To see the true value of the Vedic social system,
we need to understand it in its original form.
Thinkers throughout history from Plato to Locke to modern political theorists have always discussed the ideal form of social organization. Vedic literature also addresses this question and presents as the ideal the social system known as varnasrama,which divides society into four varnas, or occupational groups, and four asramas, or stages of life. The four varnas are brahmanas (priests and teachers), ksatriyas (rulers and warriors), vaisyas (farmers and merchants), and sudras (laborers and artisans). The four asramas are brahmacarya (student), grhastha (householder), vanaprastha (retired), and sannyasa (renounced).
When His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada carried the wisdom of Vedic literature to the West, he was hoping for nothing short of a spiritual revolution. He knew that without Krsna consciousness, people cannot be happy. An important part of his strategy to spread Krsna consciousness around the world was the revival of varnasrama. For many years, his followers have pondered his instructions about varnasrama, but so far have made little progress in fulfilling his vision for it.
Part of the problem may be confusion caused by apparently contradictory things Srila Prabhupada said about varnasrama. For example, in the Bhagavad-gita (2.31), Prabhupada refers to varnasrama as "man's steppingstone for spiritual understanding." But in other places he implies that varnasrama can become simply a materialistic arrangement for one social group to dominate another, and by reinforcing identity based on bodily categories, it creates a stumbling block on the path to spiritual advancement. In some instances Srila Prabhupada says that because Lord Krsna created varnasrama, it exists in all societies at all times. But Prabhupada also sets forth the establishment of varnasrama as a central goal of the Krsna consciousness movement. So is varnasrama an aid for spiritual elevation, or an instrument for social oppression? Does it exist throughout human society, and has it existed throughout history, or is it yet to be established?
To clarify these issues, we must recognize that the word varnasrama conveys similar but significantly different meanings in different contexts. Here are three basic types of varnasrama:
1. The original varnasrama is the division of society into four varnas and four asramas that cooperate to satisfy the Supreme Lord. One's varna is determined by one's character, qualities, training, and work. The focus is spiritual advancement and spiritual satisfaction for each member of society.
This kind of varnasrama is a spiritual institution, just as a temple or a church becomes spiritual when used to glorify the Supreme Lord. The original varnasrama is sometimes referred to as daiva, or "divine," varnasrama.
2. Materialistic varnasrama is the formal division of society into four varnas and four asramas primarily to control society and increase the material well-being of certain groups. Typically, parentage and adherence to certain rituals determine varna,rather character and training. The hereditary caste system, a perversion of the original varnasrama, is in the category of materialistic varnasrama.
3. Spontaneous varnasrama is a "default" society that results because by nature people tend to divide into classes (the four varnas). Spontaneous varnasrama is devoid of a connection with the Supreme Lord and does nothing to promote spiritual progress.
To help us understand the kind of varnasrama Srila Prabhupada promoted, let's look at these types of varnasramas more closely, beginning with the least spiritual type.
Spontaneous Varnasrama
In a June 1971 conversation with Professor Grigoriy Kotovsky in Moscow, Srila Prabhupada explained that because varnasrama is created by God, it exists in every society in every age:
In Bhagavad-gita [4.13] there is the statement catur-varnyam maya srstam: this system was created by Visnu [God]. So since varnasrama is a creation of the Supreme, it cannot be changed. It is prevalent everywhere. It is like the sun. The sun is a creation of the Supreme. The sunshine is there in America, in Russia, and in India everywhere. Similarly, this varnasrama system is prevalent everywhere in some form or another. Take, for example, the brah-manas, the most intelligent class of men. They are the brains of the society. The ksatriyas are the administrative class; then the vaisyas are the productive class, and the sudras are the worker class. These four classes of men are prevalent everywhere under different names. Because it is created by the original creator, so it is prevalent everywhere, varnasrama-dharma. (Moscow, June 22, 1971)
Prabhupada is describing spontaneous varnasrama. People naturally tend to divide into the classes Prabhupada mentions, but there is no goal of using that social structure to serve the Lord.
Materialistic Varnasrama
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.8) Suta Gosvami criticizes what we would call materialistic varnasrama: "The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead." This verse applies to the caste system of modern India. Although the caste system has some basis in religious tradition, for most of its practitioners the primary motivation is respectable social standing and material enjoyment, either in this life or the next, rather than service to the Supreme Lord.
