'Guna' : The Indian Caste System as identified with the fictional system followed in the Div

The Indian ‘Varna System’ of social classification, identified with the fictional system followed in the ‘Divergent’ Trilogy (both based on aptitude) and our gunna of treating this system as identical to the ‘Caste System’.

The Indian system of social classification is thought of as being based upon the principles of ‘caste’ and class hierarchy. It is mistakenly so.

Think. Question it.

“Is this how it intended to start out?”

The foundation of classification of individuals within society in India in the yesteryears was in fact based upon the principle of ‘guna’ or what we call aptitude. This aptitude translated into choice of occupation which reflected ones position in society.

Birth, wealth or prestige were not the foremost characteristics of worth. It was ones guna, ones merit, ones ability, aptitude and capacity for a certain occupation or undertaking.

The Varna System was a sophisticated system that helped filter out the evils of power and superiority, and helped avoid indulgence in a hierarchical system of advantage of one and exploitation of the lesser-other.

This system is not at all caste-equivalent. It simply indicates a social division based on Guna ,There exists all over the world one sort of division or the other in a society, which is inevitable for social growth and prosperity. Each individual is possessed of a particular ability by nature. One may well perform a physical labor, another may be more of a thinker and some may be artistic some inclined to technology, music. Medicine, trade, industry or any other material or spiritual activity. A simple theory of functionalism at play to churn efficient functionality of society based on the co existence of integration and independence of function.

I gathered familiar understanding of the Varna system from the system of ‘factions’ used in the Divergent trilogy. These “factions” are based on function and aptitude of an individual.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna speaks to Arjuna as he clarifies the origin and purpose of the caste system in sanaatana dharma (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Shloka

cāturvarṇyaṃ mayā sṛṣṭaṃ guṇakarmavibhāgaśaḥ .

tasya kartāramapi māṃ viddhyakartāramavyayam .. 4\-13..

The four-fold order was created by Me according to the divisions of quality and work. Though I am its creator, know Me to be incapable of action or change.

Cāturvarṇyaṃ: the four-fold order. The four varnas are named - Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. They constitute the four-fold order. The three gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas - and the law of karma - these four elements were divided by Me to create the four varnas.

Sattva guna predominates in Brahmins - and they are assigned the tasks (karma) of sham, dam, tapas (meditation) etc.

Rajas guna predominates in Kshatriyas - sattva guna is secondary. Their karma is to be warriors and show bravery and tejas.

Rajas guna also predominates in Vaishyas - tamas guna is secondary. Their karma is to be farmers and traders.

Tamas guna predominates in Vaishyas - rajas guna is secondary. Their karma is to serve others.

The emphasis is on guna (aptitude) and karma (function) and not on jaati (birth). The varna or the order to which we belong is independent of sex, birth or breeding. A varna is determined by temperament and vocation - not by birth or heredity.

According to the Mahabharata, the whole world was originally of one class but later it became divided into four divisions on account of the specific duties.

ekavarṇama idama pūrvaṃ viśvama āsida yudhiśthira karmakriyāviśesena caturvarṇyama pratiśthitama

Even the distinction between caste and outcaste is artificial and unspiritual. An ancient verse points out that the Brahmin and the outcaste are blood brothers.

antyajo viprajātiśa ca eka eva sahodaraḥ ekayoniprasūtas ca ekasākhena jāyate

This system of order in society is comparable to modern day fictional ‘Divergent’ Trilogy where factions are societal divisions that classify citizens based on their aptitudes and values. This was a system developed for the efficient functioning of society as whole. The integration of all sectors/ factions working independently from each other but co-existing. A system with 5 clearly defined factions of division within society.

The factions in Divergent are:

1. Abnegation, who are supposed to be selfless who fill the need for selfless leaders in the government.

2. Dauntless, who are supposed to be fearless, their function is to provide safety and primarily guard the fence that surrounds the city and patrol the factualness sector.

3. Erudite, who are supposed to be intelligent, the teachers and researchers.

4. Amity, who are supposed to be peaceful, the only artists.

5. Candor, who are supposed to be honest, provide honest and trustworthy leaders in the field of law.

And then there are The Faction-less those who have failed their initiation test or couldn't be defined and are now

excluded from society, are neglected and live in collapsed roads & empty subways full of trash. The factionless comparable to the untouchables and partly the Harijans or Shudras who were neglected in the Indian social system. The primary function of the Faction-less was doing the work that no one else wanted to do. The janitors, construction workers and the garbage collectors.

Today people have mistaken Varnas for caste and treat them as identical.

The caste is man made. It is simply a social institution and can easily be changed and modified according to changing needs of society. Caste-by-birth was never the original intent nor it ever was the basis upon which the Varnas were constituted. The rigid caste system also did not tolerate and social mobility within its ranks, inter caste marriage, was understood as mixing of ranks and was unacceptable.

This can be vaguely equated to the ‘Divergent’, one who if identified becomes the target of society. A divergent is one who possesses the aptitude for more than one faction, a mixture of two or more factions, one who cannot be controlled and one whose thinking cannot be controlled. One who is considered out of order.

The reason for perversion of this system was when Jaati arose, later as occupations became more specialised when man himself first created distinction in ranks for financial gains in performance of rituals especially. This discrimination was based on professional competition and gave birth to the hierarchical system.

Varna means different shades of texture or color. They represent mental temper. There are three Gunas – Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Sattva is white, Rajas red and Tamas black. These in combination of various proportions constitute the group or class of people all over the world with temperamental differences. The above classification is based on this assumption. In continuation, Veda Vyasa says in the same couplet, ’by the differentiation of the mental quality and physical action of the people.’ It is clear that the type of ones action, the quality of ego, the color of knowledge, the texture of ones understanding, the temper of fortitude and the brilliance of ones happiness defines ones Varna.

Soon this colour came to be seen not as aptitudes but as levels of superiority over the poorer and less prestigious. Colour came to be seen as race, colour became ‘Caste’, colour became an identity not only in India but all around the world, colour was perverted and colour was ruthlessly exploited.

From Amazon’s Q&A with Author Veronica Roth

When asked what the advantages to the society that she’s created in Divergent are, Veronica responded:

“All the advantages I see only seem like advantages to me because I live in our current society. For example, the members of their society don’t focus on certain things: race, religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, etc. I mean, a world in which you look different from the majority and no one minds? That sounds good to me. But when I think about it more, I realize that they’re doing the exact same thing we do, but with different criteria by which to distinguish ourselves from others.

Instead of your skin color, it’s the color of your shirt that people assess, or the results of your aptitude test. Same problem, different system.”

The gunna we commit is in allowing the perversion of a system and further allowing it to penetrate down to the roots, to a point where we have to question ourselves, “Is this how it intended to start out?”

SOURCES:

Source (in part): Bhagavad Gita with commentary by Shankaracharya (in Hindi), Gita Press. Translated on 17th September, 2008 by the editors of eaglespace.com ©

Article : Caste System in Hinduism by Dr. R. K. Lahri

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=1211#sthash.WEneHmlp.dpuf

http://www.divergentlexicon.com/factions

www.amazon.com/Divergent-Trilogy-Veronica-Roth/dp/0062024027/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302981501&sr=1-1

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