Adyar Pamphlets

Castes In India

No. 6

Castes In India
by Damodar K. Mavalankar
Reprinted from The Theosophist , May 1880 Published in 1880, 1 11 and 1 1 !heosophi"al Publishin# $ouse, Adyar, Chennai %Madras& India !he !heosophist 'ffi"e, Adyar, Madras. India No man of sin"erity and moral "oura#e "an read Mr. (. C. )hit*orth+s Profession of Faith, %A Personal Statement of Religious Belief is the a"tual title of the bro"hure , -ditor& as re.ie*ed in the April /18800 Theosophist, *ithout feelin# himself "hallen#ed to be *orthy of the respe"t of one *ho professes su"h honourable sentiments. I, too, am "alled upon to ma1e my statement of personal belief. It is due to my family and "aste2fello*s that they should 1no* *hy I ha.e deliberately abandoned my "aste and other *orldly "onsiderations. If, hen"eforth, there is to be a "hasm bet*een them and myself, I o*e it to myself to de"lare that this alienation is of my o*n "hoosin#, and I am not "ut off for bad "ondu"t. I *ould be #lad to ta1e *ith me, if possible, into my ne* "areer, the affe"tionate #ood *ishes of my 1insmen. 3ut, if this "annot be done, I must bear their displeasure, as I may, for I am obeyin# a paramount "on.i"tion of duty. I *as born in the family of the 4arh5da Mah5rashtra "aste of 3r5hmanas, as my surname *ill indi"ate. My father "arefully edu"ated me in the tenets of our reli#ion, and, in addition, #a.e me e.ery fa"ility for a"6uirin# an -n#lish edu"ation. 7rom the a#e of ten until I *as about fourteen, I *as .ery mu"h e8er"ised in mind upon the sub9e"t of reli#ion and de.oted myself *ith #reat ardour to our orthodo8 reli#ious pra"ti"es. !hen my ritualisti" obser.an"es *ere "ro*ded aside by my s"holasti" studies, but, until about nine months a#o, my reli#ious thou#hts and aspirations *ere entirely un"han#ed. At this time, I had the inestimable #ood fortune to read Isis Unveiled: A Key to the Mysteries of An ient and Modern Religion and S ien e, and to 9oin the !heosophi"al ;o"iety. It is no e8a##eration to say that I ha.e been a really li.in# man only these fe* months: for bet*een life as it appears to me no* and life as I "omprehended it before, there is an unfathomable abyss. I feel that no* for the first time I ha.e a #limpse of *hat man and life are,the nature and po*ers of the one, the possibilities, duties, and 9oys of the other. 3efore, thou#h ardently ritualisti", I *as not really en9oyin# happiness and pea"e of mind. I simply pra"tised my reli#ion *ithout understandin# it. !he *orld bore 9ust as hard upon me as upon others, and I "ould #et no "lear .ie* of the future. !he only real thin# to me seemed the day+s routine: at best the hori<on before me e8tended only to the roundin# of a busy life *ith the burnin# of my body and the obse6uial "eremonies rendered to me by friends. My aspirations *ere only for more =amind5ries, so"ial position and the #ratifi"ation of *hims and appetites. 3ut my later readin# and thin1in# ha.e sho*n me that all these are but the .apours of a dream and that he only is *orthy of bein# "alled man, *ho has made "apri"e his sla.e and the perfe"tion of his spiritual ;elf the #rand ob9e"t of his efforts. As I "ould not en9oy these "on.i"tions and my freedom of a"tion *ithin my "aste, I am steppin# outside it. In ma1in# this profession, let it be understood that I ha.e ta1en this step, not be"ause I am a !heosophist, but be"ause in studyin# !heosophy I ha.e learnt and heard of the an"ient splendour and #lory of my "ountry 2 the hi#hly esteemed land of >ry5.arta. ?oinin# the !heosophi"al ;o"iety does not interfere *ith the so"ial, politi"al, or reli#ious relations of any person. All ha.e an e6ual ri#ht in the ;o"iety to hold their opinions. ;o far from persuadin# me to do *hat I ha.e, Mme. 3la.ats1y and Col. 'l"ott ha.e stron#ly ur#ed me to *ait until some future time, *hen I mi#ht ha.e had ampler time to Pa#e 1

