CASTE SYSTEM – CASTE SYSTEM - SPIRITUAL EQUALITY AMIDST MATERIAL DIVERSITY

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THE SPIRITUAL SCIENTIST

 

 

 

A Cyber Magazine for Those Who Think

 

Vol.4 No.18

 

CASTE SYSTEM –

 

SPIRITUAL EQUALITY AMIDST MATERIAL DIVERSITY

 

 

 

Caste system is probably among the most talked and

most misunderstood current social controversies;

misunderstood because it is based on a false premise –

caste determination by birth.

 

 

 

The Bhagavad-gita (4.13) declares that this social

division, known as varnashrama, was based on qualities

and activities (guna-karma) – not birth. The Rig Veda

( 10.90.12) compares society to the human body. The

brahmanas (thinkers and teachers) are compared to the

head of the social body, the kshatriyas (governors and

protectors) to the arms, vaishyas (producers and

traders) to the belly and shudras (workers and general

assistants) to the feet. In our body, one part may be

positioned higher than the other, but that is just to

facilitate its optimum contribution to the body.

Similarly, in the social body, brahmanas (determined

by qualities, not birth) are higher in the social

hierarchy, but that is just to ensure optimum social

utilization of their intellectual abilities.

Interestingly, we find similar divisions in a modern

MNC – researchers, managers, financers and workers.

This division is not discriminatory, but fair, because

people are classified not forcibly, but as per their

abilities. Intriguingly the Greek philosopher Plato in

his The Republic recommends classifying people as per

their innate psychophysical natures. No wonder

American author Gerald Heard in his book Man, The

Master calls the caste system as an " organic

democracy " because it:

 

 

 

· Provided individual job satisfaction and

security

 

· Avoided needless competition and maximized

social productivity

 

 

 

All people in Vedic society knew that they were all

spiritual beings, souls, children of God, and that

real happiness lay not in transitory material

positions, but in everlasting devotion. The lower

castes would serve the upper castes, but the upper

castes would serve God – visibly. People would thus

see, " Our masters are as much servants as we are,

albeit serving in a different role. " This overarching

sense of subordination to God integrated people

spiritually despite their material differences.

 

 

 

Mark Tully, former BBC correspondent in New Delhi,

states in his book No Full Stops in India, " The

alienation of many young people in the West and the

loneliness of the old show the suffering that

egalitarianism inflicts on those who do not win, the

superficiality of an egalitarianism which in effect

means equal opportunities for all to win and then

ignores the inevitable losers. For all that, the elite

of India have become so spellbound by egalitarianism

that they are unable to see any good in the only

institution which does provide a sense of identity and

dignity to those who are robbed from birth of the

opportunity to compete on an equal footing – caste. "

 

 

 

In medieval times, characterless power-hungry people

born in brahmana families started falsely claiming

that caste was hereditary and unchangeable. And thus

began the sad history of casteist discrimination. And

thus began the unfortunate history of casteist

discrimination. Discrimination has victimized the

underprivileged, wherever the socially powerful

sections became materialistic and exploitative. For

example, Native Americans in USA or aborigines in

Australia were isolated and crowded into reserves,

where they could only atrophy and disappear.

 

 

 

Hence to uproot caste conflicts, we need to cure

materialism with the antidote of spirituality, which

provides inner fulfillment and eradicates the

exploitative mentality. Srila Prabhupada, the founder

of ISKCON states, " Unless there is awakening of divine

consciousness in the individual, there is no use of

crying for world peace. " We need to certainly correct

the casteist wrongs of the past; the deprived sections

of society need to be helped. But merely increasing

reservations without curing the materialism that

spawned discrimination may well lead to a reverse

discrimination against the upper castes with an

attendant backlash. Therefore let us ourselves

individually reserve more of our time, energy and

intelligence to understand and apply the timeless

spiritual principles that will unify us despite our

material diversities.

 

 

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SpiritualScientist-

 

 

 

The Spiritual Scientist

 

Investigating Reality from the Higher Dimensional

Perspective of Vedic Wisdom

Published by ISKCON Youth Forum (IYF), Pune

Dedicated to

His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila

Prabhupada,

The Greatest Spiritual Scientist of the Modern Times

Founder-Acharya: International Society for Krishna

Consciousness (ISKCON )

Magazine Committee:

Radheshyam Das (M Tech IIT, Mumbai), Director, IYF

Chaitanya Charan Das (BE E & TC), Editor, The Spiritual Scientist