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DHARMA IN PRACTICE.
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different avocations. The principle* of division lay in the fact that the prosperity of a community depends on the defence of its territory, the development of its trade and the due performance of their work by the menials.
The brahmana class came into existence during the reign of Bharata, the son of the first Tirthamkara. Later on, Hinduism fully accepted this classification of men into four varnas, and made it the basis of its yoga, making each caste correspond to a particular department of that system,-jnana Yoga for brahmanas, râja yoga for kshatryas, karma yoga for vaishyas and bhakti yoga for shudras. It is, however, clear that the idea of caste exclusiveness had nothing to do with the classification of men, as originally conceived, so that all those who followed the true faith were entitled to the same rights and privileges in respect of religious worship. It was only when priesthood acquired considerable influence on the ruling body that
* It will be generally seen to be the case that a man is more likely to excel in the calling of his ancestors than in an entirely strange occupation. It is, for instance, not to be expected that a mahajan's son, who has spent all his life in comfort and luxury or in looking after the peaceful business of his own firm, would make as good a soldier as the young rajaputa conscious of his descent from the royal Pratap. The glorious traditions of the kshatrya varna (warrior caste), stories of exciting adventures of brave raja puta warriors, memories of deeds of undying glory of his own ancestors, to say nothing of the thousand and one other items and incidents which tend to fire the youthful imagination of a young warrior- all combined invest the latter with an irrepressible psycbic vigour which constitutes a great advantage over his rival, the mahajan's son. Reverse the position, and you will find the brave warrior out of his element in the counting touse. The same is the case with other vurnas,
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