Effects of the Caste System
The Hindu caste system plays a major role in how Siddhartha acts throughout the novel. As the novel progresses the readers follow Siddhartha on his journey to achieve Nirvana. While on the journey, Siddhartha is influenced by each level of the system on a mental and physical level.
In the Hindu religion, the caste system plays a major role in the lives of millions of people. But after a Buddhist reform movement, the caste was adopted by the Buddhists. So it plays a major role in both religions. The caste system is a social hierarchy system that the Hindu’s and Buddhists adopted together. This social order or arrangement of social classes according to the idea of“varna”,which is the idea of classes and different
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The Untouchables are the ones that are literally untouched by everyone else. They are the homeless beggars that do the worst and dirtiest jobs possible. The Untouchables are disliked by the highest level, the Brahmins so much that even if the shadow of a Untouchable hits their skin they must bathe. Also the Brahmins at the top are considered the embodiment of purity, and then the lowest level, the Untouchables are considered the embodiment of pollution. The next level above the Untouchables are the Shudras. They are the hard laborers. They do the mostly manual labor. They are basically the plumbers and handymen, or blue collar workers of their society. The next level is the Vaishyas. They are the skilled craftsmen. They produce goods to sell. They are the farmers, craftsmen, and artisans in our society. The next in class is the Kshatriyas. They are the born administrators of peace. In our society, the police, military, and politicians. They are the ones that have the great honor of protecting the area. Protecting the area is a great honor and can only be done by the highest quality of person. That’s why the other levels of the system do not get this task. Finally, at the top of the class system are the Brahmin. They are the spiritual leaders and philosophers. They are also the ones with the greater abundance of …show more content…
Reincarnation was created by the Aryans in order to justify the oppressive behavior they were imposing on the natives and to keep those people from rising up against the system. To the people in the system, it reframes people from getting excited about a possible growth or progress from this life to a “next life”. For the people on top of the caste system (the Brahmins), reincarnation justifies why they get the privilege of high-class birth. To them, those privileges were earned through virtuous or “godly” behaviors in their past lives, and a privileged birth proves that one deserves many more privileges than someone below them. For the people on the bottom, the Shudras and the Untouchables, reincarnation justifies why they have to suffer for their low birth. They must have earned their suffering through acts of sin past lives. In order to avoid a low-caste birth in their next life, Hindus who are born as Shudras or untouchables learned to support rather than oppose their own oppression for life. Hinduism teaches low-caste people that the way to improve their position in their next life is by leading a virtuous life this time with no acts of deviance towards the caste system. These ideas keep people from fighting the system so it can never be overturned or
Buddha was a Hindu prince. He had many difficulties with the Hindu culture. One of them was the caste system. Hindus believe that everyone has a standing different for others. They believed that there are people who are better than others and live in higher caste levels. In Siddhartha's case, when he was born in the Hindu culture, he was born in the Kshatriya caste. He was a part of the Sahkya clan and he was born in the Gautama family. However, after Buddha was enlightened, he stopped believing in that because he believes that everyone and everything is equally important to make a whole. This means that everything in reality and everyone is a part of something important and we should all treat each other equally. He fought for the same ethical
Over a million people continue to suffer discrimination, degrading treatment, and violence because of caste association. The caste system is based on structural inequalities between high and low cast untouchables involving social isolation and exclusion from participation in social, political, and economic developments of society.Dr. Susan Bayly, an expert in the field, defines caste as not the
Despite this, India had a very rigid structure. The caste system was everything in India. It was above even the state or the ruler, with the Brahmins or priestly class above all, even the warrior caste.
Hindus were divided by their social status, called the caste system. This made Hindus fall under one of the varnas such as Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra and the Untouchables (Strayer, 150-168). Priests and teachers were classified as Brahmins, warriors and kings were Kshatriya, merchants and landowners were known as Vaishya, peasants and serfs were classified as Shudras, and those that didn’t have a place on the caste system were defined as the untouchables because they had no social status. Hindus were unable to change their position in the caste system, until after reincarnation (Strayer, 150-168). There are scriptures such as the sacred text, The Vedas, and it leads to the fact that Brahmins empowered and dominated the top of the caste system and played specific roles in the religious lives of the people even from the start of India’s influence. Hindus became adjusted with these scared texts and grew used to it. They learned to follow religious values and traditions to have a better after life.