Original Varnasrama
The great sage Parasara tells us how human society can satisfy the Supreme Lord, even though He is already full in all opulences:
varnasramacaravata
purusena parah puman
visnur aradhyate pantha
nanyat tat-tosa-karanam
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Visnu, is worshiped by the proper execution of prescribed duties in the system of varna and asrama. There is no other way to satisfy the Lord." (Visnu Purana 3.8.9)
Parasara Muni is referring to the original varnasrama system. Its essential feature is the deliberate organization of society so that the members of each class perform activities that help members of other classes in their spiritual advancement.
It is interesting to note that in the Visnu Purana verse, Srila Prabhupada translates the word tosa as "satisfy" rather than "please." I take this to mean that even though Krsna is pleased by the service of individual devotees, He is satisfied when everyone serves Him, because He knows that by serving Him all living entities will gain the greatest benefit. In daiva varnasrama everyone can serve the Lord, whatever his level of spiritual advancement, by following the principles Krsna sets forth in the Bhagavad-gita. In the third chapter, Krsna offers a description of work according to the principles of karma-yoga for those at the beginning level of spiritual advancement. As Krsna further explains in the twelfth chapter, those most captivated by material enjoyment and least able to follow regulations can make spiritual advancement by working for Him, offering Him the fruits of their labor, or at least renouncing the fruits of their labor for some charitable cause. Krsna emphasizes dutiful working according to one's nature, with detachment from the fruits of labor. Workers in daiva varnasrama can gain further advancement because they work in the association of devotees and serve them.
Furthermore, everyone brah-mana, ksatriya, vaisya, or sudra is eligible to advance to the topmost spiritual platform by offering not just the fruits of activity but the very activity itself to the Lord in full Krsna consciousness. In the eighteenth chapter (verses 45-46), Krsna tells Arjuna, "By following his qualities of work, every man can become perfect. Now please hear from Me how this can be done. By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is allpervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work."
At this level, work is no longer counted as karma-yoga. Instead, it is considered bhakti-yoga, the highest stage of devotional service. Krsna informs Arjuna that if he acts on the platform of bhakti-yoga, he can "abandon all varieties of religion." He has simply to perform his occupational duty as an offering of love to Krsna. He need not worry about all the injunctions contained in the "flowery words of the Vedas," which concerned him in the opening pages of the Gita.
So only daiva varnasrama the original system created by the Lord can satisfy the Lord, because everyone can make spiritual progress. The more materially attached can learn to renounce the fruits of their labor. The more spiritually advanced can gain the highest spiritual ecstasy by offering their labor to the Lord in a spirit of loving devotion. The Lord is satisfied because He sees all His children advancing towards Him, each according to his highest capacity at the moment.
Those who have reached the top platform of pure devotional service, such as Arjuna [see sidebar: "Varnasrama and Karma"], are in fact transcendental to varnasrama, even though they still appear to be carrying out their varnasrama duties like anyone else. When engaged in pure devotional service by doing their work as bhakti-yoga, they are no longer on the material platform; they are in spiritual ecstasy.
Now that we have examined the three main types of varnasrama, let's look at what we might call "Prabhupada's varnasrama."
Prabhupada's Varnasrama
In the Ninth Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam (9.10.51), commenting on the varnasrama structure in Lord Ramacandra's ideal kingdom, Srila Prabhupada writes: "Among the four yugas [ages] Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali Kali-yuga is the worst, but if the process of varnasrama-dharma is introduced, even in this age of Kali, the situation of Satya-yuga can be invoked. The Hare Krsna movement, or Krsna consciousness movement, is meant for this purpose."
When Srila Prabhupada indicates that it is a mission of the Hare Krsna movement to establish varnasrama, he clearly does not mean the spontaneous varnasrama he told Professor Kotovsky was already existing all over the world. Nor does he mean the materialistic varnasrama of social prestige. Rather, Srila Prabhupada means the original varnasrama, the social organization that can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, because it provides for the spiritual advancement of all types of people. Nevertheless, the varnasrama Srila Prabhupada presents for his followers has certain prominent features especially meant to make it an effective tool for spreading Krsna consciousness in the present age.
