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Yellow - Religious Life (Varna and Jati (if people act out against their…
Yellow - Religious Life
Dharma
duty, right, religion, law, obligation, justice, conscience - "it is better to do one's own dharma, than to do another's dharma" - Bhagavad Gita
Sanatan
universal, timeless, constant
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duties - mercy, honesty, hospitality, purity, patience, ahimsa (non-violence) - Mary Has Hepatitis Please Provide Aid
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Catuvarnashramadharma - your duty according to your position in the four varnas of society and the four ashramas
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Varna - Caste
Origins
God mandated through the Bhagavad Gita - Krishna - "in order to distinguish among one's qualities and functions"
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fluidity, based on skills and qualities, no restrictions on marriage eating or jobs, social system
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Development
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head is the Brahimns (the purest), arms are the Khsatriyas (the strongest), legs are the Vaishyas (the skilled), feet are the Shudras (the impure)
hierarchy, purity and pollution, superiority, inferiority, hereditary by birth, karmic consequences, rigidity within the caste
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Gandhi
noticed that untouchables (dalits, Harijans - children of God) were most disadvantaged so he proposed to absorb them into the shudra varna
Gautama's principle - Gautama accepts young boy as his student, even though he is not a Brahmin, Gautama asked the boy who is father was, the boy asked his mother and relayed the embarrassing answer to Gautama. The boy was accepted because he was "thoroughly honest"
Gunas
one of the 3 gunas will be the dominating characteristic of a person, but there will be a less obvious guna
Sattva - truth, evolution, wisdom, allows one to pursue what is right and progress spiritually
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Varna and Jati
if people act out against their varna and their jati, they will affect cosmic order (Rta) and have a karmic consequence
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Brahmin - priestly and intellectual - gatekeeper of knowledge of Brahman - Jati = priests, teachers and intellectuals
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Vaishya - create wealth and produce goods - care for those less fortunate - Jati = business and farmers
Shudra - manual labourers to be employed by others - serve other varnas - Jati = artists and craftsmen
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Caste system today
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1950 - Article 15
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Article 15 (4) - "special provision for the advancement of backwards classes" - AAP meant that non-brahmins had 'reserved seats' in unis and they could also seek public office - example is Ambedka (Dalit) became Law Minister
impact
limited uni places so self-immolation attempts and hunger strikes occurred - 1990 Delhi Uni student attempted to self-immolate
Reality of the system
Srinivasan "The 5,000 year old Indian culture refuses to give up caste in its private life even while it dances boldly with modernity in public" - there is no fluidity amongst castes because of economic reasons and lack of interest - marriage outside caste is preferred because of preferences
Ashrama
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4 stages of life
stage 1 Brahmacharya - Ashrama is celibacy, study, respect, 12-15 years of age, intoxication should be avoided, Manu "restrain his senses which run wild among alluring sense objects"
stage 2 Grihasta - Ashrama is artha and kama (wealth and pleasure within legitimate bounds), longest, most important, most lenient, wedding is called Vivaha, must provide for family and society "as all creatures depend on air for life in the same way all ashramas subsist on the support of grihastas"
stage 3 Vanaprastha - Ashrama is contemplation and being an advisory role, 'retire to the forest', isolated personal reflection, "when the skin becomes wrinkled"
stage 4 Sannyasa - Ashrama is to be celibate and gain awareness of God, give up the material world, attain moksha if 3 previous life stages are achieved, Fowler - "treated with a great deal of respect ... mingled with fear"
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Dalits
Who
outcaste, below and outside caste system, Gandhi named them "Children of God", untouchables
Status
considered physically unclean, spiritually impure, excluded from vedic religion, punished with karmic justification, discrimination through exclusion and schools and wells, night soil remover could be richer than a Brahmin
Gandhi vs Ambedka
Gandhi
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loved Bhagavad Gita and wanted to revert as current system lead to untouchability "blot on Hinduism"
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