Varna-one of the four Vedic social-occupational divisions of society, distinguished by quality of work and situation with regard to the modes of nature (gunas); Brahmana-a member of the intellectual, priestly class; a person wise in Vedic knowledge, fixed in goodness and knowledgeable of Brahman, the Absolute Truth; One of the four orders of occupational life, brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sūdra. The brahmanas are the intellectual class and their occupation is hearing Vedic literature, teaching Vedic literature, learning deity worship and teaching deity worship, receiving charity and giving charity. Brahmana; Ksatriya-third of the four orders of the varnasrama system. A warrior who is inclined to fight and lead others. The administrative or protective occupation according to the system of four social and spiritual orders. Ksatriya; Vaisya (Vaishyas)-member of the mercantile or agricultural class, according to the system of four social orders and four spiritual orders. Vaisya; Sūdra-a member of the fourth social order, laborer class, in the traditional Vedic social system. He is meant to render service to the three higher classes, namely the brahmanas, the ksatriyas, and the vaisyas. Vedanta-sūtra (Brahma-sūtra)-Srila Vyasadeva's conclusive summary of Vedic philosophical knowledge, written in brief codes. The philosophy of the Absolute Truth, which finds implicit expression in the Vedas and the Upanisads, was put into a systematic and more explicit form in the Vedanta-sūtra. All apparent contradictory statements of the vast literature of the Vedas are resolved by the great Vyasa in this work. In this work there are four divisions 1) reconciliation of all scriptures; 2) the consistent reconciliation of apparently conflicting hymns; 3) the means or process of attaining the goal (spiritual realization); and 4) the object (or desired fruit) achieved by the spiritual process. The Vedanta-sūtra establishes that Godhead exists, that devotion is the means of realizing transcendental love for Godhead, and that this love is the final object of man's endeavors. This book is the textbook of all theistic philosophy, and, as such, many commentators have elaborated on the significance of its conclusions; This most important work of nyaya-prasthana (Vedic logic), which is also known as Brahma-sūtra, Sariraka, Vyasa-sūtra, Badarayana-sūtra, Uttara-mimamsa and Vedanta-darsana, was composed by the great sage Vyasa 5000 years ago. Sūtra means code. The Vedanta-sūtra is a book of codes that present, in concise form, brahma-jnana, i.e. conclusive Vedic knowledge. These codes are very terse, and without a fuller explanation, their meaning is difficult to grasp. In India there are five main schools of Vedanta, each established by an acarya (founder) who explained the sūtras in a bhasya (commentary). The natural commentary on the Vedanta-sūtra is the Srimad-Bhagavatam. See Advaita, Dvaita, Brahmajyoti, Brahman, Four Vaisnava Sampradayas and Siddhantas, Sahkaracarya, Six systems, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Upanisads, Vedanta, Vyasa. Vedas-the original Veda was divided into four by Srila Vyasadeva. The four original Vedic scriptures, Samhitas (Rg, Sama, Atharva and Yajur) and the 108 Upanisads, Mahabharata, Vedanta-sūtra, etc. The system of eternal wisdom compiled by Srila Vyasadeva, the literary incarnation of the Supreme Lord, for the gradual upliftment of all mankind from the state of bondage to the state of liberation. The word veda literally means "knowledge", and thus in a wider sense it refers to the whole body of Indian Sanskrit religious literature that is in harmony with the philosophical conclusions found in the original four Vedic Samhitas and Upanisads. The message of the transcendental realm that has come down to this phenomenal world through the medium of sound is known as the Veda. Being the very words of Godhead Himself, the Vedas have existed from eternity. Lord Krsna originally revealed the Vedas to Brahma, the first soul to appear in the realm of physical nature, and by him they were subsequently made available to other souls through the channel of spiritual disciplic succession; Veda, Vedas, Vedic knowledge. The Sanskrit root of the word Veda is vid, knowledge. This root is widespread even in modern Western language: e.g. video (from the Latin word to see) and idea (Gr. ida). The term Vedic refers to the teachings of the Vedic literatures. From these literatures we learn that this universe, along with countless others, was produced from the breath of Maha-Visnu some 155,250,000,000,000 years ago. The Lord's divine breath simultaneously transmitted all the knowledge mankind requires to meet his material needs and revive his dormant God consciousness. This knowledge is called Veda. Caturmukha (four-faced) Brahma, the first created being within this universe, received Veda from Visnu. Brahma, acting as an obedient servant of the Supreme Lord, populated the planetary systems with all species of life. He spoke four Vedas, one from each of his mouths, to guide human beings in their spiritual and material progress. The Vedas are thus traced to the very beginning of the cosmos. Some of the most basic Vedic teachings are: 1) every living creature is an eternal soul covered by a material body; 2) as long as the souls are bewildered by maya (the illusion of identifying the self with the body) they must reincarnate from body to body, life after life; 3) to accept a material body means to suffer the four-fold pangs of birth, old age, disease and death; 4) depending upon the quality of work (karma) in the human form, a soul may take its next birth in a subhuman species, or the human species, or a superhuman species, or it may be freed from birth and death altogether; 5) karma dedicated in sacrifice to Visnu as directed by Vedic injunctions elevates and liberates the soul. Voidism-The mind has two functions, accepting and rejecting. Voidism is the result of total frustration, when the mind negates and rejects everything as just too troublesome. Voidism in Sanskrit is sūnyavada, a doctrine associated with Buddhism. As the Bodhicaryavatara-panjika, a Buddhist scripture, puts it, niḥsvabhavavata sūnyata the absence of the self-existence of all things, voidness is the paramartha (supreme goal) of Buddhism. In ancient Greece, Democritus and other atomists reduced reality down to atoms and the void. Modern physicists propose scenarios of the universe popping out of a primordial void. Srila Prabhupada writes: The Sahkarites and Buddhists claim that the world beyond is void, but Bhagavad-gita does not disappoint us like this. The philosophy of voidness has simply created atheists. We are spiritual beings, and we want enjoyment, but as soon as our future is void, we will become inclined to enjoy this material life. In this way, the impersonalists discuss the philosophy of voidism while trying as much as possible to enjoy this material life. One may enjoy speculation in this way, but there is no spiritual benefit. (Beyond Birth and Death, Chap. Four) The ultimate paradox of voidism is that if everything is void, then there is nothing to philosophize about. Consequently, those professing voidism logically ought to behave as Cratylus did. See Buddhism, Cratylus, Impersonalism, Mayavada philosophy, Mind, Sahkaracarya, Scepticism. Vyasa-Vyasadeva (Vyasa)-the literary incarnation of God, and the greatest philosopher of ancient times. The son of Parasara, and the compiler of the original Vedic scriptures, including the eighteen Puranas, Vedanta-sūtra, the Mahabharata, and the Upanisads. He played a very important part in guiding the Panḍavas during crucial times. He gave the vision of the battle of Kuruksetra to Sanjaya so that he could relate it to Dhrtarastra. He is still living in this world; The son of Parasara Muni and Satyavati-devi, Vyasa is the empowered (saktyavesa-)avatara of God who rendered the Vedic sabda into written texts some 5000 years ago. He is also known as Vedavyasa, Badarayana and Dvaipayana. See Avatara (Saktya-avesa), Srimad-Bhagavatam, Veda, Vedanta-sūtra.