Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Castes

[Vaj]

On Oct 29, 2006, at 1:05 PM, curtisdeltablues wrote: I agree that other cultures can be totally classist, and the poor of every society have it very tough.  I can also see the value of passing down a family business or even profession.  But the cruel rigidity of the caste system for the lower castes was fought by Buddha and Gandhi because they opposed its effects that they witnessed.  There may be an abstract religious honor credited to the lower castes but there is no wealth.  My understanding is that Guru Dev's camp was anti Gandhi for this reason.  As we know it was a Hindu fundamentalist who knocked Gandhi off. ( I am not making an off-the-wall accusation here!)  MMY believes that the present caste system is improperly applied today because of ignorance and his A of E will make it all work wonderfully.  The system seems fine to doctors sons, but not so fine for a leather tanner shudra who has an interest in becoming something else.  I'll bet the tech boom is blowing some of these class barriers down over there just as it did here.  I highly recommend anyone interested in the traditional raison d'etre for the "caste system" read the works of Alain Danielou. Danielou was a disciple of Swami Karpatri (the "Shankaracharya-maker"), the man who actually chosen for Shankaracharya before Swami Br. Saraswati (he declined and suggested SBS). Danielou and his gay lover both lived in Benares and received instruction from Karpatri, but had to sit at the back of the room with the untouchables. Danielou, to my shock and surprise, was an advocate of the caste system based on the teachings he had received from this key disciple of SBS. Before you discount the caste system, you should read what this guy says. It's very different than the British propaganda most westerners have been taught. Here are some brief excerpts. You'll need an open mind to appreciate them. From: While the Gods Play by Alain Danielou. You'll also find out why the Maharishi wants to lay out cities like he does... The Castes (Varnä)   MAN is a social animal, which is to say that the human species forms a whole, an organism, whose various cells have their own distinct functions. This is why the different lineages of mankind exist. The qualities and abilities of each improve over the generations so as to form an efficient, harmonious society that is capable of carrying out the role assigned to the human species in the plan of creation.   In the same way that the different organs of the body have different functions, even though they originate in cells, so in the plan laid out for the species there exist particular lineages that are more adapted to certain functions and whose abilities, once they are recognized, encouraged, and developed, become hereditary. Each human grouping, each race, each family, must seek to uphold its integrity, to improve its particular speciality, and to play the social role corresponding to its nature, and above all else to preserve and transmit its own special genetic and cultural heritage.   Our virtues are to a great extent transmissible, being connected to aspects of character that can be inherited. This is why they must be cultivated and improved so that we may play our role to the full in the brief span of our existence.   There is thus for everyone a "natural law" (Dharmä) that regulates the use and development of mental and physical characteristics, inherited at birth, together with the gift of life itself, so that we may play to the full our part in the evolution of our lineage.   Ancestor worship involves above all else the respect and transmission of our double heritage, genetic and cultural.   Each being is born unique. In the almost infinite number of possible combinations of the elements that constitute the living being, it is beyond belief that the same arrangement could be repeated, that two beings could be absolutely identical, with the same nature, appearance, function, and station; nevertheless, the human types defined by heredity can be classified. In order to achieve his physical and spiritual destiny, each individual must establish his basis; determine the class to which he belongs, the duties and qualities inherent in that class, and its unique characteristics so that he may make them productive; and, eventually, go beyond them. Everyone must achieve the perfection of a social or exterior role before he can perfect his personal or interior role. The two roles can be vastly different and even contradictory; thus, we see that men from the artisan castes can earn their living in their humble professions and yet can at the same time be philosophers, holy men, and artists before whom kings and Brahmans bow with respect. The circumstances of our birth correspond to the level of development of our own lineage and to the conditions in which we can best progress. Each of the links in the lineage is found at a particular stage of the evolution of that species‑in its youth, maturity, or decline. This is why individuals of different races are not at the same level in their evolution.   There is no advantage to anyone in wanting to change one's situation or function, nor in wanting to perform the duties of another. Thus, except in very rare cases, one does not change one's sex, species, race, or caste during one's life. The external hierarchy of beings and things is often the opposite of the interior order. This is the reason why, during the Kali Yuga (the present world age), it is most desirable to be either woman or worker (Shudrä), for through mere humility and devotion to their role or work, these people can attain exterior perfection, which in turn permits the interior development that frees them from the weighty chains of life and leads them effortlessly toward the higher spheres of knowledge. The state of prince, or Brahman, noble and magnificent though it may seem, is disastrous in the dark age, for the discipline that they demand is so severe and the virtues so difficult that failure is almost certain.   It is not at all by chance that for nearly the last thousand years, almost all the great mystic poets and holy men of India have been men of humble birth who could so easily free themselves from their social and ritual responsibilities and devote themselves to their inner life.   