In plain words
Just as they separated out all the ṛks and called them the Ṛgveda, separated out the yajus and called it the Yajurveda, and separated out the sāman and called it the Sāmaveda, in the same way they went on forming these groups on the basis of tamoguṇa, of rajoguṇa and of the sāttvic. In truth, are the sāmans different from the ṛks? Are they higher? In the Sāma, in the Yajus and in the Atharvaṇa alike, these same ṛk mantras are found, all equally. In this, what matters is purity of feeling, not outer purity. What matters are the guṇas; places and castes are not what matters. Actions are what matter, not secrets. That is why no one can decide that, in this sacred way formed by guṇa and karma, one is low and another high.
Who offer up the body for the sake of the land and shine, O kings of kings!
All who give up their life and their body for the sake of this country are kṣatriyas! The protection of the country is the protection of the body! Why? ‘Mother and motherland …’: just as one's mother and one's motherland are so important, so one's country and one's body are just as much a support. They are like an object and its reflection. Protecting the country is protecting one's own body. One who, with such feelings, offered up his body for the protection of the country was called a kṣatriya. Anyone can make this sacred sacrifice.
Who give food by the work of tilling the soil and live in happiness, O śūdras!
Food is vital for every human being. If this food were not produced, the world itself would perish. So we must understand that the inner meaning of this division by guṇa and karma is that each one goes on carrying out his own duty. It is only because we could not spread such true and sacred principles in the right way that today the country, through these hatreds of caste and creed, stands ready to destroy humanity.