{"id":707,"date":"2011-08-02T14:10:36","date_gmt":"2011-08-02T18:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/omsweetom\/?p=707"},"modified":"2011-08-02T14:14:24","modified_gmt":"2011-08-02T18:14:24","slug":"what-caste-are-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omsweetom\/2011\/08\/what-caste-are-you.html","title":{"rendered":"What caste are you?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

As a child, I always dreaded the world\u2019s religions portion of social studies. \u00a0In particular, it was the section on Hinduism that made me shudder, because it was always portrayed as weird, exotic, and discriminatory. \u00a0There I was, the only Hindu in my classroom, wishing I had Harry Potter\u2019s invisibility cloak so I wouldn\u2019t have to be subject to the looks my classmates gave me when they read about blue Gods, third eyes, and the suppressive caste system. \u00a0The first two were relatively easy to explain as profoundly symbolic, and we see their resonance in popular culture – the film Avatar<\/em>, for example, or runway models sporting bindis<\/em>on their foreheads. \u00a0But the latter was more bothersome; first, because it made Hinduism appear to be a hierarchical, rigid faith which discriminated against people solely based on their birth, and second, because I knew that immediately after class, I would face the inevitable question: \u201cSo, what caste are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Less than two weeks ago, the Hindu American Foundation<\/a> (HAF) released an updated version of its report on caste-based discrimination in India. \u00a0The report, Hinduism: Not Cast in Caste – Seeking an End to Caste-based Discrimination<\/a><\/em>, makes a number of important points. \u00a0First, discrimination based on the caste of one\u2019s birth is against Hinduism\u2019s core teaching that the divine is inherent in all beings, and the practice of untouchability is not sanctioned in any of Hinduism\u2019s sacred texts. \u00a0\u201cHinduism\u2019s revealed sacred texts, such as the Vedas, state emphatically that divinity is inherent in every individual; that the ultimate purpose of Hindu spirituality and religion is to know, grow closer to, and experience, this divinity; and that all physical\/social differences (i.e., caste, gender, race, etc.) are wholly unrelated to one\u2019s ability to achieve that goal.\u201d \u00a0As many yoga practitioners already know, the commonly heard Hindu greeting \u201cNamaste\u201d translates to \u201cThe Divine within me bows to the Divine within you.\u201d \u00a0Yet for some reason, this fundamental teaching of Hinduism has been left out of school textbooks, much to the detriment of all schoolchildren, but especially to Hindu American schoolchildren who face ridicule at the inaccurate portrayal of their faith.<\/p>\n

Second, while the report is firm in its stand that caste-based discrimination is against Hinduism\u2019s core teachings, it does not ignore that caste-based discrimination exists as a social evil and is still a reality for many, especially the so-called Scheduled Castes (SC) — also known as \u201cHarijans\u201d or \u201cDalits\u201d– in many parts of India. \u00a0More than 160 million people in India fall under the Scheduled Castes (SCs) category. \u00a0The movement to end all discrimination against SCs is an important one, and there are countless ongoing efforts spearheaded by Hindu spiritual leaders to end this discriminatory practice. \u00a0\u00a0It should be noted that Christian missionary groups continue to claim that caste-based discrimination is intrinsic to Hinduism, and the only way to escape it is by converting. \u00a0This claim is tellingly false as SC converts to Christianity continue to suffer discrimination at the hands of \u201cforward\u201d caste Christians. \u00a0HAF\u2019s report includes both a statement by a Hindu SC community leader in India explaining his commitment to Hinduism and a statement by a Christian interfaith activist highlighting the plight of the Dalit Christians. \u00a0These statements are poignant and stand to reaffirm that caste-based discrimination is not intrinsic to Hinduism.<\/p>\n

And finally, the report points out that political leaders and missionary organizations routinely exploit the caste issue for vote-bank advantages and through predatory proselytization<\/a>, respectively.<\/p>\n

The report, not intended to be an academic treatise, is an important one as it provides a Hindu perspective on the \u201ccaste debate.\u201d \u00a0While caste-based discrimination does exist in India today, it is a social evil and is not intrinsic to Hinduism\u2019s teaching. \u00a0In fact, as the report aptly states, \u201cThe solution to this problem lies within the eternal teachings of Hinduism.\u201d \u00a0Maybe one day, the textbooks will get it right.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a child, I always dreaded the world\u2019s religions portion of social studies. \u00a0In particular, it was the section on Hinduism that made me shudder, because it was always portrayed as weird, exotic, and discriminatory. \u00a0There I was, the only Hindu in my classroom, wishing I had Harry Potter\u2019s invisibility cloak so I wouldn\u2019t have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":390,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hinduism-101","category-in-the-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat caste are you? - Om Sweet Om<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What caste are you? - Om Sweet Om\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a child, I always dreaded the world\u2019s religions portion of social studies. \u00a0In particular, it was the section on Hinduism that made me shudder, because it was always portrayed as weird, exotic, and discriminatory. \u00a0There I was, the only Hindu in my classroom, wishing I had Harry Potter\u2019s invisibility cloak so I wouldn\u2019t have…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omsweetom\/2011\/08\/what-caste-are-you.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Om Sweet Om\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-08-02T18:10:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-08-02T18:14:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"sheetal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What caste are you? 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