102
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 2]
ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam
ataḥ —so;  pumbhiḥ —by the human being;  dvija-śreṣṭhāḥ —O best among the twice-born;  varṇāśrama —institution of four castes and orders of life;  vibhāgaśaḥ —by the division of;  svanuṣṭhitasya  of one's own prescribed duties;  dharmasya —occupational;  saṁsiddhiḥ —highest perfection;  hari —the Personality of Godhead;  toṣaṇam —pleasing.
TRANSLATION
O best among the twiceborn, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve, by discharging his prescribed duties [dharma] according to caste divisions and order of life, is to please the Lord Hari.
PURPORT
Human society all over the world is divided into four castes and four orders of life. The four castes are the intelligent caste, the martial caste, the productive caste and the laborer caste. These castes are classified in terms of one's work and qualification, and not by birth. Then again there are four orders of life, namely the student life, the householder's life, the retired and the devotional life. In the best interest of human society there must be such divisions of life, otherwise no social institution can grow up in a healthy state. And in each and every one of the above-mentioned divisions of life,  the aim must be to please the supreme authority of the Personality of Godhead . This institutional function of human society is known as the system of  varṇāśrama-dharma , which is quite natural for the civilized life. The  varṇāśrama  institution is constructed to enable one to realize the Absolute Truth. It is not for artificial domination of one division over the other. When the aim of life, i.e., realization of the Absolute Truth, is missed by too much attachment for  indriya-prīti  or sense gratification, as it is already discussed hereinbefore, the institution of the  varṇāśrama  is utilized by selfish men to pose an artificial predominance over the weaker section. In the Kali-yuga, or in the age of quarrel, this artificial predominance is already current, but the saner section of the people know it well that the division of castes and orders of life are meant for smooth social intercourse and high thinking self-realization and not for any other purpose.