Caste System
The caste system is very incorrectly integrated with Hinduism – The four-fold division of society in Hinduism referred to by the Vedas (Varnas – meaning class and not Jati) was incorrectly translated by the Portugese as caste or Jati. This mix-up is very significant because the Varna System proposed by the Vedas was for division of labor and help society operate effectively and did not refer to the parentage of an individual. In fact it was conferred on an individual based on the three Gunas (Satva, Rajsic and Tamasic). Here are some examples, which illustrate that the Varna was based on one’s natural capabilities and aptitude and not on the hereditary caste system.
Sage
Vyasa – born to sage Parashar and a fisher woman Satyavati
Sage Valmiki – low caste hunter who later penned the Ramayan
Sage Vidura – born to a maid servant but known for his knowledge
of he became Dhitrashtra’s prime minister
Kauravas and Pandavas – descendants of Satyavati, fisherman’s
daughter that married to King Shantanu (the same woman that mothered
Sage Vyasa)
Brahmins are defined as truthful, kind, forgiving and impart knowledge to others and not some one who is born in a Brahmin family and does not eat meat.
The Varna system started as a professional guild which degenerated due to exploitation by priests and socio-economic elements of the society and this system became hereditary. The Varna system became rigid and based on inheritance and it was enveloped by another social system known as the caste system. This caste system cannot be part of the original Hindu religion because it violates the fundamental belief of Hinduism that there is no distinction between individuals as the same Atman dwells in every person.