ChanaR
Member
Thank you so much for your thoughtful post! I truly appreciate it. I particularly like stories -- stories are flowers that I collect in the garden of my heart.Pranam ChanaR, i will do my best to make this an easy learning experience
Varnashrama means four varnas (social divisions) and four ashrams (stages in life), and Dharma means law, truth, way of life. I have mentioned the varnas and ashrams in my previous post. People are not born as untouchables but are seen as a caste in that they are a social group, but from what i know no Hindu texts see untouchability as a "5th caste". There are always only 4 castes. To be an untouchable you must have done something heinous to be ostracised, like being morally corrupt, adharmic. The Puranas (a body of Hindu texts) say untouchables should be taken care of, but any close connection with them should be avoided. They are thrown out of society not for revenge, but for transformation. All castes could become untouchables. I am unfortunately not knowledgeable with the details, there is little mention of untouchables in Hindu texts.
Varnas are not determined by birth but is based on qualities and actions. This means social mobility exists and is available. In the modern caste system, people consider one born as a Brahmin to be blessed, and to be born as a sudra one must have done something bad in their previous life. This is not so at all. There have been good sudras and bad brahmins like in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The blessed Vidura was a sudra in the Mahabharata, and was always pious and respectable. Lord Krishna enjoyed his company over his kshastriya friends, for Vidura cared about Lord Krishna and wished to enjoy his company as well. Ravana in the Ramayana was a Brahmin, but was a rakshasha (demon) and kidnapped Sita (Lord Rama's other half). Lord Rama killed him with his mighty bow, restoring order. This is proof that the Lord does not care about caste, even in the Varnashrama dharma system, but the character and qualities of a person. All 4 castes perform service to each other, and rely on each other. Still you may think, what of untouchables? They are not even in a caste! Does the Lord care for them? Very much so. As i said, the character and qualities is something topmost to the Supreme. Shabari, an ascetic untouchable showed deep devotion to Lord Rama and offered him berries, and he gladly ate it. To be near an untouchable, let alone eat something offered by them is something a staunch brahmana would never do. Yet, out of love for his devotee, he consummated with her, and she attained his abode.
Lord Rama told Shabari: Such pure devotion is expressed in nine ways. First is satsang or association with love-intoxicated devotees and righteous people. The second is to develop a taste for hearing My nectar-like stories. The third is service to the guru (...) Fourth is to sing My kirtan (communal chorus) (...) Japa or repetition of My Holy name and chanting My bhajans are the fifth expression (...) To follow scriptural injunctions always, to practice control of the senses, nobility of character and selfless service, these are expressions of the sixth mode of bhakti. Seeing Me manifested everywhere in this world and worshipping My saints more than myself is the seventh mode of bhakti. To find no fault with anyone and to be contented with one's lot is the eighth mode of bhakti. Unreserved surrender with total faith in My strength is the ninth and highest stage. Shabari, anyone who practices one of these nine modes of My bhakti pleases Me most and reaches Me without fail. That which is most difficult for the greatest yogis was easily attained by you, Shabari, because of your sincere devotion.
All Vaishnava acharyas (spiritual teachers) follow and worship the Lord's activities and denounce the corrupt and stifling caste system and inegalitarian treatment of peoples. So no, Vedic "versions" do not support the rigid caste system of India today, but the fluid Varnashrama-Dharma that the Lord created.
It is deeply wonderful that democratic societies exist that help the less fortunate and see their society not as masters and slaves, but as a collective whole that everyone profits from. America is falling from this, and is devastatingly materialistic to the point of seeing people as worth only monetary value, but this is a topic for another day.
To me, reality is an apple, and different people and groups view the apple from a different angle. Suspending my own religion for a moment and using my empathy to see it from others' views is like turning the apple around and seeing it from all sides. As I do this through me life, I have gotten a richer, fuller understanding of the apple.
There are things about the West that I really hate. I don't like the materialism, as you point out. But one thing I really like is the Jewish teaching that we are made in the image of God, aka the dignity of the individual. This has blossomed into democracy and the concept of human rights. Just as we have imported ideas from the East, I think it is wonderful that democracy has caught on.
Of course, we share our bad stuff as well. Why the world loves our jeans I will never understand. LOL I think the world was more beautiful when each culture wore their own unique clothing.
