History Of Caste

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Fromm Dhaarmik Traditions,, is presently with the publisher should be available in a month in Amazon

Appendix F

Caste

FAQ on Caste

What is the situation regarding the Caste system in Hindu society? Was such a system endorsed by the ancient Vedics in any of the scriptures? Did the Hindu scriptures endorse Untouchability?

The short answer is that such a system was not endorsed by the ancient scriptures and that the Hindu scriptures certainly never endorsed Untouchability. It is therefore a facile assumption which even significant proportions of Hindus make that the Hindu belief system sanctions all of the behavior patterns that occur under the rubric of the term ‘Caste’. In reality it is safe to say that the resulting exploitation of economically disadvantaged sections of society by their fellow human beings has no sanction in any of the scriptures of the Sanatana Dharma. People sometimes behave contrary to the tenets of the faith they profess. This occurs in every society of the world. The incidence of such behavior relative to the population is below that of most other countries which report incidences of sectarian and ethnic violence and is well within the 6 sigma limits of statistics , which would classify it as statistically insignificant behavior. We would like to see this number to be 0, but human nature being what it is; we are unlikely to see a zero number achieved in the near future.

In what follows, it is not our intention to defend the caste system. Merely to point out that it does not have a basis in our ancient traditions.
Why do we say that exploitation of fellow human beings is not sanctioned in the scripture? In order to answer this we will answer the next question which is.
What is Varna? What is the Varna Ashrama System? What is the Guna Varna Vyavastha?

The Varna Ashrama system comprises of 2 basic concepts of Varna and Ashrama. The Varna system, namely Guna Varna Vyavastha that produced the Varnashrama Dharma was conscious of the fact that this was the world's early attempt at a division of labor based on aptitudes. In short, the system was a synonym for a meritocracy . That the system was eminently successful in its own way , I have no doubt because the resulting civilization flourished for well over 5 millennia, until its very foundations were attacked by barbarians from both within and without ,barbarians, whose notion of entertainment was to build a pyramid of skulls, in order to terrorize the local population to capitulate. The current system in place after the colonial power was done reinventing and reshaping it to its own specifications, and which goes by the name Caste, is so utterly different in all significant ways, that we can safely say it has little to do with the Hindu faith or Hindu traditions such as the Guna Varna Vyavastha. The Vedic division of people into 4 Varnas (Brahmana, Rajanya, Vaisya and Shudra) is by Guna and Guna only and is known as the Guna Varna Vyavastha. The Asrama system refers to the four stages of one's life, namely Brahmacharya (life of an unmarried student), Grihasthya (life of a householder), Vanaprasthaya (life of a retired householder), sannyasa (life of a monk) is based in the physical, mental and emotional changes that take place in a person as he/she ages and matures.
What are the GuNAs
There are 3 GuNAs as we have explained elsewhere (see Glossary), Sattva, Rajas and Tamas and these three GuNAs occur in each and every individual in varying degrees. The relative proportion of each in the total determines the essential nature of the individual. It follows that at any given time an individual, may exhibit different modes of behavior as his personality matures and develops. The son of a Brahmana may choose not to follow the priestly vocation and may elect to go into law. As a general rule of thumb one elects to be in a profession which utilizes his GuNAs fully. For example Brahmanas tend to cluster around intellectual pursuits (teaching, legal, corporate management, administration etc. In the past the choice of professions available to Brahmanas were limited to priestly duties and the services he could render as a Minister to the Maharaja including mundane tasks such as accounting and cooking. In recent years substantial numbers of Brahmanas faced with increasing discrimination from their own government have elected to go into Business, so that his varna is that of a Vaisya, unless he maintains his competency and knowledge of the Vedic scripture and adheres to the injunctions of a Brahmana
Since there are three guNAs, why are there four varNAs?
The GuNa Varna Vyavastha arose out of the propensity of individuals to exhibit a dominant GuNa or GuNAs, rather than an equal distribution of all three. If all individuals had only one guNa in them, then it would be logical to conclude that there can be only 3 varNAs. But this is not so. The mapping between GuNAs and Varna is not one to one .These 3 guNAs are found in 'varying degrees' in all individuals, be they Indian, American or British. So the ancient seers made a broader classification of the individuals based on the guNAs present in them. See the exposition by Sri Krishna in Chapter 18, verses 18-40, on the GuNAs that the various Varnas should exhibit in order to qualify as a member of a particular Varna. Note that it is not the case that the Brahmanas and Kshatriyas are not subsets of the other two. Each Varna possesses a mix of GuNAs which while not being mutually exclusive, and while having a degree of overlap, have distinctive characteristics as is to be expected if it was a division of labor which we emphatically believe to be the case
The guNAs present in individuals fall under the various varNAs in the order of predominance as follows:
Brahmana: Sattva-->rajas
Kshatriya - rajas-->Sattva-->Tamas
Vaisya - rajas-->Tamas-->Sattva
Shudra - Tamas
In other words, one cannot term himself a Brahmana or a Sudra unless the person is endowed the right characteristics. This is not the situation today where the caste system is primarily an ethnic classification with racial connotations
Can you give references to the occurrences off the Guna Varna Vyavastha in the Sruti?
Let us look at a few examples to see what the scriptures say.
The following verse in the Rg. Mandala X, hymn 90-11, is usually quoted, to bolster the assertion that the caste system is sanctioned by the Vedas. This is what the verse actually says

