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Hinduism

Hinduism as a Way of Life

Not only does Hinduism tell us what the nature of Ultimate Reality is like, it also tells us what the nature of human society is like, how life is organized within Samsara.

Each person has a place within society determined by class (Varna - color, caste) and age (Ashrama - place, stage) and everyone has certain duties and goals (Dharma - duty) to pursue in life.

These standards were based on the "Code of Manu" written at least 2000 years ago.

Mini lecture: Hindu organization of Life

Varna: Four Stations of Life
(The Caste System) 

Determined by birth

As part of Dharma (the law of the universe) each part of the universe has a role to play. This extends to human society. Each member of society has a duty to the whole of society and a corresponding reward. These "stations in life" are associated with various occupations which support human society.

• Brahmin: priests, scholars, philosophers - rewarded with honor

• Kshatriya: rulers and warriors, administrators and organizers - rewarded with power

• Vaishya: "The People" - merchants, farmers, artisans, engineers - rewarded with wealth

• Shudra: servants, hired hands, unskilled laborers, factory workers, manual laborers - What do you suppose THEIR reward might be?* 

The first three castes most likely originate with the classes of Aryan society who used the darker, native population as their servants. (Similar to classes identified by Plato in Greek society, Shudras are like the slaves of Greek society who, as slaves, are not part of society at all. However, Shudras, unlike slaves, are not owned by other people.). The Purusha myth explains the metaphysical origin of these groups - extending back to the very creation of human society. (Rig Veda - hymn 10.90 verse 12)

There are many subcastes within these four main groupings

Within one lifetime people are not free to change the roles they are born into. One can only hope to fulfill one’s caste duty and be reborn in a higher caste.

The "outcaste" or "untouchables" are the lowest of the low:

As the name suggests, technically the "untouchables" as the "outcaste" are not a part of the caste system at all. It's like being excommunicated from the social structure to fend for oneself, doing whatever nasty task no one else will do.

• One becomes an "outcaste" by breaking caste or general socio-religious rules (by "sinning" and becoming impure, rejecting one’s duty)

• Children and later descendents born to outcastes are automatically outcaste

• Subjugated to the work no one else is fit to do: the dirtiest, most impure of jobs (garbage collectors, street cleaners, discarders of dead bodies)

• It is this group that Gandhi sought to free while accepting the basic principle of a class based society

The entire caste system is understood to be a matter of "karmic justice" - caste is determined by birth and our birth is determined by our karmic state. Social class is the direct result of our own past life actions - rewards or punishments we build up in our previous life. It is a price we must pay. If we refuse to pay the price by living in accord with what "karmic law" hands us, we simply build up more bad karma. We will have to pay sooner or later before we can move on.

Activity: The Four Varnas - a collage

*Shudra reward: freedom from responsibility