The Plot Thickens
1.40 With the destruction of dynasty, the eternal family tradition is destroyed too,
And the rest of the family becomes involved in immoral practices.
1.41 When immoral practices become common in the family, O Krishna,
the women of the family become corrupted,
And from the degradation of womanhood, O descendant of Varshni, arise social problems.
1.42 As these social problems
increase, the family and those who destroy the family tradition are cast in hell,
As these is no offering of food and water to their ancestors.
1.43 Due to the evil deeds of the destroyers of family tradition,
All kinds of rituals and practices of caste and family are devastated.
1.44 O Janardana, I have heard that those who destroy family traditions dwell always in hell.
By now, Arjuna had become desperate. His arguments seemed weak, even to him. And we might wonder if they were making any impression on Krishna at all. His next attempt was to broaden the argument to include the tragic impact this war would have on future generations and the entire Kuru race.
Arjuna starts quoting the scriptures of social laws to explain to Krishna the evil state his destructive actions would bring to future generations of the dynasty.
The destruction of a noble lineage would bring about the decline in commitment to the rites and rituals that make society civilized and moral.
Arjuna then elaborated upon these immoral and unrighteous acts.
He said that women in the family would become unchaste and that mixing with other castes would follow resulting in children of mixed castes, which would be
undesirable. Those who destroy family traditions would ruin all sacred practices and lead the families into polluted progeny, and such people had no place to go but hell.
To understand what Arjuna said, it is important to understand the origin of the caste tradition in Hindu religion.
At the age of five, a child was given to the care of a spiritual master by the parents in the ancient Hindu education system called gurukulam. The master became mother, father and teacher to the child. By living in close proximity to an enlightened master, the child's personality and expression was observed. These factors, along with any spiritual experiences before puberty, determined how the youngster was trained – either for sanyas (spiritual fulfillment) or for married life. The child's natural aptitudes formed the basis for the caste classification, varnasrama. Brahmanas (priests/teachers), kshatriyas (kings/ warriors), vaisyas (merchants/tradesmen) and sudras (agricultural/ service) are these four classes.
Even at this level of understanding the truths expounded in the Gita are about personal transformation. Each verse of the Gita is a sutra, a technique that can work on your being and transform you.
The essence of Gita is about the present moment. That is how Krishna brings Arjuna into awareness. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to say that Gita is tagi, a corruption of the word 'tyag' that meant renunciation or surrender. Gita is about surrendering the past and the future to the present.
The Vedic gurukulam system was not concerned with whether the child's parents were brahmana or vaisya. If the