Indian Antiquary Vol 59

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 66

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(MARCE, 1930
ladder or scale of castes, which is the national ideal that binds all Hindus together whatever their caste may be. Nowhere do we find amongst the Hindus any evidence of that centrifugal and hostile tendency of portions of Society to withdraw from the main body and to form Trades, Guilds and other Fraternities organised to protect their own interests against those of the community. As a new leaf draws life from, and gives life to, the plant upon which it grows, so cach new caste takes strength from and, at the same time, nourishes the parent system. Further, as a matter of fact, though we talk of higher and lower castes and though the haughtiness of the Brahmans is now proverbial, no caste was originally considered superior or inferior, cxccpt in the sense that its bodily type represented a more or less advanced stage in the human habitations which must be, in turn, occupied by the Soul. The Bhagavadgitä says "The wise regard a Brahman gifted with knowledge and modesty, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a Swapaka [i.e., one whose duty it is to carry out unclaimed dead bodies) as alike." In other words, though in the Sudra the body is predominant, in the Vaikya the Reason, in the Kshatriya the Heart, and in the Brahman the Soul, all castes are equally manifestations of Brahma though of different qualities. The relation between a higher and a lower caste is then more like that between an adult and a child than that between a noble and a serf of the same nationality.
VIII. Caste distinctions entirely dependent upon Character.--Instead therefore of allowing ourselves to be misled by the outward show of Hinduism we must concentrate our attention on what the Hindu religious writings tell us of what is required of true members of the different castes. According to the Bhagavadgitā, to be truly wise one must have learnt -
(1) To control the Body in its appetites and desires, so that it does not injure itself or impede the free action of the Soul.
(2) To act for the benefit of the community without hope of reward or even care whether one's action is successful or not, so long as one's duty, as laid down by the requirements of Caste, is performed.
(3) To act towards all others without partiality.
(4) To resign oneself with absolute patience to pain and suffering and loss and to feel no exultation in success.
"He, my servant, is dear unto me, who is free from enmity, the friend of all nature, merciful, exempt from pride and egoism, the same in pain and pleasure, patient of wrongs, contented, constantly devout, of subdued passions and firm resolves, and whose heart and mind are fixed on me alone.
"He also is my beloved, of whom mankind are not afraid and who of mankind is not afraid : who is free from the influence of joy, impatience and the dread of harm.
"He, my servant, is dear unto me, who wants nothing, is just and pure, impartial, free from distraction of mind, and who has renounced every enterprise. He also is worthy of my love, who neither rejoiceth nor findeth fault ; who neither lamenteth nor coveteth, and, being my servant, hath renounced both good and evil. He also is my beloved servant, who is the same to friend and foe, in honour and dishonour, in cold and in heat, in pain and in pleasure ; who is unsolicitous about the event of things; to whom praise and blame are as one ; who is silent and pleased with whatever cometh to pass ; homeless and who is of a steady mind." (Bhagavadgita, XII.) In other words, to fit oneself for the position of a Ruler, one must have overcome all human weaknesses and renounced all material rewards. This is possible for the Brahman born, almost if not wholly impossible for any other. It is not necessary to enter upon the requirements of other castes, for the above is sufficient to show that what differentiates them is simply Character, and we can appreciate what Elphinstone says (Smith's Oxford History, pp. 431-2) of the Rajputs, who are Kshatriyas "A Rajput warrior, so long as he
does not dishonour his race, seems almost indifferent to the result of any contest he is engaged - in.". For all castes the saying of the Bhagavadgitā holds good, viz.
"One's own duty i.e., dharma or caste rules) though defective, is better than another's duty well performed. Better is death in one's own duty; another's duty is full of danger."
(To be continued.)