Something serious : Caste..

The Varna ashrama dharma system delineated in the Manu smriti cannot be be read separately from the other ideas therein. It is only one part of a paradigm, one tenet / postulate of the larger hindu Meta narrative. The monist Hindu outlook believes the purpose of every person on the earth is, over several lifetimes ascend back to the single entity to which they originally belonged, by attaining freedom from the cycle of rebirths. Ascension in the human plane, can be achieved by following the principles of Varna Ashrma Dharma, not dissimilar to the Christian principle of following certain principles in order to gain entry into heaven after this life.

Looking at the tenets of Caste from this perspective, paints a picture quite different from the oppressive hegemony we are used to reading about. The caste system, specifically the twice born castes: Brahmans, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas can be understood to be arranged hierarchically, not on the basis of some arbitrary notion of Purity and Pollution, but rather purity and pollution as defined by contact with and ties to the material world, which would undoubtedly hamper one’s ability to free oneself from this world. The Vaishyas: merchants ,traders and agriculturists, involved in commerce; the Kshatriyas:, soldiers and administrators, and the brahmans, priests and teachers, who are not to ordinarily concern themselves with the mechanical functioning of human society, portray, in descending order, one’s involvement with this earthly society and it’s goals, and subsequently a difficulty in transcending this world to see the purpose transcending each life span. Endogamy and non contact with the ‘lower’ castes can be viewed as rational, as it prohibits the upper castes from exchanging cultural knowledge and knowledge of the day to day workings of society, as this could be seen as polluting their broader view, with a narrower one, confined to this planet and this life span.

This system, is inherently communitarian, and the harmony and interdependence that it bases it’s orderly functioning upon is quite likely to break down if it were the case that not everyone in that society believed in this paradigm. The prevalent ‘modern’ paradigm, confines all thought and rationalisation to one life span of 70- 80 years, something quite different from, and alien to the Hindu religious paradigm. Shifting individual elements such as caste, from this paradigm, to modern day society, without adherence to, and belief in the inherent meta narrative, would be flawed to say the least.

The paradigm shift, from the hindu meta narrative to the one prevalent today, may be explained by the fact, that the hindu meta narrative requires its practitioners to delay gratification, much like the Christian religious paradigm, but on a much larger scale, which from the marshmallow test, it can be postulated, is not inherent within human nature.