The Krishna Love (Wattpad India Awards Winner)

Chapter 47 - Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers Part 2

Ravi was well aware of the deeply rooted caste system in India. He hails from a state where this evil system has been still in practice. While anticipating the incoming answer, his mind dragged to an incident back in his native place. He remembered hanging around with a lower caste friend, and how can he forget the scoldings he received later that day?

"Do you have any idea who that kid is?" His dad had said.

"A human, I guess." Ravi's voice dripped sarcasm.

"No! He's a lower born. Better don't hang out with him. Why don't you find upper caste friends like us?"

Ravi didn't understand back then why he shouldn't roam with his low caste friend since he was a kid. And one day he made a blunder by bringing his friend home. His friend was not just humiliated but kicked out of the home. The whole house was so-called purified with holy water from all five sacred rivers in India.

To see a dear friend treated in an inhumane way just because he was born in a low caste, Ravi's heart was washed over with guilt. Why I brought him home? I thought I would show Dad that my sweat and his sweat smells the same. So where is the caste difference? Ravi had thought like this.

Whenever he thinks about this incident, his heart gets a whoosh of pain. And now with same emotions, he looked at Braja. "We breath same air, blood's color is the same. Then what's the deal when it comes to caste?"

Braja's face turned sad as if he could feel the pain of being discriminated. He presented Ravi with a sympathetic glance. "You know, according to Gita. 5.18., we should see every living being with equal vision. Not just humans."

"Yeah right." Ravi interrupted, "But people don't follow this."

Braja heaved a sigh. "The caste system is indeed evil. Unfortunately, it was in the past and still present in the society, no denying of that. However, originally this caste system was known as the class system. The birth never determined one's class, but on one's own choice of work and nature since different people are good at different things. If people are engaged in what they are good at, then there can be a corporation. Brahmanas were intellectuals who used to guide society with their spiritual knowledge. Kshritya were the protectors of society. Vaisyas were merchants and traders. Shudra were workers who used to serve the rest.

"If you've observed, these four divisions are still present in our modern society in a perverted form. We have intellectuals (scientists, researchers, thinkers). We have administrators (politicians, police, soldiers). We have businessmen (shopkeepers to multinational companies). And then, we have employees as the working class."

Braja paused to see if the answer was making sense to Ravi and Sid, it was hard to figure out from their faces. He further explained that Plato, the famous Greek philosopher, he also talked about these divisions in the society. How can a non-Vedic personality have spoken about the similar concept? Because these division are natural whenever there is a society, there will be these four categories. However, birthright made it all wrong because those who were in power forgot its spiritual principle: to bring people together and give them material engagement which is harmonious with their nature.

Sid was slowly getting the drift of it, whereas Ravi was still struggling. Both of them understood that these four divisions are natural. A question, however, popped up Ravi's mind. What was the original intention behind this categorization? He asked.

"It was to give a person job satisfaction," Braja said quickly. "You guys must be aware of the suicide rates that students commit in India because they are pressurized to choose the career which they don't want to pursue. When certain professions—engineering and medicine, for example—are glamorized, everyone chases after them. Students in those fields undergo extreme, often maniac, competition. Many candidates vie for limited jobs. When students are educated contrary to their natures, they are unable to develop the competence."