शमो दमस्तपः शौचं क्षान्तिरार्जवमेव च ।
ज्ञानं विज्ञानमास्तिक्यं ब्रह्मकर्म स्वभावजम् ॥ १८.४२ ॥

śamo damas-tapa: śaucam kṣāntir-ārjavam-eva ca |
jñānam vijñānam-āstikyam brahma-karma svabhāvajam || 18.42 ||

Characteristics of brāhmaṇas

Brāhmaṇas denote the religious and wisdom-oriented people. Kṣatriyas are those imbued with valour, heroism and administrative skill to check and balance individual and social behaviour. Vaiśyas and śūdras – the other two categories – are more mundane and self-centred in their ways. Krishna describes in detail the mental constitutions of these four, identifying each with specific kind of external activities and relevance.

Mental discipline, sensory control, austerity, purity, forbearance, straight-forwardness, knowledge, realization of such knowledge, and unflinching faith in tradition – these constitute the nature and activities of a brāhmaṇa.

Śamaḥ is mental discipline. It verily results from purity of the mind, characterized by desirelessness. Desire is what drives one to selfish activities and sensual enjoyment. A brāhmaṇa does not like to indulge in such desireful propensities. His attention will be to keep the mind free of the hold of desires and thereby derive delight and fulfillment from his own inmost Self. This tendency is ingrained in him. He thinks, speaks and acts accordingly.

Damaḥ signifies sensory discipline and control, in the absence of which, śamaḥ will not have the desired effect of enrichment. It is senses that interact with the objects of the world, forging imprints in the mind, giving rise to desire and greed. Krishna is emphasizing that brāhmaṇas should examine themselves to ascertain whether the required measure of desirelessness and sensory control is in them. If not, they should mend matters and bring sufficient correction and refinement. Pronouncements of this nature are always a revelation on the one hand and a compulsion on the other, for improvement and sublimation.

Śoucam means internal and external purity. A brāhmaṇa has to be pure in habits and practices. He must keep his body clean by taking bath and wearing clean clothes. He has to keep his residence clean, by sweeping, wiping, etc. regularly. He must equally keep his mind clean by removing stealth, false ego and other negative tendencies.

Kṣānti means forbearance and forgivingness. Both these are qualities of the mind and heart. In tune with his life of calmness, patience and inner attunement, the brāhmaṇa has to endure and tolerate the stark anomalies and vagaries of the world, much more stoically than others, by recognizing that everything has a place in the vast world.

The society is always a wide mixture of multiple traits and tendencies. Variety and incongruities contribute to the grandeur of the world. This means a brāhmaṇa has to embody an abundant measure of receptivity and assimilation. The respect a brāhmaṇa commands in society is for this personal quality of endurance and enlightenment, not for any external treasure he may possess.

For anyone, life in this world will imply a variety of vicissitudes, adversities and confrontations. The brāhmaṇa, being a part of the society, will also naturally be subjected to this fate. He should display his readiness and strength to accept these without agitation, assimilate them with enrichment, and in the process bring about a correction or improvement around. Between the inner and outer glories, the brāhmaṇa must know that the inner are far superior and un-decaying.

Ārjava denotes straightforwardness, a rare behavioural and interactional quality. It consists in abandoning stealth, concealment or distortion. In his thoughts, words and deeds alike, ārjava must guide the brāhmaṇa. In fact, human greatness is in smoothly aligning one’s outer expression with inner personality.

The brāhmaṇa must always speak whatever is factual – about him or others. To do so is to avoid undue tensions, concoctions and unjust defences. Ārjava is greatly extolled in spiritual pursuit and parlance. To be straightforward needs no special preparation. However, not to be so, calls for much scheming and planning, all of which will only agitate and destabilize the mind.

Brāhmaṇa’s life is given to the pursuit of wisdom, in its fullness. Thus, he is initiated into literacy in his early childhood. From then on, his life is devoted to gaining wisdom to enrich himself and disseminating it for the benefit of the society.

The wisdom he acquires cannot be merely objective. It has to be comprehensive, and therefore include the “Subject” part as well. Subject wisdom, the wisdom of the Soul, is more important. Thus, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and allied Texts become supremely important for the brāhmaṇa. It is brāhmaṇas, who have primarily learnt and preserved our great spiritual treasure, through their austere and dedicated life, although the wisdom treasure as such has always been equally available to others!

Āstikya is the last quality Krishna lists. This refers to the unflinching faith the brāhmaṇa has in śāstras, in God and all allied matters. Faith is a quality of the heart, while reason of the intelligence. To understand everything in terms of rationality will take time. It may prove laborious, time-consuming. What rationality may take decades to reach and master, faith accomplishes expeditiously. Unswerving faith in the supreme Reality, Nature and the Soul, empowers the brāhmaṇa to face any hardship, trial and test.

All these qualities, Krishna says, are natural to the brāhmaṇa. In other words, only those given to or possessing these qualities are brāhmaṇas.

Any society will and must have some people of this kind. Their percentage will not be high; need not be, either. They are like the head in the body. Unless some such knowledge-oriented individuals are there, the society will lose its inner balance and cohesion, and will not be able to march forward with confidence and hope.

A brāhmaṇa by birth may or may not always have the qualities described by Krishna. But the qualities are what always matter. One born elsewhere, if found to possess these qualities, becomes a brāhmaṇa. Conversely, one born as a brāhmaṇa, if found lacking these qualities, will have to be deemed as otherwise. Whether people follow this dictum or not, the truth remains intact. These enunciations are, however, meant for everyone to examine himself and act accordingly.