The Origin of Castes

The Hindus believe that the four castes came out from the body of Brahma. Here are the four castes and their origin.

• Brahmin or high caste: Originated from the head of Brahma.

• Kshatriya or soldiers: Came out from the shoulders of Brahma.

• Vaisyas or Business people: Originated from the thigh of Brahma.

• Sudras or labourers: Came out from the feet of Brahma.

The no-caste people or untouchable are considered to be under the feet of Brahma. The low caste people were considered to eat the meat of dead animals and they carry on toilet cleaning and other menial jobs.

The caste system in India is because of this Hindu belief and it was created by certain people to dominate others. Our government has prohibited the caste system. Then how can the believers practice caste system and have caste feeling?

The Bible says that we are all one in Christ Jesus. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” Gal 3:26-28.

TYPES OF HINDUS

Hinduism is not an exclusive system with set rules and regulations or creeds. It is a religion where there is a freedom of choice for the followers. It also accommodates all foreign beliefs and practices without any difficulty. In Hinduism there is unity in the midst of diversity. So all Hindus are not the same.

If one wants to reach them, he must know about their background and beliefs. The Hindus in India can be classified into the following four general types. 

1. Nominal Hindus: Most of the Hindus practice Hindu religion because they have been born in a Hindu family. They have nothing to do with Hinduism and do not know all the beliefs and practices of Hinduism. They can be called as Nominal Hindus. But all of them do search for the truth and try their best to find peace in various practices and rituals of Hinduism.

To reach these nominal Hindus, we need to appreciate what is good in them. Dialogues and personal witnessing are the best approach to reach them. Since they search for the truth, they must be told that Jesus only can meet their need.

1. Open minded Hindus: In Hinduism, there are millions of people who have revolutionised ideas. They believe in Allah and Jesus. They consider them as one of the gods. They say that all religions lead to the same truth.

These Hindus are not far away from the kingdom of God. They are in search of truth and accept that they could not find a solution to their problem in God. To reach them one must point out to them about the availability of salvation for all people in Christ Jesus. Spending time with them and taking them to Christian meetings are the methods that can be used to reach them.

1. Radical Hindus: These are the Hindus who oppose other religions and oppose evangelism. They also take steps to defend Hinduism. The members of RSS, VHP, BJP, Hindhu Mahasabha and Arya Samaj are the examples for radical and militant Hindus.

God loves these fanatical and radical Hindus, and so one must show God’s love to them, even if they oppose and persecute people of other faiths. To reach them, one must use the language of love in action. Dialogue is another method to reach them, if they are willing to listen. But prayer and consistent witnessing bring victory in reaching them.

1. Animistic and ordinary village Hindus: More than 50 percent of Hindus belong to this category. They have the animistic and Hindu ideas. The tribal also fall into this category. They believe that all trees and objects are possessed with spirits and they live in constant fear. They do not have rigid ideas and beliefs. They are in search of truth and peace. 

To reach them one has to present the uniqueness of Christ in meeting their needs, including the freedom available in Christ and personal witnessing are the best approach to reach them in addition to power encounter.

TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION

The founder of Transcendental Meditation was Mahesh Brasad Warma from central India. He graduated from Allahabad University in Physics in 1940. Then he became the disciple of Guru Dev, who taught him the techniques of meditation from Hindu scriptures. 

He stayed with Guru Dev until he died in 1953, and after his death went to Himalayas for two years. In 1956 he named himself as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and began to propagate Transcendental Meditation (TM). TM was developed by him while he was in the Himalayas. Since his ideas were not accepted in India, he went to America in 1959 and founded Spiritual Regeneration Movement.

In the west, many young people followed him because of their search for truth and peace. He invested his time in training people to become TM teachers and initiators. This enabled him to get thousands of followers who spread TM and gave him time to write books.

He gave a scientific image to TM and millions of people from different walks of life including prominent people practiced TM. Then Maharishi changed the name of his organisation as World Plan Executive Council and established Maharishi International University in 1971 at Fairfield, Iowa. He published a magazine by name ‘Creative Intelligence’. The income for TM came from course fees in public schools and from millions of others.

In India, under the auspices of Maharishi Shiksha Sansthan, there are about 200 Maharishi Vidya Mandir Schools with about 40,000 students. Recently eight Maharishi Institute of Managements were established in eight major cities in India, to offer MBA degree from Maharishi International University. TM courses are offered to millions of people in nearly all the major cities in our country. 

In TM, one has to silently chant a Mantra until he attains ‘God consciousness’ and he attains a state of oneness with God. So it is believed that TM is a path to reach God, and it gives rest and peace. But actually it gives only relaxation and reduce hyper-tension. Research study carried out in Michigan state university has revealed that peace and rest claimed by TM can be achieved by taking rest quietly by closing the eyes.

The research work carried out by Leon Otis in Standford Research Institute revealed that it produced harmful effect. Some meditators suffered from increased anxiety, confusion and depression. It is claimed that TM increases intelligence and helps one to get more marks. But the study carried out at the University of Illinois by comparing the marks obtained by meditators with others disproved this claim.

Now many people practice TM considering it as a non-religious method of relaxation and rest. They are deceived by the names like ‘Science of Creative Intelligence’ given to this technique. But it is a Hindu religious practice. This is because it is based on the teachings in the Hindu scriptures like the ‘Vedas, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras. Maharishi himself had claimed that TM was given by Krishna about 5000 years ago. The initiation ceremony, in which one has to worship Guru Dev and praise Brahma and Krishna. Hence it must be avoided by all Christians.

WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD AVOID TM?

• Wrong view about God: TM is based on the belief that God is an impersonal being and TM claims that God is all, and all is God. Maharishi makes God a part of the creation, thus making his followers worship ‘the created things rather than the creator’ Rom 1:25. The Bible teaches that “there is none other God but one” I Cor 8:4. He is the loving and personal God. He is above all His creation and at the same time He is concerned with the welfare of men.

• No Salvation: TM teaches that man by nature is good and the good which is present in each person can be brought out by meditation. But the Bible teaches that man is sinful and he can be saved by faith in Jesus Christ who died for him.

• It gives Transient peace and rest: According to TM, peace and rest can be obtained by meditation. They believe that happiness can be obtained without facing the issue of sin and guilt. But the Bible teaches that man is sinful and that man can be happy only when he faces the issue of sin and comes into right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Col 1:21-22.

• It is a Hindu practice: TM is taught as a non-religious technique and many people practise TM without knowing that it is a Hindu practice. Maharishi himself had written that he got the technique from the Hindu god Krishna. It is built on Hindu scriptures and in the mantras. The followers pray to Hindu deities. Christians cannot practice TM because the worship of idolatry is present in the practice.

• It may lead to demon possession: In TM technique, one empties the mind and opens it for anything and everything. So demon possession is possible when the mind is emptied in TM.