Hinduism Caste System

698 Words2 Pages

The social society of Hinduism is divided into the caste system. They must carry out the duties all while trying to free themselves from the cycle of reincarnation. In this paper I will be talking about the caste system, Indian religion terms, self-realization and liberation.
The caste system was created around 2000 BCE when the Indo Aryans invaded the area now known as India. The Aryans created this strict, religious, social order system to control the people of the society and to fill important positions. In the caste system, people are divided into four different groups: the Brahmin, the Kshatriya, the Vaishya, and the Shudra. The highest of the caste system, the Brahmin, is the group that consists of the priests and scholars. The goal …show more content…

It is responsible for protecting the people and the culture of Hindu society. Members of this group can listen and learn from the priest in the Brahmin caste. Even though they are rulers of the land, they cannot abuse their power. The third caste, the Vaishya, consists of the businessmen and farmers that engage in money making activities. The lowest caste, the Shudra, consists of servants to the higher class. There is one more group outside of the caste system that is called the untouchables. This group comprises of people that are viewed as dishonorable. These people are either a product of a mixed marriage between castes or they hold a job that is considered forbidden. Think of this system like a staircase where the top step is the Brahmin. Right underneath that step would be the Kshatriya and the next step would be Vaishya. The last step would be the Shudra. The floor would be the untouchables. Even though you wouldn’t consider the floor a part of the steps, it is still a necessary component for the steps to work. An individual’s caste is determined at birth and he or she remains in that caste for a lifetime. This restricts a person from progressing higher in society within their lifetime. But how …show more content…

A person’s next caste system status is determined by their actions in their current life; these actions that drive consequences are called karma. The one who does good, reaps goodness while the one who does bad, reaps badness. Dharma is the role one should play in society but karma is how that action translates into consequences that determines the samsara

Open Document