Hinduism and the cast system essay
People venerated the saints and regarded the places where they lived as sacred places. Hinduism is famously known as one of the oldest religions in the world, which is widely embraced and composed of three prominent attributes: spiritual, tradition, and the caste system There is one class system that consists of five tiers, including one that is below its lower class, and differs from any other system; the caste system of India.
In the Satavahana empire, society was organized into four classes Kshatriyas, the arms of Purusha, are the warriors and protectors of the people and rank second highest in society.
Because of these basic similarities, the two religions have much in common, but in the same light they differ immensely. It is interesting to note that the Muslim rulers and the British who recruited people from all castes into their armies were able to conquer the subcontinent and rule it for centuries.
The priesthood continues to be an exclusive privilege of the brahmins and no noticeable effort has been made to encourage people from other castes to study the Vedas and join the priesthood.
Sattva is characterized by purity and spirituality and manifests in men in the form of knowledge, intelligence, faith, sincerity, devotion, piousness and so on.
The fourth ranked Kshudras are the feet of Purusha and make up the peasants, commoners, and servants of the system.
Caste system levels
The Indian caste system has often caught critique, despite its deeply embedded beliefs in Hindu culture. Provisions were made to identify and protect the lower castes from exploitation and ill treatment. Indian temples are still under the siege of caste chauvinism. The third class consisted of professionals such as scribes lekhakas , physicians vaidyas , cultivators halakiyas , goldsmiths suvarnakaras and chemists gandhikas. Those who switched their loyalties to the new religion usually the lower castes became despicable and loathsome in the eyes of those who suffered silently. There are still people who would not let low castes draw water from their wells and would not let them sit in the same row to share food. A reservation policy was created to establish a level playing field in matters of employment and education and protect them from unfair competition from higher castes. Discrimination continues in several states in remote areas. Its rigidity and continued practice exposed the weaker sections of society to unjust exploitation by the socially and politically privileged groups in the name of religion and tradition. The only class that is difficult to get into would be high society. It plays some part in other civilizations but in India it has invaded the whole. After eating food they destroyed the wooden and stone vessels in which they ate food and cleaned the metal ones thoroughly. They had to marry and socialize with people from their own caste.
The caste distinctions and restrictions in food and marriage, however, did not prevent various castes from interacting socially with people from different castes.
They lived upright and honest lives and dreaded the retribution of bad karma.
Does the caste system still exist in india
Indian temples are still under the siege of caste chauvinism. Share This. The law books not only justified rigid caste system but prescribed severe punishments in case of violation. The caste system was justified by most of the smriti literature, Manusmriti being the most notorious among them and by such religious scriptures as the Puranas, the Sutra literature and scriptures such as the Bhagavadgita and some later day Upanishads. Political and military implications: The caste system placed the foreigners on par with the untouchables and prevented healthy exchange of knowledge and ideas. Tamas is believed to be the predominant quality in men who are unclean and ignorant, in other words, sudras. Indian scholars used religious themes and ancient legends to instill feelings of pride and nationalism in people. They were not allowed to enter the cities and villages freely. There were many groups within the priestly class, each performing specific duties. Caste is a word often used to describe a cluster of people who have a specific rank in the society. They also managed to convert to Islam some low caste and a few high caste Hindus.
Inequalities and social divisions based on economic and family status were not unknown in other parts of the world.
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