Indian caste Brahmins. Caste system in India. Protest struggle of the untouchables

On September 24, 1932, the right to vote in India was granted to the untouchable caste. the site decided to tell its readers how the Indian caste system was formed and how it exists in the modern world.

Indian society is divided into classes called castes. This division occurred many thousands of years ago and continues to this day. Hindus believe that by following the rules established in your caste, in your next life you can be born as a representative of a slightly higher and more respected caste, and occupy a much better position in society.

After leaving the Indus Valley, Indian arias conquered the country along the Ganges and founded many states here, whose population consisted of two classes, differing in legal and financial status. The new Aryan settlers, the victors, took over India and land, and honor, and power, and the defeated non-Indo-European natives were plunged into contempt and humiliation, forced into slavery or into a dependent state, or, driven into the forests and mountains, there they led a meager life in inaction of thought without any culture. This result of the Aryan conquest gave rise to the origin of the four main Indian castes (varnas).

Those original inhabitants of India who were subdued by the power of the sword suffered the fate of captives and became mere slaves. The Indians, who submitted voluntarily, renounced their father's gods, adopted the language, laws and customs of the victors, retained personal freedom, but lost all land property and had to live as workers on the estates of the Aryans, servants and porters, in the houses of rich people. From them came a caste sudra . "Sudra" is not a Sanskrit word. Before becoming the name of one of the Indian castes, it was probably the name of some people. The Aryans considered it beneath their dignity to enter into marriage unions with representatives of the Shudra caste. Shudra women were only concubines among the Aryans.

Over time, sharp differences in status and professions emerged between the Aryan conquerors of India themselves. But in relation to the lower caste - the dark-skinned, conquered native population - they all remained a privileged class. Only the Aryans had the right to read the sacred books; only they were consecrated by a solemn ceremony: a sacred thread was placed on the Aryan, making him “reborn” (or “twice-born”, dvija). This ritual served as a symbolic distinction between all Aryans and the Shudra caste and the despised native tribes driven into the forests. Consecration was performed by placing a cord, which was worn placed on the right shoulder and descending diagonally across the chest. Among the Brahmin caste, the cord could be placed on a boy from 8 to 15 years old, and it is made of cotton yarn; among the Kshatriya caste, who received it no earlier than the 11th year, it was made from kusha (Indian spinning plant), and among the Vaishya caste, who received it no earlier than the 12th year, it was made of wool.

Indian society was divided into castes many thousands of years ago

The "twice-born" Aryans were divided over time, according to differences in occupation and origin, into three estates or castes, with some similarities to the three estates of medieval Europe: the clergy, the nobility and the urban middle class. The beginnings of the caste system among the Aryans existed back in the days when they lived only in the Indus basin: there, from the mass of the agricultural and pastoral population, warlike princes of the tribes, surrounded by people skilled in military affairs, as well as priests who performed sacrificial rites, already stood out.

When the Aryan tribes moved further into India, into the country of the Ganges, militant energy increased in bloody wars with the exterminated natives, and then in a fierce struggle between the Aryan tribes. Until the conquests were completed, the entire people were busy with military affairs. Only when the peaceful possession of the conquered country began did it become possible for a variety of occupations to develop, the possibility of choosing between different professions arose, and a new stage in the origin of castes began. The fertility of the Indian soil aroused the desire for peaceful means of subsistence. From this, the innate tendency of the Aryans quickly developed, according to which it was more pleasant for them to work quietly and enjoy the fruits of their labor than to make difficult military efforts. Therefore, a significant part of the settlers (“vishes”) turned to agriculture, which produced abundant harvests, leaving the fight against enemies and the protection of the country to the princes of the tribes and the military nobility formed during the period of conquest. This class, engaged in arable farming and partly shepherding, soon grew so that among the Aryans, as in Western Europe, it formed the vast majority of the population. Because the name vaishya "settler", which originally meant all Aryan inhabitants in new areas, came to mean only people of the third, working Indian caste, and warriors, kshatriyas and priests, brahmanas (“prayers”), who over time became the privileged classes, made the names of their professions the names of the two highest castes.

The four Indian classes listed above became completely closed castes (varnas) only when they rose above the ancient service of Indra and other gods of nature. Brahmanism, - new religious teaching about Brahma , the soul of the universe, the source of life, from which all beings originated and to which they will return. This reformed creed gave religious sanctity to the division of the Indian nation into castes, especially the priestly caste. It said that in the cycle of life forms passed through by everything existing on earth, brahman is the highest form of existence. According to the dogma of rebirth and transmigration of souls, a creature born in human form must go through all four castes in turn: to be a Shudra, a Vaishya, a Kshatriya and, finally, a Brahman; having passed through these forms of existence, it is reunited with Brahma. The only way to achieve this goal is for a person, constantly striving for deity, to exactly fulfill everything commanded by the brahmanas, to honor them, to please them with gifts and signs of respect. Offenses against Brahmanas, severely punished on earth, subject the wicked to the most terrible torments of hell and rebirth in the forms of despised animals.

According to the dogma of transmigration of souls, a person must go through all four castes

The belief in the dependence of the future life on the present was the main support of the Indian caste division and the rule of the priests. The more decisively the Brahman clergy placed the dogma of transmigration of souls at the center of all moral teaching, the more successfully it filled the imagination of the people with terrible pictures of hellish torment, the more honor and influence it acquired. Representatives of the highest caste of Brahmins are close to the gods; they know the path leading to Brahma; their prayers, sacrifices, holy feats of their asceticism have magical power over the gods, the gods have to fulfill their will; bliss and suffering in the future life depend on them. It is not surprising that with the development of religiosity among the Indians, the power of the Brahman caste increased, tirelessly praising in its holy teachings respect and generosity towards the Brahmans as the surest ways to obtain bliss, instilling in the kings that the ruler is obliged to have Brahmans as his advisers and make judges, is obliged to reward their service with rich content and pious gifts.

So that the lower Indian castes did not envy the privileged position of the Brahmans and did not encroach on it, the doctrine was developed and strenuously preached that the forms of life for all beings are predetermined by Brahma, and that the progression through the degrees of human rebirth is accomplished only by a calm, peaceful life in the given position of man, the right one. performance of duties. Thus, in one of the oldest parts of the Mahabharata it is said: “When Brahma created beings, he gave them their occupations, each caste a special activity: for the brahmanas - the study of the high Vedas, for the warriors - heroism, for the vaishyas - the art of labor, for the sudras - humility before other flowers: therefore ignorant Brahmanas, unglorious warriors, unskillful Vaishyas and disobedient Shudras are worthy of blame.”