Not by birth. First of all, Prabhupada emphasizes that varna designations should be determined by character, training, and work, not by birth. He cites the injunctions of such sages as Narada Muni to back up his position. Srila Prabhupada indicates that rather than society's using birth as the criteria, a devotee's teachers and guru can help determine the varna best suited for his specific nature and guide him to appropriate training for that varna.
Living off the land. In previous ages there was no need to specify this, but for our age Srila Prabhupada constantly urged devotees to "get all your necessities from the land" and to "grow your own food, produce your own cloth." A society based on simple living and high thinking would favor spiritual advancement.
The Varnasrama college. Srila Prabhupada writes in The Srimad-Bhagavatam (9.10.50), "As there are schools and colleges to train students to become chemical engineers, lawyers, or specialists in many other departments of knowledge, there must be schools and colleges to train students to become brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas, sudras, brahmacaris, grhasthas, vanaprasthas, and sannyasis."
In March 1974 in Vrndavana, Prabhupada first outlined his ideas for a varnasrama college. Unlike traditional Vedic schools in which vaisyas, for example, were taught only scriptural studies (getting their vocational training at home), the varnasramacollege would be for them somewhat like an agricultural university, in that there would be plenty of hands-on instruction, including practical subjects such as cow protection and food-crop cultivation. Also unlike traditional Vedic schools, even sudras would be included, although, again, their subjects would be centered on hands-on learning rather than formal classroom instruction. By training students in all the subjects necessary for the smooth functioning of a self-sufficient village, such a college would provide the foundation for setting up varnasrama.
Small-scale subsistence farming. Economic historians say that large-scale market-oriented farm production was unknown up to a couple hundred years ago. Today modern agribusinesses maintain large farms by capital-intensive techniques that rely heavily on tractors and petroleum, large pools of migrant workers, debt-intensive financing practices such as mortgages, government loans, and futures speculation in the commodity markets. In the model of varnasrama Srila Prabhupada presents, farmers don't go into debt, because their local government gives them small plots to farm. Because these plots cannot be resold, farmers do not risk the unemployment that results when all the land ends up in the hands of the slickest businessman.
Economy based on agriculture and cow protection. Again, there was no need to emphasize this approach in traditional Vedic times, but for our modern times, when factory production and the service industry drive the economy, Srila Prabhupada often stressed the importance of resting our self-sufficient economy on agriculture and cow protection, or "living as Krsna lived."
In the ideal varnasrama community, applying the principles of cow protection would mean that plowing should be done with oxen rather than tractors. The farmer effectively owns his means of production in a non-competitive system, and production is focused on home use and charitable giving, with only the excess being sold. Economic development would be highly localized, and short-distance shipping by ox-cart would re-place long-distance shipping by trucks and trains.
Mutual respect between varnas. In a 1975 conversation with an Indian governor in Vrndavana, Srila Prabhupada emphasized the deadly hazard of promoting contempt and hatred between the classes: "The sudras were hated like anything, so they became Mohammedans. . . . Now the result is that you and Pakistan go on fighting forever." In contrast, Prabhupada stresses that in varnasrama everyone's position is to be respected and appreciated because everyone is serving the Lord.
Protection for laborers. Prabhupada's varnasrama does not sanction harsh treatment of workers and the hope of placating them with the promise of rewards in the next life. The other classes should treat their dependent workers kindly and fairly. To provide the needs for any society takes hard work, but Prabhupada condemned the hellish working conditions and social exploitation of modern industry: "The productive energy of the laborer is misused when he is occupied by industrial enterprises. Industry of various types cannot produce the essential needs of man, namely rice, wheat, grains, milk, fruits, and vegetables. The production of machines and machine tools increases the artificial living of a class of vested interests and keeps thousands of men in starvation and unrest. This should not be the standard of civilization." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.9.26, Purport)
On one hand, industrial development subjects the laborer to ghastly working conditions; on the other hand, its machines threaten him with unemployment and misery. Prabhupada considered laboring-class unrest a clear symptom of poorly trained government leaders. The test of good government is whether it can make everyone happy (sarve sukhino bhavantu). In return for their labor, workers should be treated amicably and assured of food, shelter, the necessities of life, and protection for their families.
