Present Degradation

Due to the lack of training of people in the present age and to their practice of the vices of illicit sex, meat eating and intoxication, Lord Caitanya declared that kalau sūdra-sambhava-in the Age of Kali everyone is a sūdra. The Vedic ceremony called Garbhadhana-in which the man and wife make vows before having sex and declare that they are coming together to have sex in order to produce a Krsna conscious child-is no longer observed. And so widespread are illicit connections that no one can know for certain whether he is born of a brahmana or someone else. With the extinguishing of the original varnas and asramas, the entire world has become deplorable, being governed by unwanted men who have no training in religion, politics or social order. In the institution of varnasrama there are regular training principles for the different classes of men. Just as now we need engineers and doctors and there are places for properly training them in scientific institutions, so the social orders, the intelligent class, the ruling class, etc., can be properly trained up. This was actually the case in early Vedic times. The duties are described, and the training must be there. With no training, one cannot claim that simply because he is born in a brahmana or ksatriya family, even though he may act as a sūdra, he is therefore a brahmana or ksatriya. Such claims have degraded the system and thrown it into chaos, with no peace or prosperity. The result is that there are sūdras everywhere; where there should be a ksatriya in the presidential palace and leading the army on the battlefield, there are men who are untrained and unintelligent who are less than sudras. When there is no provision for training the natural orders, we find that the leadership is ineffective and corrupt. In the Vedic system, because there was proper education, the society was peaceful and so structured that all people were able to develop Krsna consciousness. That is real human society, where the entire society is making progress toward spiritual realization. Krsna advises in Bhagavad-gita that one stay in his own work:

It is better to be engaged in one's own occupation, even if imperfectly performed, than to accept another's occupation, even if perfectly done. Prescribed duties, according to one's nature, are never affected by sinful reactions. (Bg. 18.47)

Working according to his nature, for the purpose of serving the Lord, one can attain perfection by that work, no matter how abominable or pleasant it may appear. One should prosecute his work, even if there is some difficulty in it. Of course, even if a man steadfastly performs his work, but does not serve God by his labor, he is doomed by that very steadfast but godless work. The absolute meaning to all work is that one offers the fruits of his work to Krsna. This art of working in devotional service can be learned, and that is why the brahmanas are there.

A great devotee of Lord Krsna, the boy Prahlada Maharaja, told his school fellows: "What is required is that we change our consciousness from what we are now thinking-that I am the supreme enjoyer, lord of all I survey-and instead become the loving servants of the actual enjoyer, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna." This transcendental loving service, a change of consciousness, can be perfectly completed under proper guidance while working at one's occupational duty. According to Lord Caitanya, everyone must surrender to Krsna. As the varna orders are natural because they are created by God, so they have meaning only when they are utilized for devotional service unto God.