An organic society can only exist on the basis of a division of powers and functions.   With the appearance of urban societies at the dawn of the Kali Yuga, a system developed in India whereby the different groups were able to intermingle and collaborate; each group was able to maintain its own identity, traditions, and knowledge, while at the same time cooperating in the development of a common civilization.   Ancient cities were divided into four parts, separated by avenues in the shape of a cross; each part was reserved for one of the four functions: priest, soldier, merchant, and artisan. The word quarter is the remnant of this division. --- Coexistence   EVERY society must make way for invaders and migrants. In this way, linguistic, religious, and professional groupings develop. These must be recognized and linked to the four principal groups, even while maintaining their separate identity, solidarity, and the means of defending their cultural uniqueness.   Besides a few exceptional individuals, who are mutants and therefore tend to associate together in a kind of parallel society, the problems of individual freedom in relation to social order are the concern of groups rather than of individuals Every caste or ethnic, religious, or professional grouping Wilds to establish rules appropriate for itself, building up codes of behavior that cannot be generalized.   Rules of morality that imply codes of honor regulate the activities of each group. If these rules are not followed, the groups self‑destruct. Immigrants belonging to a foreign culture will alter the social order if their autonomy is denied and they are forced to assimilate.   The hierarchy of the caste system allows for the coexistence and collaboration of human groups even though they belong to different levels of evolution. Attempts to bring about equality are destructive of the individuality of the person and of the group. Coexistence demands respect for all the differences and varieties in human beings. In this sense, traditional Hindu society is fundamentally antiracist. It rejects the colonialization through assimilation that the current Indian government, infected by Western ideas, is using to assassinate the primitive tribes left over from the Satya Yuga and totally unable to adapt to the ways of life of the modern world. The government claims that these groups are the backward elements of a single population; but one cannot respect and protect the various human societies by refusing to acknowledge their very existence, autonomy, importance, rights, and uniqueness. Every group has its usefulness, a role to play in the balance of nature and society. The caste system tries to determine this role, stabilize it, and make it easier. The abilities, duties, virtues, and rules of each group are different: it is impossible to establish behavioral laws that would apply to all.   A division into castes, whatever may be its defects, is essential to the smooth running of every society. If, as a consequence of ill‑considered intermingling, a society no longer has these distinct categories, they will tend to re‑form, slowly but inevitably, just as a wound heals over: the social framework is its own healer. According to the Manu Smriti, the codified laws of Manu, abilities and talents should then be the basis on which to reestablish castes. There is a similar idea behind the modern I.Q. tests. However, we do not have the established corporate bodies that could make these abilities productive and provide a way of life, security, and a social family for those oriented toward a particular vocation. All this is crucial for the well‑being of any society. The Western world's vanity (the implicit belief by which Westerners consider themselves a superior species) is revealed in its determination to impose upon all peoples its languages, beliefs, and social and moral concepts, in the belief that these represent progress. Those attached to Indian culture liken themselves to the Aryan Brahmans, whose rites they pretend to practice and whose codes of behavior they claim to follow. This has cut them off from the other brands of Indian tradition.   The study of Shaiva tradition has been neglected to the point that most of the Westerners who claim to study India and its rites, customs, and knowledge have not even the slightest idea that there are other strands besides Vedic Brahmanism, even though it is these strands which are most suited to their own needs. Why does a Westerner who, at home, would study architecture, medicine, music, or perhaps astrology, alchemy, or magic, ignore the related fields which in India carry on similar traditions, with their particular initiations and rites, and which continue to teach the related religious and philosophic concepts?   The few Westerners who have really been able to enter the Hindu world are those who have taken an interest in the study of the crafts (music in particular) and have been accepted into an artisanal group. Others, in investigating religious or magical practices, have been able to find a place for themselves in the Tantric world that has opened before them. Such was the case of Sir John Woodroffe for Tantrism or Verrier Elwyn for the Munda tribes.   There are no exclusions in Shaivism and Tantrism concerning religious and ritual practices.   Tiruvallur, the author of the Kural, the most venerated work in Tamil literature, was of very humble origins. He wrote: "All men are equal. The differences between them come about through their occupations . . . . Even today, a pariah who has undergone the Shaiva initiation (Shivädikshâ) can transmit it to a Brahman and thus become his Guru" (Sakhare, History and Philosophy of Lingayat Religion, p. 175).   From the point of view of the social framework, the abilities and moral qualities of individuals are part of the genetic heritage of their lineage, and are generally related to the family's occupation. Just as there are game dogs and sheep dogs, each genetic code is adapted to particular functions. __._,_.___ To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe __,_._,___