154
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 6, Ch. 3]
yo nāmabhir vāci janaṁ nijāyāṁ badhnāti tantryām iva dāmabhir gāḥ yasmai baliṁ ta ime nāma-karma- nibandha-baddhāś cakitā vahanti
yaḥ —He who;  nāmabhiḥ —by different names;  vāci —to the Vedic language;  janaṁ —all people;  nijāyāṁ —which has emanated from Himself;  badhnāti —binds;  tantryām —to a rope;  iva —like;  dāmabhiḥ —by cords;  gāḥ —bulls;  yasmai —unto whom;  baliṁ —a small presentation of taxes;  te —all of them;  ime —these;  nāma-karma —of names and different activities;  nibandha —by the obligations;  baddhāḥ —bound;  cakitāḥ —being fearful;  vahanti —carry.
TRANSLATION
Just as the driver of a bullock cart ties ropes through the nostrils of his bulls to control them, the Supreme Personality of Godhead binds all men through the ropes of His words in the Vedas, which set forth the names and activities of the distinct orders of human society [brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra]. In fear, the members of these orders all worship the Supreme Lord by offering Him presentations according to their respective activities.
PURPORT
In this material world, everyone is conditioned, regardless of who he is. One may be a human being, a demigod or an animal, tree or plant, but everything is controlled by the laws of nature, and behind this natural control is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed by  Bhagavad-gītā  (9.10), wherein Kṛṣṇa says,  mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram : “The material nature is working under My direction and producing all moving and nonmoving beings.” Thus Kṛṣṇa is behind the natural machine, which works under His control.
Apart from other living entities, the living being in the human form of body is systematically controlled by the Vedic injunctions in terms of the divisions of  varṇa  and  āśrama . A human being is expected to follow the rules and regulations of  varṇa  and  āśrama ; otherwise he cannot