This dogma, which attributed divine origin to every caste, every profession, consoled the humiliated and despised in the insults and deprivations of their present life with the hope of an improvement in their lot in a future existence. He gave religious sanctification to the Indian caste hierarchy. The division of people into four classes, unequal in their rights, was from this point of view an eternal, unchangeable law, the violation of which is the most criminal sin. People do not have the right to overthrow the caste barriers established between them by God himself; They can achieve improvement in their fate only through patient submission.

The mutual relations between the Indian castes were clearly characterized by the teaching; that Brahma produced Brahmanas from his mouth (or the first man Purusha), Kshatriyas from his hands, Vaishyas from his thighs, Shudras from his feet dirty in mud, therefore the essence of nature for Brahmanas is “holiness and wisdom”, for Kshatriyas - “power and strength”, among the Vaishyas - “wealth and profit”, among the Shudras - “service and obedience”. The doctrine of the origin of castes from different parts of the highest being is set forth in one of the hymns of the last, most recent book of the Rig Veda. There are no concepts of caste in the older songs of the Rig Veda. Brahmins attach extreme importance to this hymn, and every true believer Brahmin recites it every morning after bathing. This hymn is the diploma with which the Brahmins legitimized their privileges, their dominion.

Some Brahmins are not allowed to eat meat.

Thus, the Indian people were led by their history, their inclinations and customs to fall under the yoke of the caste hierarchy, which turned classes and professions into tribes alien to each other, drowning out all human aspirations, all the inclinations of humanity.

Main characteristics of castes

Each Indian caste has its own characteristics and unique characteristics, rules of existence and behavior.

Brahmins are the highest caste

Brahmins in India are priests and priests in temples. Their position in society has always been considered the highest, even higher than the position of ruler. Currently, representatives of the Brahmin caste are also involved in the spiritual development of the people: they teach various practices, look after temples, and work as teachers.

Brahmins have a lot of prohibitions:

Men are not allowed to work in the fields or do any manual labor, but women can do various household chores.

A representative of the priestly caste can only marry someone like himself, but as an exception, a wedding with a Brahman from another community is allowed.

A Brahmana cannot eat what a person of another caste has prepared; a Brahmana would rather starve than eat forbidden food. But he can feed a representative of absolutely any caste.

Some brahmanas are not allowed to eat meat.

Kshatriyas - warrior caste

Representatives of the Kshatriyas always performed the duties of soldiers, guards and policemen.

Currently, nothing has changed - kshatriyas are engaged in military affairs or go to administrative work. They can marry not only in their own caste: a man can marry a girl from a lower caste, but a woman is prohibited from marrying a man from a lower caste. Kshatriyas can eat animal products, but they also avoid forbidden foods.

Vaishyas, like no one else, monitor the correct preparation of food

Vaishya

Vaishyas have always been the working class: they farmed, raised livestock, and traded.

Now representatives of the Vaishyas are engaged in economic and financial affairs, various trades, and the banking sector. Probably, this caste is the most scrupulous in matters related to food intake: vaishyas, like no one else, monitor the correct preparation of food and will never eat contaminated dishes.

Shudras - the lowest caste

The Shudra caste has always existed in the role of peasants or even slaves: they did the dirtiest and hardest work. Even in our time, this social stratum is the poorest and often lives below the poverty line. Shudras can marry even divorced women.

The Untouchables

The untouchable caste stands out separately: such people are excluded from all social relations. They do the dirtiest work: cleaning streets and toilets, burning dead animals, tanning leather.

Amazingly, representatives of this caste were not even allowed to step on the shadows of representatives of higher classes. And only very recently they were allowed to enter churches and approach people of other classes.

Unique Features of Castes

Having a brahmana in your neighborhood, you can give him a lot of gifts, but you shouldn’t expect anything in return. Brahmins never give gifts: they accept, but do not give.

In terms of land ownership, Shudras can be even more influential than Vaishyas.

The untouchables were not allowed to step on the shadows of people from the upper classes

Shudras of the lower stratum practically do not use money: they are paid for their work in food and household supplies.You can move to a lower caste, but it is impossible to get a caste of a higher rank.

Castes and modernity

Today, Indian castes have become even more structured, with many different subgroups called jatis.

During the last census of representatives of various castes, there were more than 3 thousand jatis. True, this census took place more than 80 years ago.

Many foreigners consider the caste system to be a relic of the past and believe that the caste system no longer works in modern India. In fact, everything is completely different. Even the Indian government could not come to a consensus regarding this stratification of society. Politicians actively work on dividing society into layers during elections, adding protection of the rights of a particular caste to their election promises.

In modern India, more than 20 percent of the population belongs to the untouchable caste: they have to live in their own separate ghettos or outside the boundaries of the populated area. Such people are not allowed to enter stores, government and medical institutions, or even use public transport.

In modern India, more than 20% of the population belongs to the untouchable caste

The untouchable caste has a completely unique subgroup: society’s attitude towards it is quite contradictory. These include homosexuals, transvestites and eunuchs who make their living through prostitution and asking tourists for coins. But what a paradox: the presence of such a person at the holiday is considered a very good sign.

Another amazing podcast of the untouchables is Pariah. These are people completely expelled from society - marginalized. Previously, one could become a pariah even by touching such a person, but now the situation has changed a little: one becomes a pariah either by being born from an intercaste marriage, or from pariah parents.

Sources

http://indianochka.ru/kultura/obshhestvo/kasty.html

What determines the life of Hindus in modern ashrams and megacities? A system of public administration built along European lines, or a special form of apartheid that was supported by castes in ancient India and continues to be embodied today? The clash between the norms of Western civilization and Hindu traditions sometimes leads to unpredictable results.

