196 THE SCIENCE OF SELF-REALIZATION

which in Sanskrit is called Sindhu. The Muhammadans pronounce sas h.
Instead of Sindhu, they made it Hindu. So ‘‘Hindu’’ is a term that is not
found in the Sanskrit dictionary, but it has come into use. But the real
cultural institution is called varndsrama. There are four varnas (social
divisions) —brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, and Stidra—and four ashrams
(spiritual divisions) —brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha, and sannydsa.
According to the Vedic concept of life, unless people take to this system
or institution of four varnas and four ashrams, actually they do not be-
come civilized human beings. One has to take this process of four divi-
sions of social orders and four divisions of spiritual orders; that is called
varnasrama. India’s culture is based on this age-old Vedic system.
Prof. Kotovsky: Varndsrama.

Srila Prabhupada: Varndsrama. And in the Bhagavad-gita—perhaps you
have read the Bhagavad-gita?

Prof. Kotovsky: Yes.

Srila Prabhupada: There, in the Bhagavad-gita [4.13], is the statement
cdatur-varnyam maya srstam: this system was created by Visnu [God]. So
since varndsrama is a creation of the Supreme, it cannot be changed. It is
prevalent everywhere. It is like the sun. The sun is a creation of the
Supreme. The sunshine is there in America, in Russia, and in India—
everywhere. Similarly, this varndsrama system is prevalent everywhere
in some form or another. Take, for example, the brdhmanas, the most in-
telligent class of men. They are the brains of the society. The ksatriyas are
the administrative class; then the vaisyas are the productive class, and the
Sudras are the worker class. These four classes of men are prevalent
everywhere under different names. Because it is created by the original
creator, so it is prevalent everywhere, varndsrama-dharma.

Prof. Kotovsky: It is interesting that in the opinion of some European
and old Russian scholars, this varndsrama system is a later creation, and
if you would read the old texts of Vedic literature, you would find a much
more simple and agrarian society. It is the opinion of these scholars that
the varndsrama system was introduced in Indian society in the late age of
the Vedic era but not from the beginning. And if you would analyze the
old texts, you would find that in the old classical India it was not so
prevalent.

Srila Prabhupada: As far as we are concerned, it is mentioned in the
Bhagavad-gita. Cdtur-varnyam maya srstam. The Bhagavad-gita was
spoken five thousand years ago, and in the Bhagavad-gitd it is said, ‘‘This
system of the Bhagavad-gita was spoken by Me to the sun-god.”’ So if you
take an estimation of that period, it comes to forty million years ago. Can
