Hi, I just wanted to ask you something. Lately, I've been seeing some posts that talk about how caste system is inextricable from Hinduism (i.e. Hinduism is based on caste system) and that we cannot separate the two. The Manusmriti was brought up in this and it seems to actually have very questionable verses, so I am not sure what to think. I just wanted to ask you about all this.
Okay so first of all what we had back then was Varna system. It was a system that allowed movement among the different Varna. This system became rigid and solidified over time and that is how the birth based Varna system took shape. Hinduism doesn’t have one sole book like the bible or the Quran and neither does it have one single figurehead of authority or a single sampraday or sect that can claim such an authority over it. Hinduism nowhere says that you cannot reform or change things. Books like Manusmriti were books of law and they were mostly for that time period and those people. You must understand that Hinduism is not a stagnant religion. I’m going to end up sounding like a broken tape because this seems like the hundredth time I’ve said this line on my blog…
Hinduism as a religious philosophy DOES NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH CASTE. Hinduism is much bigger than all of these things. There is no caste in the Hindu concept of Moksha and Atma. Our scriptures say that the parmatma (supreme being/super soul) resides in EVERY BEING.
Quoting from the Bhagavad Gita here -
BG 13.23: The Supreme Lord is said to reside within the body as the Paramātmā, the ultimate Controller, the Witness, the Permitter, and the Supporter.
BG 15.15: The Lord is seated in the hearts of all living beings, and from Him come memory, knowledge, and forgetfulness.
BG 18.61: The Supersoul is situated in everyone's heart.
BG 10.20: Shree Krishna declares that he is seated in the heart of all living entities, and is the beginning, middle, and end of all beings.
Shri Krishna in this verse lays to rest all your questions ⬇️
BG 5.18: The truly learned, with the eyes of divine knowledge, see with equal vision a Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater.
- Shree Krishna reveals in this verse how divine knowledge bestows a vision so different from physical sight. Endowed with knowledge, devotees see all living beings as souls who are fragments of God, and are therefore divine in nature. The examples given by Shree Krishna are of diametrically contrasting species and life forms. A Vedic Brahmin who conducts worship ceremonies is respected, while a dog-eater is usually looked down upon as an outcaste; a cow is milked for human consumption, but not a dog; an elephant is used for ceremonial parades, while neither the cow or the dog are. From the physical perspective, these species are sharp contrasts in the spectrum of life on our planet. However, a truly learned person endowed with spiritual knowledge sees them all as eternal souls, and hence views them with an equal eye.
The Vedas do not support the view that the Brahmins (priestly class) are of higher caste, while the Shudras (labor class) are of lower caste. The perspective of knowledge is that even though the Brahmins conduct worship ceremonies, the Kṣhatriyas administer society, the Vaiśhyas conduct business, and the Shudras engage in labor, yet they are all eternal souls, who are tiny parts of God, and hence alike.
Your question should be who are these people that are hell bent on reducing Hinduism to caste and the caste system? Who are these people that want to “eradicate Hinduism” and link it inextricably with casteism?
It's actually funny, because a lot of these arguments come from a place of intellectual dishonesty, and a lot of them rely on only presenting "facts" that support their opinions and ignoring anything that doesn't. The arguments against Hinduism, for example, almost always rely on talking about the Manusmriti and calling it casteist, and saying that since it is a Hindu text, the whole religion must be casteist. This is, of course, ignoring the fact that no one follows the Manusmriti anymore, because most people don't even know about it and those who do know about it also know that it is meant for a different time and is not applicable as it is today. In fact, the Manusmriti itself says:
परित्यजेदर्थकामौ यौ स्यातां धर्मवर्जितौ । धर्मं चाप्यसुखोदर्कं लोकसङ्क्रुष्टमेव च ॥ १७६ ॥ He shall, avoid such wealth and pleasures as are opposed to righteousness, as also righteousness if it be conducive to unhappiness, or disapproved by the people.
