[Advaita-l] Caste system

[Vineet Menon]

NamaskAra,

Please understand that caste, jati and varna are three different concepts.

The first one is a European word from Portuguese and is an amalgamation of
European race science and the other two (jati and varna). Varna is not
hereditary (at least I don't know of any verse in sruti which says so) and
Jati is hereditary exclusively to establish kinship and marital issues.

> 1) How do i go about identifying my varna?

As Krishna says in Gita (4.13). Sankara's commentary says,


> 'By the gunas are meant sattva, rajas and tamas. As to that, the control
> of the mind and body, austerity, etc. are the duties of the Brahmanas, who
> are sattvika, i.e. have a predominance of the quality of sattva (purity,
> goodness, etc.). Courage, valour, etc. are the duties of the Ksatriyas, in
> whom sattva becomes secondary and rajas (passion, attachment, etc.)
> preponderates. Agriculture etc. are the duties of the Vaisya, in whom tamas
> (indolence, ignorance, etc.) is secondary and rajas is predominant. Service
> is the only duty of the Sudra, in whom rajas is secondary and tamas
> predominates (see chapters 14, 16,17 and 18). In this way, the four castes
> have been created by Me through a classification of the gunas and duties'


> 2) Does my varna change with time as it is a function of Sattva,  Rajas
and Tamas.

I find no mention of gunas changing with time. Gunas are not acquired
characteristic.

 > 3) How does knowing my varna help,  given the type of job opportunities
and extracurricular options that prevail in the society today?

See the Sankara commentary. Today's world is not the world of yesteryears.
There are many professions in ancient society which has been rendered
obsolete in present and similarly, there are professions in the present
which was absent in the past. But roughly, teachers/scientists/doctors etc
can be considered Brahmana, Politicians/Armed forces can be considered
Kshtriya, Traders/CEOs/Entrepreneurs can be classified as Vaisya while
Engineers/Artists/Writers can be considered Sudra.

Also, please note that sruti has no mention of any hierarchy among the
Varnas.

On 25 November 2016 at 09:12, Lakshman Velayutham via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> If I may add more questions...
>
> 1) How do i go about identifying my varna?
> 2) Does my varna change with time as it is a function of Sattva,  Rajas and
> Tamas.
> 3) How does knowing my varna help,  given the type of job opportunities and
> extracurricular options that prevail in the society today?
>
> Regards
> Lakshman Velayutham
>
> On Nov 25, 2016 7:00 AM, "Nithin Sridhar via Advaita-l" <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
> > Dinesh ji,
> >
> > This article which I wrote sometime ago may be of use to you-
> > http://indiafacts.org/varna-provide-religious-basis-
> present-caste-system/
> >
> > Also read these articles-
> >
> > 1.
> > http://indiafacts.org/why-is-the-world-so-obsessed-with-
> > indias-caste-system/
> >
> > 2. http://indiafacts.org/varna-not-caste/
> >
> > Regards,
> > Nithin
> >
> > On Fri, Nov 25, 2016 at 2:28 AM, Dinesh Patel MD via Advaita-l <
> > advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> >
> > > My educationists
> > > A few of my American friends are asking about caste system as mentioned
> > in
> > > Gita
> > > Why lord Krishna did this or did he at all
> > > Why are they treated as they are
> > > Some western journalist in ny times a few weeks back wrote what looked
> to
> > > be a bias uninformed view point but no one has responded back
> > > Dalits are badly treated by Govt - and society
> > > I am proposing the topic
> > >  Genesis of caste system
> > > in India -- a Sanatan Dharma civilization
> > >  Why
> > > Pros and cons
> > > Compare such caste systems if any in other religions
> > > May be I am side tracking
> > > If so disregard
> > > IAM of course enjoying the information
> > > Dinesh
> > >
> > > Sent from my iPhone
> > > _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Nithin S
> > _______________________________________________
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