In The Bhagavad Gita there are many references to the caste system, or Varnas. It explains the way men and women of ancient India should act and behave according to Hinduism. Throughout the book there are many examples of the things Hindus are expected to do. These pieces of advice range from anything to the jobs certain people have to the way they are allowed to dress. The Varna is one of the earliest known mentions of a caste system, where the human body is used to depict the structure of Indian society.
The caste system and the major advantages and disadvantages of it. Hindu philosophy and religion with customs and traditions are connected to the caste system as being deeply rooted in the society of India. Over 2800 documented castes break down into sub-castes with each having their own uniqueness and variety of rules. The hierarchy divides society with the highness or superiority and lowness or inferiority to set a defined rank structure. Each caste has set customs, traditional practices and rituals but also have it’s own informal procedures and rules as applicable.
Dharma includes three parts: the universal harmony principle, the social ethics and morals that differ according to social classes, and the individual moral codes. The most fundamental virtues include generosity, honesty, self-abnegation and respecting the elders. The Indian traditions and customs are deeply rooted in Hinduism. Every aspect of the Indian people’s life is connected with Hinduism. Since a person is born, they need to undergo numerous religious rites and rituals, including complicated birth rites, grand wedding rites and the Hinduism cremation.
This caste system impacts much of Hindu history, society and culture to a level unknown anywhere else. However, the most apparent problem with this system is that under its strict rigidity, the lower castes were prevented from endeavoring to climb higher, and as such, economic progress was limited. It’s my assertion that a rigid system of structural inequality maintained through strict enforcement and social exclusion, is incompatible with a religion which claims to promote inclusion, peace and unity.
Gandhi is a hero for the 1 percent. While many consider the great leader to be more than human, many others will claim that he crippled the Hindu people. The cast system and the opportunity for the lower castes would have dramatically changed if Gandhi would have helped a person named Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. The Caste system is crippling the Hindu people by forcing them into a rigid and outdated way of thinking, corrupting the government and country as a whole, authorizes discrimination on all levels and does not sanction improvement of ones’ life. Everyone born into a traditional Hindu family is automatically adopted into the the Caste system.
In each society, there are different types of rules and ideologies that are used in order to help govern its people. Within these communities, these rules create a social hierarchy developed through a ranked system based on either economic value or religious beliefs. A type of ranked system that most people are familiar with is the Caste System in India, which is a system of classification in a society based on birth. This complex social structure is most prevalent in India, where social hierarchy is in affiliation with Hinduism. It recognizes two concepts known as Varna and Jati.
Karma and caste determine who they marry, where they live, the job they can have and almost every other aspect of their lives. Karma and the caste system are very closely intertwined in defining who we are as a person and the amount of freedom in our lives. Karma was established in the Hindu religion during the time of the Upanisads. The idea for Karma was developed as an explanation for the cycle of samsara and the connection between priests, ritual and gods. They used karma in conjunction with dharma to enforce the need of the people to pay the priests to do the rituals to the gods.
The caste system in India is elaborately structured to have an Indian touch to it, clearly distinguishing it from social structures worldwide. Caste is a word often used to describe a cluster of people who have a specific rank in the society. Each caste system is elaborately crafted to suit the needs of the society and they vary from group to group; each has its own rules and customs. Different chaste systems are planned in a hierarchical manner to become part of any of the four basic colors; varnas (a Sanskrit word for color). These include; the varna of Brahmans, identified with the learned class and priests; varna of Kshatriyas, which is encompasses warriors, rulers and property owners, the varna of Vaishyas, which attracts traders ; and lastly the varna of Shudras, who are servile laborers (Bayly, 1999).
I will show how these separate texts have defined roles within castes and genders and show how their different styles of writings have defined roles in different ways. A person's role in society depends largely on their caste/class. Firstly, I think it is important to distinguish the difference between `Caste' and `Class'. A person's class (Varna) is dependant on their occupation. It can be changed throughout a person's life.
The way in which kinship is classified differs throughout communities, and even fields around the world. Under the study of anthropology, kinship regards relations forged through marriage and arising from descent as being very important when deciding which person is a part of