Honors Project: The Caste System Of Ancient India
Molly Suminski
Honors Project: Caste System and Religious Implications
The Caste System of Ancient India is a major pillar of Ancient Indian History. This social structure of class was formed by the religion, philosophy, racial demographics, and economic structure of the time. It’s roots are extensive, claiming grounds and validation in all aspects of life. mirroring it’s impactful origins, the effects of the Caste System are numerous and unavoidable. This system of social relations determines everything from a person’s marriage and occupation, to which streets they are allowed to walk on. every aspect of Indian society is saturated with this system, making it an integral historical, social, and religious structure.
Because of its inherently …show more content…
a society is characterized with such a system when it is divided into many hierarchically and hereditarily maintained groups. This system repulses other groups, resisting social mobility between the groups. This system is accompanied by many rules dealing with each person’s role in society. deviation from these rules results in social rejection and, according to relevant Hindu philosophies, rebirth into a lower caste. the most important of these rules deal with endogamy and occupational restriction. these social laws maintain the Caste System by preventing people from marrying or working outside of their caste. everyone must marry within their Caste and sub-caste, or be outcast from their family. When it comes to occupation, each Caste is related to certain jobs, and even more specifically to family-based Jatis. It is expected that everyone performs their duties, in order to maintain social and economic fluidity …show more content…
It is fundamental knowledge to Ancient Indian philosophy that the universe is cyclical. Every soul, every particle, every action, every non-action, and every moment, once spent, is recycled into the universe. This knowledge is the basis of principles such as reincarnation, karma, and Moksha. Reincarnation is the sequential rebirth of a soul into the world. During a soul’s life, it acquires karma, which is the constant tally of its actions and their relative consequences. Judy Johnson, master of technical sciences, defines karma as: “ tiny particles that cling to the soul as mud clings to shoes, gradually weighing down the soul. Good deeds wash away these particles” (Johnson). If, at the end of a soul’s life, it’s shoes are clean, and it’s tally is settled, the soul will be reborn into the next level of Caste. If its shoes are still dirty or its tally is not settled, it will be reincarnated as a lower form of life to face its karma. This process continues until the soul is perfected, having cycled through each of the Varnas, and achieves Moksha—release from the reincarnation cycle. This release is salvation, a fading into nothingness, a joining with the universe, and a conquering of existence.
These oppressions however, were usually not boycotted because this was presented as a natural state of affairs in the social realm (Smith
Honors Project: Caste System and Religious Implications
The Caste System of Ancient India is a major pillar of Ancient Indian History. This social structure of class was formed by the religion, philosophy, racial demographics, and economic structure of the time. It’s roots are extensive, claiming grounds and validation in all aspects of life. mirroring it’s impactful origins, the effects of the Caste System are numerous and unavoidable. This system of social relations determines everything from a person’s marriage and occupation, to which streets they are allowed to walk on. every aspect of Indian society is saturated with this system, making it an integral historical, social, and religious structure.
Because of its inherently …show more content…
a society is characterized with such a system when it is divided into many hierarchically and hereditarily maintained groups. This system repulses other groups, resisting social mobility between the groups. This system is accompanied by many rules dealing with each person’s role in society. deviation from these rules results in social rejection and, according to relevant Hindu philosophies, rebirth into a lower caste. the most important of these rules deal with endogamy and occupational restriction. these social laws maintain the Caste System by preventing people from marrying or working outside of their caste. everyone must marry within their Caste and sub-caste, or be outcast from their family. When it comes to occupation, each Caste is related to certain jobs, and even more specifically to family-based Jatis. It is expected that everyone performs their duties, in order to maintain social and economic fluidity …show more content…
It is fundamental knowledge to Ancient Indian philosophy that the universe is cyclical. Every soul, every particle, every action, every non-action, and every moment, once spent, is recycled into the universe. This knowledge is the basis of principles such as reincarnation, karma, and Moksha. Reincarnation is the sequential rebirth of a soul into the world. During a soul’s life, it acquires karma, which is the constant tally of its actions and their relative consequences. Judy Johnson, master of technical sciences, defines karma as: “ tiny particles that cling to the soul as mud clings to shoes, gradually weighing down the soul. Good deeds wash away these particles” (Johnson). If, at the end of a soul’s life, it’s shoes are clean, and it’s tally is settled, the soul will be reborn into the next level of Caste. If its shoes are still dirty or its tally is not settled, it will be reincarnated as a lower form of life to face its karma. This process continues until the soul is perfected, having cycled through each of the Varnas, and achieves Moksha—release from the reincarnation cycle. This release is salvation, a fading into nothingness, a joining with the universe, and a conquering of existence.
These oppressions however, were usually not boycotted because this was presented as a natural state of affairs in the social realm (Smith