Read it in Hindi from भगवद गीता में जाति – भगवद गीता के शैतानी छंद।

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar on Bhagavad Gita

…The Bhagvat Gita is not a gospel and it can therefore have no message and it is futile to search for one. The question will no doubt be asked: What is the Bhagvat Gita if it is not a gospel? My answer is that the Bhagvat Gita is neither a book of religion nor a treatise on philosophy. What the Bhagvat Gita does is to defend certain dogmas of religion on philosphic grounds. If on that account anybody wants to call it a book of religion or a book of philosophy he may please himself. But essentially it is neither. It uses philosophy to defend religion…

…Bhagvat Gita comes forward to offer a philosophic defense is Chaturvarnya. The Bhagvat Gita, no doubt, mentions that the Chaturvarnya is created by God and therefore sacrosanct. But it does not make its validity dependent on it. It offers a philosophic basis to the theory of Chaturvarnya by linking it to the theory of innate, inborn qualities in men. The fixing of the Varna of man is not an arbitrary act says the Bhagvat Gita. But it is fixed according to his innate, inborn qualities…

Source – ‘Revolution and Counter-revolution in Ancient India’ (Vol 3 of the Writings and Speeches of Dr B. R. Ambedkar)

—

Dr Ambedkar noted in his book ‘Revolution and Counter-revolution in Ancient India’ (Vol 3 of the Writings and Speeches of Dr Ambedkar) that Manusmriti lays down the laws of caste and the Bhagavad Gita gives a philosophical defence of the new social order. The philosophy that has helped grow Brahmanism and graded inequality system of caste. Dr Ambedkar also believed that Bhagavad Gita isn’t written by one author as claimed by some and was written and rewritten over the period of counter-revolution time.

Hinduism (Brahmanism) is the only religion that prohibits almost 85% of its followers from reading its scriptures or worshipping its Gods and I have always believed that it is a wastage of time to read Brahminical scriptures especially those which have already been rejected by Jotiba Phule, Dr. Ambedkar and other Dalit-Bahujan ideals.

So, why did I pick Bhagavad Gita, Manusmriti and Parashara Smriti to read?

Simple answer, to bring out casteist verses which have not been discussed in public as the government of India is pushing hard to make sure Bhagavad Gita is taught in all the schools.

Do we really want our kids to learn from Bhagavad Gita?

Dr. Ambedkar said that Bhagavad Gita provides a defence of murder. So it’s certainly not a text meant for schools. You want to teach Gita in schools and expect crime to go down, both of these are contradictory. Bhagavad Gita provides a defence of murder. Bhagavad Gita can never form a moral foundation of the nation. Bhagavad Gita espouses violence and varna system. There will never be a peace in India till the time our generation will stop taking inspiration from such books. If today, we didn’t raise our voice against such books, those teach discrimination, our future generations will not forgive us.

So, I wanted to do my bit by compiling the casteist verses from the Bhagavad Gita.

[I will be using ‘varna’ and ‘castes’ interchangeably, though under each varna there are 1000s of castes. But for the sake of simplicity sometimes I have used ‘varna’ and ‘castes’ to imply the same meaning.]

Religious texts all over the world have set fundamental element of common values and morals. Bhagavad Gita has influenced the culture and shaped the mindset of people in India as it offers guidelines to live in a certain way. By examining the teachings of Bhagavad Gita we can understand the type of culture or society it promotes. Bhagavad Gita is one of the eighteens Smritis and it stands closer to Manusmriti in terms of teachings and type of philosophy it preaches. To find truth or seeking enlightenment through Gita is a rubbish idea and all those who preach such kind of nonsense are either gullible or of Brahminical mindset.

Chapter 1, 2 and 11 of Bhagavad Gita are focused on convincing Arjuna to follow his caste duties by making him fight the battle. It provides justification for the war and killing while giving the logic, which doesn’t make sense, that all things are going to end, man is bound to die and it doesn’t make any difference whether man dies of natural death or is killed in the violence. Such is the main idea of the book and anyone believing or preaching such ideas can’t be a sane, let alone worthy of reverence.

