Daiva-varnasrama-dharma is the system of maintaining order among the members of the human species for the purpose of gradually raising them to Krsna consciousness. In this material world, Mayadevi, the external energy of the Lord, continually tempts us to indulge in material enjoyments. Because we keep taking her up on her proposals, she keeps us bound up in the chains of repeated birth and death by facilitating the fulfillment of our material desires life after life, body after body. Because Maya's lures are so powerfully tempting and because our attraction to enjoy this material world is so deeply ingrained, we souls in human bodies need a system for helping us break free from the clutches of Maya which keep us in chains, the chains of repeated birth and death. That system of regulating human life has already been provided for us by the Lord and is called daiva-varnasrama-dharma.
Let's break up this triple-compound word so we can understand the meaning clearly. First, what does "daiva" mean? The word "daiva" derives from the word "deva" meaning "God." In order to transcend this material world and the endless cycle of samsara, souls in both male and female bodies must dovetail their respective tendencies in the service of the Lord. Service to God is called "karma-yoga" (work for the satisfaction of God) or "bhakti-yoga" (serving God with loving devotion). This is the "daiva" part of the compound word. The "varna" part means your nature, qualities, tendencies and inclinations. The "asrama" part means what level of society you're in, such as student, householder, retired person, or renunciate. The "dharma" part means what occupation you perform in society, what service you do, what work you are prescribed to do for Krishna according to your body or according to your nature. So when we put all these words together--daiva-varnasrama-dharma--they mean "working for the satisfaction of God according to one's nature within one's specific occupation and life status."
Again, daiva-varnasrama-dharma is a social system created by the Lord for the gradual upliftment of souls encaged in human bodies. Lord Sri Krsna Himself tells Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita that human life is meant for upliftment, for transcending the modes of material nature, for overcoming the senses including the mind, for dissolving the false ego and for realization of our eternal relationship with God.
Human life is meant for pleasing God through loving service and sacrifice. Sacrifice and service to God help one to attain self-realization, and self-realization is the ultimate gift of human life. Self-realization means knowing our relationship with God and rendering loving service to Him in keeping with that eternal relationship we share with God. To attain such a gift requires sacrifice. In fact, human life is meant for sacrifice.
When we understand that human life is meant for sacrifice, we can begin to understand how to use our human life in the service of God. Every moment of human life is meant to be dedicated to Lord Sri Krishna for His pleasure. That's the real meaning of the word "sacrifice." When we understand this, we can begin to understand the true meaning of the compound word daiva-varnasrama-dharma.
There are many duties for both men and women in Lord Krishna's system of daiva-varnasrama-dharma. Because this blog is directed toward female readers, I will mention that one of the duties of a soul in a woman's body who wants to reawaken her love for Krishna and go back home, back to Krishna's eternal abode is to serve her husband nicely in Krishna consciousness.
Under the heading of serving one's husband in Krishna consciousness are the instructions given by Narada Muni in Srimad-Bhagavatam. For example, among the duties listed by Narada Muni for chaste women in his conversation with King Yudhisthira is that we should dress nicely with gold ornaments for the pleasure of our husbands. This is just one example of how a woman can serve her husband.
It takes a herculean effort to get out of this material world, and it is ultimately only by Krishna's grace that we do. So if we really want to go back home, back to Godhead, we must follow the instructions which have been given by Lord Sri Krishna through His pure representatives such as Narada Muni and the other great acaryas of our sampradaya.
Srila Prabhupada has kindly given us ladies simple, straightforward instructions such as the principle mentioned above which was spoken by Narada Muni to help us understand how to please Krsna by pleasing His devotee (e.g., our devotee husband). It is easy for a soul in a woman's body to get out of this material world and go back to Godhead if she follows and serves her husband nicely in Krishna consciousness.
Srila Prabhupada has also left instructions for married men--the ultimate instruction being that they should become "the hundred times servant of Krsna." When a Krsna conscious man and his Krsna conscious wife serve each other with enthusiasm for the pleasure of Krsna, the material inclinations of each will be purified and the way will be made clear for both of them to go back home, back to Godhead, to ultimately break free from the cycle of repeated birth and death. For example's sake, to dress nicely for our husbands, as mentioned above, is just one of the seven principles given by Narada Muni for chaste women; a small sacrifice we ladies can make to help our husbands remain encouraged, both materially and spiritually. When our husbands are satisfied materially, peace is maintained in the household. And as our husbands progress spiritually, we also progress spiritually. The wife automatically benefits from the husband's spiritual progress.
