From the article by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura "Brahmana and

Vaishnava":

"In the Muktikopaniṣad there is a list of one hundred eight Upaniṣads, among which,
the thirty-eighth is named Vajra-sūcikopaniṣad. It is said that Śrī Śaṅkarācārya
became famous by composing an elaborate commentary on this Upaniṣad. In the Vajra-
sūcikopaniṣad it is stated:

yaj jñānād yānti munayo brāhmaṇyaṁ paramādbhūtam

tat trai-pada-brahma-tattvam aham asmīti cintaye

oṁ āpyāyantv iti śāntiḥ

cit-sad-ānanda-rūpāya sarva-dhī-vṛtti-sākṣiṇe
namo vedānta-vedyāya brahmaṇe 'nanta-rūpiṇe

oṁ vajra-sūcīṁ pravakṣyāmi śāstram ajñāna-bhedanam

dūṣaṇaṁ jñāna-hīnānāṁ bhūṣaṇaṁ jñāna-cakṣuṣām

brahma-kṣatriya-vaiśya-śūdrā iti catvāro varṇās teṣāṁ varṇānāṁ brāhmaṇa eva

pradhāna iti veda-vacanānurūpaṁ smṛtibhir apy uktam. tatra codyam asti ko vā
brāhmaṇo nāma. kiṁ jīvaḥ kiṁ dehaḥ kiṁ jātiḥ kiṁ jñānaṁ kiṁ karma kiṁ dhārmika iti.
tatra prathamo jīvo brāhmaṇa iti cet tan na. atītānāgatāneka-dehānāṁ jīvasyaika-
rūpatvād ekasyāpi karma-vaśād aneka-deha-sambhavāt sarva-śarīrāṇāṁ jīva-
svaikarūpatvāc ca. tasmān na jīvo brāhmaṇa iti. tarhi deho brāhmaṇa iti cet tan na
ā-caṇḍālādi-paryantānāṁ manuṣyāṇāṁ pāñca-bhautikatvena dehasyaika-rūpatvāj jarā-
maraṇa-dharmādharmādi-sāmya-darśanād brāhmaṇaḥ śveta-varṇaḥ kṣatriyo rakta-varṇo
vaiśyaḥ pīta-varṇaḥ śūdraḥ kṛṣṇa-varṇa iti niyamābhāvāt. pitrādi-śarīra-dahane
putrādīnāṁ brahma-hatyādi-doṣa-sambhavāc ca tasmān na deho brāhmaṇa iti. tarhi
jātir brāhmaṇa iti cet tan na. tatra jāty-antara-jantuṣu aneka-jāti-sambhavā
maharṣayo bahavaḥ santi. ṛṣyaśṛṅgo mṛgaḥ. kauśikaḥ kuśāt. jāmbuko jambukāt. vālmīko
valmīkāt. vyāsaḥ kaivarta-kanyāyām. śaśa-pṛṣṭhāt gautamaḥ. vaśiṣṭhaḥ ūrvaśyām.
agastyaḥ kalase jāta iti śrutatvāt. eteṣāṁ jātyā vināpy agre jñāna-pratipāditā
ṛṣayo bahavaḥ santi. tasmān na jātiḥ brāhmaṇa iti. tarhi jñāno brāhmaṇa iti cet tan
na. kṣatriyādayo 'pi paramārtha-darśino 'bhikṣā bahavaḥ santi. tasmān na jñānaṁ
brāhmaṇa iti. tarhi karma brāhmaṇa iti cet tan na. sarveṣāṁ prāṇināṁ prārabdha-
sañcitāgāmi-karma-sādharmya-darśanāt karmābhipreritāḥ santaḥ janāḥ kriyāḥ
kurvantīti. tasmān na karma brāhmaṇa iti. tarhi dhārmiko brāhmaṇa iti cet tan na.
kṣatriyādayo hiraṇya-dātāro bahavaḥ santi. tasmān na dhārmiko brāhmaṇa iti. tarhi
ko vā brāhmaṇo nāma. yaḥ kaścid ātmānaṁ advitīyaṁ jāti-guṇa-kriyā-hīnaṁ ṣaḍ-ūrmi-
ṣaḍ-bhāvety-ādi-sarva-doṣa-rahitaṁ satya-jñānānandānanta-svarūpaṁ svayaṁ
nirvikalpaṁ aśeṣa-kalpādhāraṁ aśeṣa-bhūtāntar-yāmitvena vartamānaṁ antar bahiś
cākāśa-vad anusyūtam akhaṇḍānanda-svabhāvaṁ apremeyaṁ anubhavaika-vedyaṁ
aparokṣatayā bhāsamānaṁ kara-talāmalaka-vat sākṣād aparokṣī-kṛtya kṛtārthatayā
kāma-rāgādi-doṣa-rahitaḥ śama-damādi-sampanno bhāva-mātsarya-tṛṣṇāśā-mohādi-rahito
dambhāhaṅkārādibhir asaṁspṛṣṭa-cetā vartate. evam ukta-lakṣaṇo yaḥ sa eva brāhmaṇa
iti śruti-smṛti-purāṇetihāsānām abhiprāyaḥ. anyathā hi brāhmaṇatva-siddhir nāsty
eva. sac-cid-ānandam ātmānam advitīyaṁ brahma bhāvayed ātmānaṁ sac-cid-ānandaṁ
brahma bhāvayed ity upaniṣat.

