Lecture 5 Flashcards
what are purusharthas
4 goals of life (originally just 3); areas or orientations of human activity literally ‘aims of human beings’
what are the 4 purusharthas
dharma
artha
kama
moksa
The first three together reflect social engagement and having a full life
The last one is more for ascetic withdrawls
what is dharma
‘right action’, moral order, sacred duty
dharma should influence this
what is artha
political and financial success; professional achievements; power/wealth
(dharma should influence this)
what is kama
engagement of sense of pleasure and the arts
what is moksa
liberation, release from cycle of birth and death
what is ashrama
stage of life; resting point
Traditionally follow them in order… however the idea of having to wait until old to renounce is not appealing to many
Thus many mocks subscribers don’t follow this; they think it should be done earlieer
so there are now more modern variations
what are the 4 ashrama (traditionally first to last)
student (brahmacarin)
house holder (grhastha)
forest dweller (uanaprastha)
renouncer (samnyasin)
what is the root origin of sharma
from the root dhr which meant ‘to uphold’
in the earliest sense; order and harmony maintained through proper ritual actions
what are the 2 expanded meaning of dharma
sanatana-dharma
varnasrama-dharma
what is sanatana-dharma
‘the eternal dharma,’ the dharma for ALL times and people (e.g. ‘golden rule’)
what is varnasrama-dharma
dharma according to one’s social position and stage of life (more specific sharma)
an abstract model for living an ideal brahminical life that change emphases according to 2 factors; one’s caste (varna) and stage of life (ashrama)
Not a ‘model of’ reality (e.g. aritst’s drawing of a building) but an idealized social ‘model for’ reality (e.g. architect’s blueprint)
explain the early narrative imagining of social order
Rg Veda , the Purush Sukta (Hymn of the cosmic people):
- imagining certain type of creation origins
- connects sacrificial persons to all elements of the universe
- critical verse describes people creation (groups of people) called varna/caste
- this became earliest text to describe people in different groups/levels
what is Varna
social class/categories; one of several terms discussed as ‘caste’
what are the 4 castes/varna
brahmin
kshatriyas
vaishya
shudra
what is the caste brahmin
those who learn the vedas, they are the scholars, maintain the rituals of purity
what is the caste kshatriyas
warriors (political leaders, royalty)
what is the caste vaishya
‘people’, merchant/economic base, middle class, artisans, etc
what is the caste shudra
unskilled labourers whose work supports the upper three caste
what is special about the upper castes
considered ‘twice born’ and they undergo the upanayana ritual
can all the castes study the veda
only the upper castes (3)
what is another name for varna
colour; which is why there is a theory of racism in castes
give an example of brahmins in history
PMs of india
give an example of kshatriyas in history
Lakshmibai, the rani of Jhansi
give an example of vaishya in history
Gandi, vegetable vendors
give an example of shudra in history
street sweepers
is there more than 4 varnas
the Dalit is a separate category all together
what is the Dalit
‘oppressed, down traders’, self-designation of many communities outside of the 4-fold varna hierarchy.
- official terms used by the gov.; scheduled castes, scheduled tribes
- older terms usually considered deeply offensive by Dalits today; untouchables, gods people (coined by Ghandi and offensive because referring to them as ‘gods special children’)
- premodern terms; candela; fierce, panacea, the ‘fifth’ (category)
-castes didn’t even want to touch their shadow, just disgusted with them; they did the dishonourable work
what is Jati
birth group; kind; sometimes glossed in western literatures, ‘subcastes’
- there are 100s of Jatos across india; highly localized
- reference to ‘caste’ in indian politics usually refer to Jati, not varna
- often associated with a particular profession but it is not necessary that everyone in a certain jati does the same job
- they don’t fir neatly into the 4 varnas
what are the implications of caste
- not about just one relationship
- caste can impact social practices including rituals, dietary rules and dress
- its illegal to discriminate in india based on caste but it still happens
- caste is not limited to hindus, it effects the lives of all religious people in south asia
- caste (birth varna and jati) doesn’t always match with economic class
- hierarchy and rankings are only one aspect of castes
who was Louis Dumont
french anthropologist who wrote Homo Hierarchius about caste system; predicted it as a hierarchical ranks that is conceded in terms of purity
Challenes of Dumont;
-caste are not ridged compartments whose meanings are pre determined; it is alway a work in progress
-indian anthropology who coined term sanskritization believed they can raise their status by simply being vegetarian/changing reps but that is not the case, it is so much more complex
what are the 2 examples of precolonial challenges to castes
buddhism and Bhakti Poets
Who was Rapidas/Raidas
16th c bhakti poet
shoemaker/Dalit
Bhakti and social protest, caste reform
Ram-nama; name of Kam
who is Kabir
15c poet
weaver caste, probably muslim by birth
critical of all organization
explain caste in the colonial period
- The census; a surveying project to gather demographic info concerning the population
- census what not just a country mechanism, but it actually hanged the way people thought about case themselves
- tried to fit local, fluid understanding of Jati into the 4 varna (for ex; conflating particular occupations with particular varna)
- many have argued that caste as we know it today is a modern phenomenon
Who is Dr BR Ambedkar
- indian, social reformer, key architect of indian constitution
- mahar (Dalit) caste
- criticized and debated with gandhi about how to best help marginalized communities of india
- fight against Dalit disenfranchisement, exploitation and dehumanization imposed by Brahmanical hegemony
- 1938 publication of the Annihilation of Caste
- shortly before his death, he led a mass Dalit conversion from hinduism to buddhism
explain the reservation system
1947; Dr Amdedkar appointed a chairman of constitution drafting committee
-pushed for Reservations; a type of affirmative program where marginalized people are given access to a certain number of seats in legislature, gov. jobs, higher education institutions
-1932 round table conference; Q of separate election granted for religious minorities and scheduled castes (Dalit)
(Gandhi did not want to get ride of castes or have separate election and this is where they butted heads)
-Dr inn favour to end caste all together
-Gandhi; opposed, castes a positive feature of hinduism (social and cohesion), end untouchability by incorporating untouchables into the Sundra Varna
-resulted in Povna Pact
what is the Pvna pact
a single electorate for hindus with scheduled castes having seats reserved within it
explain caste and class
class mobilization is often a family matter, not individual - modern mobilization; education (ex 1st person to go to college), professional (securing a good job to provide income to family), urban space (access to opportunities), marriage (financial security)
