Prescribed Duties in Society

Self Inquiry – Deliberation:

(a) Put a “P” (pass) at the two statements below you most agree

with.

(b) Put an “F” (fail) at the one statement you most disagree with (if

any).

(c) What would it take to transform your F to a P?

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In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says:

“All people are truly one, and no particular group is superior to any

other, but like limbs of the body, each has a role to play…

___ 1) The various responsibilities of the segments of society can be divided under four general headings: Seers, Leaders, Providers, and Servers.

___ 2) All societies have generally similar groupings. The system sometimes veers off course, but the basic pattern is valid for the social harmony and clarity of purpose in all societies.

___ 3) These groupings are generally consistent with the conditioning of the gunas, whether from earlier lifetimes or this one. It is said that ‘People are born of their own nature.’

___ 4) Society’s Seers are the holy ones (in some societies called ‘brahmins’). They are expected to…

Create society’s character and spirituality;
Live a pure, unmixed, sattvvic life;
have both knowledge of God-realization through study, and spiritual wisdom through direct experience of Atma;

Provide spiritual and moral leadership;
Be pure of heart, mind and body, not allowing, perversity or corruption to creep in;
Possess serenity, calmness, forbearance; forgiveness, and patience;
Hold to an unwavering faith in the divinity of all life.

___ 5) The Seers’ basic purpose is to transform society’s exemplary humans into godly humans.

___ 6) Society’s Leaders (kshatriyas) basic purpose is to transform ordinary human beings into exemplary ones. The leaders of a society are expected to:

Guard the welfare and prosperity of society by serving all the people;
Bring to society moral stamina and adherence to duty through courage, fearlessness, resourcefulness, and ingenuity in the face of changing conditions;
Exemplify law, justice and generosity;
Lead by inspiring the populace through good example, and yet be ready to enforce their authority.

___ 7) The Leaders’ strength lies in their courage, the Seers’ strength lies in the glow of their spirituality.

___ 8) Society’s Providers and Servers are the business people and workers respectively. They are expected to equip society with the goods and services it needs.

Providers (Vaishyas) are charged with the tasks of principled economics and commerce such as growing food, the honest manufacture and exchange of merchandise, and trading.

Servers (Workers, Sudras) are the foundation. They provide the strength and sinew of society by working with, and in the service of all the segments of society.

___ 9) Remember that all practices conducive to spiritual growth worship, sense-control and so forth—are within the competencies of all people in all groupings of all societies.” – Krishna

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