caste system
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Imported quote 15928 We are not introducing the caste system, in which any rascal born in a brahmana family is automatically a brahmana. He may have the habits of a fifth-class man, but he is accepted as first-class because of his birth in a brahmana family. We don't accept that. We recognize a man as first-class who is trained as a brahmana. It doesn't matter whether he is Indian, European, or American; lowborn or highborn-it doesn't matter. Any intelligent man can be trained to adopt first-class habits. We want to stop the nonsensical idea that we are imposing the Indian caste system on our disciples. We are simply picking out men with first-class intelligence and training them how to become first-class in every respect.
(More...) Imported quote 15960 Sahkaracarya's theory that there is no God and that one can go on with his work and imagine God in any form just to keep peace and tranquility in society is also more or less based on this idea of chance and necessity. Our way, however, which is completely different, is based on authority. It is this divine varnasrama-dharma that Krsna recommends, not the caste system as it is understood today. This modern caste system is now condemned in India also, and it should be condemned, for the classification of different types of men according to birth is not the Vedic or divine caste system.
(More...) There are many classes of men in society-some men are engineers, some are medical practitioners, some are chemists, tradesmen, businessmen, and so on. These varieties of classes are not to be determined by birth, however, but by quality. No such thing as the caste-by-birth system is sanctioned by the Vedic literature, nor do we accept it. We have nothing to do with the caste system, which is also at present being rejected by the public in India. Rather, we give everyone the chance to become a brahmana and thus attain the highest status of life.
(More...) Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/?qg=2658
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