Basic HTML Version
Varnavyavastha is
scientific and rational. There is no nation
or society where people do not join the professions of teaching,
research, police, armed forces, farming, manufacturing, trade,
commerce, service, etc. Even the countries that pay lip service
to the so-called classless society have people engaged in these
professions. Such specialties are necessary because the human
society differs from that of other species in the sense that we
go through education and specialization.
Vedas and the Family:
Human society has a very special
institution called the family. Indians can be legitimately proud
of the fact that we have taught the whole world the relationships
that develop in a family structure, and of course, the origin of
this is in the Vedas. For example, the word
PitrIPita
in the
Vedas became Peter in Latin, Vater in German and Father in
English. The word
Matr/Mtita
traversed the similar journey to
become Mutter in German and Mother in English. So is true
with the words
Bhrc7tr
and
Svasr
that became Bruder and
Schwester in German and Brother and Sister in English. Can
this contribution of India be overemphasized? Can one imagine
what this world would be like if the concept of mother, father,
brother and sister was not taught by India to the humanity. Not
only the concept, we even gave them the corresponding words.
Of course, the Vedas go many steps further when they say
yatra
visvam bhavtyekam nTdam
(Yajurveda). That is, the world is
like a bird's nest. Today's world can come out of the conflicts,
wars and strife that it is torn into if it heeds the India's Vedic
message of
vasudhaiva kutumbakam —
the entire world is one
small family.
Needless to say, the Vedas can show light to the entire world
today. We see that today's western world has the institution of
family torn apart where the husband and wife live under
constant mistrust and the children are constantly under the
black clouds of fear and insecurity because the latter are often
afraid of the possibility that their parents may divorce each
20