Varnas and jati

Trying to understand what castes existed in India and continue to influence its society today, one should turn to the basics of the structure of tribal groups. Ancient societies regulated the gene pool and social relationships using two principles - endo- and exogamy. The first allows creating a family only within its area (tribe), the second prohibits marriages between representatives of part of this community (clan). Endogamy acts as a factor in preserving cultural identity, and exogamy counters the degenerative consequences of closely related relationships. To one degree or another, both mechanisms of biosocial regulation are necessary for the existence of civilization. We turn to the experience of South Asia because the role of endogamous castes in modern India and Nepal continues to be the most striking example of the phenomenon.

During the era of the development of the territory (1500 - 1200 BC), the social system of the ancient Hindus already provided for division into four varnas (colors) - brahmanas (brahmins), kshatriyas, vaishyas and sudras. Varnas, presumably, were once homogeneous formations without additional class divisions.

During the early Middle Ages, with the growth of population and the development of social interaction, the main groups underwent further social stratification. The so-called “jatis” appeared, the status of which is associated with the original origin, history of the group’s development, professional activities and region of residence.

In turn, the jatis themselves contain many subgroups of different social status. One way or another, the harmonious pyramidal structure of subordination can be traced both in the example of jati and in the case of generalizing superclans - varnas.

Brahmins are considered the highest caste in India. Priests, theologians and philosophers among them play the role of a link between the worlds of gods and people. Kshatriyas bear the burden of state power and military leadership. Gautama Siddhartha Buddha is the most famous representative of this varna. The third social category in the Hindu hierarchy, Vaishyas, are predominantly clans of merchants and landowners. And finally, the “worker ants” of the Shudras are servants and hired workers with a narrow specialization.

The lowest caste in India - the untouchables (the Dalit group) - is outside the varna system, although it represents about 17% of the population and is involved in active social interaction. This group "brand" should not be taken literally. After all, even priests and warriors do not consider it shameful to get a haircut from a Dalit hairdresser. An example of the fantastic class emancipation of a representative of the untouchable caste in India was the Dalit K. R. Narayanan, who was the country's president in 1997-2002.

Europeans' synonymous perception of untouchables and pariahs is a common misconception. Pariahs are completely declassed and completely powerless people, deprived of even the very possibility of group association.

Mutual reflection of economic classes and castes in India

The last time information about class affiliation was studied was in 1930 during the population census. Then quantity castes in India was over 3000. If a bulletin table were used at such an event, it would be up to 200 pages. According to ethnographers and sociologists, the number of jati by the beginning of the 21st century had decreased by approximately half. This may be due to both industrial development and ignorance of caste differences among Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas educated in Western universities.

Technological progress leads to a certain decline in handicrafts. Industrial corporations, trading and transport companies need armies of identical shudras - workers, squads of middle managers from among vaishyas and kshatriyas as top managers.

The mutual projections of economic classes and castes in modern India are not obvious. Most modern politicians are vaishyas and not kshatriyas, as one might assume. The leadership of large trading companies are mainly those who, according to the canon, should be warriors or rulers. And in rural areas there are even impoverished Brahmins cultivating the land...

Neither recreational tourist trips nor search queries like “India caste photos” will help you understand the contradictory reality of modern caste society. It is much more effective to get acquainted with the opinions of L. Alaev, I. Glushkova and other orientalists and Hindus on this issue.

Only tradition can be stronger than the law

The 1950 Constitution affirms the equality of all classes before the law. Moreover, even the slightest manifestation of discrimination - the question of origin during hiring - is a criminal offense. The irony of the collision of the modernist norm with reality is that Indians accurately determine the group affiliation of the interlocutor in a couple of minutes. Moreover, the name, facial features, speech, education and clothing do not have a decisive meaning here.

The secret to maintaining the importance of endogamy lies in the positive role it can play in social and ideological terms. Even the lower class is a kind of insurance company for its members. Castes and varnas in India are a cultural heritage, moral authority and a system of clubs. The authors of the Indian constitution were aware of this, recognizing the original endogamy of social groups. In addition, universal suffrage, unexpectedly for modernizers, became a factor in strengthening caste identification. Group positioning facilitates the tasks of propaganda and formation of political programs.

This is how the symbiosis of Hinduism and Western democracy is developing in a contradictory and unpredictable way. The caste structure of society demonstrates both illogicality and high adaptability to changing conditions. In ancient India castes were not considered eternal and indestructible formations, despite the fact that they were sanctified by the law of Manu from the “Aryan code of honor.” Who knows, perhaps we are witnessing the realization of the ancient Hindu prediction that “in the era of Kali Yuga, everyone will be born as Shudras.”

Hereditary orientalist Allan Rannu talks about human destiny and the four varnas as tools for understanding the world and oneself.

Take it for yourself and tell your friends!

Castes in India

According to the teachings of the Vedas, Brahma created four categories of people called castes. The first caste, the Brahmins, destined to enlighten and govern humanity, he created from his head or mouth; the second, kshatriyas (warriors), protectors of society, from the hand; the third, veisya or vaisha, feeders of the state, from the stomach; the fourth, Sudra, from the legs, giving it an eternal destiny - to serve the higher castes.

The first three castes, far from being equal to each other, however, have in common that each of them enjoys whatever its own advantages; the fourth caste and the mixed ones, standing even lower than it, have no rights. The law does not look upon the Sudra as a citizen or a human being, but simply as a mechanical instrument necessary for the existence of the three higher castes, and which can be useful for achieving various ends.

The word caste means color, and one cannot help but notice the remarkable fact that the upper castes have lighter skin than the lower castes. Probably, in India, as in many European countries, members of a caste or class are nothing more than the descendants of former tribes hostile to each other. Otherwise, it is difficult to understand the possibility of establishing a civil life similar to the Indian one. Castes perhaps express layers of various conquests.

