First lets define what CASTE is
The word CASTE comes from the SPANISH / PORTUGESE word “CASTA” which literally means “tribe, breed, race, lineage” – Caste – Wikipedia.
This was one of the words that was imported into the ENGLISH LANGUAGE (There are a lot of HINDI words too – like GURU, MANTRA, CUMMERBUND, JUGAD, there are also some words from TAMIL that have been imported – like CATAMARAN (for tamil KATTU-MARAM).
99% of the people don’t have an understanding of the REAL VARNA SYSTEM. When they talk about VARNA, they are actually referring to the CASTE system because of the history lessons that we have been taught in school and college.
A little dose of HISTORY
So, the BRITS when they ruled India propagated a bunch of hoaxes like the ARYAN INVASION THEORY and the CASTE SYSTEM to justify their rule. Also the CASTE SYSTEM was a EUROPEAN MODEL which the BRITS tried to apply on the INDIAN CONTEXT pitching it equal to the VARNA SYSTEM. It was to help their DIVIDE & RULE POLICY. That’s why they divided INDIA & PAKISTAN.
It worked wonderfully well. So much so that 7 decades after independence the younger generation thinks the VARNA SYSTEM & CASTE SYSTEM are the same and it has to be abolished.
I have done extensive research on the scriptures personally, and everywhere and literally everywhere they talk about EQUALITY and it’s not just human beings, it encapsulates all living beings – trees, plants, insects & animals. The idea is to treat ALL LIFE FORMS RESPECTFULLY. THATS ADVAITA VEDANTA for you which was propounded by ADI SHANKARACHARAYA. That’s the basic tenet of BHARAT.
DVAITA means 2, ADVAITA means No 2 – ONLY ONE. We are the part of the SAME COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS. All of us are mere reflections of the supreme cosmic intelligence that has created the world. Its like the image of the sun that gets created on the vessels filled with water. Its possible some vessels have water that’s contaminated or colored, so the image may looks dirty or colored but that doesn’t make the SUN dirty or colored.
That’s the basic essence of all the scriptures.
The REAL VARNA SYSTEM was about a person pursuing a craft based on the individuals choice & capabilities.
Like SAGE VEDA VYASA – who wrote the MAHABHARATA and BHAGAVAT PURANA was the son of a MATSYA KANYA (a women who belonged to the FISHERMEN community). But VEDA VYASA is regarded as one of the GREATEST SAGES of INDIA.
SAGE VALMIKI – the SAGE who wrote the RAMAYANA. He’s considered the GREATEST SAGE INDIA HAS PRODUCED ever. VALMIKI was dacoit (his real name was RATNAKARDAH) who would loot waylaid travelers. But he had a transformation when his wife & son left him for ever when they got to know that the money he was getting them was from killing and looting people.
I know there will be some people who might be thinking of EKALAVYA, the tribal who considered DRONA as his GURU and became more skillful than Arjuna in ARCHERY.
But DRONA asked for the THUMB FINGER of his RIGHT HAND as GURU DAKSHINA.
Yes EKALAVYA was better than ARJUNA in archery, no doubts. But DRONA’s asking him for his RIGHT THUMB meant that he didn’t want him to be an archer at all. Cause if he would have been, he would have been part of the MAHABHARATA war. To be fair calling MAHABHARATA a war is a misnomer, it was a CARNAGE. Complete, total absolute destruction.
Almost 4 million people died in the 18 day war. Here’s the MATH
One Akshauhin was about 2,18,000 Chariots, Elephants, Horses, Solidiers
- (kauravas – 11 Akshauhini +
- Pandavas 7 Akshauhini,
It was a war where all the kingdoms of India participated and all the great warriors of that time participated and got killed. This included BHIM’s son GHATOTHGAJA & ARJUNA’s son ABHIMANYU.
If EKALAVYA would have become the BEST ARCHER in the country, he would have been part of the MAHABHARATA WAR and he would have got killed somehow or the other. Lord KRISHNA would have made sure of that. Think what happened to KARNA he was as good as Arjuna wasn’t he.
DRONA realized, it was not EKALAVYA’s war. He didn’t have to be part of it and ONLY WAY TO MAKE SURE of that was to take his THUMB finger away. DRONA TRIED HIS BEST TO KEEP SAVE EKALAVYA AWAY from harms way.