Using varnasrama as a preaching tool. Srila Prabhupada envisioned varnasrama as the only effective means of spreading Krsna consciousness to the world.
In big scale you cannot make all of them brahmanas or sannyasis. No. That is not possible. This is small scale. What percentage of people of the world are we attracting? Very insignificant. But if you want to make the whole human society perfect, then this Krsna consciousness movement should be introduced according to Krsna's instructions if you want to do it in a large scale for the benefit of the whole human society. Now we are picking up some of them, the best. That is one thing. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu said para-upakara. Why only a certain section should be picked up? Let the whole mass of people get the benefit of it. But then it is required to be systematic. Therefore, we have to introduce this varnasrama-dharma. It must be done perfectly. It is possible, and people will become happy." (Mayapur, February 14, 1977)
The varnasrama model that Srila Prabhupada presents is specifically adapted to the present age and focused on attaining the highest level of love of Godhead for all. Even if we can't come to Srila Prabhupada's ideal standards at once, we can take steps toward varnasrama that will provide the momentum to reach the goal. Faced with the inevitable difficulties of the present age, many people will then have the chance to be attracted to self-sufficient varnasrama villages, centered on the worship of Lord Krsna.
Formerly the editor of Hare Krsna Rural Life, Hare Krsna Devi Dasi is currently compiling a five-volume series of Srila Prabhupada's teachings on varnasrama and farm community development.
Lord Caitanya and the Caste System
Materialistic varnasrama was practiced at least as far back as five hundred years ago, when Lord Krsna appeared on earth as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The hereditary brahmanas of the day were anxious to protect their social standing and expected others to observe their social customs. Lord Caitanya, however, saw that such customs promoted social prestige and not spiritual advancement, so He defied them again and again.
The caste brahmanas believed that a person working in a sudra's occupation could not become a spiritual master. Since Ramananda Raya was a government employee, they considered him a sudra. The Lord discounted Ramananda Raya's nominal social position and took spiritual instruction from him because Ramananda Raya was a devotee on the highest level of Krsna consciousness. The caste brahmanas also considered anyone from a Muslim family unfit to enter the temple at Puri and see the Deity form of Krsna as Lord Jagannatha. But Lord Caitanya, who is actually the same as Jagannatha, visited the great devotee Haridasa Thakura every day, even though Haridasa came from a Muslim family.
The hereditary brahmanas of Lord Caitanya's day were obsessed with dozens of rules and strictures drawn from the idea that a brahmana would jeopardize his position by eating with or even touching anyone from outside the brahmana caste. Lord Caitanya dismissed such materialistic conceptions, however, accepting invitations to eat with devotees in the lowest social position. He freely touched and embraced sincere worshipers of the Lord, challenging the degraded, materialistic system ofvarnasrama.
The Natural System for Civilized Life
Human society all over the world is divided into four castes and four orders of life. The four castes are the intelligent caste, the martial caste, the productive caste, and the laborer caste. These castes are classified in terms of one's work and qualification and not by birth. Then again there are four orders of life, namely the student life, the householder's life, the retired life, and the devotional life. In the best interest of human society there must be such divisions of life; otherwise no social institution can grow in a healthy state. And in each and every one of the above-mentioned divisions of life, the aim must be to please the supreme authority of the Personality of Godhead. This institutional function of human society is known as the system of varnasrama-dharma, which is quite natural for the civilized life.
The varnasrama institution is constructed to enable one to realize the Absolute Truth. It is not for artificial domination of one division over another. When the aim of life, a i.e., realization of the Absolute Truth, is missed by too much attachment forindriya-priti, or sense gratification, as already discussed hereinbefore, the institution of the varnasrama is utilized by selfish men to pose an artificial predominance over the weaker section. In the Kali-yuga, or in the age of quarrel, this artificial predominance is already current, but the saner section of the people know it well that the divisions of castes and orders of life are meant for smooth social intercourse and high-thinking self-realization and not for any other purpose.
