The Caste System In Hinduism

Over a million people continue to suffer discrimination, degrading treatment, and violence because of caste association. The caste system is based on structural inequalities between high and low cast untouchables involving social isolation and exclusion from participation in social, political, and economic developments of society.Dr. Susan Bayly, an expert in the field, defines caste as not the

People are born into the caste of their parents and are not allowed to cross into another one. They are also expected to marry in the same caste. The unequal distribution of money, influence, pain and suffering are seen as a natural consequence for ones previous actions, both in this life and in previous lives. Hindus can be reborn at a higher level through pure acts, good thoughts and devotion. They can also be reborn at a lower level through bad deeds. It is even possible to be reborn as an animal. Arizona State University (2004) lists the five social castes. They are: Brahmins (priests and academics); Kshatriyas (military); Vaishyas (farmers and merchants); Sudras (peasants and servants); and Harijan (outcasts or untouchables).

Hinduism, the world’s oldest religion, is the third largest religion in the world after Islam and Christianity with close to one billion followers. The followers of the religion are called Hindus and are mainly located in India, and their place of worship is a temple. The religion doesn’t have any one specific founder, however,

4. What is the name given to people who are perceived as beneath the entire Caste System?

In some ways Hinduism is the oldest living religion since some elements of it date back thousands of years; Hinduism has no single founder, no single scripture, and no commonly agreed set of teachings despite many key figures and numerous holy books that might indicate otherwise. Hence why Hinduism is often referred to as a “way of life” and why it makes sense that the religion was informed by so many external conditions around its “birth” (BBC Religion Profile,

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.

The Indus River Valley civilization society was based around a social hierarchy, which was divided into groups based upon occupations. The highest group of the social hierarchy was the Brahmins, or also known as priests. The second highest group of the hierarchy was the Kshatriyas, or warriors. The third group were called the Vaisyas, which consisted of the herders, farmers, artisans, and merchants. The fourth group consisted of people who had little or no Aryan heritage called the Sudras, they consisted of farm workers, servants, and other laborers. The lowest group of the social hierarchy was the dalits, they did work no one else wanted to do. Their social class determined who they could marry, what kind of education they could get, where they could live, and what jobs they could get.

groups. It is a system inspired by Hindu scriptures in what the leaders wanted to create a society where jobs and functions were assigned to specific classes. These classes include the highest class, Brahmin made of those who are priests and educated individuals, Kshatriyas otherwise known as the warrior caste, Vaishya this was the trade and commerce class, Shudras, unskilled laborers; the agricultural or manual labor class. This class also includes all others who do not fit into any of the other classes but not to include the “untouchables”. The untouchables are not a caste class they are the rock-bottom of social order. The untouchables or Dalit, are those who are assigned and are forced into occupations that are unclean, defiling or are not members of the caste system, the lowest of the low. It is a handicap to be an untouchable in the eyes of

The Caste System was a structure that separated the poor and the rich. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, and the Untouchable are the five level of the structure. The Caste System determined where you belong by his/her birth. The reason Caste system began was a theory called the Indo-Aryan. Separating people

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

The caste system is divided into four categories the Brahams, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, the Shudras, and the Dalit (untouchables). Each category has a ranking and role; the rankings are followed respectively. Correlating directly to the caste, where you are ranked in the caste system sets the tone for one’s wealth, the higher up one is on the caste system has a direct association with having more wealth (Rao, 2010). This correlation is seen throughout history, even in modern Hinduism. This is due to social ranking and having a higher power within the caste system will allow one to have more connections, for example, politicians are ranked highly within the caste system, with these connections, they typically have an abundant amount of wealth. Being higher up in the caste system will give an unfair advantage, typically, because those who are born into a higher caste system rarely struggle to find fruitful jobs as those within lower caste system do. The varnas has a fifth category, the untouchables, who’s job entitles to do the unwanted jobs, the untouchables are not to interact with any other groups (Independence Hall). The untouchables represent poverty in the caste system, they are the impoverished class, with little to no currency to provide for

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

As children grow up in the United States, they are often told they can do whatever they want when they are an adult. They are often told to reach for the stars and to chase their dreams. In India however, this was not the case. India followed what is known as a caste system. A caste system does not allow young children the fantasy of becoming whoever they want to become, but instead their future is born when they are. The word “caste” was first coined by Portuguese traders in the 16th century and translates to race. The original caste system in India was developed more than 3,000 years ago and in some instances, still continues today. (Funk & Wagnalls 2016) It was created by Aryan priests who had separated society into four different categories. At the top of the list was Brahmans (priests), next were the Kshatriyas (warriors), then came the Vaisyas (farmers and merchants), and lastly was the Sudras. The Sudras were composed of servants and laborers who were to work for the other three castes. Even worse than being a Sudra though, was being a member of the Harijans, commonly known as the Untouchables. This group was composed of the Dravidians who were native to India and shunned for ‘religious or social sins’ from the other classes they originally came from. All formed by the priests, this system of hierarchy was created and made part of the Hindu religious law (Funk & Wagnalls 2016). The creation of the caste system came with many laws. For instance,

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.

One of the important element of our social structure is the caste system. According to Usha Talwar ( 1984) , caste has become so significant in Indian social structure that a meaningful study is not possible without its being taken into consideration.