Brahmin; “son of the sun, descendant of Brahma, god among people” (the usual titles of this class), according to the teachings of Menu, is the head of all created creatures; the whole universe is subject to him; the remaining mortals owe the preservation of their lives to his intercession and prayers; his almighty curse can instantly destroy formidable generals with their numerous hordes, chariots and war elephants. A Brahmin can create new worlds; may even give birth to new gods. A Brahmin should be given greater honor than a king. The integrity of a Brahmin and his life are protected in this world by bloody laws, and in this world by terrible threats. If a Sudra dares to verbally insult a Brahmin, then the law orders that a red-hot iron be driven into his throat, ten inches deep; and if he decides to give some instruction to the Brahmin, boiling oil is poured into the unfortunate man’s mouth and ears. On the other hand, anyone is allowed to take a false oath or give false testimony before a court if by these actions one can save a Brahmin from condemnation. Under no circumstances can a Brahmin be executed or punished, either physically or financially, although he would be convicted of the most outrageous crimes: the only punishment to which he is subject is removal from the fatherland, or exclusion from the caste. One Brahmin is given the right to interpret sacred books, conduct worship and predict the future; but he is deprived of this last right if he makes a mistake in his predictions three times. A Brahmin can primarily heal, for “illness is the punishment of the gods”; only a Brahmin can be a judge, because the civil and criminal laws of the Hindus are included in their holy books. In a word, the Brahmin is the favorite of the gods; he is a strong creature, an accidental one at the throne of the rulers of the world, and therefore books are in his hands: this follows according to Asian logic. But, establishing their safety on the silent suffering of the people, the founders of the Brahmin caste, as an example, subjected their party to a number of painful tests. The duties of a Brahmin are very complex, and the rules about them form a whole set. It is curious to follow the deliberate discipline that greets a Brahmin at birth and does not let him out of its iron hands until death.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued that education should begin from the cradle: a fair idea, but not a new one. Indians have known this for a long time, and even surpassed the famous philosopher. They send learned men to talk with the pregnant wife of a Brahmin in order to “in this way prepare the child to receive wisdom.” The entire life of a Brahmin is divided into four periods; his birth is preceded and followed by great religious celebrations; 12 days later, he is given a name; in the third year of age, his head is shaved, leaving only a piece of hair called kudumi; a few years later, he is given into the arms of a spiritual mentor (guru). Education with this guru usually lasts from 7 or 8 to 15 years. During the entire period of education, which consists mainly of the study of the Vedas, the student is obliged to the most blind obedience to his mentor and all members of his family. He is often entrusted with the most menial household tasks, and he must perform them unquestioningly. The will of the guru replaces his law and conscience; his smile serves as the best reward. While teaching lessons, he is forbidden not only to speak with his comrades, but even to cough and spit, “so as not to distract attention.” - Isn’t it possible to see in all these features a striking similarity with the moral corruption of people, which was often expressed in a system here in Europe? Such were the hypocritical rules of the Jesuits, now exposed everywhere. Upon completion of education, the young man is awarded initiation or rebirth, the outer sign of which is the laying of a scarf or belt (senbr), from the left shoulder through the chest and back. Until the moment of this girding, the Brahmin was called “one-born”, stood on a par with the Sudra, but after the ritual, he is considered already twice-born, moving into the second period of life. - During this period, he gets married, raises his family and performs the duties of a Brahmin, that is, interprets the Vedas, accepts gifts and gives alms.

Brahmins are divided into laymen and clergy, and, according to their occupations, fall into different classes. It is remarkable that among the spiritual, the priests occupy the lowest level, and the highest are those who devoted themselves to one interpretation of the sacred books. Brahmins are strictly forbidden to accept gifts from unworthy persons, that is, from people belonging to the last rungs of the social ladder. In case of need, a Brahmin is allowed to beg from people of the three highest castes and engage in trade; but under no circumstances can he serve anyone. Music, dancing, hunting and gambling are prohibited to all Brahmins. The lower ranks of this class are prohibited, under fear of exclusion from the caste, from drinking wine and any intoxicating things, such as onions, garlic, eggs, fish, all meat, except from animals slaughtered as a sacrifice to the gods. - Higher Brahmins, interpreters of the law, are excluded from fasting and performing many external rituals. They are prescribed special observance of the outward dignity of the rank, diligent study and interpretation of the law2. The attire of a Brahmin is determined as follows: “He must cut his hair and beard; wear a wide white cloak and protect his body from all bodily and moral defilement.” This is how the Brahmins appear now, leaning on a long staff, holding a huge tome of the Vedas in their hands, and with gold earrings in their ears. In addition to the belt, woven from three, each with nine, ropes, the annual change of which absolves the Brahmin of all his sins, he is also distinguished by the length of his staff, which is much higher than his head, while for a warrior it reaches only to the forehead, for a merchant on a par with chin, and so on, gradually decreasing for each caste. There is no end to the said desecrations; for example, a Brahmin will defile himself if he sits at the same table even with the king, not to mention members of the lower castes. He should rather die a martyr than agree to give his daughter to the king. - He is obliged not to look at the sun at certain hours and to leave the house when it rains; he cannot step through the rope to which the cow is tied, and must pass by this sacred animal or idol, only leaving it to his right. He should neither dine with his wives nor look at them while they themselves are eating, yawning or sneezing. Those who want longevity on earth should not step on cotton paper or grains of bread. - By slavishly fulfilling thousands of such petty, external instructions, Brahmins, of course, all the more give themselves freedom in other actions of life. In general, Hindus prove in the best possible way that where many rules of life are sanctified by custom and apply to all human actions, there the inner consciousness of them completely disappears. A Brahmin who wants to receive the honorary title of interpreter of laws and supreme guide, guru, prepares for this through various hardships. He renounces marriage, devotes himself to a thorough study of the Vedas in some monastery for 12 years, refraining from even conversation for the last 5 and explaining himself only by signs; Thus, he finally achieves the desired goal and becomes a spiritual teacher.

Having reached the age of 40, a Brahmin enters the third period of his life, called vanaprastra. He must retire to the desert and become a hermit. Here he covers his nakedness with tree bark or the skin of a black antelope; does not cut nails or hair; sleeps on a rock or on the ground; must spend days and nights “without a home, without a fire, in complete silence, and eating only roots and fruits.” He must constantly mortify his body, stand naked in the pouring rain, wear a wet dress in winter, stand under the burning rays of the sun in summer, in the midst of five fires. Having thus spent 22 years in prayer and fasting, the Brahmin enters the fourth department of life, called sanyasi. Only here is he freed from self-mortification and all external rituals. The old hermit deepens into perfect contemplation, and with a smile waits for the blissful moment of death, when the soul leaves the body, like a bird leaves a tree branch. The soul of a Brahmin who dies in the state of sanyasi immediately acquires merger with the deity (nivani); and his body, in a sitting position, is lowered into the pit and sprinkled with salt all around.

