on his seat lecturing. When I walked into the room no one indicated what I should do or where to sit, and since he was speaking I was not about to interrupt to ask, so I sat in an empty space by devotees in front of him.  When I sat down and looked at him, he spoke those words to the whole room looking at everyone to include everyone, kind of a thoughtful slow all inclusive sweeping glance. 

The understanding and establishment of varnashrama-dharma are deeply intertwined with Srila Prabhupada's appeal to science. When teaching the Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam, he consistently described Krishna Consciousness as the science of God. It is important to note that he used the term science in its classical or Vedic sense, where truth is not derived from empirical observation but exists as an a priori reality. The Vedas, as the ultimate pramana (source of knowledge), illuminate eternal truths that form the foundation of varnashrama-dharma.