Ambedkar-Philosophy of Hinduism

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AMBEDKAR'S PHILOSOPHY OF HINDUISM AND CONTEMPORARY CRITIQUES PROF. M. M. NINAN The Book of Manu deals in a particular way with mahapataka (mortal sins), viz., killing of a Brahman, drinking, stealing and adultery (11. 55), which will lead the offenders to spend large numbers of years in dreadful hells and after that enter into the wheel of samsara. It also deals, in great detail, with the rebirths of all kinds of thieves (12. 61-69) and finally with the rebirths of those who are not faithful to the specific duties of their varnas (four castes): "will migrate into despicable bodies" and "will become the servants of the Dasyus" In the Dharmasastras the description of various types of rebirth for different types of evil actions outweigh by far the attention given to theoretical considerations and analyzing the technique of karma and rebirth. 197
AMBEDKAR'S PHILOSOPHY OF HINDUISM AND CONTEMPORARY CRITIQUES PROF. M. M. NINAN The Hindu justification and explanation of Varna (wiki) Varna is a Sanskrit term varṇa (वण) is derived from the root vṛ, meaning "to cover, to envelop" (compare vṛtra). Derived meanings include "kind, sort, character, quality". Contemporary students of Hindu society understand Varna as an ancient fourfold arrangement of socioeconomic categories called the varnas, which is traced back to an oral tradition preserved in the Rigveda (dating perhaps from between 1500 and 1200 bce) One might argue that Hinduism is a belief system wedded to the idea that a well ordered society is composed of four castes: Brahmins (priestly or scholarly caste), Kṣatriya (martial or royal caste), Vaiśyas (merchant caste) and Sūdras (labor caste). This argument is fallacious for primarily two reasons. First, caste (“varna,” or more commonly “jāti”) is an Indian phenomenon that is not restricted to Hindu sections of society. It has been argued that the approving use of the term “Brahmin” in Buddhist and Jain texts shows that even these socially critical movements were comfortable with a caste structured society as long as obligations and privileges accorded to the various castes were justly distributed (cf. Dhammapada ch. XXVI; cf. Sūtrakṛtānga I.xii.11-21). Second, caste is not philosophically important to many schools that are conventionally understood under the heading of “Hindu philosophy.” Some philosophical schools, such as Yoga, seem to be implicitly critical of life in conventional society guided by the values of social and ecological domination, while other schools, such as Advaita Vedānta, are openly critical of the idea that caste morality has any relevance to a spiritually serious aspirant Varna is not to be confused with the jāti. Varna is roughly similar to western class system of middle, aristocrat, business and working classes and is an artificial/intellectual classification of society while jāti along with kula is a more natural classification and is roughly or exactly the same as clan/tribe/kinship similar to what is followed in most central Asian, middle eastern, African, south east Asian cultures and perhaps in the west as well until modern age and still in some parts. The Portuguese term caste was adopted during the British times to represent ones social status based on their jati and varna as over the years the varna was being applied to refer to a people/jati rather than an individual due to restriction on social mobility due to various reasons including large influx of foreigners and alien conquests etc. with rare exceptions of individual or clan status changing. Also people who could not assimilate into the mainstream society were outcast as they were not accounted in the system later known as harijans or more recently dalits. These were mostly nomads, hunter gatherer tribes, refugees, anti-social/dacoit tribes and socially and lawfully ostracised peoples during a certain age or time but eventually never were given a chance to assimilate back into the mainstream after adopting a more mainstream lifestyle perhaps due to continuous strife, conquests and uncertainty over a 1000 years, until recently during the modern age under the British and free Indian Governments, that they are being attempted to assimilate again into the mainstream. 198
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AMBEDKAR'S PHILOSOPHY OF HINDUISM A
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The solution therefore is simply th
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sentiment. AMBEDKAR'S PHILOSOPHY OF
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ight and good. AMBEDKAR'S PHILOSOPH
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British suppression AMBEDKAR'S PHIL
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Page 153 and 154: AMBEDKAR'S PHILOSOPHY OF HINDUISM A
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Page 217 and 218: Scheduled castes (SC) AMBEDKAR'S PH
Page 221 and 222: Historical criticism AMBEDKAR'S PHI
Page 223 and 224: Caste and economics AMBEDKAR'S PHIL
Page 229 and 230: Prof. Madathilparampil Mammen Ninan
Page 231: Apostle Paul Architect and Builder
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Ambedkar-Philosophy of Hinduism

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