There is no Caste!
The California State University (CSU) announced its intention to add “caste” to the system’s anti-discrimination policy as part of a collective bargaining agreement with CSU faculty in January 2022. This policy change is premised on claims made by the group Equality Labs, that there is large-scale prevalence of caste discrimination in the United States as per a survey the group reportedly carried out.
I’m not sure I understand the implication of this at a deeper level
Yes, there should be equal rights for all humans and yet every day we see such boundaries being crossed.
Just highlighting the caste system in this clause-
There is a caste system in every religion whether it’s Hindu, Muslim ( there are conflicts between Shia, Sunni, Ahmedi…. etc). There are different factions in Christianity too( tho it may not be overtly called caste system). I’m Sikhism I have seen first hand the conflicts between Jats and other Sikhs factions.
So when they come up with some clause like this, it’s imperative to see who are the supporters and what is the agenda?
What is the intention behind it? Is it targeting certain religion or is it truly for common good?
In my 20 something years here in the United States, personally, I have not come across such practices. I doubt any of our children know about such systems like Brahmin/ Dalit
More importantly, I feel that there are grassroots unlearning that needs to happen. Hindus themselves don’t know what the caste system is! It’s been misconstrued and practiced at a very exploitative level for centuries.
The society in Bharat is even more ‘class conscious’. ….. at higher echelons that is true everywhere.
So I do want to be clear that we are teaching our kids the right intention and ideology behind the ‘caste’ system if they come to face such criticism.
One cannot claim to be Brahmins ( supposedly the higher ‘caste’) based on the birth of that family. One has to earn it(just like one has to earn the MD, Ph.D., or such degrees). Just because one’s parents are doctors/engineers/lawyers does not make one a doctor/ engineer/ lawyer. Similarly just because one is born in a Brahmin family does not make him/her Brahmin.
There is no Sanskrit equivalent of the word ‘caste’ in our scriptures. There is the word ‘Varna’ which means color (as in our personality, proclivity).
In Bhagavad Gita very clearly Lord Krishna says that varna (working class) is based on karma ( intention) and not janma ( birth)
So here I stop using the word caste. There is no such thing.
The Varna is not determined by birth. It’s determined by the essence of one's personality. If my inclination is towards purity and enlightenment then only I can claim myself to be Brahmin. It’s a fluid state.
I may not be born in a Brahmin family but I can become a Brahmin, just as I was not born a physician but I became one. If my mind continues to engage in negativity, vices, immorality, then I’m at lower varna.
Shri Rama and Shri Krishna followed Kshatriya dharma. Shri Krishna was born in Yadava kula, and now Yadava is among OBCs — so what are we really talking about?
False notions have been propagated in our culture for ages that it has become so deep-rooted. Of course, the people enjoying the superficial Brahmin status refuse to educate or give up that pseudo status that brings them power. The timeless wisdom that we all are equal has been buried. The eternal guidance to celebrate and respect our differences has been ignored.
In the end, differences are created by the notions of race, caste, the class- it’s all a game of power and money, where the big players don’t let others win.
“Equality is the soul of liberty; there is, in fact, no liberty without it.”~ Frances Wright
( my gratitude to Ruma for helping with insights)