ब्राह्मणो.अस्य मुखमासीद बाहू राजन्यः कर्तः |

ऊरू तदस्य यद वैश्यः पद्भ्यां शूद्रो अजायत || X,90-11

brāhmano.asya mukhamāsīd bāhū rājanyaha kartaha |
ūrūtadasya yad vaiśyaha padbhyāha śūdro ajāyata ||
This verse is usually translated into English as follows
The Brahmana was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rajanya made.
His thighs became the Vaisya; from his feet the Sudra was produced.
The verse also occurs in the Yajurveda, 31.11
But, what is this meant to convey. It is actually an answer to the previous verse which asks the following question
यत पुरुषं वयदधुः कतिधा वयकल्पयन |
मुखं किमस्य कौ बाहू का ऊरू पादा उच्येते || X,90-10


When they divided Purusa how many portions did they make?
What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and feet?

These verses are from the famous Purusa Suktam , the hymn in praise of the cosmic Purusa or the cosmic self (Viraat Purusa) and it is an analogy between the limbs of the cosmic self and the occupations in each of the varnas based on their mix of GuNAs. In the first verse of the Purusa Suktam the gigantic being that comprises the cosmic self is described as having a thousand heads, thousand eyes and a thousand feet. It is clearly a metaphor for the Viraat Purusa (VP). There is no reference to his arms. The VP is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. There is also the clear implication of interdependence between the various parts of the cosmic self. No (wo) man is an Island unto himself and specialization of skills leads to division of Labor where every one in theory does what he or she is best suited for. In this Indic societies were and are no different from other societies in the west where the son of a blacksmith almost always opted to become a Blacksmith.
It is by no means an endorsement of a hereditary caste system based on race, as the question of race rarely enters into the discourse anywhere in the Gita. There is a clear implication that within the same person there dwells the tendency to be any one of the Castes depending on the stage in one’s life and the circumstances and challenges faced by the individual at various stages on one’s life. Hindu Renaissance has brought out a special issue on the topic which takes a parallel view of the topic.
The use of analogy is termed UpamAna in Sanskrit epistemology. It is one of the six instruments of the mind used to gather pAra Vidya. Clearly the analogy has failed in its purpose which was to educate the public on the role of guNAs in the 'division of labor' paradigm as embodied in the Varna Ashrama system, and it is probably time to discard such an analogy which does not fit with the politically correct temper of the times. But merely because it is politically incorrect is hardly reason enough to misinterpret it as a system based on Race as the British did with the obvious motive of driving a divisive wedge in the society and make their own job of ruling autocratically all the more easier. Thus it was, and the evident glee with which the British went about embellishing and reinventing the Caste system is obvious for all to read Equally obvious is the fact that they would not have succeeded if there was no exploitation of weaker sections of society by fellow human beings.
There are several points to note about the verse
1. The tenth Mandala of the Rg. was probably the last one written, even though it is generally accepted that the Mandalas are not in chronological order. Despite that the antiquity of the Rg. according to astronomical dating is circa 5000 BCE. Vedantic ideas had not evolved as yet, as exemplified in the Brahma sutras. The concept of Purusha (as opposed to Prakriti the material universe) was the first glimpse of an ontological principle at work.
2. This is probably the first evidence of an organized division of Labor based on aptitudes. In other words it was a meritocracy. It was not intended to be a hereditary system. The system unfortunately degraded into a hereditary system.
This (in the Purusha Suktam) is probably the first occurrence of the word Shudra in the Sruti
Shudra or Sudra is the fourth varna (See Appendix H, the glossary) in the traditional four section division of labor in Indic society. Their assigned and expected role of the Sudra in Vedic India was that of artisans and laborers. The four varnas are Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya, (see Glossary) and Shudra. Whilst the origins of the other varnas can be traced to Indo-Iranian or even Proto Indo-European words, the root of the word Sudra is not clear at all. A threefold division of societies can be found in ancient Iran that matches the Brahmana, Kshatriya and Vaisya varnas. Although linguistically related Nuristani people in neighboring Afghanistan have a class equivalent to the Shudras amongst them. It has been proposed ,mistakenly it turns out that the Shudras were same as Dasas and Dahyus, who are portrayed as enemies of the Aryans in the Vedas, and who it is said were enslaved by the Aryans. But the latter groups are also encountered in the Avestan texts and no subjugation is mentioned, though enmity is. The ancient texts of India betray no such subjugation by conquest resulting in a servile group of people, but merely assume that the Shudras are part of society, even if not the most exalted. There is no etymology of the word Sudra that is available to us; it just emerges suddenly in the Purusa Suktam of Rig veda. The numerical strength of this varna is also not clear from the Vedic corpus as tasks attributed to Shudras later are done by Vaisyas in the era represented by these texts.
Bhagavan Sri Krishna takes responsibility for the creation of the 4 Varnas according to a person’s relative mix of GuNAs
catuvR{y¡ mya s&ò< gu[kmRiv-agz> ।
tSy ktaRrmip ma< ivÏ(ktaRrmVyym! ।। 4,13