Hindus have constantly said that one of the strengths of our religion is that it is ever evolving. The smritis by nature are subject to change with the times. They are to be adapted to changing times and even discarded when they conflict with Vedas, Upanishads, etc., which are the actual authoritative texts. But admitting that would undermine their arguments that Hinduism is this extra evil religion that exists only to perpetuate the caste system and oppress people.
And some of the arguments also highlight the fundamental lack of knowledge of what we consider important to us. For example, one of the verses used to "prove" that Hinduism is casteist is this from the Purushasuktam (90th Sukta of the 10th mandala in the Rig Veda):
From his mouth came forth the Brahmins And of his arms were Rajanya made From his thighs came the Vaishyas And his feet gave birth to Sudras.
This is often used to say that Sudras are considered below everyone because they came from god's feet. However, if they knew anything about Hinduism, they would know that god's feet are one of the most important and sacred parts of him that we all worship. Whenever I went to a temple, there was always special emphasis placed on worshipping god's feet. Lord Rama's feet were so divine that they liberated Ahalya from her curse, and the sandals that touched those feet literally ruled Ayodhya until he returned. Sri Vedanta Desika literally wrote the Paaduka Sahasram, a poem with one thousand verses extolling the virtues of his footwear. To use this verse and say that Hinduism looks down on Sudras because it says they come from god's feet is the most ridiculous thing to me. The point is that we all come from god and that makes us all equal. And this is only one of the intellectually dishonest claims made to paint Hinduism as this backwards religion. But of course, we can't expect anyone who is categorically opposed to Hinduism to actually know anything about it and present arguments in good faith.
I am not going to say that there are no questionable things in Hinduism. It is a vast, vast religion with an uncountable number of works and philosophies and even belief systems that may often contradict each other because of the sheer quantity of it all. It is a way of life for billions of people and has so many complexities and philosophies, and to throw all that out by saying "it is casteist and therefore evil" is the epitome of stupidity. Hinduism is not casteist. A few scriptures may be, but they do not represent the whole of the religion because it is so, so vast. I will not object to anyone who actually wants to uphold the Manusmriti in this day and age being criticized, but to paint any follower of the religion and the religion itself as casteist is crazy to me. It shows a lack of understanding and just tells me you are not arguing in good faith. It tells me that I am not welcome in whatever plan for the world you have, even though I don't believe in the harm you are criticizing.
But more than anything, it tells me you don't really care about anyone from the lower castes. Because you are willing to ostracize anyone who is Hindu just because of your extreme and narrow-minded view of the religion, even though they agree with you. By advocating against those who follow the religion but want to reform it to stop the caste system from being upheld, you are undermining your own movement. You are alienating allies who are willing to fight with you. And I don't think they are unaware of this. They just don't care, because they are blinded by hate for what they perceive to be Hinduism that they want to see it be eradicated. That's what they want; that's what they're saying. And I shouldn't have to explain why eradicating an entire religion is wrong. Anyone who believes that genuinely is dangerous, as dangerous as anyone who believes that caste system is an institution that should be upheld. Making these arguments and lumping everyone who follows Hinduism into the category of "casteists" does not help anyone. Generalizing a vast, varied and complex collection of belief systems and philosophies into "casteist" does not help anyone. It only causes more division, and in the end, it just hurts all of us.
Also the Purushsukta is being highly symbolic here. Brahmins come from the head because they study the scriptures and are known as being knowledgeable and where do we store knowledge? In the head. The Kshatriya’s are said to be born of the arms because they guard by taking up arms and are warriors and rulers. The Vaishyas are said to be born from the thighs because thighs are considered to be a sign of fertility and prosperity and being close to the lions they are the also the source of finances and production. The shudras are the feet which supports the entire body, it’s their contribution in labour and skilled tasks that keep the entire body in balance, they literally hold up the entire system! Even if in today’s world the workers and labourers stop working the entire system collapses!
To say that the Purushsukta is describing a hierarchy is stupid indeed.
Also I found this!
I don't think it was an added in verse because most people I know accept it, but regardless, it's silly to use it as "proof" of casteism. It shows they don't understand us, and they would rather misinterpret scriptures to justify their position rather than engage with us meaningfully.
