The Varna Hindu Social Organisation

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The Hindu sastra-karas (i.e. those who have written the Sastras, the scientific treatises) have taken man into account as a social being with reference to four broad factors that influence his life and its conduct: He is considered in relation to:

1. Desa, (place, region) which may be said to be the regional approach to the study of society.
2. Kala (time) which, we may say, constitutes the historical approach to the study of society.
3. Srama (effort) which takes into account man with reference to his nurture and development in the contemporary environment and
4. Guna (natural traits) which, refers to the natural inherent psycho-biological equipment of man.

Hinduism can be studied thought under the last two headings, i.e. man as a social being in connection with his nurtural development (srama), and in connection with his natural endowments (guna).

Here we may note that in substance, all the Hindu sages agree that any plan or scheme of social organization which aims at the best take him into account from these two aspects:

1. It must consider man as a social being with reference to his training and development in the natural and social environment in order to enable him to fulfil the final aim of his existence; and
2. This has to be co-rodinated with another scheme which studiesman with reference to his natural endowments, dispositions and attitudes.

The first of these is the problem undertaken in the scheme of the ashramas; the second is thought out in the scheme of Varnas.

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Tags: desa, guna, hindu, kala time, natural traits, place, region, Social Organisation, srama effort, varna