Yesterday I wrote about lower caste people who convert to Buddhism and mentioned how popular this conversion actually is among them. Thousands of people convert happily in order to get out of this state of being untouchable and worth so much less than people of higher castes. How come this caste system has not long since been fully stopped here in India?
I have already written a lot about the different reasons for the caste system and the effects that it has on our society. The caste system comes from religion, there is a proof in the scriptures that shows that this cruel system is deeply based in Hinduism. I am of the opinion that we need to change this religious belief in order to stop the caste system. Making a law against discrimination due to one’s caste is not enough. It goes deeper! Hindus even structured those whom they call Gods into the different castes! We have to change religion if we want to stop the caste system!
A lot of things that are written in the scriptures have already changed. There is proof that Hindus and higher caste people were non-vegetarian in earlier times. They ate meat but then there were Hindus who told how wrong it is to kill animals to eat them. They promoted vegetarianism and now vegetarianism has become a kind of sign for Hinduism. Of course, there are still Hindus who are not vegetarians but religious people believe that a religious life means living as a vegetarian. There are some Hindu temples in India and many in Nepal in which you can still see animals being sacrificed in religious ceremonies though. They offer the life to God and distribute the meat afterwards. So it has not fully stopped but one can say that it was corrected. The main attitude among people in general is that strict Hindus should be vegetarians.
Another example is Sati, the tradition of burning widows together with their dead husbands, which is also written in the scriptures. Due to this religious belief, people in earlier times believed that when a man died before his wife, she should die at his funeral, when they gave the dead body to the flames. Many widows threw themselves into the fire voluntarily because of their belief but many were also forced to follow this cruel tradition and burnt against their will.
There was however a number of courageous people fighting against this tradition and among them a person called Raja Rammohan Roy who managed to get a law passed against the practice of Sati in 1829. After this the cases became less and some more laws were passed to make even bystanders guilty of murder and worship and glorification of the practice or those women illegal. The last case that I heard about, the only one as far as I can remember, was in 1987, when a young woman called Roop Kanwar jumped into the fire with the body of her late husband. There was another big outcry against this practice and although there are still some temples in which women like Roop Kanwar are illegally worshipped as holy goddesses, the tradition has practically vanished.
This practice came from religion but with the course of time we have passed laws against it, we have changed the minds of people in our society and it stopped. Why should we not be able to stop the caste system, too?
We can correct religions! We all know that scriptures were written a long time ago and that many of those things written there are not valid in today’s world anymore. So let’s take out all the wrong things and keep only what is good and beneficial. Bad things should not be continued for the sake of tradition while we all know it is wrong. The caste system is wrong. Don’t do anything that promotes what is wrong. We should always improve and change for the better. Fight against the caste system, don’t act as if anybody is higher or lower than others. We are equal. There are no castes that separate us.
Update
I heard people object that the practice of Sati has nothing to do with Hinduism and has no base in the scriptures. I do not want to go as far as to quote Hindu scriptures here but rest assured that this tradition is clearly stated in different Hindu scriptures. It is difficult to find references and proof online but this link gives you several examples.
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I find it interesting that Hinduism, among other religions, promotes vegetarianism. Of course I understand several reasons for being a vegetarian (I was vegetarian for a few years myself). There is concern for animal rights, a distaste for the blood of another animal, and the worshipping of animals as being sacred entities.
But when we study the life ways of ancient cultures as well as the ecosystems in nature, we see that carnivores are a very important link in the food chain. Though producers are extremely important to the life cycle and food chain (and do not consume other organisms), all other links in the food chain eat other organisms for nutrients and energy, from bugs, to birds, to fish, to lions, to humans. In fact, if one species discontinues its consumption of another species, the ecosystem becomes out of balance and one species overpopulates the area. As we see in nature, it is healthy, natural, and necessary to consume other organisms. If it is wrong for humans to eat animals because they are alive, is it wrong for humans to eat plants because they are alive? Are humans exempt from the food chain because we have a higher order of thinking and intellect?
With that said, I still completely disagree with the way in which many animals are bred, force-fed hormones, and slaughtered for their consumption by humans. And for this reason alone, I stand firmly for vegetarianism. But in many ancient cultures, such as many Native American tribes, animals were hunted with gratitude and respect. Native Americans would use every part of the animal for food, clothing, or shelter, would only kill with mindfulness, and would be very thankful for the offering of the animal to sustain their lives. In this regard, I would understand and honor the right of humans to consume animals.
Perhaps if we changed the way that animals were treated and consumed in today’s society, then religions would promote and honor this instead.
If I have money, I will award one lakh to each couple who marries intercaste and stay in marriage for five years minimum. Two lakhs if women is from lower caste
Great idea Ashvini, Shows your generous and kind heart but I hope you will not be the subject of anger from religious priests and gurus and secondly politicians. They are the people who want to preserve this inhuman caste system for their benefits.
Swami Ji Yeah they will be angry but if (ever) I do that, I would not worry
Anything which can not change itself with time will be finished one day…
It is time to change the stupid religious belief which are made for their own convenience to suit their needs. People are so blind….It is like blind following the blind. People just believe in their ancestors doing…and never question the purpose or reason why this is performed. Sheer ignorance. We need to get out of this shell and stand up for the truth. I get very frustrated and disappointed making my family understand. All we need to do is pray to the Supreme power with our heart. God does not ask for gifts, money or anything else. all he wants from us to be obedient, loving and do service to the mankind in his Name.TIME TO CHANGE THE TRADITIONS….
I don’t understand how it is possible to be the truth in the current time, in the 21 century. It is the stupidity, why do people have no rights to change their life? Who is behind the scene, politics? Why do the government make no changes? Is it profitable for them?
Do people often confuse a religious vegetarian with a vegetarian who does not eat meat because they believe it is wrong to kill animals? Also in the Hindu scriptures are there areas that are just ignored or is everything followed extensively?