Srimate Ramanujaye Namaha!
Swami i post below a relevant verse from Bhagavat Geeta text 4.13.
cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ
guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ
tasya kartāram api māṁ
viddhy akartāram avyayam
Translation
According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the nondoer, being unchangeable.
Here Krishna explains that the catur varna division is based on one’s guna and work. Brahmana is one who is predominantly in sattva guna, Kshatriya is mixture of Sattva and Rajas. Vaishaya- rajas and tamas and Sudra predominantly in tamas.
So depending on this nature they will choose a certain karma or occupation.
How doe some get the qualities of saatva , rajas and tamas?
1.By genes by birth as the sattva, rajas and tamas form parents and ancestors are transmitted to the child.
2.The next factor is what type of environment the child grows.
3. Third factor is how much effort does the individual take on his own to move to higher gunas.
4. Finally if one has association of saintly persons, then by following their instructions, one can raise above the modes of nature.
So theoretically speaking one cannot assign a varna to a person purely on birth based on factor 1 and 2 alone. There is scope for change via factor 3 and 4. But rule 3 and 4 applies to very very small minority so for all general cases rule 1 and 2 is being used for varna classification.
So coming to the question on how to identify one’s varna is by identifying one’s predominant mode of nature and what proportion one is in sattva, rajas and tamas and then make a choice. Chapter 14 of Bhagavat geeta gives examples which can help us evaluate. But usually it is best done by a superior who knows us well.
Adiyen