After going through it, I found that it is no different from the Manusmriti or Parashara Smriti, both of which are against so-called lower castes and women. Bhagavad Gita assigns different castes, different responsibilities, which are not different from the four varna duties assigned by the other Brahminical scriptures (such as read Purusha Sukta 10:90 of Rig Veda, which says in verse 12, “The Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rājanya made. His thighs became the Vaiśya, from his feet the Śūdra was produced.”). Fulfilling the ‘dharma’, sacred duties as assigned to each varna is the key notion of the Bhagavad Gita. Warnings of never to violate the caste laws and ‘fear’ factors are included in the verses so that people don’t deviate from following the caste duties. Caste duties remain same throughout the life hence one should focus on his caste duties only. By doing so, Bhagavad Gita shapes a rigid caste hierarchy.

Further, Bhagavad Gita is full of contradictions – both at the fundamental level and at the highest level of philosophical discourse. What is said in one chapter is contradicted in the very next chapter. Bhagavad Gita (verse 9:32) degrades the status of women and it proclaims that women were born from wombs of sin.

In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna is made to utter that he is God and he created the caste hierarchy to promote dharma (peace and harmony) in this world. When Dr. Ambedkar propagated ideas of the annihilation of caste, RSS people followed the logic of Krishna ‘harmony among different caste’ and formed ‘Samajik Samrasta Manch’. Krishna’s logic is illogical. Now, look around yourself and think about what caste system has done to Dalits and how it has disturbed the peace and harmony among communities.

In Hinduism (Brahmanism), people are divided into castes according to their responsibility of satisfying ‘sacred unavoidable obligations’ as assigned by ‘dharma’. To make people fulfil these obligations, Brahmins gave religious justification and created scriptures around them. They created 18 Smritis. (Read also casteist quotes from Manusmriti and Parashara Smriti) Bhagavad Gita is another Smriti that promotes caste system and discrimination.

Caste and caste duties in Bhagavad Gita

There is ample justification in the Bhagavad Gita alone to maintain caste divisions & oppression.

“I created mankind in four classes, different in their qualities and actions; though unchanging, I am the agent of this, the actor who never acts!” (Bhagavad Gita 4:13)

Verse 4:13 within the Bhagavad Gita shows that mankind is established into four classes (varnas). This means that castes which have been created are not changeable because they are set when people are created. You are born with a caste and die in the same caste.

Rahul Bhalerao in his article ‘What is wrong with Bhagavad Gita?’ mentions, “while one can make a hundred attempts at justifying that Caste as per the Gita is based on Karma alone and it is only meant for the good of society, but it would be a grave mistake to ignore the practical nature of Caste, which is based solely on birth for thousands of years, along with fixity of professions, disallowing of inter-dining and inter-marriages.”

Rahul further notes that the fact that birth-based caste system existed at the time of Gita is evident within the Gita itself!

“For finding refuge in Me, even those who though are born of the womb of sin, women, Vaishyas, and Shudras too, reach the supreme goal.” (Bhagavad Gita 9:32)

Isn’t this an utter obscenity and contempt based on birth?

The strictness of caste responsibilities is mentioned clearly in verses 3:4 and 3:5 of Bhagavad Gita.

“A person can never achieve freedom from reactions to activities without first performing prescribed Vedic duties: neither can perfection be attained by renouncing them as well.” (Bhagavad Gita 3:4)

“No one exists for even an instant, without performing an action; however unwilling, every being is forced, to act by the qualities of nature.” (Bhagavad Gita 3:5)

This explains the absoluteness of the caste system and performing caste duties will be the highest priority in one’s activities. You live and die for maintaining and performing the Vedic duties. [Verse 3:5 is talking about ‘qualities of nature’, you should read verse 4:13 and verse 18:41 along with it to understand what qualities it is talking about, i.e. it relates to the activities assigned to different caste groups.] By creating such stringent order, the Bhagavad Gita reinforces the hierarchy of the caste system, which can’t be changed and caste rules of which should be followed at any cost.
Verses 18:41 to 18:48 shows the real picture of how society is divided into varnas and what obligations are assigned to each Varna. Bhagavad Gita says varna is fixed according to his innate, inborn, qualities. By linking innate qualities of different varnas Gita provides the philosophic basis to the theory of chaturvarna.

