Thoughts and Reflections on Caste
Source: Jonas Blank
Caste System in India
The caste system was a system of social status originally based off of a person's characteristics that unified and divided india. The caste system consists of five social classes from highest ranking to lowest: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, and Harijans (Untouchables). These four groupe defined india and gave people something to work for in the struggle to folllow your dharma. These five castes united India as a country and ultimately brought people together. As a citizen, it was your goal to climb higher up in the caste system but each caste served a purpose to society, whether they be Brahmins or Shudras. As a Cho Ramaswamy said: "An unworthy Brahmin could find himself demoted to the rank of Shudra, and a Kshatria or even a Vaishya could become a Brahman by earnest devotion. The caste system divided India into these social classes in which people could not marry or sometimes even socalize out of.
The word caste is applied to the several thousand specialized subclans within the four classes (called Varnas) know as Jatis. There are several theories as to how we think the caste system came to be. The more religious theorie suggests that the Hindu's believed that the entire human race descended from a single man named Manu. People who came from his mouth are known as Brahmins, people from his arms are the Kshatriyas, those from his thighs are Vaishyas, and those from his feet are Shudras.Because of this, people believed that caste is eternal. Additionally, the caste system was forced on the Indians because of the Aryan invasion that occured about 3000 years ago. A giant barrier wall was formed in order to keep the Aryans out. This was a solid wall of ideas, unbreakable by any weapons because it existed in people's minds. The Aryan men-at-arms became the Kshatriyas, the priests brought with them became the Brahmins, the people who served them became Shudras, and once trade and farming joined war, the merchants and shopkeepers became the Vaishyas. The caste system still exists because life in India without a caste system would be a very dangerous thing. Each subclan looks after its own and takes care of its members, without it, life would lead to sheer chaos and possibly a civil war in India.
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