Judging by these strange rules, it should be assumed that a Brahmin spends his entire life away from all worldly thoughts, devoting it exclusively to the concern of enlightening others and preparing for himself a blissful nivani; but reality does not confirm such a conclusion. Let us go further, and we will meet the rules of another direction, in which the root thought of this consistent spiritual aristocracy of Hindustan is revealed.

Every king or ruler must have a Brahmin as his chief adviser, in our opinion, as his first minister. The Brahmins raise the king and teach him the art of living decently and governing himself and the people. The entire judicial part is entrusted to their wisdom; and the reading of the Vedas, although the laws of Menu allowed the three highest castes, their interpretation was left exclusively to the Brahmins. Monetary provision for the Brahmin caste is also provided for by law. Generosity towards Brahmins constitutes a religious virtue for all believers, and is the direct duty of rulers. Sacrifices and all sorts of rituals bring good income to the Brahmins: “The senses, says Menu: a good name in this world and bliss in the future, life itself, children, herds - everything perishes from the sacrifice, which ends with meager gifts to the Brahmins.”

Upon the death of a rootless Brahmin, his escheated property goes not to the treasury, but to the caste. A Brahmin does not pay any taxes. Thunder would kill the king who dared to encroach on the person or property of the “holy man”; the poor Brahmin is supported at the state expense.

The second caste consists of kshatriyas, warriors. In the time of Menu, members of this caste could make sacrifices, and the study of the Vedas was a special duty for princes and heroes; but subsequently the Brahmins left them only permission to read or listen to the Vedas, without analyzing or interpreting them, and appropriated the right to explain the texts to themselves. Kshatriyas must give alms, but not accept them, avoid vices and sensual pleasures, and live simply, “as befits a warrior.” The law states that “the priestly caste cannot exist without the warrior caste, just as the latter cannot exist without the former, and that the peace of the whole world depends on the consent of both, on the union of knowledge and the sword.” - With minor exceptions, all kings, princes, generals and first rulers belong to the second caste; the judicial part and the management of education have been in the hands of the Brahmins since ancient times. Kshatriyas are allowed to consume all meat except bull and cow. - This caste was previously divided into three parts: all the ruling and non-ruling princes (rayas) and their children (rayanutras) belonged to the upper class.

The third caste is the Vaisyas or Vaishas. Previously, they too participated both in sacrifices and in the right to read the Vedas, but later, through the efforts of the Brahmins, they lost these advantages. Although the Veisyas stood much lower than the Kshatriyas, they still occupied an honorable place in society. They had to engage in trade, arable farming and cattle breeding. The Veizia's rights to property were respected, and its fields were considered inviolable. He had the right, sanctified by religion, to let money grow. The highest castes - Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas - used all three scarfs, senars, each of their own, and were therefore called twice-born, as opposed to once-born, Sudras.

The duty of a Sudra, Menu says briefly, is to serve the three highest castes. It is best for a Sudra to serve a Brahmin, in the absence of one, a Kshatriya, and finally a Veisya. In this only case, if he does not find an opportunity to enter into service, he is allowed to take up a useful craft. The soul of a Sudra, who has diligently and honestly served his entire life as a Brahmin, upon migration, is reborn into a person of the highest caste. How thoughtfully the Brahminical teaching cares about the fate of the people!

Sudra is forbidden to even look at the Vedas. A Brahmin not only has no right to interpret the Vedas to the Sudra, but is also obliged to read them silently in the presence of the latter. A Brahmin who allows himself to interpret the law to a Sudra, or explain to him the means of repentance, will be punished in the Asamarit hell. Sudra must eat the scraps of his masters and wear their cast-offs. He is forbidden to acquire anything, even by honest means, "so that he does not take it into his head to become arrogant to the temptation of the sacred Brahmins." If a Sudra verbally insults a Veisya or a Kshatriya, his tongue is cut out; if he dares to sit next to the Brahmin, or take his place, then a red-hot iron is applied to the more guilty part of the body. The name of the sudra, says Menu: there is a curse word - and the fine for killing it does not exceed the amount paid for the death of an unimportant domestic animal - for example, a dog or a cat. Killing a cow is considered a much more reprehensible matter: killing a Sudra is a misdemeanor; Killing a cow is a sin!

Bondage is the natural position of the Sudra, and the master cannot free him by giving him leave; "for, says the law: who, except death, can free the Sudra from the natural state?" It is quite difficult for us Europeans to move into this so alien world; We, involuntarily, want to bring everything under our own concepts, under the norms known to us - and this is what misleads us. So, for example, according to the concepts of the Hindus, Sudras constitute a class of people designated by nature for service in general, but at the same time they are not considered slaves and do not constitute the property of private individuals. There were, of course, slave Sudras; but the entire caste, as an estate, was a free caste, and the fate of its members did not depend on the arbitrariness of temporary masters alone. The attitude of the masters towards the sudras, despite the given examples of an inhuman view of them, from a religious point of view, was determined by civil law, especially the measure and method of punishment, which in all respects coincided with the patriarchal punishments allowed by folk custom in the relations of the father, or elder brother, to son, or younger brother, husband to wife, and guru to disciple. Just as, in general, almost everywhere and in public institutions, a woman is subjected predominantly to all possible restrictions, so in India the strictness of the division of castes weighs much more heavily on women than on men. When a man enters into a second marriage, he is allowed to choose a wife from a lower caste other than a Sudra. So, for example, a Brahmin can marry a woman of the second and third caste; the children of this mixed marriage will occupy a middle rank between the castes of the father and mother. A woman, marrying a man of a lower caste, commits a crime: she defiles herself and all her offspring. Sudras can only marry among themselves. Mixing with them produces unclean castes, of which the most despicable is the one that comes from mixing a Sudra with a Brahmin. The members of this caste are called Chandals, and must be executioners or flayers; the touch of a chandala entails expulsion from the caste.

It is remarkable that of the four ancient castes, not one was assigned to engage in crafts. From this it must be concluded that either the establishment of castes preceded the existence of most crafts here, or crafts were considered an occupation so humiliating that they were given over to Sudras, unworthy to be in service, and members of impure castes.