Let’s look at the verses 18:41 to 18:48

“O Arjuna, the activities of the brahmanas, kastriyas , vaisyas and sudras are clearly divided according to the qualities born of their own nature.” (Bhagavad Gita 18:41)

“The actions of a brahmana arising from his own nature are serenity, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honest, knowledge of the Vedas, wisdom and firm faith.“ (Bhagavad Gita 18:42)

“The actions of a ksatriya born of his own nature are heroism, exuberance, determination, resourcefulness, without trace of cowardice in battle, generosity and leadership.“ (Bhagavad Gita 18:43)

“The actions of a vaisya born of his own nature are agriculture, cow protection and trade; also the actions of a sudra born of his own nature consists in service to brahmana, ksatriyas and vaisyas.“ (Bhagavad Gita 18:44)

“Following each his own activity, a man achieves finally perfection; now hear how the performer of action prescribed according to nature attains perfection.“ (Bhagavad Gita 18:45)

“From whom is the existence of all living entities, by whom all this is pervaded; through worshipping Him, by one’s own actions prescribed according to nature a man achieves perfection.“ (Bhagavad Gita 18:46)

“It is better to engage in one’s own svadharma (occupation), even though one may perform it imperfectly than to accept another’s occupation and perform it perfectly. Duties prescribed according to one’s nature are never affected by sinful reactions.“ (Bhagavad Gita 18:47)

“One should not abandon duties born of one’s nature, even if one sees defects in them, O son of Kunti. Indeed, all endeavors are veiled by some evil, as fire is by smoke.“ (Bhagavad Gita 18:48)

Verses 18:41 to 18:48 of the Bhagavad Gita describe that every caste group has its specific activities (dharma), stresses that the dharma is set by birth and there is no chance of escaping! Don’t we see the same in the present caste-ridden society in India? “Own activity” means assigned caste duties, which set the different paths that people must take to achieve the same end goal, moksha but by setting out different paths it arranges people in the caste (varna) order.

The idea that different actions from each caste group are needed to achieve moksha further makes the differentiation clear that Bhagavad Gita propounds. Verse 18:45 make clear that focus should be on one’s “own activity” (specific caste duties of each caste group, see verses 18:41 to 18:48 for caste duties) only then one can achieve moksha. This verse doesn’t only sets out different caste groups but also comforts those at the lower end by making the promise that if they will follow the own activity (caste duties), they will be able to achieve moksha. Such verses from the Bhagavad Gita has done much harm to the society and have kept so-called lower castes in darkness.

Those who say, ‘oh, karma decides your varna or caste’, I have a question for them. How many Brahmins have you ever seen been degraded to untouchables’ status? You can look into the history books and answer if you can find any. An idiot son of Brahmin will always be considered worth more than a doctorate degree holder Dalit because Brahmins’ religious scriptures preach so.

Fear and sin as a weapon to ensure people fulfil caste duties

Further, Bhagavad Gita makes sure that people stick to their prescribed duties.

“It is far better to perform one’s svadharma (prescribed duties), even though faultily, than another’s duties perfectly. Destruction in the course of performing one’s own duty is better than engaging in another’s duties, for to follow another’s path is dangerous.” (Bhagavad Gita 3:35)

“The wise should not create doubt in the minds of ignorant people, who are attached to fruitive actions (follower of karma kand/ chaturvarna), by inducing them to stop work. Rather, by performing their duties in an enlightened manner, they should inspire the ignorant also to do their prescribed duties.” (Bhagavad Gita 3:26)

Throughout the history, so-called lower castes have risen against oppression and have rebelled against the caste system. The threat that so-called lower castes might pose in future is taken care of with such verses (3:26 and 3:35). Bhagavad Gita makes sure that one doesn’t rebel or encourage others to rise against the oppression and instructs to keep on following the prescribed caste duties.