Herein the statement of Bhagavatam is that the highest aim of life or the highest perfection of the institution of the varnasrama-dharma is to cooperate jointly for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (4.13). Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.13, Purport
Karma and Varnasrama
Students of Krsna consciousness know that the ideal life is a fully spiritual one a life of devotional service to Krsna. They know that activities such as hearing about Krsna, chanting Hare Krsna, and so on, are purely spiritual and therefore yield no material reaction, or karma. But what about the activities of varnasrama or, specifically, our varnas, or occupations? Aren't they material and therefore karmic?
Lord Krsna teaches in the Bhagavad-gita that whether a person's work is spiritual or material depends mainly on his consciousness. Krsna also describes three kinds of action: karma, vikarma, and akarma. (Bhagavad-gita 4.17) Let's examine these and related terms in light of the different kinds of varnasrama.
Karma can mean any activity prescribed, sinful, or transcendental. But a more specific definition is work prescribed by scripture for one's varna. Such work brings material rewards. The work of persons who follow the materialistic system ofvarnasrama is karma.
Vikarma means work against the laws of God, and it brings punishment. Much work under a spontaneous system of varnasrama falls into the category of vikarma.
Akarma means work as an offering to Krsna. Such work produces no material reward or punishment but leads to spiritual liberation. Akarma activities are the goal of the original, or daiva, varnasrama system.
Krsna recommends akarma (Bg. 3.9): "Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu has to be performed; otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kunti, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage."
Karma-kanda refers to acts performed under Vedic injunctions for promotion to higher material planets. Such acts are part of materialistic varnasrama.
Yoga is a cognate of the English word yoke. A yoke links two oxen, and yoga links the individual living being and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Within the framework of daiva varnasrama, different forms of yoga help people on the spiritual path.
Karma-yoga means offering the fruits of one's activities to the Lord. Common in daiva varnasrama, karma-yoga marks the beginning of spiritual life.
Jnana-yoga means to offer the results of one's intellectual activities to the Lord by trying to understand Him. It is a step in spiritual development and is part of daiva varnasrama.
Bhakti-yoga means to offer one's activities to the Lord in complete love and devotion, free of desire for material benefit. Bhakti-yoga is the summit of all yogas because it is completely akarma, or without material results. The goal of daiva varnasramais to gradually elevate all citizens to bhakti-yoga.
To understand the relationship between karma and varnasrama, we must understand that similar activities may be spiritually dissimilar. In Raja Vidya Srila Prabhupada writes, "On the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, Arjuna engaged in fighting, and those on the side of Duryodhana engaged in fighting. We must understand how it is that Arjuna is free from reaction whereas Duryodhana is not. Externally we can see that both parties are engaged in fighting, but we should understand that Arjuna is not bound by reactions because he is fighting under the order of Krsna."
Finally, we must understand that within daiva varnasrama our consciousness not our varna or asrama determines our spiritual standing. Srila Prabhupada wrote to a disciple, "Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that anyone who surrenders unto Me, whether a woman, sudra, vaisya, etc., they all attain the highest perfection of bhakti-yoga not that now I am grhastha, I am doing karma-yoga, or now I am vanaprastha, I am doing sankhya-yoga. This is all nonsense."
Varnasrama Curriculum: A Sampler of Courses
IN CONSIDERING COURSES for each varna, I asked myself, What kind of knowledge is needed to build a self-sufficient spiritual community that can encourage and protect its citizens? I also looked at the qualities and duties of the different varnasas described in scripture and thought about what kind of training would best help each varna develop. Finally, I looked at Prabhupada's descriptions of training for the different varnas.
Brahmanas
• Scriptural studies
• Prabhupada's instructions on varnasrama
• Teacher training
• Mental health and learning disabilities
• Ayurvedic medicine
• Herbal healing
• Deity worship in the rural community
• Kings in the Bhagavatam
Ksatriyas
• Religion
• Politics
• Social order (Sociology)
• Economics
• Military arts
• Ethics and morality
• The sciences
• Management
• Devotional service
Some subjects require further consideration. For example, Prabhupada suggests training in the sciences for ksatriyas, but science is a broad field. Should ksatriyas learn nuclear physics and synthetic chemistry? Or would agronomy, ecology, sanitation, and dairy science be more valuable to the leader of a self-sufficient community?
Srila Prabhupada said that a varnasrama community would consist of just a few brahmanas and ksatriyas. Most citizens would work as vaisyas or sudras.
