The Untouchables

Mahatma Ghandi called them "The People of God", or the Harijans, but most know them as the Untouchables. Known throughout India, the Untouchables are the lowest man on the caste system's ladder. They are considered polluted people, tainted by the unclear water and land that they work in. Separated from the elite class, or the Varnas, they are often considered less important than a stray dog. The Indian caste system has undergone a tremendous amount of reform in recent decades, but the hereditary groups which define the castes or jātis, are generally promulgated through thousands of years of remnant lineage. In some parts of India, however, the system is being turned completely on its head. In Nepal, for example, the government has banned discrimination against members of Hinduism's lowest caste and plans to abolish the system completely.

Unfortunately, certain practices are promoted through custom if not perpetuated through law. Endogamy, or the custom of limiting marriage within a caste, helps to promote this system, rather than displace it. Furthermore, though the Indian Constitution has outlawed caste discrimination, there are certain attitudes which prevail affecting Indian politics and society's attitudes toward these people. Observing a country whose prevalent attitude is one of all-encompassing brotherhood struggle with class and race distinctions I am reminded of the lingering attitudes we hold in our own society toward those we have deemed less important than ourselves.

Yogis in India would consider this attitude of superiority a defilement facilitated by the ego, but many are still swayed by the sins of the father, both in India and here at home. It is still apparent that people hold the belief that certain traits or capacities of one group of people produce an inherently superior race. It appalls and fascinates me as a practitioner of yoga myself. While we cannot deny that there is often more ignorance and poverty among groups of certain ethnic backgrounds, we can look at the Indian caste system as a reference to how those facts may have been perpetuated by the attitudes of the society at large.

In the caste system, there are four groups, separated according to karma (past actions and beliefs) and guna (meaning string or kind) of each prevailing sect. In the ancient Hindu scriptures there are four varnas, or colors. These four varnas are the Brahmins; the teachers, scholar and priests, the Kshatriyas, the kings and warriors, the Vaishyas; the traders, the Shudras; the field workers, the farmers, the service providers, and some artisans. It is thought that in previous lives, one accumulates either propitious or unfortunate karma, or that in the subsequent life, a person is reborn in to whatever caste most embodies the crux of his past actions. The Bhagavad Gita even mentions these four varnas, but the interpretation of them, and the prevailing attitude which has governed the treatment of lower classes for centuries needs to be re-examined.

Lines from the Bhagavad Gita are often misunderstood and misused; very much like interpretations of the bible are sometimes misused. In Chapter 4, Verse 13, "The Lord says: The fourfold caste has been created by Me according to the differentiation of Guna [prakriti] and Karma." Later in Chapter 18, Verse 40, "The Lord says: There is no being on earth, or again in heaven among the gods that is liberated from the three qualities born of Nature." Finally, in Chapter 18, Verse 41 it is said, "Of Brahmans, Kshtriyas and Vaishyas, as also the Sudras, O Arjuna, and the duties are distributed according to the qualities born of their own nature." Though the Bhagavad Gita is clearing stating that the principles of the caste system are not immutable, it is also saying that the attributes are what defined a person's caste, not the color of his skin, though the word does translate directly to mean hue." In the interpretation of these verses the true meaning is bastardized to be used as a means to discriminate based on race, or the color of one's skin.

The scholar of the Bhagavad Gita, Brigu says, "There is really no distinction between the different orders. The whole world at first consisted of Brahmans. Created equal by the Creator, men have in consequence of their acts, become distributed into different orders. They that became fond of indulging in desire and enjoying pleasures, possessed of the attributes of severity and wrath, endued with courage, and unmindful of the duties of piety and worship, - these Brahmans possessing the attribute of Passion, - became Kshatriyas. Those Brahmans again who, without attending to the duties laid down for them, became possessed of both the attributes of Goodness and Passion, and took to the professions of cattle-rearing and agriculture, became Vaisyas. Those Brahmans again that became fond of untruth and injuring other creatures, possessed of cupidity, - engaged in all kinds of acts for a living, and fallen away from purity of behavior, and thus wedded to the attribute of Darkness, became Sudras." In is through the neglect of the spirit, the realization that we are all Brahmans in our purest forms that these later distinctions came to be.

If there is a distinction at all, then isn't that still racism? The simple answer is no. We all suffer consequence for our actions, and the Hindu belief in karmic retribution (along with other traditions outside India) means that in this lifetime we are working out of the deeds of our past. For some, this means they are already well versed in selflessness. Others may have chosen poverty as a means to teach them this lesson. The problem is in judging oneself better or worse just because you happen to of worked through your karma more or less in your past lifetimes. If you feel sorry for your present state, you are ignoring the fact that your past actions and beliefs are your sole responsibility, and likewise, if you are feeling special about your present lot in life, you have forgotten that perhaps only a few lifetimes ago you were stuck working through some of the very same issues that the poor or Untouchable sister and brother are working through now. The yogis would tell you that compassion is required. Those who become angry at the ignorance of lower classes have forgotten that they were once "lower" themselves, and that this distinction simply designates lessons that are in the process of being learned. Furthermore, compassion is required because if someone was able to pull themselves up from poverty and a lack of education or refined behavior, then they most likely would. Would you get angry at a fire for being hot? Acceptance and compassion are in order. If these lessons are not learned, then the wheel of suffering continues for all people.

"An intelligent person, who does all acts without desire of fruit, whose whole wealth exists for charity, and who performs the daily Homa, is a real renouncer (karma-sannyasa). One should conduct oneself as a friend to all creatures, abstaining from all acts of injury. Rejecting the acceptance of all gifts, one should, by the aid of one’s intelligence, be a complete master of one’s passions. One should live in one’s soul where there can be no grief. One would then have no fear here and attain to a fearless region hereafter. One should live always devoted to penances, and with all passions completely restrained; observing the vow of taciturnity, and with soul concentrated on itself; desirous of conquering the unconquered senses, and unattached in the midst of attachments." (Tulasi Ramayana) Ghandi was born a Brahman, but his actions supported his caste placement. Gandhi began a 21-day fast of self-purification to help the Harijan movement. though this act of selflessness is eclipsed by some of his other work to end British rule in India, it appropriately exemplifies the stand we can make in our own neighborhoods when one group begins to see themselves as "special" or "better" than others based on their birth, the color of their skin, or their cultural or religious beliefs.

The caste system is not unique to India. It exists in other cultures throughout the world. Whether you believe in it as a purest, or are nonplussed by its continued prevalence, it may benefit you to study the Bhagavad Gita in relationship to the values and morals you know truly represent humankind in its spiritual nature, not its base, ego-nature. Even the scriptures of great spiritual and philosophical books can become warped to the ego's sway. Ask any yogi - the feeling that you are anyhow better then anyone else is the ego's work. Surely Ghandi understood this distinction. Look around you - who have you made an "Untouchable" by your actions or thoughts. Who have you judged as being less important than yourself simply because their lot in this dualistic life is seemingly worse than your own? The racism and subjugation of others can stop now, if we become less ignorant ourselves.

(c) 2009, 2010 Christina Sarich