Varna of China

November 12, 1994

Q: What varna is currently dominant in China?

The varna that is currently dominant in the Chinese society is the ks'attriyan varna, but it is in the process of fluctuation. There is the emergence of a vipran element in that society, and you will see over time this vipran element will be enhanced; it will grow in the Chinese society. But, at this time, there remains the dominance of the ks'attriyan varna.

Now, there has been some question regarding vaeshyan varna in the Chinese culture. There is vaeshyan influence within Chinese culture, but I would propose that this does not constitute a varna. Rather it constitutes an overlay of the values of western societies onto Chinese society. The Chinese people have great admiration for the west and so, due to that admiration, although there is not physical occupation, there is dominance of western culture on the Chinese society. There are also forces that have fought against this for many years in China.

Some of the people have fascination with the financial success of the west and want to bring that financial success into China. You see, these are a very industrious people who have a great history, a great heritage, from which they have acquired a sense of dignity and a sense of pride in themselves. They feel they want to be the very best at what they do, and this striving for excellence leads them to want the success of the western countries, and for some of the people, this means to imitate those western approaches. But for other people, there is a strong reaction that this constitutes a loss of cultural identity. And in fact it does, because the Chinese people have themselves their own approach, their own development.

Now, to counter this capitalist imperialism, there was for many years an isolationist approach. This has now broken down and the people welcome western culture. But it is an overlay, not the prominent varna, not the prominent mentality of the people of that region. You will see that there is still, within the people, much fighting spirit, much value of the traditions of their culture and of their own ethnic autonomy. There are ks'attriyan values in that society: they value dignity, they value honor. There has been much ks'attriyan influence on the society, but there has been some emergence of a vipran culture. It is still secondary, but it is there. It exists and will become more prominent over time. This vaeshyan influence is due to this dynamic between western imperialism and the striving for excellence which is a cultural value in Chinese society. It is not the heartfelt tendency of the overall people. They want wealth, but they do not value it above all else. There is much value in the honor and the tradition of the society. There are ks'attriyan values remaining in that society. But you will see, in time, that spirituality and religion will be having a great renaissance in China. There will be more and more emphasis upon intellectual development and spiritual life in that culture. It is not a capitalist society, nor is it dominated by vaeshyan values - though they come into play.

You see, if one takes the world picture, there will be strong pressure to develop a vaeshyan culture in all countries. China is not alone. But those people are very industrious, they do not want to be second best to anyone. Their cultural pride is important, and they do not want to be second to anyone. But it is not their natural varna, nor their true tendency. There is pressure for this capitalist development all over the world, as there is growth in the dominance of the multinational corporate interests. These interests will attempt to go wherever there is financial incentive. And if this capitalist influence remained for some time, the varnas of many countries would change due to the power and influence of these institutions.

So you see, this is not a reflection of the varna of an area. Over time, this will change. But for now it is a dominating factor in the world picture. This capitalist, vaeshyan overlay will be seen in many, many places. It should not be confused with the basic varna of a local area. It is a kind of imperialistic overlay which will be, for many societies, only temporary. Given a crises and choice of the people as to how to deal with that crisis and what type of approach to take, you will find that each and every local area will then resort to their indigenous varna to resolve their problems. Not until and unless the imperialistic overlay is integrated into the core of the society, into the hearts of the people, will this take place. And I would propose that this great expansion of capitalism will not be so long-lived as to do this.