,
Chaturvarnyam maya srshtamGuna karma vibhagha saha I
Tasya kartAramapimAm, VdyakartAram avyayam II

catuvR{yRm! - carae< v[R - the fourfold caste
mya - mere Öara - by me
s&òm! - rce gye hE< - has been created
gu[kmRiv-agz>- gu[ AaEr kmaˆR< ke Anusar- according to their qualities and skills
tSy - %nke - thereof
ktaRrm! - ktaR kae - the author
Aip - -I - also
mam! - muH - me
iviÏ - jan - know
AktaRrm! - AktaR - passive

AVyym! - AivnazI - immutable


gu[ AaEr kmR ke iv-ag se carae< v[R ( äaü[, ]iÇy, vEZy, zUÔ )
mere Öara rce gye hE< , %nka ktaR haene pr -I muH AivnazI prmeñr kae tum AktaR hI jan ,
The four orders of society (viz., the Brahman, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya and the Sudra) were created by Me, classifying them according to the qualities and skills,predominant in each and apportioning corresponding duties to them; though I am the author of this creation, know Me, the immortal Lord, to be passive and immutable. (4,13)


The following is a verse from the Rg. also, exemplifying the fact that different members of the same family pursued different professions and that there was no one to one mapping between Varna and professions
कारुरहं ततो भिषगुपलप्रक्षिणी नना |
नानाधियोवसूयवो.अनु गा इव तस्थिमेन्द्रायेन्दो परि सरव || Rg.IX,112,3
kāruraham tato bhishaghu palaprakshiNī nanā |
nānādhiyovasūyavo.anu ghā iva tasthimendrāyendo pari srava

I am a poet, my father is a physician, and my mother grinds corn on stone. Being engaged in different occupations, we seek wealth and happiness, as cows seek food in different pastures. May Thy bounties flow for our happiness, 0 God.”
We need not multiply quotations, as even European scholars now reluctantly admit that hereditary Castes did not exist in the Vedic era
Why is the Varna Ashrama System called a Caste System and is there a rational for calling it such ?