To think oneself to be the body he is encaged in is called "ahankara," or false ego. We are the soul inside the body, not the body itself. Srila Prabhupada endlessly emphasized the pitfalls of falsely identifying our selves with the ephemeral body which we are temporarily inhabiting. Lord Krishna's method which He has designed for us conditioned souls to escape the identification with the body and thus be released from the cycle of endless repeated birth and death is to follow the system of daiva-varnasrama-dharma.
Let's break up this triple-compound word so we can understand the meaning clearly. First, what does "daiva" mean? The word "daiva" derives from the word "deva" meaning "God." In order to transcend this material world and the endless cycle of samsara, souls in both male and female bodies must dovetail their respective tendencies in the service of the Lord. Service to God is called "karma-yoga" (work for the satisfaction of God) or "bhakti-yoga" (serving God with loving devotion). This is the "daiva" part of the compound word. The "varna" part means your nature, qualities, tendencies and inclinations. The "asrama" part means what level of society you're in, such as student, householder, retired person, or renunciate. The "dharma" part means what occupation you perform in society, what service you do, what work you are prescribed to do for Krishna according to your body or according to your nature. So when we put all these words together--daiva-varnasrama-dharma--they mean "working for the satisfaction of God according to one's nature within one's specific occupation and life status."
Again, daiva-varnasrama-dharma is a social system created by the Lord for the gradual upliftment of souls encaged in human bodies. Lord Sri Krsna Himself tells Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita that human life is meant for upliftment, for transcending the modes of material nature, for overcoming the senses including the mind, for dissolving the false ego and for realization of our eternal relationship with God.
Human life is meant for pleasing God through loving service and sacrifice. Sacrifice and service to God help one to attain self-realization, and self-realization is the ultimate gift of human life. Self-realization means knowing our relationship with God and rendering loving service to Him in keeping with that eternal relationship we share with God. To attain such a gift requires sacrifice. In fact, human life is meant for sacrifice.
When we understand that human life is meant for sacrifice, we can begin to understand how to use our human life in the service of God. Every moment of human life is meant to be dedicated to Lord Sri Krishna for His pleasure. That's the real meaning of the word "sacrifice." When we understand this, we can begin to understand the true meaning of the compound word daiva-varnasrama-dharma.
There are many duties for both men and women in Lord Krishna's system of daiva-varnasrama-dharma. Because this blog is directed toward female readers, I will mention that one of the duties of a soul in a woman's body who wants to reawaken her love for Krishna and go back home, back to Krishna's eternal abode is to serve her husband nicely in Krishna consciousness.
Under the heading of serving one's husband in Krishna consciousness are the instructions given by Narada Muni in Srimad-Bhagavatam. For example, among the duties listed by Narada Muni for chaste women in his conversation with King Yudhisthira is that we should dress nicely with gold ornaments for the pleasure of our husbands. This is just one example of how a woman can serve her husband.
It takes a herculean effort to get out of this material world, and it is ultimately only by Krishna's grace that we do. So if we really want to go back home, back to Godhead, we must follow the instructions which have been given by Lord Sri Krishna through His pure representatives such as Narada Muni and the other great acaryas of our sampradaya.
Srila Prabhupada has kindly given us ladies simple, straightforward instructions such as the principle mentioned above which was spoken by Narada Muni to help us understand how to please Krsna by pleasing His devotee (e.g., our devotee husband). It is easy for a soul in a woman's body to get out of this material world and go back to Godhead if she follows and serves her husband nicely in Krishna consciousness.
Srila Prabhupada has also left instructions for married men--the ultimate instruction being that they should become "the hundred times servant of Krsna." When a Krsna conscious man and his Krsna conscious wife serve each other with enthusiasm for the pleasure of Krsna, the material inclinations of each will be purified and the way will be made clear for both of them to go back home, back to Godhead, to ultimately break free from the cycle of repeated birth and death. For example's sake, to dress nicely for our husbands, as mentioned above, is just one of the seven principles given by Narada Muni for chaste women; a small sacrifice we ladies can make to help our husbands remain encouraged, both materially and spiritually. When our husbands are satisfied materially, peace is maintained in the household. And as our husbands progress spiritually, we also progress spiritually. The wife automatically benefits from the husband's spiritual progress.
To think oneself to be the body he is encaged in is called "ahankara," or false ego. We are the soul inside the body, not the body itself. Srila Prabhupada endlessly emphasized the pitfalls of falsely identifying our selves with the ephemeral body which we are temporarily inhabiting. Lord Krishna's method which He has designed for us conditioned souls to escape the identification with the body and thus be released from the cycle of endless repeated birth and death is to follow the system of daiva-varnasrama-dharma.
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