Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.17.15
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutySocial Positions Are External Designations
“The various occupational and social divisions of human society appeared according to inferior and superior natures manifest in the situation of the individual’s birth.”
What the purport teaches
- The purport describes brāhmaṇas and sannyāsīs, situated on the Lord’s head, as the most qualified. It describes śūdras and gṛhasthas, situated on His legs or loins, as occupying the lowest position.
- A person is born with a certain amount of intelligence, beauty and social opportunity. These place the person in a particular occupational and social position within varṇāśrama.
- Ultimately, these positions are external designations. Those conditioned by the Lord’s external energy should follow the varṇāśrama divisions until reaching jīvan-mukta, or liberated life.
Try this today
Write down one social designation you carry, and remind yourself that it is external rather than ultimate.
Ask yourself
Do I mistake an external social position for my ultimate identity?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.