Prabhupāda: These Muhammadans, they pronounce "s" as "h." "Hindus," "Hindus." Instead of "Sindhus," they made it "Hindus." So Hindu is a term which is not found in the Sanskrit dictionary.
Prof. Kotovsky: Yes.
Prabhupāda: But it has come into use. Real, I mean to say, cultural institution is called varṇāśrama, four varṇas and four āśramas: brāhmaṇa, kṣatri, vaiśya, śūdra—these four varṇas—and brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. So according to Vedic concept of life, unless people take to this system or institution, institute of varṇa and āśrama, four varṇas and four āśramas, actually he does not become a civilized human being.
This . . . one has to take this process, four divisions of varṇas and four . . . four division of social order and four divisions of spiritual order. That is called varṇāśrama. So India's culture is based on these four . . . eight system, varṇa and āśrama.
Prof. Kotovsky: Varnāśrama.
Prabhupāda: Varṇa, varṇāśrama. And in the Bhagavad-gītā—perhaps you have read Bhagavad-gītā—there is also the statement, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ (BG 4.13). It is . . . this system is created originally by Viṣṇu.
(break) So as everything is creation of the Supreme, they cannot be changed. That is prevalent everywhere, that a . . . sun. Sun is creation of the Supreme. So sunshine is here in America, in Russia, in India—everywhere. Similarly, this varṇāśrama system is prevalent everywhere, in some form or other.
Just like the brahmins. The brahmins means the most intelligent class of men, brain, brain of the society. Then the kṣatriyas, the administrator class. Then the vaiśyas, the productive class, and the śūdras, the worker class. These four classes of men are everywhere present in different names.