Balavikas - Hindu Temple of Oklahoma City

Dharma
As mentioned above every Hindu aims to break the cycle of birth and death ,that
binds him to the earth ,the first step to to be taken on this path is for each one to perform well
his own Dharma or righteous duties. Hinduism differentiates the duties of man and man and
also between the duties to be followed at various stages of one’s life.
The teacher, the nurse, the priest, a mother, or father each has to follow his own
Dharma. Duties, what aver they are, have to be performed with excellence and moral purity as
a goal. The concept of Dharma is fundamental to Hinduism, as it is believed that it is only
through the pursuit of dharma that there is social harmony and peace in the world. The pursuit
of Adharma (A path that rejects righteousness) leads to conflicts, discord and imbalance.
Dharma sustains the world together. Varnashrama Dharma is fundamental to Hindu belief and
includes the duties of various occupations, orders and classes (Varna) and the duties in the four
stages (Ashramas) of one’s life. It states that each person’s Dharma or duty depends on his
occupation, position, moral and spiritual development, age and marital status.
The Cast System
The cast system is legally abolished at the present age however it is interesting to
know how it started. When the Indo Aryans invaded the country they came across the local
inhabitants whom they called Dasas or Dasyus. Instead of destroying them they absorbed them
and gave them a lower but definite place in their society.
With time this system came to be four- tiered with four classes ,The Brahmanas or
Brahmins who were teachers and priests, The Kshatriyas or warriors or rulers ,The Vaishyas,
those who followed the trade or commercial occupations, The Sudras who performed manual
labor and were also agriculturists and farmers. The word Varna is therefore implied to the social
order not the cast, as even Manu has given the difference between Varna or class or order and
Jati (sect of birth or caste) A man’s Varna depends as much on his mental and physical abilities
as on heritage.
The Jatis (or sects) in time became more important than the four main classes. These
were more occupational as the goldsmith Jati the weaver jati, the carpenter jati etc. and served
the purpose of guilds which protected the interests of their members, trained the young and
saw to it that no outsider entered the fold. In time the four Jatis or sects grouped themselves
under main classes which is why we speak today as four castes. The untouchables or outcasts
were originally those who had broken certain caste rules. Even a Brahmin was excommunicated
to a lower order. The Hindus were originally meat eaters but slowly changed their habits to
vegetarianism. Especially the Brahmins and vaishyas came under the influence of Buddhism and
Jainism .with this change those who ate beef or meat of certain animals came to be considered
outcastes or untouchables, as by this time the cow was regarded akin to a mother, the people
being largely rural, having to depend on cow’s products for sustenance. (This is why a cow is