Writer aayam bajaj
When people are asked about the origin of caste-system in India, most of the individuals describe how there was a "Varna-Vyavastha" in ancient times, wherein there were four Varnas: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. This thought process, or the social engineering is a consequence of the colonial distortion of the scriptural Varna system by the British government and the Christian missionaries, and their policy of divide and rule, or conversion, as seen from the aspect of modern history, and by the remaining Brahmins who survived the wars and adulterated the texts like Manusmriti, Vedas, etc. into their favour, as seen from the aspect of ancient history. The age-old, ancient, sacred Varna system was misinterpreted and it degenerated into the caste-system over the years. The concept of Varna is explained in the PurushaSukta of the Rigved:
ब्राह्मणोस्य मुखमासीत | बाहू राजन्यः कृतः ।
उरू तदस्य यद्वैश्यह। पद्भ्यां शुद्रो अजायत ॥
From the head of the almighty, born the Brahmin, from his limbs originated Kshatriya, from stomach born the Vaishya and from the legs born the Shudra. Note that the above interpretation never meant or considered the birth from the upper body as superior and lower part as inferior. It is just the division of Varna, according to one's labor and skill set. Throughout history, we have people like Ved Vyas (who wrote Mahabharat), Vishwamitra(who composed gayatri mantra), Chandragupta Maurya, who were born in shudra families, but performed the work of Brahmin and Kshatriya according to their skill set, and the society approved of it. Hence, there was social mobility, and flexibility of choice in the system of Varna. However, it was violated in the case of Eklavya and Karna, where they were disregarded despite being qualified and learned.
Furthermore, the sacred text of Bhagvad Gita described clearly, the division of labor based on merit and not birth:
चातुर्वर्ण्य मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः ।
तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम् ||
Also, the work of four Varnas is divided on merit basis, depending upon the merit or guna that one possesses:
ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च परन्तप ।
कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि स्वभावप्रभवैर्गुणैः ||
According to the Bhagavad Gita, there are three types of merits(guna):-
Sattva Guna- Light, Balance, Kindness, Intelligence
Rajas Guna- Excitement, Egoism, Agitation, Attachment, Passion
• Tamas Guna- Darkness, Inertia, Inactivity, Laziness
According to the Bhagavat Puran, there was just one Varna called 'Hamsa' during Satya Yug, where everyone properly fulfilled their 'Svadharma'. During Treta Yug, four Varnas came into existence. Svadharma is a part of every human. Each person has individual duties or purpose in life that help them travel towards the ultimate goal of "Moksha". In order to facilitate people to choose their own Svadharma, based on their individual temperaments, behavior, and the inherent nature (Svabhav), the Varna system or Varna Vyavastha had been conceived in the Hindu scriptures. In the modern history, the present system of caste was constructed by the British government. It amalgamated the Varna system of Svadharma with different social groupings like Jatis (ethnocultural), Kulas (Skill groups), etc. The British created a racial classification of 'caste' based on the European racial 'casta' classification system. This proves that the word 'caste' has no relation with 'varna'. The society is seriously inflicted with the rigid caste system, and its politics. This caste system has been used for decades for criticizing our historical culture as being oppressive and discriminatory by correlating it with the concept of Varna. A detailed reading of Hindu scriptures clearly reveals that there is no religious basis for the present form of the caste system.
Owing to the challenges of the modern society, it is difficult to determine the Varna of a person. Suppose a man wakes up in the morning, gets ready, sits, and starts chanting shlokas. This Svabhava is of a Brahmin. Thereafter, the man polishes his shoes before going to the office. This Svabhava is of a Shudra. The man works as a marketing employee, and his profession involves trading of goods. This Svabhava is of a Vaishya. Finally, the same man trains for martial arts, the Svabhava of a Kshatriya. Hence, categorizing such an individual to a Varna is a fallacy. It is up to individuals to recognize their Varna by analyzing their own inner temperaments and thereby perform their Svadharma accordingly. Thus, Varna-Vyavastha is a conceptual classification, and has no correlation to the artificially constructed social factors of race, caste or ethnicity.
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