Vedic Perspective
Editorial Commentary
10-22-87

  When Prabhupada came to America in 1965 to establish this Hare Krishna
movement, his idea was to create and train up a class of men known as
brahmanas.  The idea is that in every civilization, there must be an
intelligent class of men who are able to guide society toward the ultimate
goal of advancing toward understanding who is God.  Without that goal in
mind, there is no possibility for peace and happiness.
  In India, that caste system is already there, but that caste system has
also become corrupted.
  There are the first-class men known as brahmanas who are expert in
religious ideas and they guide the whole society in understanding God.  But
today, there are no such brahmanas and no such caste system only a class of
men known as dvija-bandhus.
  A dvija-bandhu is a person who should be a brahmana but he is not actually
qualified to be a brahmana first-class man.  The word "dvija" means twice-
born.
  In the Christian faith this term is used, "born again" and the term
"dvija" is similar.  So what is meant by being "born again"?  That means
that a person takes his first birth from mother and father, but that second
birth means somehow or other coming to the understanding that I am not
really this body that comes from mother and father, but I am spirit soul,
and that God is actually my real father.  When one understands this, that is
known as being "dvija" or being born again.
  That is the idea behind a brahmana.  The brahmana is a dvija because he
knows all about the idea that he is spirit and has nothing to do with this
body made of flesh and bones.  So the idea of "dvija-bandhu" means that a
person should be a brahmana, but instead of being a brahmana, he is only a
"bandhu" or a "friend" of a dvija.  A "dvija-bandhu" means a person who is
not qualified to be a brahmana or a first-class man.
  There are no brahmanas in these Western countries, only dvija-bandhus.
That is what is lacking in the Western world, a class of men who are
knowledgeable about how to understand God.  But people are maintaining the
civilization simply by economical factors and those people who should be
brahmanas like highly intelligent persons, they are not interested in God,
but they are interested in scientific theories.
  I got one letter from a college student yesterday.  I was trying to
advertise about this Hare Krishna movement which is opposed to the atheistic
idea of life coming from chemicals.  She wrote me one letter:  "Dear Sir, I
am a biology major in college and it is true that our bodies are made up of
only chemicals.  I know that it sounds terrible, but it is true.  Our
chemical balance is mainly composed of water, carbon monoxide, amino acids,
carbohydrates, etc.  So if you really think that it is so terrible then
think about what we all turn into after death; gas, and such chemicals that
either evaporate or just decay away.  I personally had a very hard time
believing that if you went to a store we're worth about $5 or $6 if you were
to buy the major chemicals that make up our bodies."
  That is what is being taught today in schools that the human being is
simply a chemical combination.  There is no knowledge there but this is due
to the lack of the brahmana who knows about the science of Krishna
consciousness.  The science wants to eliminate death ultimately and by so
doing, make eternal life possible here on earth.  I wondered if man could
actually live in peace with his fellow man for eternity here on earth
in my advertisement and so the student continued:  "In answer to
the question about curing man's inhumanity to each other there are two
choices for you, alcohol and the female species which is the only cure for
all man's problems."
  It seems that without a class of brahmanas, the only solution for society
is alcohol and women, but those are the solutions for the shudra class of
people only.  But when people have no interest in the Vedic culture of
Bhagavad-gita, then the culture of brahmanas is not possible.

--Vaishnava dasa