Vaisyas
• Fundamentals of ecology and permaculture
• Agronomy
• Developing a resource inventory
• Basic farming practice
• Fundamentals of animal health and reproduction
• Krsna's example of cow protection
• Basic cow care
• Working with oxen
• The herd sire
• Pasture management
• Food grain production and processing
• Fiber plant production and processing
• Economics
• Orchard skills
• Forestry
Since those working in the sudra varna support the other members of society, their curriculum would need to be accordingly broad. Many courses would emphasize hands-on instruction to build expertise in practical skills.
Sudras
• Technical drawing
• Implement design and construction
• Woodworking and carpentry
• Blacksmithing
• Cart and wagon design and construction
• Road building and excavating
• Energy-efficient house construction
• Papermaking
• Shorthand
• Water supply and sanitation
• Energy forms: Potentials and pitfalls
• Performance arts for preaching
• Visual arts for preaching
• Small-scale textile production
• Vegetable dyes
As in any small college, students majoring in different varnas would have ample opportunity to interact with each other, and those interactions would foster a spirit of appreciation, cooperation, and community. Students in different varnas might study some of the same courses. For example, for a successful self-sufficient community both vaisyas and ksatriyas should have a basic understanding of soil science and soil conservation, taught in an agronomy course. As the teachers of the community,brahmanas would specialize in different areas of knowledge. So besides brahminical courses, brahmanas would study subjects primarily meant for ksatriyas, vaisyas, or sudras.
All students would take some core subjects, such as an elementary course in cow protection and a course on community development. Most important, to create a common goal and vision for a varnasrama community, all students would come together to study Srila Prabhupada's instructions on varnasrama and farm community development.
Transitional Varnasrama: Steps We Can Take Now
Here are some suggestions for ways in which Srila Prabhupada's followers can work toward implementing varnasrama in line with his vision and desires.
Study and Discuss Srila Prabhupada's Instructions
The more we can get together to study and discuss Prabhupada's instructions on the pitfalls of the materialistic varnasrama systems and the benefits of the original system, the better our chances of avoiding mistakes so we can build a system that will help people in their spiritual lives. ISKCON centers can set up weekly classes to study Prabhupada's instructions on varnasrama.
Develop Training In Self-Sufficiency Skills
Even though ISKCON may not have a full-fledged varnasrama college, it can still offer training in some of the subjects needed to help self-sufficient communities develop. Prabhupada told devotees in Mauritius that others would be attracted by their "training power." Classes in gardening, carpentry, and community relations, for example, can teach valuable skills while providing opportunities to tell others about Krsna conscious philosophy.
Support Cow Protection
Cow protection is an important duty of the vaisya class, of which businessmen are a part. Although properly caring for cows in a modern industrial city is impossible, men and women in business can fulfill their responsibility by supporting cow protection in ISKCON farm communities. They can also visit the farms to see how the needs of the cows are being met and the cowherds trained and maintained.
Support Krsna Conscious Farmers
"Anything grown in the garden is a hundred times more valuable than if it is purchased from the market," Srila Prabhupada told disciples in France. What could be a more opulent offering to the Lord than fruits, vegetables, and grains grown by devotee farmers with love and devotion for Him without the use of poisonous sprays or slaughterhouse by-products such as bloodmeal and bonemeal, popular with most other organic farmers? Devotee farmers who use a rototiller to grow tomatoes, beans, and squash for the market may not be quite up to the ideal of Prabhupada's ox-powered subsistence grain farmer, but certainly to be working on the land for Krsna is a big step in the right direction. If such farmers are supported, their children might become inspired to take care of the cows and become Krsna conscious ox-power farmers.
Show Appreciation For the Service of Others
One of the most dangerous aspects of any class system is the fostering of feelings of contempt between classes. This threatens social harmony and reinforces materialistic class identity, stunting spiritual growth. To move toward Prabhupada's varnasramasystem, we must practice showing our appreciation when others serve the Lord by their occupational duty, whether by dressing the Deity, managing the temple accounts, raising Krsna conscious children, acting as temple president, growing vegetables for the Lord, or putting in a new electrical system. If we look for the connection with Krsna, we lose our materialistic vision of others and reinforce their identity as devotees. Also, we can encourage them in their service by providing opportunities for additional training in their specialty.