Misinterpreted mythology

Just wrapped up reading a book on Hindu myths and mythology. The book dealt with the Hindu mythosphere regarding the cosmos, its creation, the God and the gods, the myths, rituals and their relationships with human and its transient interpretations. The baffling fact is that the caste hierarchy is also explained in many of the religious scriptures. I believe that God is untouched by the caste system as he being the creator could not place humans in a hierarchy that graded them to be superior or inferior. He would have never prevented any of his children to enter in his temple. But, then he never asked for a temple so it is not his prerogative to banish people. Rather, it was the choice of the person who enshrined him.

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The mythology says that of the four popular castes the brahmins originated from the Brahma’s head, the kshatriya from his arms, the vaishya from his abdomen and the shudras from his feet. Therefore, if the society is personified then brahmins are its head, Kshatriya its arms, vaishya its abdomen and shudras its feet. The analogy was not limited to the mere explanation; rather it was dragged into the societal structure. On the basis of their position, the Brahmins gained superiority and the shudras were reduced to menial tasks. If education and dignity are human rights then they were deprived of both. The aforementioned allegory was exploited to prove the rationality of the injustice.

If the purpose of this distinction was to gain a mileage over others and to quench the thirst to dominate, then it is valid. Valid because it is an innate desire that gives pleasure immaterial of the cost inflicted on the laity. Humans lust for the domination. But, it was practiced because it was deemed as the divine law. Even if it was a divine law could people not deduce the simplicity of it? The caste hierarchy never manifested the position of people rather it explained the existence of all four caste within one body. Each one of us has a head created from the Brahma’s head and similarly the entire body. So, our bodies represent all the four castes and it's futile to say that we love our head more than our feet.

The interpretation is very crucial; the lack of which leads to chaos, exploitation, subjugation and rifts between the masses. Indian masses still suffer from this plague where the caste system has ingrained in people’s psyche. It is high time we need to re-interpret the mythology and dissolve the differences expounded by the misinterpretation and the ill will.

Please stop boasting and submitting to them.