Peace on Earth: Secular and Sacred Equality  

By MAN MOHAN  

Through the years, history shows that despite the existence of the caste system and its abuse by vested parties, the idea of equality has always ruled supreme in the minds of India’s sages. In fact, many of India’s most revered saints and philosophers came from the lowest strata of society.

Few are aware about the sacrifices made by some who, since ancient times, have silently worked to uplift human values.

Today, very few know of the invaluable contributions of the selfless humanists who have worked relentlessly for the uplift of the marginalised classes. The name of B R Ambedkar, however, is still fresh in public memory as the saviour of the Dalits. Atrocities continue to be heaped on the weaker sections, in one form or the other. Many saints and sages have stood by the Dalits and many of them were Dalits themselves. The work done by these saints are the real heritage of the Dalits.

Any type of discrimination , whether based on caste, religious beliefs, gender or economic status, is inhuman and needs to be censured. There is absolutely no evidence or sanction of the practice of untouchability in any of the ancient Vedic scriptures. If the lineage of the great rishis is reviewed, it would show that except for a few like Vasishta and Vamadeva, most belonged to ''lower’’ castes. They were given respect and recognition in society, in accordance with their work rather than descent, like Satyakam Jabala, who was born of a prostitute and later became a renowned rishi.

Lord Krishna himself was born in the Yadava community, which today is considered as one among the Other Backward Castes. However, He is honoured and loved as one of the highest manifestations of the divine and is revered by people of all castes. If the caste system had ever existed with such rigidity, then who would have accepted Krishna as the manifestation of the Lord? There is also a mention of Lord Kartikeya who married a tribal woman and who is, even now, being worshipped as the wish-bestowing Goddess. It proves that caste based discrimination was neither sanctioned nor considered authentic in the scriptures. It was only much later that this evil surfaced in our society.

The rishis and the Vedas say Vasudhaiva kutumbakam - the entire world is your family. So, how can one justify treating the Dalits as outcastes, and not as part of oneself? To exclude people from the social structure is goes against the tenets of the Vedas. It only brings disgrace to the all-encompassing nature of the Hindu way of life.

Shiva is called Mahadeva which means ''The Lord of Lords’’. He is himself the Nishada or untouchable - one cannot touch or perceive him through any of the senses, says spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar. Dalits should not discard Vedic wisdom for the behaviour and treatment meted to them in the past; instead, they need to own it and have to realise that many saints of all different backgrounds have stood by them.

Maharishi Valmiki, a hunter and thief, who later created the epic Ramayana , and Maharishi Veda Vyasa, a fisherwoman’s son who gave us the Vedas, Puranas, Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavatam , lived in ancient times. In fact, most of the rishis mentioned in the Hindu traditions in this age hail from Dalit community.

Shaabara Maharishi is considered one of the foremost authorities on the Vedas; he has written commentaries on the Vedas and Meemamsa (Karma Kanda). Today, Vedic scholars hold Shaabara Bhashya as an invaluable reference book. Few know that the author, Shaabara Maharishi, was an atishudra or, an untouchable. This fact has been conveniently suppressed by the caste-protagonists.

At Parassinikadavu, a town in northern Kerala, there is a temple whose presiding deity is Muthappan - a Dalit, who is considered an incarnation of Lord Shiva. A Brahmin cannot serve as a priest in this temple and all the priests are people of Dalit or shudra or atishudra origin. This temple where the deity is Dalit, the priest is a Dalit and the custodians are shudras, is thronged by people of all castes and majority are from the upper castes.

Many Dalits have converted to other religions in order to escape caste discrimination. But what does one say to the emergence of ''new castes’ like Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians? In the name of reforms and social uplift, today’s political and social systems are pitting one group against the other, sowing hatred and perpetuating a sense of rejection from the past. A society bogged down by guilt and a desire for revenge can never be at peace. Discrimination can be rooted out only by educating people and creating awareness.

(April 14 was Dr B R Ambedkar’s birth anniversary)

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See also: Peace on Earth, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)