Below the unclean castes there is still a miserable race of pariahs. They send, along with the chandalas, the lowest works. The pariahs skin the carrion, process it, and eat the meat; but they abstain from cow meat. Their touch defiles both faces and objects. They have their own special wells; near the cities they are given a special quarter, surrounded by a moat and slingshots. They also do not have the right to show themselves in villages, but must hide in forests, caves and swamps. A Brahmin, defiled by the shadow of a pariah, must throw himself into the sacred waters of the Ganges, which alone can wash away such a stain of shame. - Even lower than the pariahs are the Pulias who live on the Malabar coast. Slaves of the Nairs, they are forced to take refuge in damp dungeons, and do not dare to raise their eyes to the noble Hindu. Seeing a Brahmin or Nair from afar, the Puliyas emit a loud roar to warn the masters of their proximity, and while the “gentlemen” wait on the road, they must hide in a cave, in the thicket of a forest, or climb a tall tree. Those who did not have time to hide are cut up by Naira like an unclean reptile. Pulia live in terrible untidiness, eating carrion and all kinds of meat except cow's.

But even the puglia can rest for a moment from the overwhelming general contempt; there are human creatures even more pitiful, lower than him: these are the Pariars, - lower because, sharing all the humiliation of the Puli, they allow themselves to eat cow meat!.. You can imagine how the soul of a devout Hindu shudders at such sacrilege, and therefore the Europeans and Muslims who also do not respect the sanctity of fat Indian cows and introduce them to the location of their kitchen, all of them, in his opinion, morally, are completely in line with the despicable pariar.

After this sketch of the social significance of the various castes of India, the reader will understand how terrible the punishment of deprivation of caste is, as a result of which both the Sudra, and the Vaisya, and the Kshatriya, and the Brahmin, suddenly become in the same rank with a disgusting pariah. Where the teaching of truth does not triumph, people are everywhere the same, regardless of the color of their skin: A Hindu to whom you tell that he is a “man without caste” will be angry with you at least as much as a German baron, in whose nobility you would think to doubt. But here in Hindustan, it is not just about vanity. There are, of course, cases in which the casteless may hope to regain his rights. Sometimes, for example, some unfortunate person is deprived of his caste by offended relatives for not observing the decency of the community - because he was not present at a family wedding or at the funeral of an important relative, - or because he did not invite his relatives to his wedding or funeral any member of your family. In this case, the culprit, having appeased the offended with decent gifts, appears with his head bowed before the leaders of the caste. Here he listens to reproaches without objection, is subjected to corporal punishment without complaint, and silently pays the imposed fine. Then, having vowed to improve, he sheds tears of tenderness, and finally stretches out so as to touch the floor with his toes, knees, stomach, chest, forehead and hands, which is called saktanja ( stretching six members). The leaders of the caste, having ascertained the sincerity of the guilty person’s repentance, lift him from the floor, hug him, kiss him, and include him again in their caste, reconciliation with which ends with a magnificent treat for the assembled society, at the expense of the criminal. If someone has been expelled from the caste for a more important crime and by a verdict not from relatives, but from the superiors themselves, then reconciliation is fraught with great difficulties. Fire plays the main role of cleansing: the guilty person is either burned with hot gold on his tongue, then other parts of the body with iron, or forced to walk slowly over hot coals. To top it all off, he must crawl under the cow's tail several times and drink a vessel filled with the disgusting drink of penja-gavia. This repentance, as always, consists of a generous treat for all Brahmins, no matter how many of them come running from different directions.

But reconciliation with caste is not always possible: there are cases in which the expelled person and all his descendants are cursed forever and ever, and it is also good if his wife and children do not leave him. It often happens that the family prefers caste to the father or husband: then the one who yesterday was a rich Brahmin, surrounded by family, suddenly becomes a wanderer, having neither family, nor fatherland, nor present, nor future.

Thanks to the terrible influence of caste deprivation, the Brahminical confession could do without the intolerance with which almost all churches in different countries armed themselves, or resorted to for their own protection, at different times.

Having indicated to each class of the population its place, and having arranged everything in such a way that falling away from the faith of the fathers or from the form sanctified by the law inevitably entails not only disgrace, but also complete ruin, Indian religion could completely calm down. She could open the borders of the state without the need for a Chinese wall and without fear of the invasion of foreigners who, being outside all established classes, in the opinion of the people would have to stand below the most pariahs. And indeed, strong in its inaction, the Indian religion has always been distinguished by a spirit of tolerance. For the same reasons, it has always been an enemy of proselytism. Without violating her native civil institutions, she cannot, in any way, adopt her neophyte. According to her teaching, one birth is able to bestow on a mortal the quality of a Brahmin, Kshatriya or Vaizya, and there is no such power on the globe that could replace this case. Hindus consider caste to be an essential accessory and part of the organism, and therefore would not understand a European who would try to prove to them the possibility of assigning to someone the rights of a class in which he was not born.

The consequence of this system was that no European could penetrate into all the mysteries of the Brahminical faith, and that very few Hindus accepted the teachings of Christ or Mohammed. The Muslim conquerors did not mix with the followers of Brahma, and the Christian missionaries found some response only in the hearts of the suffering pariahs.

Let us now look at the state of the castes at the present time.

Although the Hindus remained largely faithful to their ancient institutions and customs, yet even among them the vast space of thirty centuries could not pass without any traces. The division of castes and their relationship to each other have undergone, perhaps, greater changes than all other aspects of their civil life.

The Brahmins boast that of the four ancient castes, only one of them has remained unchanged to this day; but the rest of the population does not agree with this: for example, the Rajputs consider themselves direct descendants of princes and commanders from the Kshatriya caste, and the Marattas - the descendants of simple warriors of pure blood; Many crafts attribute their ancestors to the Veisia caste. In a word, the Hindus still do not want to part with their ancient traditions, and we will see below that although the previous form has been changed by the force of things, it has nevertheless changed in the spirit of castes, that is, in a spirit alien to everything human and general.

The doctrine of the brotherhood of all men, taught by the law of Christ, is inaccessible to a society that does not admit our concept of the creation of one man, but has sanctified the inequality of classes by the legend of the inequality of destiny in the creation of castes - a society that clings with all its might to the rotting ruins of its shameful antiquity, because only that she belongs. Subsequently, we will see how the systematic meanness of the Old Believers and patriots of Hindustan, instilled in the blood of the entire people, not only deprived this country of any development of its own, but also how strongly it defends it from the influence of Muslims and Europeans.

