Recently, derogatory comments on Sanatana Dharma, also known as Hindu Dharma or Hinduism, keep appearing. The son of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Udayanidhi, made an inflammatory speech against Sanatana Dharma; and his party members, along with political leaders across the country began to defend it under the guise of caste-based discrimination and oppression. They even went to the extent of claiming that Hinduism is different from the Santana Dharma.
In reality, Sanatana Dharma, Hinduism, and Hindutva, are all terms that mean the same, and embody the eternal, Santana culture of Bharat. The cardinal features of the Hindu religion are founded on meditative and speculative philosophy and on the ethical teachings contained in the various books of the Vedas, which assert that the universe is infinite in space and eternal in duration. It never had a beginning, and will never have an end. As Swami Vivekananda says:

“One point of difference between Hinduism and other religions is that in Hinduism we pass from truth to truth — from a lower truth to a higher truth — and never from error to truth. The Vedas should be studied through the eye-glass of evolution. They contain the whole history of the progress of religious consciousness, until religion has reached perfection in unity. The Vedas are Anâdi, eternal. The meaning of the statement is not, as is erroneously supposed by some, that the words of the Vedas are Anadi, but that the spiritual laws inculcated by the Vedas are such. These laws, which are immutable and eternal, have been discovered at various times by great men or Rishis, though some of them are forgotten now, while others are preserved. When a number of people from various angles and distances have a look at the sea, each man sees a portion of it according to his horizon. Though each man may say that what he sees is the real sea, all of them speak the truth, for all of them see portions of the same wide expanse.”

At present, many complain that Hinduism has historically been affected by caste-based discrimination, that lower-caste people were deprived of the study of the Vedas, and therefore reparations need to be continued eternally. However, even though seven decades have passed since India’s Independence, how many are keen to take up the study of Sanskrit even after repeated endeavours to create awareness about it? Are the supposedly lower castes scrambling to adopt the lifestyle and earn the knowledge that was once the stronghold of Brahmins?
In the words of Swami Vivekananda:

“What caste really is, not one in a million understands. There is no country in the world without caste. In India, from caste we reach to the point where there is no caste. Caste is based throughout on that principle. The plan in India is to make everybody a Brahmin, the Brahmin being the ideal of Humanity. If you read the history of India you will find that attempts have been made to raise the lower classes. Indian caste is better than the caste which prevails in Europe or America. I do not say it is absolutely good. Where would you be if there were no caste? There would be nothing left for the Europeans to study if caste had never existed! The Mohammedans would have smashed everything to pieces. Where do you find the Indian society standing still? It is always on the move. Sometimes, as in the times of foreign invasions, the movements has been slow, at other times quicker. This is what I say to my countrymen. I do not condemn them. I look into their past. I find that under the circumstances no nation could do more glorious work. I tell them that they have done well. I only ask them to do better!”

What can be done better by this system? Our textbooks, novels, movies, and media have all exxageratedly portrayed only the negative side of the caste system. Let’s try to understand the caste system beyond the definitions of exploitation, as in Chaturvarnya.

To understand the importance of ‘Chaturvarnya’  i.e. the four varnas, and the role of caste, we can refer to the four powers of social dynamics in Bharata, as mentioned by Sri Aurobindo. In Tantra Vidya we meet four great aspects of the supreme executive power of the divine, not only as presence but also as embodied persons. It puts in focus the powers that are presently acting in this creation. In Vedic tradition and also that of the Gita, it is the Purusha who is represented in several expressions for upholding the universe. Sri Aurobindo sees them as powers, aspects of one transcendental Shakti, forces operating in the cosmos, the basis of the splendid and well-thought-out Chaturvarnya system, conducting the harmonious function of the social order.

The hierarchy of these powers is well-defined. At first, we have the absolute original transcendental Shakti, the supreme force, Paratpara, Aditi, the omnipotent goddess, Mahadevi or consciousness force; or the Divine Mother. They are essentially the same with different names, though each has Her own shades and nuances and Her own distinctive aspect of functioning. What we describe as nature or Prakriti is only the outward quality of the highest executive force, the supramental Mahashakti. She has the power of divine omniscience and omnipotence, of knowledge and will. On an intermediate plane, she is the presiding Mahashakti of the triple world of ignorance. It is here that four powers of Mahashakti operate and govern our evolutionary world.

Maheshwari – the power of wisdom. She, with Her knowledge, opens us to the world of Sachchidananda. She is tranquil and wonderful, calm, omniscient, and comprehends everything. She is mother to all, even to the hostile – to gods, to men, and to demons.

Mahakali – the force of strength. She rushes with divine impetuosity and shatters all limits, destroys all obstacles. She is the warrior of the worlds, her spirit tameless, and her actions straight and frank and swift. To knowledge, she gives conquering might.

Mahalakshmi – the embodiment of eternal beauty. She is the divine power of love, sweetness, charm and harmony. In oneness with Her is profound happiness; She is the one who lavishes the riches of the spirit when we open ourselves up to receiving Her kripa.

MahaSaraswati – the Mother’s power of work. Flawless order and perfection are what She brings to all that She does and supports. Attention to every detail is Her untiring concern. She is strong, attentive and conscientious, skillful, and efficient in all that She undertakes. Her work is unblemished, and in its technicalities and minutiae, nothing is forgotten. She is patient, kind and smiling, close, and helpful, and is the most easily approachable.

We do not have any such description of the powers of the supreme in the Veda. The Gita speaks only of Para Prakriti and Yoga Maya. But the elements of these powers can be traced in them too. The Vedic Purusha Sukta is a hymn of sacrifice of the divine being. When it talks of the four parts of that being, of that Virata Purusha, we then at once see that Maheshwari is His head, Mahakali His arms, Mahalakshmi His heart, and Mahasaraswati His feet. In the fourfold order of the society as propounded by the Gita we have a correspondence of Maheshwari as the Brahmin, Mahakali the Kshatriya, Mahalakshmi the Vaishya and Mahasaraswati the Shudra. It is this impeccable Chaturvarnya established since ancient times, as the Gita also declares, we see the full psychological justification for the fourfold soul-force operating in the world. Indeed, in the present mode of existence it is an aspect of the cosmic functioning itself; and behind it there is the eternality of the transcendental Mahashakti herself.

Take any society and any time in the history of civilization, and we never fail to recognize that these four aspects have been always present, through all the known ages. Men of learning, men of adventure and mighty noble actions, men of commerce and trade, men of professional skills – where in a dynamic culture are, or when have they been absent? Plato and Einstein can be classified as Brahmins; Julius Caesar and Eisenhower as Kshtriyas, Henry Ford and Warren Buffet may be considered Vaishyas; so too the unnamed engineers and builders of Hagia Sophia and the New York skyscrapers may be assigned the role of Shudras. The essential qualities behind them, their Swabhavas, are all ubiquitous manifestations of the four powers of MahaShakti working in the cosmic order.

The present degradation of Chaturvarnya in India is an unpalatable distortion. Understanding the roles of the four aspects of the Divine Mother in upholding the order of society will help us steer the Hindu society back on its path. This system of division into different Varnas is the stepping stone to civilization, making one specialise and rise higher in the areas of one’s heritage, learning and vocation. The youth of Bharat must try to understand the beauty of this eternal system where Chaturvarnya is the real Shakti of Bharat.