(4) Sudras —a class that had to earn its living by manufacturing handicrafts and by serving the other three classes.
PHILOSOPHY OF CASTE SYSTEM
The theories of Varna philosophy propose a complex system of beliefs to justify inequality in inter caste relations. Caste system is an intricate system of social differentiation which leads to mutual exclusiveness, the intercaste segregation is maintained by rules prohibiting inter caste marriage, and smoking eating and drinking together.
The distinction between castes is based on race, occupation and religious status, Moreover public opinion plays a great role in the stratification of society. Thus, whether a caste is considered high or low depends on the degree of honor in which it is held by the Hindu community as a whole.
Caste system envisages social immobility in addition to social inequality. The individual’s relations with gods and other castes as well as his occupation and status are fixed at birth. In this way, the philosophy of caste system is one of hereditary determinism.
The inequality, immobility and hereditary deterministic tendency of the caste system is sought to be justified through the concept of inner substances and Dharma, the notion of karma the close connection between the concepts of sacrifice and generosity and the division into different castes of purusa (the imaginary original code man whose natural substance all Vedic people thought they shared).
Article extracted from this publication >> March 17, 1989