Adyar Pamphlets

Castes In India

No. 6

refle"t. 3ut the #limpse I ha.e #ot into the former #reatness of my "ountry ma1es me feel sadly for her de#eneration. I feel it, therefore, my bounden duty to de.ote all my humble po*ers to her restoration. 3esides, histories of .arious nations furnish to us many e8amples of youn# persons ha.in# #i.en up e.erythin# for the sa1e of their "ountry and ha.in# ultimately su""eeded in #ainin# their aims. )ithout patriots no "ountry "an rise. !his feelin# of patriotism by de#rees #re* so stron# in me that it has no* prepared my mind to stamp e.ery personal "onsideration under my feet for the sa1e of my Motherland. In this, I am neither a re.olutionist nor a politi"ian, but simply an ad.o"ate of #ood morals and prin"iples as pra"tised in an"ient times. !he study of !heosophy has thro*n a li#ht o.er me in re#ard to my "ountry, my reli#ion, my duty. I ha.e be"ome a better >ryan than I e.er *as. I ha.e similarly heard my P5rs@ brothers say that they ha.e been better =oroastrians sin"e they 9oined the !heosophi"al ;o"iety. I ha.e also seen the 3uddhists *rite often to the ;o"iety that the study of !heosophy has enabled them to appre"iate their reli#ion the more. And thus this study ma1es e.ery man respe"t his reli#ion the more. It furnishes to him a si#ht that "an pier"e throu#h the dead letter and see "learly the spirit. $e "an read all his reli#ious boo1s bet*een the lines. If *e .ie* all the reli#ions in their popular sense, they appear stron#ly anta#onisti" to ea"h other in .arious details. None a#rees *ith the other. And yet the representati.es of those 7aiths say that the study of !heosophy e8plains to them all that has been said in their reli#ion and ma1es them feel a #reater respe"t for it. !here must, therefore, be one "ommon #round on *hi"h all the reli#ious systems are built. And this #round, *hi"h lies at the bottom of all, is !ruth. !here "an be but one absolute truth, but different persons ha.e different per"eptions of that truth. And this truth is morality. If *e separate the do#mas that "lin# to the prin"iples set forth in any reli#ion, *e shall find that morality is prea"hed in e.ery one of them. 3y reli#ion I do not mean all the minor se"ts that pre.ail to an innumerable e8tent all o.er the *orld, but the prin"ipal ones from *hi"h ha.e sprun# up these different se"ts. It is, therefore, proper for e.ery person to abide by the prin"iples of morality. And, a""ordin# to them, I "onsider it e.ery man+s duty to do *hat he "an to ma1e the *orld the better and happier. !his "an pro"eed from a lo.e for humanity. 3ut ho* "an a man lo.e the *hole of humanity if he has no lo.e for his "ountrymenA Can he lo.e the *hole, *ho does not lo.e a partA If I, therefore, *ish to pla"e my humble ser.i"es at the disposal of the *orld, I must first be#in by *or1in# for my "ountry. And this I "ould not do by remainin# in my "aste. I found that, instead of lo.e for his "ountrymen, the obser.an"e of "aste distin"tion leads one to hate e.en his nei#hbour, be"ause he happens to be of another "aste. I "ould not bear this in9usti"e. )hat fault is it of anyone that he is born in a parti"ular "asteA I respe"t a man for his 6ualities, and not for his birth. !hat is to say, that man is superior in my eyes, *hose inner man has been de.eloped or is in the state of de.elopment. !his body, *ealth, friends, relations, and all other *orldly en9oyments that men hold near and dear to their hearts, are to pass a*ay sooner or later. 3ut the re"ord of our a"tions is e.er to remain to be handed do*n from #eneration to #eneration. 'ur a"tions must, therefore, be su"h as *ill ma1e us *orthy of our e8isten"e in this *orld, as lon# as *e are here as *ell as after death. I "ould not do this by obser.in# the "ustoms of "aste. It made me selfish and unmindful of the re6uirements of my fello* brothers. I *ei#hed all these "ir"umstan"es in my mind, and found that I belie.ed in "aste as reli#ious ne"essity no more than in the palm tree yieldin# man#oes. I sa* that, if it *ere not for this distin"tion, India *ould not ha.e been so de#raded, for this distin"tion en#endered hatred amon# her sons. It made them hate and 6uarrel *ith one another. !he pea"e of the land *as disturbed. People "ould not unite *ith one another for #ood purposes. !hey *a#ed *ar *ith one another, instead of de.otin# all their "ombined ener#ies to the "ause of amelioratin# the "ondition of the "ountry. !he foundation of immorality *as thus laid, until it has rea"hed no* so lo* a point that, unless this mis"hief is stopped, the totterin# pillars of India *ill soon #i.e *ay. I do not by this mean to blame my an"estors *ho ori#inally instituted this system. !o me their ob9e"t seems to be 6uite a different one. It *as based in my opinion on the 6ualities of e.ery person. !he "aste *as not then hereditary as it is no*. !his *ill be seen from the .arious an"ient boo1s, *hi"h are full of instan"es in *hi"h 4shattrias and e.en M5hars and Chamb5rs, *ho are "onsidered the lo*est of all, *ere not only made and re#arded as 3r5hmanas, but almost *orshipped as demi2#ods simply for their 6ualities. If su"h Pa#e 2