Another support for the caste system in the Bhagavad Gita is the fact that its central point is that by focusing on one’s sacred duties, one can escape from the cycle of rebirth. Such a state is called moksha and can only be accomplished through satisfying one’s caste duties. The same notion is conveyed when Krishna explains to Arjuna to do what should be done in order to achieve the everlasting peace.

Krishna convinces Arjuna, in the Bhagavad Gita, to set aside his personal will, suppress emotions and perform his caste duties of a warrior. Verses 2:31 to 33 of the Bhagavad Gita should be looked into how Krishna forces Arjuna to undertake his caste duties, no matter Arjuna is no ready.

“Look to your own duty; do not tremble before it; nothing is better for a warrior than a battle of sacred duty.“ (Bhagavad-Gita 2:31)

“The doors of heaven open for warriors who rejoice to have a battle like this thrust on them by chance.“ (Bhagavad-Gita 2:32)

“If you fail to wage this war of sacred duty, you will abandon your own duty and fame only to gain evil.“ (Bhagavad-Gita 2:33)

The Bhagavad Gita verses, 3:35 and 2:31 to 33 not only force to fulfil one’s caste duties but also bring in ‘fear’ to help ensure that people follow their caste responsibilities and don’t oppose.

Such ideas of ‘fear’ are used at multiple places to reinforce that the caste duties of different varnas are followed accordingly. Verses 1:40 to 1:43 are even worse which state that varna-samkarna (mixture of varnas) leads to the destruction of the family and lead to hell.

“When the family is ruined, the timeless laws of family duty (dharma) perish; and when duty (dharma) is lost, chaos overwhelms the family.“ (Bhagavad Gita 1:40)

“In the overwhelming chaos, Krishna, women of the family are corrupted; and when women are corrupted, disorder is born in society.“ (Bhagavad Gita 1:41)

“This discord drags the violators and the family itself to hell; for ancestors fall when rites of offering rice and water lapse.“ (Bhagavad Gita 1:42)

“The sins of men who violate the family create disorder in society that undermines the constant laws of caste (varna) and family duty (dharma).“ (Bhagavad Gita 1:43)

Verses 1:40 to 1:43 use ‘fear’ to ensure caste strictness and that failure to appropriately fulfilling caste duties is sinful and creates havoc in the family and society. These verses attach sin to guilt and create the new definition of good and bad dharma (duties), forcing everyone to fulfil their assigned caste duties. Verse 1:43 states that ‘sins of men who violate the family create disorder in society’ hence focus is made on making sure that society as a whole obeys the rules of Varna/caste. As per the verses, indiscipline from a single person can create disorder in the society so the social pressure is mounted on the person who doesn’t follow the prescribed caste duties. Bhagavad Gita makes sure that maintaining the caste duties is the responsibility of everyone so that society can survive and avoid the catastrophe that would occur if caste duties are not followed. Further, this whole thing designs the rules for different castes and sets guidelines that everyone is required to follow the set caste duties.

Detachment to make easier to endure the pain of carrying out caste-duties

Verses 2:71, 3:19 and 12:12 of the Bhagavad Gita mention ‘detachment’ and ‘renunciation’ as the perfect way to execute caste responsibilities. One can see this notion of detachment when Krishna explains to Arjuna to fight the battle rather than be affected by his own feelings (see also, verses 2:31 to 2:33 mentioned above).

“When he [the virtuous person] renounces all desires and acts without craving, possessiveness, or individuality, he finds peace.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:71)

“Always perform with detachment any action you must do; performing action with detachment, one achieves supreme good.” (Bhagavad Gita 3:19)

“If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind.” (Bhagavad Gita 12:12)

Bhagavad Gita encourages people to detach themselves from feelings/sentiments as it makes much easier to endure the pain of carrying out caste-duties especially for the so-called lower castes as they are assigned the worst caste duties. The concept of detachment is devised to promote caste system by making each caste group to focus on their caste duties and to reduce the anger of so-called lower castes who are unhappy with the caste system.

