VARNA – JATI

The "Sarva Dharma Sambhava" (roughly, "the endpoint of the pathways pursued by all religions is
the same, albeit the paths themselves may be different"), or equal respect for all religions, is a
component of Indian society and social life. India has a rigid social structure. Almost all items,
individuals, and social groupings are evaluated according to numerous key qualities, whether they
are in north India or south India, Hindu or Muslim, urban or rural. Despite having a political
democracy, perfect equality is rarely seen in day-to-day living in India. Although social inequality
exists throughout the world, the caste system in India may be the only place where it has been so
carefully built. Although caste has been around for many years, it has come under harsh criticism in
the modern day and is now experiencing substantial reform. The complicated concepts of
ceremonial purity and contamination, which range considerably among different castes, religious
groups, and areas, are used to describe many status disparities in Indian society. High status is
typically linked to purity, whereas poor status is linked to pollution.

The primary means of class distinction in traditional Indian society is the varna (literally, "colour,"
"character," "nature," or "quality") and jati (literally, "form of existence set by birth") systems (Apte).
The Brähmanas, the priestly class, the Ksatriyas, the knightly order, the Vaisyas, the husbandmen
and traders, and the Südras, the class that serviced the others, are the four main groups that make
up the Indian population. The renowned Purusa-sükta from the Rg-Tenth Veda's Mandala contains
the earliest mention of this division: "The Brähmana was his mouth; the Rajanya was fashioned his
arm; the Vaisyas comprised his thighs; the Sudras sprang from his feet."

the system of categorising people into four groups evolved among the various Indo-Iranians, and if
there had been concrete proof, we may have deduced that the Aryans of India may have imported
it. However, historians contend that the Tenth Mandala of the Rg-Veda may have been added later,
and they also think that the story in question might have been. Accordingly, it has been
hypothesised that the so-called fourfold caste structure that exists in India today was created during
the later Rg-Vedic period.

Individual interests and personal inclinations are responded to with equal solemnity, uprooting the
contradiction between personal choice and traditional laws, so that a person born in a particular
Varna is not compelled to follow its life principles. Given this freedom, a violation from the norm is
regularly reviewed for how it will affect other people. Each Varna citizen's rights and obligations are
always mutually exclusive. The Manu Smriti, a prehistoric legal work from the Vedic Period, as well
as later Dharma Shastras, have a comprehensive Varna system with insights and logic. In theory,
Varnas are not thought to be pure and unquestionable lineages, but rather categories, implying that
behaviour takes precedence over birth in determining a Varna.

The Vedic period, which flourished between 1500 and 1000 BCE, is when the caste system was
implemented and recognised in ancient India. People were divided based on their Varna in an effort
to reduce burdensome tasks, maintain caste purity, and create enduring order. This would prevent
and resolve any problems that might arise from arguments inside the company or encroachment on
individual responsibilities. Each Varna citizen has a certain task assigned to them under this system.
When a Brahmin acts in a Kshatriya or Vaishya manner, he debases himself and loses his right to
pursue moksha or liberation. Because he personifies renunciation, austerity, piety, aiming only for
wisdom and developed intellect, a Brahmin (having become one by deed in addition to by birth) is
called the society's mouth and is, according to the Vedas, the purest life form. A Kshatriya must
uphold his or her commitment to their Varna duty or risk being shunned. The same holds true for
Shudras and Vaishyas. If Shudras stay focused on their daily responsibilities and resist temptations to
engage in excess self-indulgence, greed, and immoral behaviour, they form the foundation of an
economy and a powerful support system for a flourishing economic system.

The fundamental justification for abiding by Varna obligations is the conviction that moksha can be
attained via faithfulness. A believe in Karma serves to support a belief in the Varna life values.
According to the Vedas, a person's ideal duty is to seek freedom from successive birth and death and
to rid themselves of the transmigration of the soul. This is feasible when a person upholds the
obligations and values associated with their particular Varna. The Vedas claim that persistently
interfering with other people's personal obligations leads to social instability. The four pillars of
society are composed of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras, each of whom has been given
suitable responsibilities and an ideal mindset. After the holy thread initiation that the men of the
first three hierarchical classes wear over their shoulders, they are referred to as the twice-born; first,
born of their parents, and second, born of their guru. The Varna system appears to be in its infancy
in the Vedas before being developed and modified in the Upanishads and Dharma Shastras.

In the Indian subcontinent, a coherent group of people—such as a tribe, community, clan, sub-clan,
or religious sect—is known by the term jti. Every Jti typically has a connection to a profession,
region, or tribe. Some Jtis may also be classified according to various linguistic or religious groups
(such as Sri Vaishnavism, Smarthism, or Shaivism). Caste is a common approximation of the word in
English.

A person is born into a Jti under the Jti system, which has assigned social duties and endogamy,
meaning that marriages can only occur inside that Jti. The Jti offers status, identity, and security and
has traditionally been adaptable to changes brought about by economic, social, and political factors.
The existing social ranks, which tended to form a conventional, inherited system of social
organisation, have been continuously closing and churning throughout Indian history due to a
variety of economic, political, and social circumstances.

Jti is the name of this system of countless exclusive, endogamous tribes. Although there were small
variations in how it manifested itself throughout India, the Jti was generally the main social and
cultural group where one might get married and spend the most of their time.

Even though the life order was designed to accommodate all types of people, by the end of the
Vedic era, many people started to ignore and defy their fundamental responsibilities. Brahmins
began to sense the authoritarian nature of their work and status, which allowed hubris to creep in.
Many gurus developed impure and dishonest traits by practising Shudra attributes, citing their status
as advisors to Kshatriya rulers. As a result of their control of land and their subjugation of Shudras,
Vaishyas began to perceive themselves as powerful. The behaviour of Vaishyas was impacted by
rivalries, dishonesty, and cheating. As a result of constant oppression by the Kshatriyas and Vaishyas,
Shudras abandoned their obligations and resorted to stealing, lying, avarice, and disseminating false
information. Caste mixing was seen as contributing to the waning popularity of the Varna system.
The majority of these shifts occurred between 1000 BCE and 500 BCE, when ongoing social and
economic complexity arose as fresh difficulties for Varna-based responsibility allocation. As the
population grew, so did the division among the populace regarding the primacy of the ancient Varna
system. Huge civilizations were mostly absorbed into a single large society and the principles of
humanism through religious conversions.