Adyar Pamphlets

Castes In India

No. 6

is the "ase, *hy should *e still sti"1 to that "ustom *hi"h *e no* find not only impra"ti"able but in9uriousA I a#ain sa* that, if I *ere to obser.e out*ardly *hat I did not really belie.e in*ardly, I *as pra"tisin# hypo"risy. I found that I *as thus ma1in# myself a sla.e, by not en9oyin# freedom of "ons"ien"e: I *as thus a"tin# immorally. 3ut !heosophy had tau#ht me that to en9oy pea"e of mind and self2respe"t, I must be honest, "andid, pea"eful, and re#ard all men as e6ually my brothers, irrespe"ti.e of "aste, "olour, ra"e or "reed. !his I see is an essential part of reli#ion. I must try to put these theoreti"al problems into pra"ti"e. !hese are the "on.i"tions that finally hurried me out of my "aste. I *ould at the same time as1 my fello*2"ountrymen, *ho are of my opinion, to "ome out boldly for their "ountry. I understand the apparent sa"rifi"es one is re6uired to ma1e in adoptin# su"h a "ourse, for I myself had to ma1e them: but these are sa"rifi"es only in the eyes of one *ho has re#ard for this *orld of matter. )hen a man has on"e e8tri"ated himself from this re#ard and, *hen the sense of duty he o*es to his "ountry and to himself rei#ns paramount in his heart, these are no sa"rifi"es at all for him. Bet us, therefore, lea.e off this distin"tion *hi"h separates us from one another, 9oin in one "ommon a""ord, and "ombine all our ener#ies for the #ood of our "ountry. Bet us feel that *e are >ryans, and pro.e oursel.es *orthy of our an"estors. I may be told that I am ma1in# a foolish and useless sa"rifi"e: that I "ut myself off from all so"ial inter"ourse and e.en ris1 losin# the de"ent disposal of my body by those upon *hom our "ustoms impose that duty: and that none but a .isionary *ould ima#ine that he, e.en thou#h "hiefest amon# 3r5hmanas, "ould restore his "ountry+s #reatness and the enli#htenment of a *hole nation, so #reat as ours. 3ut these are the ar#uments of selfishness and moral "o*ardi"e. ;in#le men ha.e sa.ed nations before, and thou#h my .anity does not ma1e me e.en dream that so #lorious a result is *ithin my humble #rasp, yet a #ood e8ample is ne.er .alueless, and it "an be set e.en by the most insi#nifi"ant. Certain it is that, *ithout e8amples and self2 sa"rifi"es, there "an be no reform. !he *orld, as I see it, imposes on me a duty, and I thin1 the most po*erful and the only permanent "ause of happiness is the "ons"iousness that I am tryin# to do that duty. I *ish it understood , in "ase *hat has pre"eded has not made this perfe"tly "lear , that I ha.e neither be"ome a Materialist nor a Christian. I am an >ryan in reli#ion as in all else, follo* the Ceda and belie.e it to be the parent of all reli#ions amon# men. As !heosophy e8plains the se"ondary human reli#ions, so does it ma1e plain the meanin# of the Ceda. !he tea"hin#s of the Rshis a"6uire a ne* splendour and ma9esty, and I re.ere them a hundred times more than e.er before.

Pa#e 3