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Shri Datta Swami

Posted on: 09 Feb 2005

               

How do You say that caste is not based on birth whereas based on the genetic theory, it should be?

[According to the genetic theory, caste must be birth-based. The qualities are transferred from one generation to another by birth.]

Your argument must contain wrong logic because it contradicts the Veda and the the Gita. The Veda says that unless a Brahmin practices the Vedic spiritual knowledge, he is not a Brahmin simply by birth. If your argument is correct a Brahmin, who is simply born to a Brahmin, must spontaneously practice the spiritual knowledge without any effort. A light produced from another light is as bright as the previous light. But the son of a real Brahmin, who has practiced the spiritual knowledge truly, does not practice the same spiritual knowledge spontaneously. If your argument is correct, the bad qualities seen in the present Brahmins must have been present in the ancesteral sages (Rishis). Your argument fails even in case of examples which we see with our own lives in which a father and his son have totally different qualitites. If you agree that the ancient Rishis also had bad qualities, which are seen in the present Brahmins, in such case all human beings belonging to all the castes must have both good and bad qualities. In such case, no human being is superior to the other simply by birth.

In fact the Shastras say that no soul contains a single quality out of the three qualities called Sattvam (good quality) and Rajas and Tamas (bad qualities). The soul is called the ‘Jeevatma’, which constitutes both ‘Jeeva’ and ‘Atma’. Jeeva is a bundle of qualities like the waves and ‘Atma’ is the pure awareness, which is like motionless water. There cannot be waves without water. Therefore there cannot be a Jeeva without Atma. This means that every soul is pure awareness, which is vibrating as the three qualities. In such a case all the souls are equal. Any soul can suppress the bad qualities and provoke the good qualities by spiritual effort (Sadhana). This effort is mainly based on the effect of the sorrounding environment (Sanga). If you are in the association of worldly people, you will be a bundle of worldly qualities. If you are in the association of spiritual people you are a bundle of spiritual qualities. The spiritual scholars will preach you the right spiritual knowledge. Knowledge is also a bundle of ideas and each quality is an idea. Therefore the knowledge alone can affect your qualities. The knowledge of the father is not spontaneously transferred to his son. The son of a professor of mathematics does not become a scholar in mathematics spontaneously. But if the same soul [of the mathematics scholar] enters another human body as a son or as a grand son, then the transfer of same qualities [mathematical talent] is possible. But it is not a rule that the souls of Brahmins are always born to Brahmin parents. Souls take births in different castes and thus the transfer of qualities and knowledge is again distributed in all castes at random. Simultaneously, and based on the same principle, ignorance is also distributed in all the castes. The qualities and knowledge correspond to the brain and the nervous system, which are charged by the soul. Once the soul leaves the body all the qualities follow the soul and no quality remains in the body. Through genes only physical characteristics and some mannerisms like moving the leg, hand, twinkling of eyes etc., are transferred, which are just physical.

 
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