Hinduism reinforces the caste system, which is a "division of society into social classes that are created by birth or occupation" and it is a "prevalent social system of Hinduism" (Molloy 90). Thus, class and race are both elements affected by the caste system. There are different castes, or social classes, and there are also subcastes. Despite the caste being permanent for one's life, it's not to say that those in lower castes cannot move up to a higher caste. This is where the concept of rebirth comes into Hinduism, which is the idea that an individual can make certain choices in their lives, good or bad, and this can affect what caste they will be reborn into.
People are born into the caste of their parents and are not allowed to cross into another one. They are also expected to marry in the same caste. The unequal distribution of money, influence, pain and suffering are seen as a natural consequence for ones previous actions, both in this life and in previous lives. Hindus can be reborn at a higher level through pure acts, good thoughts and devotion. They can also be reborn at a lower level through bad deeds. It is even possible to be reborn as an animal. Arizona State University (2004) lists the five social castes. They are: Brahmins (priests and academics); Kshatriyas (military); Vaishyas (farmers and merchants); Sudras (peasants and servants); and Harijan (outcasts or untouchables).
When introducing about Hinduism in the book “Invitation to World Religions”, Jeffrey Brodd mentions about the caste system of this religion. The introduction does not go with details and situations that reflect deeply the inequality of Hinduism social organization. Occasionally, reading the article “Why this family’s conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism matters” of Max Bearak. I understand the dark side of the Indian dominant religion.
In ancient India and China a social system was developed to separate the society into levels. This social system is called a caste system. Which caste level you belong to was determined by your occupation and family origin. If you were born the son of a king your life was grand. But, if you were born to a farmer you are a farmer for life. Your birth determines where you fall in the caste system, and you live according to the rules. Both ancient India and China had the caste system. Ancient India and China had similarities and differences in the caste system.
The caste system itself is a system of social stratification, based on two concepts, varna and jati. Varna
Vedic society was divided into four different classes, Brahmans, nobles, commoners and the serfs. These classes are part of the cosmic hierarchy and were based on purity. This gave way to the caste systems. Castes are arranged in the following order of the polarity of purity; Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and the shudras. With a fifth group called the untouchables at the very bottom. They are the untouchables because they are the most impure. The caste of an individual cannot be removed. Each caste has strict rules on caste endogamy.
They are composed off the peasants and serfs, who were often neglected and abused, and their rights were next to none. They were in the lowest social class possible, and they were stuck in it forever. The people of the Indus River Valley did not believe in Law of Karma, which means that they did not believe that a person's social class could not be changed. They were stuck in this caste until they could leave the region and start
What are the four major castes? What implications does the caste system have for everyday life? How does the caste system relate to Hindu ideas of spiritual life? “The four major castes of Hindu society are; seers ( brahmins ), administrators ( kshatriyas ), artisans or farmers ( vaishyas ), and followers or servants ( shudras)”( Smith 56). Smith writes, religious leaders, teachers, artists, and philosophers are members of the first caste, brahmins, khatriyas, the second caste, first known as warriors are now managers. The tillers of the land, the makers of bricks, and the builders are part of the third caste, vaishyas. The fourth caste is made up of servants, those who will take care of the other castes’ needs (56)”. While I was working in India, summer of 2001 and there at the invitation of the richest family in India and staying at one of their compounds, some of my co-workers and I were playing snooker. A young boy walked into the room where we were playing. He stopped and talked to us for a few minutes before continuing to bed. Accompanied by a man of about twenty years old, the boy’s shudra, who had been the boy’s personal servant for ten or more years. The shudra’s purpose was to protect and serve his charge’s every need. Although there is inequality between castes, Smith denotes.“ within each caste, there is equality, opportunity, and social insurance ( 57)”. Although the text
Arriving Aryans brought Hindu beliefs with them. Early Aryan rulers used this class caste system to impose social order. This social order provided a society where everybody followed their Dharma. The stress on filial piety was to impose complete obedience to any and all superiors. Since the family was an extension of the state, respect for elder relations was simply transferred to obedience for a centralized state. Buddhists on the opposite hand, didn't believe in the caste system, therefore it didn't become as common in Asian nor did it serve a political purpose.
In each society, there are different types of rules and ideologies that are used in order to help govern its people. Within these communities, these rules create a social hierarchy developed through a ranked system based on either economic value or religious beliefs. A type of ranked system that most people are familiar with is the Caste System in India, which is a system of classification in a society based on birth. This complex social structure is most prevalent in India, where social hierarchy is in affiliation with Hinduism. It recognizes two concepts known as Varna and Jati. Varna is a word in Sanskrit meaning color and includes four main groups: the Brahmans, Kshtriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. The fifth group, the most segregated