VARNA SYSTEM: A TECHNIQUE FOR BETTER SOCIETY?

The construct of a Civilization stands on the contribution of people belonging to it's society , rather than it's traditions & belief system. Our Sanatan civilization very well understands this , in fact the word SANATANA - (नित्य नूतन) means always changing with time! Unfortunately misinterpretations caused by many translations of the original texts & some malice individuals solely wanting to disrupt the true understanding of "our way of life" have successfully darkened the meaning by lowering the value of VEDAS. Rig Veda one of the oldest text to exist in the world has a dedicated section called PURUSHA SUKTAM solely discussing the knowledge about creation of world from yajna to form Purusha. Here is an analogy drawn between a human body & society.

Brahmanoasya mukhamasida bahu rajanyakriah Uru tadasya yadvaishya padabhyam shudro ajayat. (Rigveda 10.90.12).

The interpretation of this mantra is as follows; Rigveda uses the metaphor to compare a person to a society. The organic view of the society is explained by comparing Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra with the head, hands, legs and feet respectively of Purusha(society). The unique characteristic of Vedic language(different from classical Sanskrit) is that it is highly metaphorical and symbolic and capable of multiple interpretation. However, for a proper understanding of the sense of the vedas, Purusha Sukta is an analogy between four limbs of the body and the four varnas who are as providers of knowledge (Bramhana), protection(Kshatriya), wealth(Vaishya) and service(shudra) are respectively required to eliminate ignorance, injustice, inadequacy and indolence, the four social ills of the society and serve mankind as per their functional values and natural dispositions. The health of any society does require the health of all it's organs. Conversely the pain in any one of its limb is the pain of the social body which represented the life spirit of the organism.

It can also be viewed that , for a person to be an active part of society & strive for its development , he/she needs to possess all four of the foretold characteristics (knowledge, protection, wealth and service) so that they are :

1. Spiritually elevated with a higher moral compass with compassion & righteousness & a vigorous spirit(Bramahana) ,

2. Strong physically & mentally which makes them independent & ethically sound to do the right thing and also understand the consequences of their actions(Kshtriya) ,

3. Financially independent & are much aligned to the interests of social economy(Vaishya) ,

4. Finally, they are dedicated towards their job, skilled enough to earn the position , accountable for their role & consistent enough to be responsible(Shudra) .

Mind that no where in Manusmriti , Veda , Vedanga , Aranyaka or Purana it is said that one who is of Bramhana Jaati is superior to anyone & that Shudra jaati is inferior to all, in fact word Jaati - meaning born in does not link to varna system. Technically speaking the whole evil practice of untouchability has come to flourish in recent times (somewhere around 800 years). Many pseudo-historians argue that untouchability originated with invasion of Aryans which is a made up history with no record & has been debunked, Quite frankly many who practice Hindu Dharma does not fully understand its framework & often blindly follow traditions out of faith or fear, this has led to decline of knowledge and reformation in cultural growth.

Let us aim to understand the original documents of Smriti , Shastra and Purana & rewrite the wrong translations of it , so that at least our future generation succeed where our ancestors failed.