Kṛṣṇa says that either on this planet or in other planets in the outer space, or anywhere, the three qualities or three modes of material nature is working—the modes of goodness, the modes of passion and the modes of ignorance. Everywhere you'll find these three classes of living entities. Not three classes, four classes—the first class, goodness; second class, passion; third class, mixed passion and ignorance; and fourth class, ignorance. And below the fourth class, all fifth class, pañcama.
So according to these three modes of material nature, there must be division of the society. The first-class men are called brāhmaṇa, most learned scholar. Learned scholar means, as I was explaining, one who has complete knowledge of God. That is learned scholar. Otherwise, to know how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sexual intercourse and how to defend, this, these knowledge is also there in the animals. They know how to eat. There is no need of university for teaching how to eat or how to sleep or how to have sex life or how to defend. These are animal necessities. But actually human being should be still more advanced in knowledge. That knowledge is not comprising only eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That knowledge is to understand the Absolute Truth, God. That knowledge.
Therefore the Vedānta-sūtra philosophy, that begins with the word athāto brahma jijñāsā. Now, this life, this human form of life, is meant for inquiring about the Absolute Truth. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Brahma means the Absolute Truth. So that should be the subject matter for studying in human form of life. So Bhagavad-gītā is the right book to understand about that Brahman, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or the Absolute Truth, whatever you call. The Absolute Truth is known in three phases: Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān.
- vadanti tat tattva-vidas
- tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
- brahmeti paramātmeti
- bhagavān iti śabdyate
- (SB 1.2.11)
The Absolute Truth is one, but it is realized from three angles of visions. Some of them are realizing the Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman, some of them are realizing the Absolute Truth as the localized Paramātmā, and some of them are realizing the Absolute Truth as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Absolute Truth is one, but because we are under different modes of material nature, we are understanding the Absolute Truth in three modes of material nature.
So Kṛṣṇa says that these three modes of material nature is current all over the universe, even in the topmost planet down to the lowest planet. Therefore he says, na tad asti pṛthivyāṁ vā divi deveṣu vā punaḥ. Pṛthivyām means on this earth, or in the other higher planetary system or even the heavenly planets. Everywhere. Sattvaṁ prakṛti-jair muktam. Nowhere anyone is free from the influence of these modes of material nature. Sattvam means existence. Sattvaṁ prakṛti-jaiḥ. Prakṛti-jaiḥ means by the material nature, guṇaiḥ, means the modes, this goodness, passion and ignorance. Yad ebhiḥ syāt tribhir guṇaiḥ.
Everything, everywhere, even amongst the plant life, beast life, there these three guṇas are working. Just like some trees, they're useless—neither produce any nice fruit nor flower. That is third class, in ignorance. And in animals also. Just like cows, they are first-class animal, in the modes of goodness, supplying so valuable, nutritious food, milk. But the cats and dogs, they are third-class animal. This is the calculation of the three modes of material nature. Either human being or animals or trees, birds, everywhere, Kṛṣṇa says, or in the higher planetary system, everywhere these three modes of material nature is working.
Therefore, in the human society, because there are three modes of material nature, the classification should be made scientifically, according to these three modes of material nature. And that is explained by Bhagavān, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in the Bhagavad-gītā, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam (BG 4.13), four classes of men: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. Brāhmaṇa means the most intelligent class of men who can understand even up to the knowledge of Brahman, brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇa. And the second class are the kṣatriyas, or the administrative class of men, and the third-class are the mercantile class of men, industrialists, traders, agriculturalists. Everything will be explained. And the fourth-class men means workers. They have no intelligence, but they find out some good master and get some money. That's all.