In the last episode we saw how the Varna and caste system in India developed over a period of time. Its main drawback was that it became more and more dependent on the birth of an individual rather than on his/her nature or profession as originally envisaged.
Is it completely wrong to base the caste on birth? If I say ‘no’, then probably that would raise lot of eyebrows 😉 Let me explain.
How does anyone develop his/her personality, interest, and capability? A little pondering tells us that we often inherit these things genetically from our parents and from the way we are brought up, either because of the home environment or that outside.
Though there can be exceptions, children generally inherit their traits from their parents, and the surrounding environment further shapes them. That is why we are not all alike, though our bodies and brains are more or less similar structurally.
People like Dr. Stevenson, a well-known rebirth proponent, adds our past birth experiences to these two criteria. He says that depending on the past birth experiences, a person may develop a distinct trait which can neither be explained by genetics nor by the environment in which one grows up.
There is lot of scriptural evidence to show that a person takes birth in a particular family as a result of his/her past experiences. A specific family conducive to furthering one’s interests is chosen when one takes rebirth. For example, Krishna says that a Yogi who dies before accomplishing his ultimate goal would take rebirth in a family where necessary environment exists for making further progress.
Leaving aside this rebirth criteria which can be debatable, the first two criteria namely genetic inheritance and home environment cannot be completely ruled out while shaping one’s personality. And it is this personality which would ultimately decide the Varna or Jaati of a person. So, it is natural that birth becomes one of the criteria in deciding the Varna or Jaati of an individual.
But the ancient Indian scriptures never say that birth is the only criterion. They say that birth is one of the criteria but it is neither the essential nor the sufficient criterion. The ancient law maker Manu is very clear about this.
There are many places where Manu warns that one loses his caste or Varna if he does not live the way a person of that caste or Varna is supposed to live. This in spite of the fact that such a person is born in that caste. Just the birth alone does not guarantee the caste of an individual.
Manu says that a Brahmin or a Kshatriya or a Vaishya ceases to be that if he does not undertake schooling at the prescribed age. Further, if one violates the rules governing his caste, even in that case he loses its caste.
For example, a Brahmin who is supposed to dedicate himself to acquisition and dissemination of knowledge, resorts to trade or agriculture like a Vaishya, such a Brahmin would indeed become a Vaishya. So, mere birth does not guarantee anything. If at all, it provides the prerequisites in some cases.
Similarly, it is not essential for a person to be born in a particular caste to be accepted as one belonging to that caste. Vishvamitra, a born Kshatriya becomes a Brahmin because of his efforts. Similarly, Vidhura a Shudra by birth is respected by all including Krishna for his knowledge. For all practical purposes, he is seen as a Brahmin at least by people who are unbiased.
Mahidasa, a son of a Shudra woman became a great sage and even has an Upanishad in his name – Aitareya Upanishad, which is one of the important Upanishads.
The Law maker Manu gives 3 criteria under which one can move from a lower Varna to a higher Varna irrespective of how he was born.
If someone is born to a great man and is also brought up under the environment setup by such a person, then irrespective of the Varna of the mother, one gets the Varna of the father. The great sage Vyasa who was born to Brahmin Parashara and fisherwoman Satyavati is just one example. Vyasa was considered to be a brahmin like his father.
There were many great Brahmins who were born to non-brahmin mothers. In fact, most sages married Kshatriya girls, but still their progeny was considered to be Brahmins. The interesting case was Parashurama, whose mother Renuka was a Kshatriya. Parashurama was considered to be a Brahmin because of his Brahmin father Jamadagni.
At the same time, Vishvamitra, maternal cousin of Parashurama was considered to be a Kshatriya since his father was a King. Vishvamitra later became a Brahmin after undertaking lot of austerities. So, as Manu puts it, one can upgrade his Varna by his individual efforts irrespective of his birth.
Manu also gives a third criterion under which one can either upgrade or degrade his Varna or Jaati. This sounds more like genetic modification over generations. Manu says that if one intermarries in a specific way, for 7 generations, the progeny born after 7 generations can be either upgraded or downgraded in the Varna.
For example, if a Brahmin marries a non-Brahmin woman and the daughter born to them marries a Brahmin, and if this mixing continues – daughter marrying a Brahmin – for 7 generations, the progeny born from 7th generation would become Brahmins! It is as if there is continuous modification of the genetic material.
The very same process can work the other way too, and one could lower his Varna. This shows that ancient Indians were aware of the role played by genetics and how they get inherited. Also, they seem to consider 7 generations to be sufficient to complete the process.
This 7 generation also becomes important when Manu says that cousins should not inter marry if they are related for past 7 generations either from father’s or mother’s side. We know today that marriages between close cousins can lead to genetically induced abnormalities. But why 7 generations? Did Manu know something more than what we do?
From all these explanations it is very clear that birth was neither an essential nor a sufficient criterion to decide the Varna or caste of an individual. Birth was just one of the criteria that could be over ruled. That removes the blame that caste system was strictly birth based.
Is there anything good in the caste system? Definitely there is. Caste, based on birth, gives an opportunity for refinement of an individual based on his birth. Instead of starting with a clean slate, as we assume today, the child starts off at some level and becomes further refined.
I personally believe that most of the great achievements that were attained by ancient Indian society, be it in sculpture, architecture, fine arts, crafts and so on, have lot to do with castes based on birth. Not everything can be learnt from schools as we now tend to think. I know, that many may not like this statement. But if you ponder a bit without bias, you will agree with me.
At the same time, caste by birth can also be a tool to oppress an individual, by people who want to misuse religious scriptures for their selfish goals. But as I have explained earlier, religious scriptures are quite flexible and it is only improper understanding or willful distortion of them is what made the caste system a draconian system.
If at all someone is bent on blaming the caste system for all the ills of Indian society, I can only concede that it was an excellent system but prone to misuse. Any system that is prone to misuse needs rethinking.
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