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THE
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ON EARTH
"...shall the
God of
heaven set up a
kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom
shall not be left to other people,..."
(Daniel 2:44)
Tablet One
The Five Classes
After
the Flood of Noah
<1>After the flood of Noah, humans were
divided into five different types (read Genesis in
The
Holiest Book,
chapters 9-11). They are symbolized by the three sons of Noah:
Ham,
Japheth, and
Shem. <2>Ham
is the symbol of the father of those who have characteristics of
laborers (Shudras,
symbolized by Canaan)
and also those with characteristics of warriors or courageous ones (Ksattriyas,
symbolized by
Nimrod). <3>Japheth
is the symbol for those who have intellectual (Vipran)
and business (Vaeshyan)
abilities.
<4>Shem is the
symbol of those with true spiritual characteristics (Brahmins)
or great seers. That is why
Abram (Abraham)
came from this generation.
<5>Each of these types have special
characteristics which distinguish them from others. Their
characteristics in brief are explained below:
Shudras:
<6>They are mainly interested in day-to-day life
activities. They strive to satisfy their basic physiological and
safety needs. Their interests usually remain on this level.
<7>As long as these basic needs are met, they have no
further ambitions. They form the labor force in society.
Ksattriyas:
<8>They struggle to conquer their environment by physical
might. Their main objective is to overcome their enemies and
obstacles through their strength. <9>They are courageous
and protective toward the weak, especially of their subjects.
They respect honor, discipline, and strength. They are pioneers,
conquerors, emperors of the past, the chiefs of the tribes, and
firefighters, and are involved in any other areas that need leadership.
Vipras:
<10>They try to understand the laws governing the society
and manifested universe through their
intellect. Their
struggle is more inside rather than outside themselves. Through
this inside struggle they create strong minds and penetrate the
realities of the external world. <11>They are responsible
for discoveries which help human civilization advance
(physically and mentally) and also for much of its degeneration
and spiritual superstitions.
Vaeshyas:
<12>They can best be described as intellectuals who
direct their
intellect toward
economic developments. They are the businessmen. <13>They
are merely interested in accumulation of physical wealth, and
then use this wealth for control and distribution of the
resources.
Brahmins:
<14>They are the ones who are mostly interested in
understanding the Laws of the spirit behind all things (Daharmas).
They try to understand the relationships between the individual
and universe,
God and man, and the
Laws governing these relationships.
<15>Each individual might have more than one
characteristic of each class. That is, an intellectual person might
also have Ksattriyan qualities, or a Brahmin can have Vipran and
Shudran qualities. Therefore, there is no clear definite border
between the different classes. <16>However, usually a
dominating characteristic of one of the classes is present which the
man identifies himself with most. That dominating
characteristic represents the class to which that person
belongs.
<17>Also it is possible to create qualities
of one class if a person desires to do so. However, it is very
difficult if that is not the person's basic character. <18>It
is easier to do if the environment supports such a change, and in
that case a person can adopt the new character with some effort.
<19>Apparently the era of
Shudras started a long
time before the flood of Noah. It began from the time man was sent
out from the Garden of
Eden, "to till the
ground..." (Gen. 3:23). <20>This era (which was a long time
ago) was to end after the flood of Noah as his father (Lamech)
foretold, "And he [Lamech] called his name Noah, saying, This same
shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands,..."
(Gen. 5:29).
<21>It was after the flood of Noah that the
domination of the Ksattriyan class (kings, as understood by humanity
after the flood) started. This is symbolized by the appearance of
Nimrod, who "began to be a mighty one in the earth" (Gen. 10:8).
"He was a mighty hunter before the Lord," (Gen. 10:9) and "the
beginning of his kingdom was
Babel,..." (Gen. 10:10).
Therefore,
Nimrod was the first
Ksattriya who became a great king with a kingdom. This happened
after the flood of Noah and he was from the generation of
Ham.
<22>This Ksattriyan era continued all through
the Old Testament until the time of King Nebuchadnezzar of the
Chaldean Empire. It was after this king that the qualities and
characteristics of the
Ksattriyas started
to decline.
<23>The decline of this era and the coming of the era of
intellectuals is demonstrated through the dreams and visions in the
book of Daniel (for more detail read
Commentaries on
Prophecies in Daniel, Period of Intellectual Domination).
<24>In the book of
Daniel, it is
predicted that four kingdoms will arise, one after another, which
will successively decline in fine qualities. The fourth kingdom is
symbolized as iron (as compared to gold for the first) and from this
kingdom a little horn will appear which will gain domination over
all things. <25>As it was described in the commentaries on
Daniel, the Ksattriyan era declined steadily after King
Nebuchadnezzar and intellectual domination increased until the end
of the Grecian Empire during the Roman Empire, and even later, until
it reached its maturity and zenith with the Renaissance. <26>Then
with the Industrial Revolution, the period of domination of the
Vaeshyas started and
continues to the present age.
<27>Also if we accept
Vaeshyas as
intellectuals, then the era of intellectuals started during the
Grecian Empire with great philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, and
Socrates, and has continued until today.
<28>The true
Brahmins
never gained any dominating positions in society because they never
were interested in things of this world. <29>However, the
intellectual spiritualists, those who intellectualized the
religions and Scriptures and created binding doctrines to exploit
the masses, gained a great control over people. These
intellectual spiritualists
can also be viewed as part of the intellectual era. The very loud
example of this is the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in
medieval times in Europe.
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