Each Hindu branch has its caste system, with thousands of sublevels developed throughout time. In Hinduism, the fundamental structure is based on five distinct caste levels. In various places of Asia, the caste system developed differently. Brahmin: priests, teachers, and judges Kshatriya: warrior, ruler, or landowner Vaishya: merchants, artisans, and farmers Shudra: workers and labourers Dalits Untouchables or Harijan : outcasts or tribal groups. Dalits have permanently been barred from Hindu temples and drinking water from the same sources as higher castes.
Frequently, they were required to work at night and sleep during the day. Dalits were often required to remove their shoes while passing by upper-caste neighbours.
Dalits may choose to convert to Christianity, Bu, or Islam to escape their Hindu caste. The Indian government has enacted a favourable affirmative action policy, including the representation of Dalits in public posts and some employment rights.
Upper-caste organizations have been outspoken in their opposition to this approach. The caste system is technically prohibited under current Indian legislation. Nonetheless, many of the lowest castes are unable to access the possibilities afforded to the higher castes. In some regions, Hindu fundamentalists have fought for a more Hindu-centered social framework and resisted any changes. In rural places, where the caste system is more officially observed, traditional socioeconomic rank is often more relevant.
If you live in a large community with millions of people, caste affiliations are usually irrelevant; however, in a smaller, more rural community, these relationships and the status they confer can be critical, significantly because many of the castes are associated with traditional village tasks such as religious leaders, politicians, farmers, leather workers, or other occupations. Assistant editor by profession in a research publication house. Akshay G Paraskar. Jainism also originated as a countermovement that opposed some of the teachings and doctrines of early Hinduism.
As such, Jains tend to promote vegetarianism and animal welfare. Another common practice in the Jain lay community is samayika , a meditative ritual intended to strengthen one's spiritual discipline. Samayika is often practised in a religious setting, such as a temple, before a monk, or in one's home. Most Jains reside in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Christianity is the third most followed religion in India, mostly concentrated in the far south and Mumbai. Converts to Christianity have come mainly from traditionally disadvantaged minorities such as lower castes and tribal groups.
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You can download this cultural profile in an easy-to-read PDF format that can be printed out and accessed at any time. The figure of the total population of each country is drawn from the global estimates listed in the CIA World Factbook , unless otherwise stated.
All other statistical information on the demographics of the migrant population in Australia is based on the Australian Housing and Population Census. Indian Culture. Core Concepts. Hinduism in India Hinduism — the most widely followed religion in India — can be interpreted diversely. Daily Life Hinduism continues to thrive in modern-day India. Islam in India Islam is the second most followed religion in India, influencing the country's society, culture, architecture and artistry.
Sikhism in India Originating in India, Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that promotes devotion to a formless God. Phule believed that the caste system was created by Brahmins, the highest caste, to ensure the continuation of their high social status.
He believed that God would never create a system that was so unequal, and that the entire notion of caste had to have been invented by men. His reforms included the creation of reservations in Indian government for the Dalits. His activism caused Indians to question the inherent inequalities of the caste system.
It is also important to consider interfaith relations in India. Although India is home to members of a myriad of different faiths, Hindu-Muslim relations are by far the most prominent in my experience.
For the deity is to be found in loving devotion everywhere and in all things, persons and happenings. Does the reverential attitude of the Hindu, and by extension of the Indian generally, not seem to make deeper sense in this wider context?
In earlier centuries this kumkum was invariably red and worn exclusively by women whose husbands were alive. It was an auspicious symbol that singled out non-widows. But at some point in the latter half of the present century it has become fashionable even for non-Hindu women to wear the kumkum as a decorative ornament.
Indeed the married and the unmarried, teenage girls as well as those in their pre-teens, even widows and older women, all feel free to wear the kumkum! What is more, women even choose to have the color of the kumkum match the color of their clothes, no longer discriminating against blue, green, silver, gold, black or yellow. Is the caste system Indian or Hindu? There are thousands of castes in India, despite what scholars correctly say about there being only four varnas strata , according to the classical texts of Hinduism.
Generally, people know quite well which castes are superior or inferior to their own. Today, this caste discrimination is very hard to maintain in the cities, the melting pots of nations. Only in traditional, usually rural, communities is this rule rigidly observed. Muslims in India seem to have succeeded in keeping the system at bay, but not so with all the disciples of Christ!
Although the caste system makes sense in Hindu society, in the specific context of Hindu belief and practice, this system has rubbed off on many non-Hindu communities in Indian culture. Marriage, perhaps, is the last social bastion of the caste system. Unfortunately, many Christians still retain the caste system regarding marital unions.
Indian concern about auspicious time. For millennia now, Indians have believed their lives and destinies have the most intimate connections with the position in the sky of the sun, the moon, the stars and the planets. When the prenuptial arrangements are afoot, horoscope compatibility must be determined by the matchmakers. At what auspicious moment, muhurta, should the wedding take place? Usually if all other elements social, financial, etc. An astrologer is sought out who is ingenious enough to force the defiant heavenly bodies to conform, the muhurta is calculated, and the marital liaison is forged without further ado.
Ancient Hindu religiosity and the right time. Now the Hindu religious element in horoscopes and astrology may not he so evident. If the astrological moment was not right, not only might the elaborately detailed sacrifice not be effective, the results might even have a negative effect on the sacrificing patron.
This attention to astrological detail naturally influenced other aspects of Hindu life as well. Not long after the birth of Christ, and again in medieval times when several aspects of Hindu belief and practice became rigid , Hindu manners and customs relating to horoscopes, astrology and even palmistry seem to have become an important part of the lives of all the Indian peoples, non-Hindus included.
Indian Christians and auspicious time. My wife and I know Indian Catholics in Kerala and Karnataka who make important decisions only after consulting astrologers or palmists. There is a successful farmer in Karnataka, a Catholic, who habitually chooses the astrologically correct time to plant and harvest his crops, to buy and sell, to undertake journeys and to marry his children.
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