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The Caste System or varna-ashrama has been one of the most
misrepresented, misinformed, misunderstood, misused and the most maligned
aspects of Hinduism. If
one wants to understand the truth, the original purpose behind the caste system,
one must go to
antiquity to study the evolution of the caste system. Caste System, which is said to be the mainstay of the
Hindu social order, has no sanction in the Vedas. The
ancient culture of India was based upon a system of social diversification
according to SPIRITUAL development, not by birth, but by his karma. This system became hereditary and over
the course of many centuries
degenerated as a result of exploitation by some priests, and other socio-economic elements of
society.
However, as Alain Danielou, son of French aristocracy, author of numerous books on
philosophy, religion, history and arts of India, says: "Caste system has
enabled Hindu civilization to survive all invasions and to develop without
revolutions or important changes, throughout more than four millennia, with a
continuity that is unique in history. Caste system may appear rigid to our eyes
because for more than a thousand years Hindu society withdrew itself from
successive domination by Muslims and Europeans. Yet, the greatest poets and the
most venerated saints such as Sura Dasa, Kabir, Tukaram, Thiruvalluvar
and Ram Dasa; came
from the humblest class of society." In the words of Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan, " In spite of the divisions, there is an inner cohesion
among the Hindu society from the Himalayas to the Cape Comorin."
Caste
system has been exploited against the Hindus, for the last two centuries by the
British, Christian Missionaries, Secular historians, Communists, Muslims, Pre and
Post-Independence Indian politicians and Journalists for their own ends. One way
to discredit any system is to highlight its excesses, and this only adds to the
sense of inferiority that many Indians feel about their own culture. Caste
system is often portrayed as the ultimate
horror, in the media, yet
social inequities continue to persist
in theoretically Egalitarian Western Societies. The Caste system is
judged offensive by
the Western norms, yet racial groups have
been isolated,
crowded into reserves like the American Indians or Australian Aborigines, where
they can only atrophy and disappear.
This
chapter is not a justification of the abuse of caste system, rather it is a
collection of interesting information. Caste system has
enabled Hindu civilization to survive all invasions and made Indian society
stronger. Caste
system served a purpose, performed certain functions, and met the needs
appropriate to the times in history. India's caste norms may once have had a
rationale; but the norms are outlived today. Caste system is not stagnant
and is undergoing changes under the impact of modernization. Caste system should
undergo reforms in the social arena so that unjustified discrimination and abuse
is
eliminated.
The caste system
was never a tenet of the Hindu faith.
"The universe is the outpouring
of the majesty of God, the auspicious one, radiant love. Every face you see
belongs to Him. He is present in everyone without
exception." - says the
Yajur Veda.
"The Lord (The Divine) is
enshrined in the hearts of all."
- says the Isha
Upanishad 1 -1.
The
Upanishads which are a pure, lofty, heady distillation of
spiritual wisdom which come to us from the very dawn of time tell us:
"Reality (God) is our real
Self, so that each of us is one with the power that created and sustains the
universe."
In Sanskrit, Tat tvam asi,
“You are That.”
"In the depths of meditation,
sages (rishis)
Saw within themselves the Lord of Love,
Who dwells in the heart of every creature."
- says the Shvetashvatara
Upanishad. 1 - 3.
Lord Krsna expounds the
unique philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna.
"I
am the Self seated in the heart of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle
and the very end of all beings".
The
Bhagavad Gita has influenced great Americans from Henry
David Thoreau to J R Oppenheimer.
Listen to The
Bhagavad Gita podcast
- By Michael Scherer
- americanphonic.com.
Watch
Scientific
verification of Vedic knowledge
***
In
The Bhagawad Gita, sloka 20, Chapter 10, Lord
Krishna says,
"I
am the Self seated in the heart of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle
and the very end of all beings".
All beings have, therefore to be treated alike. "
Again
in the Bhagawad Gita, sloka 29, Chapter 9, Lord
Krishna says,
“ I
look upon all creatures equally; none are less dear to me and none more dear.
But those who worship me with love live in me, and I come to life in them. ”
Lord
Krishna as saying, in response to the question— "How is Varna
(social order) determined?"
"Birth
is not the cause, my friend; it is virtues which are the cause of
auspiciousness. Even a chandala (lower caste) observing the vow is considered a
Brahman by the
gods."
“The
four fold division of castes’ “was
created by me according to the apportionment of qualities and duties.” “Not
birth, not sacrament, not learning, make one dvija (twice-born), but righteous
conduct alone causes it.” “Be he a Sudra or a member of any other class,
says the Lord in the same epic, “he that serves as a raft on a raftless
current , or helps to ford the unfordable, deserves respect in everyway.”
 
For the rest of
the chapter refer click on the links below:
A Comprehensive Look: Pro and Cons of The Caste
System
Sociology
of groups in Ancient India
Discrimination
in Western societies
Mahatma Gandhi and Louis Dumont
No Religious Sanction in Hindu Scriptures
Degeneration of the Caste System
Manu Smrti: Not a Religious Book
Exploitation of Caste by Christian
Missionaries
The Anglo-Indians, Pondycherians and Harijan/Dalit Converts
Abrahamic
Super Caste System
Christian and Poor Countries
Gandhi
and Brahmins
Conclusion
Articles
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