Caste System

7 Pages 1870 Words

The Indian caste system is over 3500 years old. Still today the values of the caste system are held strongly. It has kept a sense of order, and peace among the people. There are five different levels of the system: Brahman, Kshatriya, Shudra, and Harijans. Within each of these categories are sub castes or jatis. They all have their own place among each other and accept that it is the way to keep society from disintegrating to chaos. This system has worked well for Indian people, primarily the Hindu’s, and still has a major role in modern India.
The Sanskrit word for caste is ‘varna’ meaning color. When the Aryans moved into northwest India and started the caste system it was originally a color classification. The purpose of the system was to distinguish between the Aryan invaders and the previous occupants. Eventually the origins of the caste system were forgotten and it became an accepted part of society. The original caste system consisted of the first four levels. Later, when the Aryans moved across India from their original position in the northwest, they conquered more people. To fit the newly conquered people into their way of society they created a new category. The new caste was placed below the Shudras, and was called the Untouchables.
Hindu’s strongly value the caste system because it goes along with their beliefs of dharma and reincarnation. Dharma means virtue. The Hindu’s believe if they fulfill their duties on earth, they will be rewarded by being reincarnated, or reborn into a higher class. This is the reason they do not help lower class citizens. They feel as if it would be going against the natural order of things.
At the top of the caste system is the Brahmin. They are the caste of priests, their job is to know and repeat the Hindu text, which is called Vedas. They belong to the dvija or twice-born category, which means they take part in a ceremony to initiate them selves into the Hindu religion and are...