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True religion can never be, in any way, a helping hand to a system like the caste system that is a factor in social disintegration. Not only this, the aims and objects of any religious community are as distant from the caste system as the earth is from the sun.
Religion originated with man's march on this earth. It can be put in this way -- when the Creator sent man to earth He sent religion along with him. As such, man and religion came to earth simultaneously. There is a purpose behind the fact that both came together. It is natural to ask that purpose. We shall easily comprehend it if we consider the meaning of religion in very simple terms.
As I hold, religion signifies adoption. What is to be adopted? As always, my reply is "goodness" or "niceness." Religion consists of adopting goodness. It is only because of the presence of goodness that man could sustain his existence. He gradually developed the concept of nonviolence and then adopted a path of mutual cooperation.
Man came to earth with action in his nature. In such a situation, man might have finished his existence if religion were not with him. But he not only maintained his existence, he marched forward on the path of progress. This is the reason that human beings and religion came together. We may question the span of time over which the two have developed, but both originated and grew up simultaneously.
We should know the meaning of religion in its simplest terms. It is clear that it stands for the existence and welfare of man. It is based on cooperation, affection and unity. It propagates the message of "live and let live." Any action contrary to the spirit of cooperation, affection or unity cannot be religious. Religion is fully dedicated to the welfare of all.
According to circumstances pertaining to time and space, pathways were established for the salvation of man through many mediums from time to time. Those who built these paths can be termed great men or learned men. They may be thought of as God incarnate or messengers of God. They established the way for a religious community.
All religious communities that we know today -- be they Islamic, Christian, Confucian, Parsi, Buddhist, Jewish, Sikh or Hindu -- give separate directives regarding lifestyle to those who aspire to the highest development. Although their ways may be different, their aim is the same.
The difference between religion and religious communities is that religion originated with man, while communities came into existence afterwards. The reality of true religion remains uniform throughout the world, whereas the establishment of religious communities took place from time to time according to the circumstances pertaining to the region and era.
A single force or idea that can be understood through individual conviction is the essence of religion, whereas there are multiple ideas behind religious communities. Religion is dedicated to mutual cooperation, affection, unity, broad-mindedness, equality and the welfare of all. Contrary to this, a religious community, even though it may be dedicated to the highest development of man, is bound by circumstances relating to the region and era and other factors. It has a limited range compared to religion itself. However, religious communities are an indispensible part of religion.
After understanding the nature of religion and religious communities we can conclude that both are dedicated to the welfare and development of man. It is another matter that there are differences in how these tasks are comprehended. But a religious community cannot attain the full, all-round development of its followers without cooperation, equality, affection and unity among them. In this regard any division among followers of a religious community, whatever may be the basis and whatsoever may be the argument in favor of such division, is against the aim of the religious community.
The caste system, prevalent today in India, succeeds the Varna system and is based on inequality, non-cooperation, short-sightedness and division. Exploitation is at its base. The basic spirit behind the caste system is akin to selfishness. It is to ensure the maximum possible gain for oneself and one's group -- that is, the people of one's own caste.
This system has caused harm to society and to India for thousands of years. It has divided the people into about 3,500 parts. It is quite amazing that attempts are made to relate this system to religion or a religious community. Anyone with even a little intelligence must negate this idea on the grounds that the purpose and meaning of religion and a religious community are to safeguard the existence of man and help him achieve his objectives.
Caste obstructs this process. Therefore, neither religion nor the religious community can be related to the caste system. Those who try to affix the seal of religion or their religious community to the caste system, or wish to accord it footing in society, are ignorant of the meaning and purpose of religion and religious community. Such persons, expressly or tacitly, are not well wishers of society or of the nation. In fact, such persons are far away from our perception of what humanity should be.
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(Dr. Ravindra Kumar is a renowned Gandhian scholar, India expert and writer. He is the former vice chancellor of CCS University in Meerut, India. He holds a doctorate in political science. ©Copyright Ravindra Kumar.)