The Brahmins today constitute one caste and thus have a huge superiority over the descendants of the other three ancient classes, which have broken up into many divisions. We have already said how, over the centuries, little by little, they deprived other castes of the right to study the Vedas, wishing to usurp for themselves the monopoly of religious interpretation. This enterprise was crowned with complete success, especially with the gradual transformation and decline of other castes; but meanwhile, the Brahmins themselves, regarding religious rituals and home life, largely deviated from the ancient rules. In some cases, they imposed, of course, even new strictures on themselves; for example, today's Brahmins take a vow to abstain from consuming all meat; they are absolutely forbidden to marry women of the lower caste; but all such strictnesses are terrible only in words, and in reality the vow of abstinence is not fulfilled: Brahmins not only eat all kinds of meat, under the pretext of being consecrated and sacrificed, but also indulge in drunkenness and lust, and in general are distinguished by a morality that is highly corrupted. The division of life into four periods, the obedience and humility of the pupil, the long-term torment of the hermit - all this has long been forgotten and has given way to greed, barely covered by disgusting hypocrisy.

Regarding their civil status, Brahmins in our time allow themselves to enter into military service and engage in those crafts that are considered pure. However, in this regard there are different shades, depending on the area. In the southern parts of Hindustan, among the worldly occupations they undertake only the positions of clerks and government officials. The entire hierarchy of government officials, from the first minister to the village clerk, belongs to their caste, not to mention; already about the judicial positions occupied exclusively by them since the time of Menou. In addition, they perform sacred functions and are present wherever a literate person is needed. In those parts of Hindustan where the Mongols introduced their form of government, the introduction of the Persian language ousted the Brahmins from public service and opened it to the Persians and the descendants of the Sudras; in the Deccan the same cause contributed to the limitation of their power. This caste cannot boast of the love of the people; but it is rich, strong, consistent, - and the people are poor, weak due to their fragmentation, mired in ignorance - and therefore there are still places where he looks at the Brahmin caste as a class, not only strong, but also holy. The Brahmins in Bengal lost their importance the most.

Brahmin priests must walk with their heads uncovered and bare shoulders; lay Brahmins are allowed a turban and long clothes. Women paint on their foreheads the distinctive mark of the sect or division of the caste to which the husband belongs; they wear a short blouse and cover their waists in a wide veil.

The most learned Brahmins know astronomy and make calendars. Brahmin officials, sometimes degraded to the position of cashier for European bankers in Madras and Calcutta, are called pandidapapans. Shiva's sectarians, tataidipapans, must live by alms and constantly mutter prayers; The priests of Vishnu, the papan-vaishenavens, perform services in pagodas dedicated to their patron god. These latter are found in huge numbers, and have established a certain hierarchy among themselves, the observance of which is protected by strict fines: otherwise there could be no order, for in one Jagernath there live at least 3000 of them.

The highest rank between Brahmin priests is occupied by gurus, local and spiritual superiors or sects or monasteries. Thus, Vaishnavites and Shaivites have their own gurus who supervise the purity of faith in a certain area. Several times a year they undertake audits in their dioceses. In describing the sects, we spoke of the splendor of these trains; nowadays gurus often perform them at night to avoid encounters with Muslims and Europeans. The Guru collects church offerings from his entire diocese, and from these sums he himself determines the contents of the priests, bayaderes and the rest of the staff of the pagodas under his jurisdiction. These incomes are very significant in other places. Thus, the value of alms brought to the altars of Uiraval reaches, they say, up to 140,000 silver rubles per year. Every guru is independent in spiritual terms, and rules according to the provisions of his sect, for the church of Hindustan does not know unity and has no visible head...”

Since childhood, we have been taught that there is nothing worse than caste society. But oddly enough, castes have survived to this day, as evidenced, for example, by India. What do we actually know about how the caste system functions?

Every society consists of certain basic units that form it. So, in relation to Antiquity, such a unit can be considered a polis, modern to the West - capital (or a social individual owning it), for Islamic civilization - a tribe, Japanese - a clan, etc. For India, from ancient times to the present day, caste has been and remains such a basic element.

The caste system for India is not at all a dense archaic or “relic of the Middle Ages” as we have been taught for a long time. The Indian caste system is part of the complex organization of society, a historically established diverse and multifaceted phenomenon.

One can try to describe castes through a number of characteristics. However, there will still be exceptions. Indian caste differentiation is a system of social stratification of isolated social groups, united by the common origin and legal status of their members. They are built according to the principles:

1) common religion;
2) general professional specialization (usually hereditary);
3) marriages only between “our own”;
4) nutritional characteristics.

In India, there are not 4 (as many of us still think), but about 3 thousand castes and they can be called differently in different parts of the country, and people of the same profession can belong to different castes in different states. What are sometimes mistakenly considered Indian “castes” are not castes at all, but varnas (“chaturvarnya” in Sanskrit) - social strata of the ancient social system.

Varna brahmins (brahmins) are priests, doctors, teachers. Kshatriyas (rajanyas) - warriors and civil leaders. Vaishyas are farmers and traders. Shudras are servants and landless peasant laborers.

Each varna had its own color: Brahmins - white, Kshatriyas - red, Vaishayas - yellow, Shudras - black (once every Hindu wore a special cord in the color of his varna).

Varnas, in turn, are theoretically divided into castes. But in a very complex and intricate way. An obvious direct connection is not always visible to a person with a European mentality. The word “caste” itself comes from the Portuguese casta: birthright, clan, class. In Hindi, this term is identical to “jati”.

The infamous "untouchables" are not one particular caste. In Ancient India, everyone who was not included in the four varnas was automatically classified as “marginal”, they were avoided in every possible way, they were not allowed to settle in villages and cities, etc. As a result of this position, the “untouchables” had to take on the most “non-prestigious”, dirty and low-paid work and they formed their own separate social and professional groups - essentially, their own castes.

There are several such castes of “untouchables” and, as a rule, they are associated either with dirty work, or with the killing of living beings or death (so all butchers, hunters, fishermen, tanners, garbage men, sewer men, laundresses, cemetery and morgue workers, etc. must be “untouchable”).

