Mary Pat Fisher Living Religions Analysis

The caste system has been extremely stable in India for over two thousand years. It is only since the more modern, independent state of India was formed that the system has come under any scrutiny at all. It is presently outlawed, but many of the practices, attitudes and traditions remain ingrained in Hindu society (University of Wyoming, 1997).

While the Native Americans and the Africans inhabited two different continents, their belief system has a plethora of similarities pertaining to their core values. The basis of their religion also, in some ways, epitomizes modern day religion such as rites of passage. Their differences are shallow in context when it comes to what they view as sacred and holy and including religious rituals that are performed for a specific reason or transformation. Both Native American and African mythologies center around the ideology of harmony, balance, and cyclical nature of all beings through animistic symbolization. To a certain degree, all outsiders or nonnatives who study the belief systems of indigenous religions have found that indigenous religion is more than just a religion or belief system but rather an inherent way of living. To name or label indigenous beliefs as “religion” or any other is to have a bias based on our own views of transformation and ultimacy.

Although the caste system was a social structure, it helped stabilize India’s political foundation. Based on the citizen’s profession, the caste defined their social standing. This system contained 5 main levels; the Brahmans were the priest, highest of the caste, they ruled and ordered by telling the lower castes what to do, helping to govern the region with their significant knowledge of their religion. Next came the Kshatriya who were the

The caste system itself is a system of social stratification, based on two concepts, varna and jati. Varna

Vedic society was divided into four different classes, Brahmans, nobles, commoners and the serfs. These classes are part of the cosmic hierarchy and were based on purity. This gave way to the caste systems. Castes are arranged in the following order of the polarity of purity; Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and the shudras. With a fifth group called the untouchables at the very bottom. They are the untouchables because they are the most impure. The caste of an individual cannot be removed. Each caste has strict rules on caste endogamy.

This is where people were segregated into five categories: Brahmins, which are priests and teachers, Kshatriyas, warriors and rulers, Vaishyas, farmers, traders and merchants, Shudras, labourers, and Dalits, which were outcasts from society. People who would otherwise be able to shape a future for themselves were instead robbed of opportunity and put at a disadvantage compared to people who are of a higher caste. Discrimination and exploitation of those in a lower caste was also very normal. Not only is this prevalent in India with its caste system, but all over the world people are discriminated against because of their profession, social status, or wealth, instead of being judged by who they are as a

The Caste System has four different types of groups where the groups have different meanings and people don’t get to choose which type of group they want, because they are born into it. This system had a lot of people suffering, because they didn’t have any freedom to do what they want or be what they wanted. Brahmins belong to the highest caste. They are priests and scholars. Kshatryas are soldiers and warriors. Vaisyas are merchants and professionals. Sudras are the lowest cast. They are labors and

What are the four major castes? What implications does the caste system have for everyday life? How does the caste system relate to Hindu ideas of spiritual life? “The four major castes of Hindu society are; seers ( brahmins ), administrators ( kshatriyas ), artisans or farmers ( vaishyas ), and followers or servants ( shudras)”( Smith 56). Smith writes, religious leaders, teachers, artists, and philosophers are members of the first caste, brahmins, khatriyas, the second caste, first known as warriors are now managers. The tillers of the land, the makers of bricks, and the builders are part of the third caste, vaishyas. The fourth caste is made up of servants, those who will take care of the other castes’ needs (56)”. While I was working in India, summer of 2001 and there at the invitation of the richest family in India and staying at one of their compounds, some of my co-workers and I were playing snooker. A young boy walked into the room where we were playing. He stopped and talked to us for a few minutes before continuing to bed. Accompanied by a man of about twenty years old, the boy’s shudra, who had been the boy’s personal servant for ten or more years. The shudra’s purpose was to protect and serve his charge’s every need. Although there is inequality between castes, Smith denotes.“ within each caste, there is equality, opportunity, and social insurance ( 57)”. Although the text

The caste system and Hinduism have been heavily intertwined since the beginning of Hinduism in 1500 BCE with the Vedic period (Molloy, 80). So much so, that even after hundreds of years the very same structure persisted into the Upanishadic period of Hinduism. The system was based on four castes (varna): The priest (brahmin), the warrior (kshatriya, rajanya), the merchant (vaishya), and the peasant (shudra). The untouchables (dalits) were ostracized from the caste system, as they are considered too impure to partake in the social hierarchy of the higher castes. Two prominent figures tried to help the Dalits at different points in history: Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar. They both had different solutions to help the Dalits escape the

Around 1000 B.C.E. the early Aryan society created the caste system to separate classes. The Aryan’s groups wanted little interaction with each other. They believed that in their society they had four different hierarchical strata. These consisted of Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and the Shudra. The Brahmans were the priests and were set high above the rest. Next followed the Kshatriya who were the warriors and officials. Then came the Vaisha, and they were merchants and artisans. Finally came the Shudra; these people were peasants and laborers who were set towards the bottom of this system. The people who either entered into the society later or violated rituals became known as outcastes. Outcastes were not included in the caste system.

Starting off, the caste system in Hinduism it originates from the Rig Veda, not only is it an ancient system but many regard it as a distinctive trait of Hinduism and its long history and that it is virtually identical to the essence of Hinduism (Varna & Jati 9522) caste is also known as Varna in Sanskrit which means color but can be better translated to mean order (Varna & Jati 9522). The caste system places people into four hierarchal classes Brahmin or priest is the highest in the caste they are considered the closest to god, they are also the people responsible for keeping sacred knowledge and teaching it to others. Since they were the first caste created from the cosmic man they have a superiority over all other caste members this is one of the only traits shared by the various

Ever since the religion of Hinduism was founded in 2800 B.C., India has upheld a social caste system that later evolved in its order and strictness. The caste system began when Aryan newcomers arrived in India, bringing with them a discriminatory mindset of racial separation. From this, varna, the Sanskrit word for caste, was born. Varna, also meaning color, placed the lighter-skinned Aryans at the top of the social pyramid and darker-skinned indigenous Indians at the bottom. Later, the Untouchables, or Dalits, were added to the system as outcasts and were immediately treated with nothing but distaste and inhumanity. These

Castes systems in India and caste like groups, classified in five groups with which almost all Indians are associated, are ranked. Everyone knows the relative rankings of each locally represented caste, and people's behavior toward one another is constantly shaped by this knowledge.

An important part of the aborigine religion, often considered to be among the oldest of religions, is the objectification of the sacred in the form of a totem. The totems, which represent Gods, are given attributes that are the perfect values of the aboriginal society. Essentially, the aborigines end up worshiping their own values or ‘collective consciousness’ which eliminates the possibility that alternate views would emerge within the same society.

The social structure of the Indian culture is characterized by the caste system. The origin of the caster system is traced to the times of Basham to the 16th century, during the times the Portuguese came to India and found the communities in the country divided into various groups (Ali 2006). The groups were called castes that meant tribes or clans. Caste is the system of groups within a class that are endogamous, commensal, and craft exclusive. The members of a particular caste system marries only within the group, eats only the food received from the group, and every man of the group lives by only the trade or the profession they undertake. The origin