Link (Archive)
The Varna system in the Dharma-shastras categorized society into four groups: Brahmin (scholars), Kshatriya (warriors), Vaishya (merchants), and Shudra (laborers). This system fostered specialization and mutual interdependence, essential for a thriving society. For example, a farmer’s son would inherit both land and the skills necessary for farming. A society built entirely on the principle that “everyone is exactly the same” undermines both specialization and healthy interdependence.
Jati can be understood as the practical application of occupational continuity. A goldsmith’s son, for instance, would often become a goldsmith, passing down skills through generations. Similarly, in the Western world, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush both pursued politics, a family occupation that parallels Jati. Over generations, such patterns create occupational communities or Jatis.
However, over millennia, what was originally a skills- and aptitude-based guild system became distorted into a hereditary hierarchy. This rigidification was influenced by evolving social taboos and practices, as well as the consequences of repeated foreign invasions, which disrupted the original fluidity of the system.
There Is No Caste, Only Hindus – A Call For Truth
I once asked my American-born son, an academician at Stanford University, “What is your caste?” He rolled his eyes, trying to guess based on what his sixth-grade teacher had taught him. I had to clarify, “What is your caste, not what it should be?” He had no answer. This anecdote underscores a larger issue: caste is often portrayed in American discourse as intrinsic to Hinduism, despite its complex and evolving history.Kumbh Mela 2025: There is No Caste, only Hindus
Some 500+ million Hindus, more than the entire population of the USA, Mexico and Canada combined, attended a religious pilgrimage at one spot in Prayag Raj, India. Hindus stand shoulder to shoulder at train stations and walk on roads leading to the river site. No one asks the other about their caste, nor is there a single sign segregating people based on caste. The sole focus of all Hindus present is to take a dip in the Holy Ganga to have spiritual purification. Amidst the vast sea of humanity, distinctions of caste, class, and status fade, as millions unite in devotion, embodying the true essence of Hinduism—faith, unity, and surrender to the divine.What is the Caste System?
The word caste originates from the Portuguese word “Casta,” which means lineage, race or breed. This concept is not equivalent to the Hindu framework. Caste, as understood today, is not sanctioned by the Vedas or other Hindu texts and teachings, nor is it intrinsic to Hinduism or a feature of its entire history. Hinduism has concepts of Varna (personality types, tendencies) and Jati (occupational guilds), which differ fundamentally from the rigid notion of caste.The Varna system in the Dharma-shastras categorized society into four groups: Brahmin (scholars), Kshatriya (warriors), Vaishya (merchants), and Shudra (laborers). This system fostered specialization and mutual interdependence, essential for a thriving society. For example, a farmer’s son would inherit both land and the skills necessary for farming. A society built entirely on the principle that “everyone is exactly the same” undermines both specialization and healthy interdependence.
Jati can be understood as the practical application of occupational continuity. A goldsmith’s son, for instance, would often become a goldsmith, passing down skills through generations. Similarly, in the Western world, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush both pursued politics, a family occupation that parallels Jati. Over generations, such patterns create occupational communities or Jatis.
However, over millennia, what was originally a skills- and aptitude-based guild system became distorted into a hereditary hierarchy. This rigidification was influenced by evolving social taboos and practices, as well as the consequences of repeated foreign invasions, which disrupted the original fluidity of the system.