If there were not a multiplicity of Varnas in the ancient times,how did we end up having so many castes in the last 100 years


"The word caste is not a word that is indigenous to India. It originates in the Portuguese word Casta which means race, breed, race or lineage. However, during the 19th century, the term caste increasingly took on the connotations of the word race . Thus, from the very beginning of western contact with the subcontinent European constructions have been imposed on Indian systems and institutions. To fully appreciate the caste system one must step away from the definitions imposed by Europeans and look at the system as a whole, including the religious beliefs that are an integral part of it. To the British, viewing the caste system from the outside and on a very superficial level, it appeared to be a static system of social ordering that allowed the ruling class or Brahmins, to maintain their power over the other classes. What the British failed to realize was that Hindus existed in a different cosmological frame than did the British. .."


"Today, people think that the rigid caste system operated in India is the result of ancient requirements of religion. But just how much of this rigidity was due to their religion? Or how much was it due to a conscious direction by the British to create artificial divisions in order to make it easier to divide and rule the sub-continent and its people?"


"Moreover, as will be seen later in this paper, it appears that the caste system extant in the late 19th and early 20th century has been altered as a result of British actions so that it increasingly took on the characteristics that were ascribed to by the British." The 1901 census of India contains a wealth of detail that reflects some of the preoccupations of its age. It contains exhaustive treatments of issues related to population change and religion and civil condition and the other matters normally recorded in the census reports. A major introduction in this census report, not seen in the previous census reports, was the study of the "anthropometric" readings of racial characteristics which is introduced into its discussion of "Caste, Tribe, and Race" in chapter eleven of the work. There is also a very extensive discussion of the origins of caste in the census report which has provoked much controversy .
Sir Herbert Risley also wrote a major work on Indian Castes called The People of India which he published in 1908.


No indigenous equivalent to the word Caste in India. The English word Caste was derived from Portuguese word Casta which meant race, breed or lineage. Quite distinct from Varna
The British institutionalized the word Caste, using the decennial Census of India as a tool for ethnographic mapping and conjured up 100’s of new castes
the Census acted as a catalyst for an increased consciousness of caste as caste status became an increasingly significant factor in attaining material status.
See for instance Nicholas Dirks ‘Castes of Mind’

Caste and the Colonialist Enterprise

Caste (as we experience it today in India) is neither an unchanged survival of ancient India nor a single system that reflects a core cultural value. Rather than a basic expression of Indian tradition, caste is a modern phenomenon – the product of a concrete historical encounter between India and British colonial rule

Nicholas Dirks Castes of Mind, Colonialism and the Making of Modern India




Herbert. H. Risley, Commissioner of the 1901 census, also bared his underlying British prejudices in an 1886 publication which stated that race sentiment, far from being:

a figment of the intolerant pride of the Brahman, rests upon a foundation of fact which scientific methods confirm, that it has shaped the intricate grouping of the caste system, and has preserved the Aryan type in comparative purity throughout Northern India.

The interesting inference we can make from this statement, is that while he brands the Brahmana as being intolerantly proud, he reveals his strong belief in the existence of an Aryan racial prototype. The zeal and efficacy with which the British segregated themselves from the middle class Indian for over a hundred years, and the extraordinary extent to which they opposed democracy and free elections in India speaks louder than any words that they believed in the Caste system, and that they considered themselves to be part of the ruling caste





Is the Guna Varna System a valid paradigm for the 21st century, and if so should we defend and retain it.
It is time to redefine it or better yet if possible, discard it altogether. I say so not because I deem the system to be devoid of the very qualities and virtues which have propelled its existence for several millennia but because it has become a source of divisiveness for the republic and a weapon in the hands of those who would like to see the extinction of the Dharma. It is best if there were no references to caste in any public document such as application forms for employment or loans, or any affirmative action based solely on caste. Given the dynamics of the social system as we inherited it from the British, and the entrenched vested interest (of those who oppose Hinduism) in its prolongation, this is unlikely to happen. Hence in all likelihood the system will limp along kept alive by bureaucrats, the Hinduphobics, rival theological camps and last but not least the communists to provide them a strawman to belabor.
What should be done about the Caste system , the terminology and the practice?

There is no question it should be discarded . It has neither traditional sanction in the Sruti, nor is it appropriate for our times.