There is, and will always be, stratification along with various criterion in each society, but religion does not have to be a party to them.
Motor neurons control gripping, walking, speaking, swallowing, breathing; that is, all the body movements. They are basically communication channels carrying messages back and forth between the brain and various limbs of the body. When they stop doing this, communication breaks down, and even otherwise healthy limbs just waste away, not knowing what to do.
Various Hindu Castes were various limbs of society. At some time when our destiny took a turn for the worse, Castes stopped communicating with each other.
Our Caste Egos are too big, so big that they have blinded us to the fact that we are being swallowed, limb by limb.
There is no dialogue among Hindus across Caste lines. There are some Caste Panchayats, but they strictly address the Caste they belong to. In fact, many Castes have sub-castes, and even the sub-Castes do not communicate among themselves.
And therefore, even healthy limbs are just withering away. Some are flailing around but without any coordination.
Our Caste Egos are too big, so big that they have blinded us to the fact that we are being swallowed, limb by limb.
They say that Dinosaurs in their last days had their nervous systems so damaged that an injury in the leg or tail used to take hours to register on the mind. In our case, they have not registered even in centuries.
The lion is a majestic animal. But, had there been no Hindus, it would have by now disappeared from Gir also. Once it was everywhere on the Indian sub-continent.
Why is the most fearless and courageous animal, lion, on the verge of extinction? Because it is not evolving. Its environment is changing, but it is not able to change to the changing environment. Because it is an animal. It can not think.
Will we fare better than animals? Will we be able to get down from our high horse of Caste stratification and start talking to each other?
The most critical point that was overlooked was that people can be educated to behave differently from what made them keep apart. That is why universal education at all times was so critical. We are still not ready to do this, to rectify the mistake.
Well, if we will not educate ourselves, somebody else will do, Caste by Caste. And he may, in fact, teach stories which will make the communication among Castes impossible, instead of enabling it.
And no, justifying vertical Caste stratification (or Varna, or whatever you call it) as the starting point of dialogue will not open the communication. There is, and will always be, stratification along with various criterion in each society, but religion does not have to be a party to them, what to say of mandating them. Will we be able to grasp this simple fact? Will Dharma be able to evolve?
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I am not spiritually enlightened enough to comment on Dharma,but I do know this simply preaching Dharma is not enough,we just have the power and willpower to enforce Dharma, people and society as a whole are an indisciplined lot and soft power of Dharma can only be useful if it’s backed by sufficient power.Lord Vishnu’s Avataars are proof enough that Dharma has to be backed by Shakthi
1. Dharma is sanatana. It is truth. Truth does not evolve. What always evolved was man’s understanding of how to follow/apply it in his contemporary circumstance. This is what must evolve now, again. Not dharma itself.
2. Regarding contemporary means of following dharma, it can never be an open chit to go against fundamental tenets. That is why it is called “following” dharma. So, it then becomes a question of what is fundamental.
3. Fundamental is Ishwara, the Supreme Consciousness, the Para Brahman. Fundamental are the Veda mantras, held by ancient Rishis as the very breath of Ishwara, i.e. Vedas are anaadi just as Ishwara is. Fundamental therefore are the agama shastras, which as a part of the Vedas, govern our temple worship.
4. In current times w.r.t the debate the article raises, as long as society obeys every principle laid in the agamas (and there is enough diversity in agamas for each sect to follow its own differentiated rituals), any other extent of reform is ok and welcome with the noble intent that it alleviates the fractures within Hindu populace. It has indeed been done many times by great saints in the past (e.g. see Ramanuja’s revolutionary reforms in temple worship 1000 years ago).
5. Random politically motivated attempts to achieve equality or harmony without regard to agamas or the larger Vedic injunctions (such as demanding temple worship in a language other than Sanskrit, organising janeu-wearing movements for Dalits, demanding non-Brahmana priests within the garba griha) are adharmic and will not yield harmonious results to Bharatiya society.
So, while I do not disagree with the main import of your article, I suggest that there should be a carefully negotiated solution between equal parties without internal conflicts of interest. I definitely think it should start with temples, as they are a ready-made site to build collective Hindu pride and protection. But unfortunately, as governments control temples, there IS built-in conflict of interest. If government can free temples and then sit on a negotiating table with genuine temple stakeholders, this issue of melting of caste differences can run full steam.
More American gyan. Money dictating thoughts. Very shallow thinking.
Have a look at US society first. Find a good solution to their problems. You can then try your gyan elsewhere.
This is the most thoughtless article I have read on this site.