Sanskrit is rich language with words meaning different concepts based on the subject that is dealt with and the context in which words are used.
While discussing mundane subjects like Physics, Varna means Color and when dealing with aspects of color, it denotes Hues, refinement of colors.
While dealing with philosophy, Varna means disposition.
Human beings have various Feelings, emotions, drives and dispositions.
Dispositions are those which impel one to Act or Feel.
These Dispositions are both Genetic and Acquired.
In the case of Acquired Disposition, it is called Vaasana , a general term meaning Olfactory Sensation.
In this context, it denotes the acquired tendencies/dispositions which are the results of Actions performed by the Individual.
In Hinduism both Free Will and Determinism are accepted.
So these Dispositions make one act and feel
Some actions are the result of Dispositions or Vasana, which are the outcome of actions performed in this birth and some due to actions performed in earlier births.
This factor is called Varna.
Human beings are impelled to Act.
This action springs from Dispositions.
Disposition is the tendency to lean towards something or some action.
Some tend to act emotionally, some rationally.
Some like certain things, are disposed to certain disciplines, be it Arts or Science.
Some are kind, gentle.
Some, aggressive, passionate and
Some Docile.
This forms the basis of Character, Disposition.
These qualities are not present wholly present in one.
One quality is dominant.
In some The quality of being gentle is present predominantly and the other qualities remain dormant and present to a lesser extent.
And this admixture of Qualities change during one’s lifetime and changes even from minute to minute.
This change is due to factors like Food, the Environment and the social group in which one mo ves.
I shall be writing on this in another article.
These dispositions, called as Varna determine one’s natural tendencies.
These form the basis for one’s Nature, Swabhava.
These are the Three Gunas of individual.
They are,
Sattva
Rajas and
Tamas .
Please read my articles on these for details.
As these three gunas form the basis for human actions, the term Varna is used to denote Human Tendencies.
As tendencies are the basis for actions, vocations, society was based on this principle of Varna.
And this is the meaning of the term Varna used in Indian texts, including the Vedas and The Bhagavad Gita.
The Face is indicative of the inner finer qualities and character , Shoulders, Valor and protection, Thighs support, and Feet Anchoring the whole Body.
What is conveyed is that the tendency to compare one with another and strive to be one up is natural and innate;they are dependent on and supportive of each other.
The Survival of the Fittest in Evolution stems from the urge to be ahead than the others to ensure survival;else the Organism will perish.
We always strive to excel than others in all our activities , be it in looks, Dressing, Status, Economic prosperity.
In the process we compete with one another through out Life and in times of the struggle for the Basics of Life, like Water, Food, Sex, we even kill.
The tendency to engage in one-upmanship is what actually ensures our Life,.
In the righteous anger against ‘Untouchability, people often confuse ‘Caste’ with it.
Caste as we call it has been in existence for over Five Thousand Years, where as Untouchabilty came into being around 600 AD.
While we can eradicate Untouchability as it is a conscious effort to isolate a group we can not do so about Caste.
People who practice Untouchabilty belong, normally, to Endogenous Groups’ and they are generally associated with those who were, in India,protecting the society, as a King, Soldiers.
One would find the practice of the Untouchability being practised more by these groups.like the Thakusr, Nadars and Thevars of Tamil Nadu.
The other communities in India,practice this habit very rarely.
A look at the statistics of Untouchability offences committed would prove that the Brahmins who practice Untouchability are very rare and few and far in between.
But the impression is that Brahmins practice Untouchability, an effort by the British to isolate the Group.
Caste , as i mentioned in my earlier posts, is based on Dispositions , not determined by Birth.
Howevrmuch one tries to eradciate it, it is not possible as it is Nature.
It will exist in some other from,as Poor and the Rich, Bourgeoisie and proletariat,Empolyed and The Employed; only the yard stick will differ(which is less scientic tahn based on Dispositions.
Even animals have Heiearchy and group feelings.
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Researchers analysed the distinctive “lip-smacking” sounds made by wild gelada baboons of the Ethopian highlands and found striking similarities to human speech.
Their noises are so human-like that Thore Bergman, an assistant professor with the University of Michigan, thought he heard people talking while he was hanging out with the creatures.
“I would find myself frequently looking over my shoulder to see who was talking to me, but it was just the geladas,” he said. “It was unnerving to have primate vocalizations sound so much like human voices.”
Male geladas smack their lips to produce a distincive “wobble” in their calls to females. These sounds follow a similar tempo to human speech….
“While females have strong social bonds in the group, a female will only interact with at most three other members of her unit.[16] Grooming and other social interactions among females usually occur between pairs.[18] Females in a reproductive unit exist in a hierarchy. Higher-ranking females have more reproductive success and more offspring than lower-ranking females.[19] Closely related females tend to have a similar hierarchical status.[19] Females stay in their natal units for life; cases of females leaving are rare.[20] Aggression is rare within a reproductive unit, being directed mostly towards members of other units.[18] More often, the females start conflicts, but both males and females from both sides will join if the conflict escalates.[18] Also, aggression within a reproductive unit is usually between females.[18]‘
Gelada Monkeys.
‘Untouchability is not unique to India; it was practised in parts of Europe until a few centuries ago, and Japan still has a large number of ‘untouchables’, called the burakumin. But it is in the Indian sub-continent that this system survives, closely bound with culture, religion, history and contemporary politics. Today over 170 million men, women and children in the India are considered untouchable, and improvement in their lot has been slow despite legal safeguards and government programs.’
‘The term is commonly associated with treatment of the Dalit communities, who are considered “polluting” among the people of South Asia, but the term has been used for other groups as well, such as the Burakumin of Japan, Cagots in Europe, or the Al-Akhdam in Yemen. Untouchability has been made illegal in post-independence India, and Dalits substantially empowered, although some prejudice against them continues, especially in rural pockets dominated by certain other backward caste (OBC) groups.[1](wiki)
Related:
Most of the great sages and Gods worshipped do not belong to Brahmin community, supposedly higher in echelon.
In the Holy Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva,Brahma and Vishnu are Kshatriyas while Siva is a Brahmin.
Brahma and Vishnu are classified as above because one is originator (Brahma) of Life and Vishnu is a Protector, both functions are that of Kshatriyas while Siva liberates from the world through Knowledge and hence called a Brahmana.
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