Throughout India's rich history, there existed a period of time in which people were organized into different social groups at birth. The organization that was used is identified as the Caste system and its roots can be traced all the way back to early Hindu texts. One text that specifically shows signs of the system is The Bhagavad Gita. This ancient Hindu text is regarded by many as the Hindu bible and its extremely influential in the forms of modern day Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita today, is seen by some as a hot topic of debate on whether or not it supports a religious basis for the Caste system. When closely examining the book, one will find that it does, in fact, address the Caste system, although it undermines what the Caste system is
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The system is set up by organizing people into four different groups and one outcast group based how godly they follow the proper rules of Hinduism throughout their past and current lives. The problem with this is that once a person is born into a caste he or she cannot change it within their lifetime. Only once a person has lived a devout life, fulfilled their duty in society, and practiced yoga they can only hope that their Atman (soul, or real self) is reborn into a higher caste or reaches Moksha (release from the cycle of rebirth). The castes in order from highest caste to lowest are as follows: The Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishya's, the Shudras, and the outcastes. The Brahmins are priests and scholars, the Kshatriyas are warriors and nobles, the Vaishya's are farmers and merchants, the Shudras are workers and servants, and the outcastes are the untouchables. The reason the Caste system has been so widely debated on whether or not it has a religious basis is because the Caste system is used to severely discriminate those within the lower …show more content…
The Caste system that existed was merely created and maintained as the way for the the people in power to stay in power. They could use and abuse this system by forcing the lower castes to perform tasks that only benefited them. This created endless years of discrimination and mistreatment of lower caste people.
Ultimately, the Indian Caste system began long ago and has been used as a way to organize people at birth and maintain power. The Caste system was abolished in the 1950s, but problems regarding this issue still exist today. Some of the first mentions of the Caste system in text can be traced all the way back to the Bhagavad Gita. Although highly debated, when closely examining the book one will find that it undermines the idea of birth into a certain caste, but rather states that castes are earned through action within one's
The system is set up by organizing people into four different groups and one outcast group based how godly they follow the proper rules of Hinduism throughout their past and current lives. The problem with this is that once a person is born into a caste he or she cannot change it within their lifetime. Only once a person has lived a devout life, fulfilled their duty in society, and practiced yoga they can only hope that their Atman (soul, or real self) is reborn into a higher caste or reaches Moksha (release from the cycle of rebirth). The castes in order from highest caste to lowest are as follows: The Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishya's, the Shudras, and the outcastes. The Brahmins are priests and scholars, the Kshatriyas are warriors and nobles, the Vaishya's are farmers and merchants, the Shudras are workers and servants, and the outcastes are the untouchables. The reason the Caste system has been so widely debated on whether or not it has a religious basis is because the Caste system is used to severely discriminate those within the lower …show more content…
The Caste system that existed was merely created and maintained as the way for the the people in power to stay in power. They could use and abuse this system by forcing the lower castes to perform tasks that only benefited them. This created endless years of discrimination and mistreatment of lower caste people.
Ultimately, the Indian Caste system began long ago and has been used as a way to organize people at birth and maintain power. The Caste system was abolished in the 1950s, but problems regarding this issue still exist today. Some of the first mentions of the Caste system in text can be traced all the way back to the Bhagavad Gita. Although highly debated, when closely examining the book one will find that it undermines the idea of birth into a certain caste, but rather states that castes are earned through action within one's