12-16-2005, 12:33 PM
Ashok, I too am in agreement with you. The above mentioned post is that of the Paramacharya and not my opinion. Having come from someone like Him, I have to rethink what I was fed all along.
If your interpretation of Varna Samkara is pertaining purely to Guna and Karma, then why is Arjuna worried about "Kula striyah" ? What does Krishna mean by Sthree, Vaishya and shudra being paapa-yonayah in 9:32 ? It would also lead to the question as to why Vidhura was not allowed to read the Vedas even though he was highly competent, had satvika guna, and was a minister by Karma.
The questions put us as Hindus in a predicament, and given today's society, we may push these under the rug or try to put a spin on it. But Adi Shankaracharya's interpretations were quite contrary to today's perception of Varna/Jaati.
PS: Advaita Vedanta unequivocaly states varna does not matter in case of liberation (at the paaramarthika level). But social order (Vyavahaarika level) seems to promote it.
If your interpretation of Varna Samkara is pertaining purely to Guna and Karma, then why is Arjuna worried about "Kula striyah" ? What does Krishna mean by Sthree, Vaishya and shudra being paapa-yonayah in 9:32 ? It would also lead to the question as to why Vidhura was not allowed to read the Vedas even though he was highly competent, had satvika guna, and was a minister by Karma.
The questions put us as Hindus in a predicament, and given today's society, we may push these under the rug or try to put a spin on it. But Adi Shankaracharya's interpretations were quite contrary to today's perception of Varna/Jaati.
PS: Advaita Vedanta unequivocaly states varna does not matter in case of liberation (at the paaramarthika level). But social order (Vyavahaarika level) seems to promote it.