CHAPTER 9, TEXT 32: O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth – women, vaiśyas [merchants] and śūdras [workers] – can attain the supreme destination.
Let's be honest. If the CEO of any company made this statement today (substituting out "Me" for God, of course), he or she would probably be fired and his or her career and standing in society would come crashing down in smoldering ruins.
Why?
Krishna states here that women, merchants, and workers are of lower birth.
This implies that men and, let's say, world leaders, are of a higher birth.
Note the term "birth", which implies that if someone is born a certain way, there is nothing that can be done about it - no amount of surgeries or education degrees or work experience can change the manner in which one is born. A woman is a woman. A worker is a worker. One could argue that this kind of reasoning breeds discrimination and permits persecution and abuse in the name of religion.
This verse (and others) are often cited as quite controversial, verses and commentaries that sometimes break people's faith in the Bhagavad-gita, the path of bhakti, and maybe even spiritual life.
Of course, Jefferson is now criticized as a white man of privilege who had slaves and excluded women from this famous statement. On a material level, Jefferson (and most of the other founding fathers) was a hypocrite.
So now we still have a problem - even people who espouse liberty, equality, and justice for all don't actually live those principles.
Let's return to the drawing board then, and see where we have gone amiss in our interpretation of this Gita verse. Here is the problem: the phrase "lower birth" is all that is focused on. The truth is that this verse is stating something closer to what Jefferson himself meant in the deepest way: we are all truly created equal.
No material designation, whether that is a body or an occupation, can keep us from our divine nature and our divine purpose in this world. Prabhupad writes, "It is clearly declared here by the Supreme Lord that in devotional service there is no distinction between the lower and higher classes of people." All that would be focused on if the CEO made this statement would be that he had classified women and workers as a lower birth, but not the essence of the verse, which is that anyone can participate in spiritual life, regardless of birth and class.
The bigger thing to accept, then, is that there *are* classes of men and women in this world. This is the reality. There have always been classes in society, there always will be classes in society. This is just the nature of the material world. Prabhupad continues, "In the material conception of life there are such divisions, but for a person engaged in transcendental devotional service to the Lord there are not." This distinction is crucial. If we are engaged in transcendental service, these divisions become irrelevant. But if one switches into a material conception of life, then yes, suddenly these distinctions and classes of birth become important, almost overpowering.
For example, men and women have separate competitions in the Olympics. This is understandable, considering the obvious physiological differences between a man's body and a woman's body.
But - men and women also have separate competitions for chess.
Chess?
How can this be?
Being good at chess is a strong indicator of a high IQ (thechessworld.com), so if there is a separate championship for women, this means that on average, even the intellects of men outperform the intellects of women. This is simply the reality. Being stronger and also more intelligent is a sign of a "higher birth."
But Krishna is saying here that none of those considerations of lower and higher birth matter when it comes to love and devotion.
Prabhupad emphasizes, "[D]evotional service and the guidance of a pure devotee are so strong that there is no discrimination between the lower and higher classes of men; anyone can take to it." This is true equality. We all hunger to be treated as equals in life and in love. This is why the founding fathers laid down equality as a principle for the United States to be built upon - our soul hungers to be recognized for who we are, not just for some material condition. But the Declaration of Independence is a material document.
The Gita is spiritual document. Contrary to how this verse is misinterpreted, the Gita is meant to lift us out of these cages of designations that trap us into discrimination, hatred, and persecution. Krishna is saying here that actually, none of these designations matter when there is love and devotion to God.
More important than the reality that there are higher and lower births in this world is the reality that we are all spirit souls and all spirit souls are equal. When I operate from that level, I see the truth that I am just as eligible as any man, as any world leader, as anyone more beautiful or more intelligent or wealthier than me. I am a spirit soul, capable of offering my love and my heart to God with purity and devotion. That is within my power, that is within the power of every human being on this planet, that is an inalienable right within each and every one of us. No one can take away the right to love. I believe that this divine truth is what the founding fathers of America were aiming for when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. This is the truth that God himself is emphasizing in the Gita.
So I'll just accept right now that as a woman, according to the Gita, I've been born into a "lower birth."
Yep. Last I checked, I still love myself. I'm just accepting the reality of my birth.
Being born a woman does not stop me from learning to love. I am a spirit soul, capable of opening my heart to God and attaining the "highest perfection of life."
I trust that that is the message of the Gita, that is the message of Srila Prabhupad, that is the message of any genuine spiritual path.
Full purport here: https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/9/32/
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