But EKALAVYA was so persistent that in spite of loosing his right thumb, he trained rigorously with his left hand and legs. He became the king of the NISHADAS and offered his services to GURU DRON. He went to become the general of JARASANDHA’s army and got killed by KRISHNA when JARASANDHA attacked DWARAKA. It was his fate to be killed by KRISHNA and attain MOKSHA.
Ekalavya’s son KETUMAN became the KING of the NISHADAS after his father was killed by KRISHNA and did participate in the MAHABHARATA WAR and was killed by BHEEM.
VARNA SYSTEM simply meant you do the work that you are best in and that’s how you contributed to the society in the best possible way.
So a clerk’s son could become a cricketer, or
a CHAIWALA could become the PRIME MINISTER of the country.
If the individual was good at the job, he would get all the support from the people & society.
That’s the REAL VARNA SYSTEM FOR YOU. THE BEST PERSON FOR THE JOB.
What we need to understand is that the CURRENT PROBLEMS in the society is NOT BECAUSE OF THE VARNA SYSTEM. They are because of the MYOPIC MINDSET of the SOCIETY and lackadaisical understanding of the basic tenets of the scriptures.
All societies deteriorate over time.
Human societies are like RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS, they DECAY as time passes by.
All human societies do. A few examples from recent history are below
- USA has its problems with RACISM – How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody
- AUSTRALIA has it too –Why I count the number of brown people in a room – ABC Life
- UK – they ruled the world for a few hundred years claiming racial superiority, they were the ones who created the ARYAN INVASION THEORY to justify their MORAL OWNERSHIP OF INDIA.
- GERMANS – did the same. Do I need to mention the reasons for WW1 & WW2. You may counter me with the theory of ARYANism and the SWASTIKA – but given that ARYAN INVASION THEORY has been proved as ABSOLUTE RUBBISH, HITLERS CLAIM to be an ARYAN and therefore his claim to be the ruler of the world was nothing but a Machiavellian way of MORAL substantiation of his aggrandized personal plans of ruling the world.
- MIDDLE EAST has its share of nuisance – TALIBAN / ISIS
- There’s the SHIA / SUNNI conflict in Muslim world
Also, this cycle of deterioration is also explained in the scriptures. It’s the concept of CHATURYUGAS – Yuga – Wikipedia
CASTIGATING THE VARNA SYSTEM is like complaining about the MANUFACTURER of YOUR MOBILE PHONE when it gets a little wonky after you have used it for maybe a year or so. It acting like that cause you started accumulating all kinds of un-useful thing on you mobile phone – pics, videos and music on your new mobile phone and overtime the phone starts acting funny and crappy.
So what do you do?
You don’t question the MANUFACTURER for a mobile that has become dysfunctional because it has accumulated crap. (Unless the MANUFACTURER is dynamically doing that in REAL-TIME. Which is not doable in the case in context)
YOU JUST DELETE STUFF, maybe ARCHIVE SOME STUFF AND THEN DO A FACTORY RESET and VOILA! YOUR MOBILE PHONE IS WORKING AGAIN!
So, agreed there’s a problem with the society right now and that has to be fixed, but it will ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS to make the old systems and paradigms responsible for it.
So, what’s the solution – ITS ADVAITA VEDANTA -RESPECTING ALL LIVING BEINGS.
That’s the reason ADI SHANKARACHARYA toured the entire country on foot 2000 years ago, cause people got sick of the society and started looking for other options / religions. That’s why he propounded ADVAITA. EDANTA. THE REAL ESSENSE OF ALL THE SCRIPTURES.
Cause there was a need to change the mindset of the society, and how do you do that – you need to intellectually influence them.
ADVAITA VEDANTA IS THE ONLY SOLUTION to it.
The “FACTORY RESET” of the society that ADI SHANKARACHARYA did 2000 years ago has to be done again
That’s the reason I AM A HUGE PROPONENT OF ADVAITA VEDANTA – EQUALITY & RESPECT FOR ALL LIVING BEINGS,
Remember, CHANGE STARTS from WITHIN.
Lets pledge to change the WORLD ONE PERSON AT A TIME.
SHARE & CHANGE THE WORLD.
JAYA JAYA SHANKARA, HARA HARA SHANKARA!