Better Next Life

In the Bhagavad Gita, promises of attaining better next life if people would devote themselves to their caste duties (and punishment if they don’t) encourage so-called lower castes to endure suffering at the hands of oppressors. Verse 6:41 and 6:45 of the Bhagavad Gita states that a person will continue to suffer until he is reborn to a higher caste and only way to be reborn into a higher caste is to accept one’s caste responsibilities and accept suffering in the current life.

“Fallen in discipline, he reaches worlds made by his virtue, wherein he dwells for endless years, until he is reborn in a house of upright and noble men.” (Bhagavad Gita 6;41)

“The man of discipline, striving with effort, purified of his sins, perfected through many births, finds a higher way” (The Bhagavad Gita 6:45).

So, Bhagavad Gita through notion and hope of better next life provided so-called lower castes psychological support and purpose to undergo suffering in the present life. From these, we can easily see the way the Bhagavad Gita provides support for the caste system by giving spiritual aids that decreases the oppressiveness of the caste system in the present. It sets the position of higher castes above others and tries to give so-called lower castes, those who suffer caste oppression, optimism that if they will perform their caste duties in present life they will be capable of being reborn in a higher caste.

Equality in the Bhagavad Gita?

The famous verse which is mentioned by followers of Bhagavad Gita to proclaim that it promotes ‘equality’ is verse 5:18, which states,

“Learned men see with an equal eye, a scholarly and dignified priest, a cow, an elephant, a dog and even an outcaste scavenger.” (Bhagavad Gita 5:18)

This verse is as casteist as others and doesn’t promote social equality at all. The verse is talking in a spiritual sense and one might say that verse promotes spiritual equality but it doesn’t promote social equality. Verse might seem to promote that audience see everything evenly, which might seems like it markets the idea of egalitarian society, however, it does not imply that society should be egalitarian. In stating “and even an outcaste scavenger” the text places “outcaste scavenger” lower than priests and animals. Doesn’t it indicate to you the hierarchical caste order? It certainly does. Additionally, it is important to note that looking things with “equal eye” doesn’t mean ‘equal status’ or ‘equal rank’ in the varna.

It strengthens the caste system by downplaying the oppressiveness of the caste system as it makes so-called lower castes to believe that they are equivalent to the folks from the so-called upper castes, which was never the reality of caste-ridden society. So, even if Bhagavad Gita mentions ‘equality’, it only provides encouragement to the caste system.

Final words

These Satanic verses from the Bhagavad Gita cannot be ‘explained away’, you either agree or disagree with them and all those who try to explain these verses in any other way certainly are supporters of the caste system and are enjoying the fruit of caste system.

What other scholars have said about Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita is neither moral nor progressive; it is the antithesis of everything that is progressive and desirable in this world, and it indeed is the bible of bondage and slavery. It is anti-human rights and anti-human values. It is a sad day if Indians are still under the delusion that it is their salvation. The sooner we recognize the Gita for what it is, the better for India and the world. – V.R. Narla, author of ‘The truth about the Gita’

Following two quotes are taken from ‘Revolution and Counter-revolution in Ancient India’ (Vol 3 of the Writings and Speeches of Dr B. R. Ambedkar)

Hopkins speaks of the Bhagvat Gita as …an ill-assorted cabinet of primitive philosophical opinions.

Bohtlingk says, “The Gita contains by the side of many high and beautiful thoughts, not only a few weak points ; contradictions (which the commentators have tried to pass over as excusable), repetitions, exaggerations, absurdities and loathsome points.”

References –

Bhagavad Gita Verses are taken from the following sources –

Sacred Texts Interpreted: Religious Documents Explained by Carl Olson

The Bhagavad-Gita: Krishna’s Counsel in Time of War by Barbara Stoler Miller

Anthology of World Scriptures by Robert Van Voorst

http://www.bhagavad-gita.org

https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org