Book Title: Theory of Karman in Indian Thought
Author(s): Koshelya Walli
Publisher: Bharat Manisha

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Page 134
________________ [ 12 ] and have become curved. This is technically known as granthi. These granthis are likened to the lotus on account of the fact that they are subject to the dual action of contraction and expansion. The control of the doors as referred to in the Gītā is really a form of Pratyāhāra. As soon as the pratyāhāra in the above form is formed the out-going tendency of the mind disappears because it is the sense alone which with the help of air converts the mind as restless and full of outgoing tendencies. This is followed by the abeyance of the mind within the heart, A detailed study of the entire process of the Karma may be found in the above article and need not be repeated here. VARNA AND KARMA Śrīkļşņa in his instructions to Arjuna in the Gītā expressed His personal ideas on the origin and evolution of the varpas wrongly translated as caste by modern writers. The entire social system of the ancient Hindus is based upon the organisation of different varpas. The well known Purusasūkta of the Rgveda in its X chapter or Mandala refers briefly to the origin of the four varņas or caste. In this brief account, the cosmic man ( Puruşa ) is supposed to represent its mouth, the Ksatriya its arm, the Vaisya the thigh and Sūdra the legs. The cosmic Man is in a sense the Indian or rather the Vedic society of the age. The four limbs of man represent the four sections or castes of the Indian community known at that time. In this representation the place of precedence is given to Brāhmana who represents the mouth, This is due evidently to the fact that the Brāhmaṇa in the earliest stage of the Aryan Society represented the intellectual and spiritual section of the community. The Kşatriya evidently represented 'the physical and the martial section and Vaisya stood for the economic strength of the community. The Śūdras standing generally for the outsiders were slowly brought into the Aryan fold and were made to represent the serving section of the community. This was probably the aspect of the Hindu Society in the Vedic age. This classification is usually supposed to be based on the

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