At the same time, it would be wrong to believe that every “untouchable” is necessarily someone like a homeless person or a “lowlife.” In India, even before independence and the adoption of a number of legislative measures to protect lower castes from discrimination, there were “untouchables” who achieved a very high social status and earned universal respect. Like, for example, the outstanding Indian politician, public figure, human rights activist and author of the Indian Constitution - Dr. Bhimaro Ramji Ambedkar, who received a law degree in England.

One of the many monuments to Bhimaro Ambedkar in India

The “untouchables” have several names: mleccha - “stranger”, “foreigner” (that is, formally all non-Hindus, including foreign tourists, can be classified as them), harijan - “child of God” (a term specifically introduced by Mahatma Gandhi), pariahs - “outcasts”, “expelled”. And the most commonly used modern name for “untouchables” is Dalits.

Legally, castes in India were recorded in the Laws of Manu, compiled from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD. The varna system traditionally developed in a much more ancient period (there is no exact dating).

As mentioned above, castes in modern India still cannot be considered simply an anachronism. On the contrary, all of them are now carefully counted and listed in a special annex to the current Indian Constitution (Table of Castes).

In addition, after each population census, changes are made to this table (usually additions). The point is not that some new castes appear, but that they are recorded in accordance with the data provided about themselves by census participants. Only discrimination on the basis of caste is prohibited. What is written in Article No. 15 of the Indian Constitution.

Indian society is very colorful and heterogeneous in its structure; In addition to division into castes, there are several other differentiations in it. There are both caste and non-caste Indians. For example, adivasis (descendants of the main indigenous black population of India before its conquest by the Aryans), with rare exceptions, do not have their own castes. In addition, for some misdemeanors and crimes a person can be expelled from his caste. And there are quite a lot of non-caste Indians, as evidenced by the census results.

Castes exist not only in India. A similar public institution takes place in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bali and Tibet. By the way, Tibetan castes do not correlate with Indian castes at all - the structures of these societies were formed completely separately from each other. It is curious that in Northern India (the states of Himachal, Uttar Pradesh and Kashmir) the caste system is not of Indian origin, but of Tibetan origin.

Historically, when the overwhelming majority of the Indian population professed Hinduism - all Hindus belonged to some caste, the only exceptions were pariahs expelled from castes and the indigenous non-Aryan peoples of India. Then other religions (Buddhism, Jainism) began to spread in India. As the country was subjected to invasions by various conquerors, representatives of other religions and peoples began to adopt from the Hindus their system of varnas and professional caste-jatis. Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians in India also have their own castes, but they are somehow different from the Hindu castes.

What about Indian Muslims? After all, the Koran initially proclaimed the equality of all Muslims. A natural question. Despite the fact that British India was divided into two parts in 1947: “Islamic” (Pakistan) and “Hindu” (India proper), today Muslims (approximately 14% of all Indian citizens) in absolute terms live in India more than in Pakistan, where Islam is the state religion.

However, the caste system is inherent in India and Muslim society. However, caste differences among Indian Muslims are not as strong as among Hindus. They have virtually no “untouchables.” Between Muslim castes there are no such impenetrable barriers as among Hindus - transition from one caste to another or marriages between their representatives is allowed.

The caste system was established among Indian Muslims relatively late - during the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th-16th centuries. The Muslim caste is usually referred to as biradari ("brotherhood") or biyahdari. Their occurrence is often attributed by Muslim theologians to the influence of Hindus with their caste system (supporters of “pure Islam” see this, of course, as the insidious machinations of pagans).

In India, as in many Islamic countries, Muslims also have their nobility and common people. The former are called sharifs or ashraf (“noble”), the latter are called ajlaf (“low”). Currently, about 10% of Muslims living in the territory of the Republic of India belong to the Ashraf. They usually trace their ancestry to those external conquerors (Arabs, Turks, Pashtuns, Persians, etc.) who invaded Hindustan and settled for many centuries.

For the most part, Indian Muslims are descendants of the same Hindus who, for one reason or another, converted to a new faith. Forced conversion to Islam in medieval India was the exception rather than the rule. Typically, the local population was subjected to a slow Islamization, during which elements of foreign faith were unobtrusively incorporated into local cosmology and ritual practice, gradually displacing and replacing Hinduism. It was an implicit and sluggish social process. During it, people maintained and protected the closedness of their circles. This explains the persistence of caste psychology and customs among large sections of Indian Muslim society. Thus, even after the final conversion to Islam, marriages continued to be concluded only with representatives of their own castes.

Even more curiously, even many Europeans were included in the Indian caste system. Thus, those Christian missionary preachers who preached to high-born Brahmins eventually found themselves in the “Christian Brahmin” caste, and those who, for example, carried the Word of God to the “untouchable” fishermen, became Christian “untouchables”.

Often it is impossible to accurately determine which caste an Indian belongs to only by his appearance, behavior and occupation. It happens that a kshatriya works as a waiter, and a brahmin trades and removes garbage from a shop - and they don’t particularly have a complex about these reasons, but a sudra behaves like a born aristocrat. And even if an Indian says exactly what caste he is from (although such a question is considered tactless), this will give a foreigner little to understand how society is structured in such an outlandish and peculiar country as India.

The Republic of India declares itself a “democratic” state and, in addition to prohibiting caste discrimination, has introduced certain benefits for representatives of lower castes. For example, they have adopted special quotas for their admission to higher educational institutions, as well as to positions in state and municipal bodies.

The problem of discrimination against people from lower castes and Dalits, however, is quite serious. The caste structure is still fundamental to the lives of hundreds of millions of Indians. Outside of large cities in India, caste psychology and all the conventions and taboos arising from it are firmly preserved.

upd: For some reason unknown to me, some readers started swearing and mutual insults in the comments to this post. I do not like it. Therefore, I decided to block comments on this post.

1) common religion;
2) general professional specialization (usually hereditary);
3) marriages only between “our own”;
4) nutritional characteristics.

Varna brahmins (brahmins) are priests, doctors, teachers. Kshatriyas (rajanyas) - warriors and civil leaders. Vaishyas are farmers and traders. Shudras are servants and landless peasant laborers.

Each varna had its own color: Brahmins - white, Kshatriyas - red, Vaishayas - yellow, Shudras - black (once every Hindu wore a special cord in the color of his varna).

One of the many monuments to Bhimaro Ambedkar in India