Desire, A Brief Essay on Kama: Part Two
The evolution of Dharma (Inner Nature) happens in a progression of stages. Those stages are called Varnas and their number is four. We will not be examining The Varnas from the aspect of social status, but from the stand point of spiritual growth & development. I do not believe in a caste system of social hierarchy. These are without doubt, man-made constructs of elitism and thus have no place in Theosophical Philosophy as it goes against the doctrine of Universal Fraternity. The four Varnas (classes) are as follows and they should be viewed the same as the progression through high school or college (i.e. Freshman, Sophmore, Junior & Senior).
Shudra (Tamas / Inertia)
Attribute of Growth: Discipline (through obedience)
Vaishya (Tamas & Rajas / Inertia & Passion)
Attribute of Growth: Justice (through fair dealing)
Kshatriya (Rajas / Passion)
Attribute of Growth: Selflessness (through sacrifice & leadership)
Brahmana ( Sattva/ Purity & Equilibrium)
Attribute of Growth: Unity (through universal compassion & dispelling of illusion to achieve wisdom & release from misery )
This narration will consist of three characters, myself being one of them. Try to place each character in the proper Varna, based upon the information presented.
Alex was first brought to my attention by a fellow bartender, as these incidences took place within a restaurant. The bartender that introduced us, we shall call him George. George was in the same age range as Alex. I was the lead bartender, and I trained George as a bartender to assist me. George had a crush on Alex, as she was an attractive woman. Alex had a boyfriend...and a sugar daddy to boot. This seems to be common practice with women today. It has been called "Alpha Fucks & Beta Bucks."
The first thing I began to notice about Alex, was that she constantly referred to everyone as her 'best friend.' I do mean everyone. She was one of those 'social butterflies,' a perpetual attention seeker.
One day, I yelled at her about something, and made her cry...which was fairly constant. She asked me, "Why don't I like her? Everyone likes her except me." She further accused me of hating her.
Now I am pretty exacting in conversation, and I explained to her, "I don't hate anyone, but I do think you are a fake person." I explained my rationale around her 'best friend' behavior.
So the way my brain work is I keep a mental dossier on everyone within my relational proximity...intuitive, thinking, & judging. So in her file I added: Fake & Emotionally Manipulative.
Some time later she bought herself a new car, a Mercedes of some sort. She was so happy about it. I asked her "Why did you get such an expensive car?"
She replied confidently, and with no hesitation, "Because I am an expensive girl."
That made me smile and laugh, I replied "Its good that you know that." Add into her dossier “Impractical, Expensive & High Maintenance.
There came a situation where I helped her and another girl out with an apartment they were trying to rent. They came to see me as a hero of sorts...that gave assistance where no one else would...call it compassion.
At some later point Alex was "on break" from her boyfriend. George asked me what I thought about her ‘dating wise.’ I said, "You should stay away from her...she is too much woman for you to handle. An attention seeking woman is the worst type of woman you can get emotionally involved with."
About a month later Alex made George tell me they were dating. She later asked my opinion about the two of them. I initially refused to answer. After much pestering, I got tired of her bothering me about it, and I said flatly, "It's not going to work." Pulling punches is not my thing. I am ‘straight shooter’ so to speak.
A bit flustered by my response, she asked “Why?”
I reminded her about the car she bought. How she said, "I am an expensive girl."
I further asked, "Is George a rich man? He will never be able to give you the life you want, and thus you will never be truly happy with him. It is a waste of time. You are probably the prettiest girl George has ever slept with, and you are just using him. He is basically a throw away dick for you, and you are just playing with him because you can."
She replied, "I told him not to fall in love with me."
I then said, "Well that's twice he was warned."
She asked surprisingly, "What do you mean?"
I returned, "I told him your not girlfriend material."
This cycle would go on for her, because it is her nature.
Much later after George had left our work place, I flat out told her, "You need to stop fucking people in restaurants if you want to be a trophy wife...that type of man does not work in a restaurant. Your dating value diminishes with every nothing relationship you involve yourself in."
Now that is pretty solid advice, given her situation. Did she listen...of course not.
I had to stop being her friend, put some distance between us, whatever you want to call it. As an empathic person, emotionally connected to a friend, I was on her emotional roller coaster with her…she never took that into consideration. Finally I had enough of the drama, and realized she wasn't going to change because she couldn't change. That's who she is. That’s what Dharma is essentially about. Kama fundamentally can be viewed as Instinct…it is not Rational whatsoever. Kama is a Force that plays upon Dharma or “Inner Nature”.
The two younger people in this narration could be classified as Shudra or Vaishya but not above.
George, in my opinion leans toward Shudra because of his simplicity…his ignorance to warning, his lack of obedience to wise council. Both Alex and I warned against his desire but he failed to listen…naive. Kama compelled him to make an irrational decision, after being twice warned. As the saying goes, “The heart wants what the heart wants.” The heart is not very wise, that’s why we have a brain…and coincidentally it rests higher in the human form than the heart.
Alex on the other hand leans more toward Vaishya. She exhibits ignorance & passion, but she was in charge, the most powerful one in their brief relationship. She knew this very well as most women do. She knew also that he was smitten by her, as she was accustomed to. She knew what I said about them was true. Her dealings with George were not fair because she manipulated him and used him. A Vaishya who has unfair dealings with others is known in the modern day as con-man…a thief, a criminal. Kama compelled her to use George in order to make herself feel better…an escape from being lonely. Loneliness is absolute hell for an attention craving person. Don’t ever forget that gentlemen and ladies. Certain attributes you will find, tend to associate in groups. A person lacking integrity, is most certainly a liar & a coward.
Now we come to me. I exhibit the attributes of Kshatriya & Brahmana, but I am Kshatriya evolving toward Brahmana. I can not be a Brahmana proper because Alex’s behavior affected me…this does not happen for a Brahmana. A Brahmana allows nothing to affect his equilibrium; therefore, I must rest still in Kshatriya. While I do exercise wisdom, one of the fundamental functions of this varna is protection. By telling both Alex and George the truth, I was trying to protect them. The fact that I was also trying to teach them about their own nature demonstrates attributes of Brahmana, which is a teacher. Kama compelled me to advise, help and teach those lacking in wisdom.
I hope this little recollection of my memory has helped to clarify the relationship between Dharma & Kama. In summary you could put it all together with Karma (Fruitive Action) in this way:
Kama (A Force) + Dharma (A Nature) = Karma (Fruitive Action)
Desire plays upon Inner Nature to produce Fruitive Actions.
“To get rid of Kama, you must crush out all your material instincts––’crush out matter.’ But at the same time you must remember that Kama, while having as part of it bad passions and emotions, animal instincts, yet helps you to evolve, by giving also the desire and impulse necessary for rising. For in Kama-Prana are the physical elements which impel to growth both physically and psychically, and without these energetic and turbulent elements progress could not be made. . . . Hence the student must learn to dominate and purify Kama, until only its energy is left as a motor power, and that energy directed wholly by the Manasic Will.”
Theosophy Wiki (On The Purification of Kama)
In closing, remember that Kama is neither good nor bad, it is merely a force. How Dharma utilizes Kama is what determines good or bad action…this field of action is called Karma. Moksha is liberation or release from “Material Nature,” or “Prakriti.” Moksha is the end goal of the four stage Varna Model. Only a Brahmana is eligible for Moksha. Divorce from Fruitive Action or Karma is the only way to achieve Moksha.