Off late, it has been a topic of discussion in so many places, especially in the Indian media etc.. about the varnas, suppression of rights for the so called backward etc.. There are some facts in it , while most of it to me was of political nature to gain public attraction. Let's take a peek at what are varnas and how were they originated etc..
Varna literally means color. Like how we have different colors, in nature the human society categorized people based on their profession , nature etc.. into four different classes. Only this classification is recognized as per the scriptures. Among the varnas themselves, several different castes were introduced and one claimed superiority over the other (which was completely made up or fictitious . Neither are those recognized by the Vedas nor by the Manu Smruthi etc.. So, all those folks, who claim to be the victims of Vedic religion, etc.. cant really blame the religion.
While Dalits or Harijans were good and dignified communities int he past, for whatever unknown reasons, they have been forced to become untouchables by other people of 4th varna (and Veda or Vedic priests don't have any business with this). But we have to accept the reality - these kind of bad things become barrier for the Unity of Hindu or Vedic society and we should remove all those bad things from our society to have a happy and harmonious life.
Let's see an example of how folks "created" superiority of one "caste" over the other with political or selfish intentions. It was before several years ( may be 200+), that the Thamizh Brahmins or Iyers migrated to Kerala. They got settled in various parts of Kerala. I have also heard a myth that, since the Namboodhiri Brahmins weren't co-operating with the King for the performance of a Yagna, he decided to bring Vedic Pundits from the nearby Thamizh land to complement the Namboodiris. Namboodiris claim to be the indigenous Brahmins of Kerala with a very distinct set of practices etc. Namboodiris, claimed superiority over the Embran(S) ( the brahmin folks from Thulunad ) and the Tamil Iyers (Pattars) by making them as untouchables and servants for them , while Namboodiris claimed all the powerful posts. Even within the Brahmins community based on man-made differences Untouchability was created, which was not mentioned in Shastras anywhere. So we just cant blame religion or the Vedas for all these things.
Like was saw the differences in the first varna (Brahmana, there are such man-made differences , even in the 4th varna(s). I heard of a very interesting thing, from one of the ladies, who used to help us. She was telling us about how she wouldn't touch or eat from another community, which was primarily a bird-hunting group. Thus even among the so called "un-touchables" there were further discrimination So, who do we blame for those things? I think that's the way the older generations used to think, and it's gradually changing. Removing the bad / harmful aspects of that, we can happily accept it as a part and parcel of our culture.
Now, let's talk about what do Shastras describe about the duties of Varnas etc.. A simple Sanskrit verse (from the Phala Sruthi of Vishnu 1000) summarizes the duties of the four classes or varnas:
Vedanthank Brahmanasyadh
Kshathriyo Vijayee Bhavedh
Vaishya Dhana Samruddhasyad
Shudro Sukha Bhavapnuyath
Brahmana, are supposed to be Vedanthis (one who learn the Vedas and Upanishads), Kshathriyas, are supposed to be the victorious rulers or Kings, Viashyas, the business men or traders, who increase the cash flow and make the society a prosperous one and Shudras are the bestowers of happiness or Sukham. Now the duties of Shudras could be well interpreted as contract labors, who would do hard work for a salary or money. The definition of these four varnas don't show any kind of discrimination or anything. Classification and division of labor was very well organized in our Vedic society. Each one of us should be proud of what we are and what we do and not keep complaining of others.
Thus the four varnas are symbolic of different functions int he society, with spirituality give the utmost importance.
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