oṁ āpyāyantv iti śāntiḥ.

“I meditate on that sac-cid-ānanda supreme knowledge, endowed with three features,

by which sages attain the wonderful platform of brahminical culture.

“I invoke peace by reciting the mantra beginning, “May You be pleased.”

“I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Brahman, who possesses unlimited

forms, who is known by the Vedānta, whose form is sac-cid-ānanda, and who is the
witness of all activities of living intelligence.

“I am now speaking the Vajra-sūcī-śāstra. This knowledge dissipates ignorance,

reproaches the ignorant persons, and is the ornament of intelligent persons with
vision.

“There are four varṇas—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, and śūdra. According to the
statements of the Vedas, the brāhmaṇas are the highest class. This is confirmed by
the smṛtis as well. Therefore the question now comes: Who is a brāhmaṇa? The living
entity, the body, the caste, the knowledge, the activities, or the religionist—of
these, which is the brāhmaṇa? If it is proposed that the living entity is the
brāhmaṇa, that is not correct. The living entity remains the same in the past,
present, or future. Though he receives various types of bodies according to his
karma, he remains unchanged. Therefore the living entity is not the brāhmaṇa. Then
is the body the brāhmaṇa? No, it is not. The bodies of human beings down to the
caṇḍāla are all made of the same five gross elements. Therefore birth and death and
religion and irreligion equally effect all bodies, and since there is no law that
the brāhmaṇas are white, the kṣatriyas are red, the vaiśyas are yellow, and the
śūdras are black, the body is therefore not the brāhmaṇa. Moreover, when the son of
a brāhmaṇa burns the body of his dead father, he does not commit the sin of killing
a brāhmaṇa. Therefore the body is not the brāhmaṇa. So, then, is caste the
brāhmaṇa? No, this is also not the case. Many great sages have been born of other
living entities. Ṛṣyaśṛṅga was born from a deer, Kauśika was born from kuśa grass,
Jāmbuka Ṛṣi was born from a jackal, Vālmīki was born from an ant hill, Vyāsadeva
was born from a fisherman's daughter, Gautama was born from the back of a rabbit,
Vaśiṣṭha was born from Ūrvaśī, and Agastya was born from a pitcher. Apart from
these personalities, there are many other wise persons born from other castes who
became sages. Therefore caste is not the brāhmaṇa. So, then, is knowledge the
brāhmaṇa? No, it is not that either. Because many persons, such as some kṣatriyas,
were very learned and knew the Absolute Truth. Therefore knowledge is also not the
brāhmaṇa. Then are activities the brāhmaṇa? No, they are not. Because every living
entity shares the common nature of having to suffer the matured reactions of his
karma that come to him in the future. By karma, human beings are engaged in further
karma. Therefore activities are not the brāhmaṇa. Then is the religionist the
brāhmaṇa? No, he is not. Because many kṣatriyas give gold in charity. Therefore the
religionist is not the brāhmaṇa. Then who is the brāhmaṇa? Anyone who knows the
Self as one; devoid of mundane caste, qualities, and activities; devoid of
contamination by the six enemies1 and six waves2; the personification of
transcendental knowledge and bliss; beyond duality, yet the basis of all material
dualities; the Supersoul of all living entities; all-pervading inside and outside
like the vast sky; endowed with uninterrupted bliss; immeasurable; known only
through spiritual realization; and directly self-manifesting—one who directly
realizes the Self (as one sees an āmlakī fruit in the palm of his hand), who lives
always satisfied, devoid of faults like lust and anger, who posesses qualities like
peacefulness and self-control, who is devoid of envy, the thirst for material
enjoyment, illusion, and other faults, and who is untouched by pride, false ego,
and so on—such a person is a brāhmaṇa. This is also the opinion of the śrutis,
smṛtis, Itihāsas, Purāṇas, and other scriptures. Otherwise one cannot be a real
brāhmaṇa. The Upaniṣads instruct us that the Supreme Soul is sac-cid-ānanda and the
Absolute Truth, one without a second.”