Imagine a place where a caste system rules the life of its people, where no matter how hard one works the caste one is in decides their life and where cow dung is considered a magical healer. That place is India. Within a country so far from the modern world, people live strictly by religion and tradition, by following their castes. It is that, that keeps them strong and has helped them survived for hundreds of years. .
Originally, there were four castes. The brahmans, kshatryiyas, vaiÅ"yas, and the sudras. The lowest of all the castes is the untouchables who were not one of the original four but still considered one of the major castes. Each class represents a part of the Creator. The brahmans are thought to have come from his mouth, the kshatryiyas from the arms, the vaishyas from the thighs and the sudras from the feet.
Modern Indian society had over 3000 different castes and sub castes, "the fourfold caste is merely a theoretical division of society it is a sociological fiction."" Only two things separate the modern castes from the originals, and the things that separate them are only words. There are two names to represent the different worlds Varna meaning the first four and Jati representing the modern castes. How their came to be so many different castes remains a mystery with many theories. One possibility is because of intermarriages creating new and different sub castes. Others say it was just because of the arrival of new ideas and tribes that created so many. No matter what the reason the idea of the first four still holds strong and is undisputable.
The highest of all the social orders were the brahmans. There were three kinds of brahmans. Ones who lived the saintly life that was meant for them, those who chose not to live in a priestly way and chose other professions and those who chose to use their power otherwise. For those that truly did live a "simple and pious- life they chose to teach the Veda or even retreat into the forest to live as hermits in peace with the animals.
