America is more Hindu than present-day India

Part 1

Varna and the Caste System

Words like Karma, Rebirth, Avatar, Yoga, and Chakras, you will not come across much in household discussions in India. However, in America, you will come across these terms often. Given their Christian background, which does not subscribe to these beliefs, many Americans do believe in rebirth, Karma, etc., so in their believes Americans are Hindus.

Does it stay at the individual belief level or it is deeper and the Hindu ideas are institutionalised in American society? Let us test the claim that “America is more Hindu than present-day India”.
How do you define Hinduism as a practice, as a society and as a culture? Hindus have some popular ideas, institutions, practices and culture which are unique for them. Let us count: Caste or Varna system, four Ashramas, Chaturvarga, institutions like Family, Village, Mandir, University and Think tanks, openness to ideas, spiritualism, debate and discussions. Let us test now each one as to what could be the original ideas, how these were supposed to bring solutions to individual and social problems and how do they fare in America and present-day India.

Further, we can find there are some universal concepts, all the countries or societies are bound to follow, but Sanskrit has given names, definitions and formulations to each one. That is amazing, Varna or Caste System.

Around 2010, I met a country manager of a brand we were selling in Ukraine. He was from Uruguay. He said, you are from India, right? I have not been to India but I have read, they have a complicated caste system. I said, why is it complicated? I can explain it to you in 3 minutes as follows: What you call as caste system has two sources one bottom to top which is called Jati system which has grown naturally and in an unplanned way and the other started from Top to bottom which was a thought of leaders of society called Varna system to accommodate and encourage individuals to strive as per their potentials and interests on one hand and building a harmonious and prosperous society on the other hand.
All edible oil producing individuals joined together to deal with internal competition on selling and buying price, identify and share source of raw material, technology and training and so on. Same for milk producers, weavers, iron smith etc. what America calls trade union, cartel, commerce chambers etc. in India it was called Jati. They started preferring to marry in the same Jati to achieve what business acquisition, amalgamation, perpetuity of the business or brand, same business passing on to next generation and so on could achieve. This was Jati which was bottom to top movement.
In Varna system, leaders of society divided the population in to two parts, educated and uneducated. From birth all are uneducated. Education transforms you. It changes you permanently so it is like a second birth and you are called twice born (Dwija). An educated person is supposed to lead the society. If he takes a job or service, it will be considered failure of education as a job needs training not 360 degrees education. During admission, motives of the student to be identified as all do not have same motive or same aspiration and all cannot be measured in same yardstick. West talks only about profit motive. Hindus have identified three motives Knowledge motive, Power motive and Profit motive and named them Brahmana, Kshatriya and Vaishya.

The gentleman said, wow; it is just perfect.

Now let us test how India and America fare on this point
In India a school drop out becomes a politician (Kshatriya), a college drop out becomes a businessman or industrialist (Vaishya). By any chance if he becomes a graduate, he becomes a job seeker or a job holder (Shudra) under the two above. In India education spoils your brilliant and talented child. In America also some top-notch business person like Bill Gates are college dropouts but at least American education encourages and makes you a Vaishya.

In America a politician (Kshatriya), if found working with profit motive, is put to task. In India politicians work seemingly only on profit motive.

Education, media, medicine and law are supposed to be field for Knowledge motive people (Bramhan) but these are money minting industries. The principal objective is profit
There is another side to it. It is the product of brilliant Hindu mind that you must balance the three motives at society level, so that, one works for the other and use and take care of the fourth motive that is the job seaker, without ambition or being happy with oneself(sukh vasi). This made India superpower in the past. Who is the only super power now? It is America. How? They are dominating through military power (Kshatriya). By that they can sell their products (Vaishya), from the super profit earned, they can pay for research (Bramhan) and military cost. Research gives more sophisticated weapons for kshatriyas and better competitive products for Vaishyas. This is how three forces have helped to and worked with each other seamlessly to make America a super power since 1945, world war II. Russia was super power from that period as well. Their profit line was cut off by America and its allies. That brought down USSR from the position. Before that UK was super power till, they became bankrupt in World War II. Before that Turks or Muslims were super power but they stopped research, rather, stopped thinking so perished due to superior technology of Europe. India was superpower before that for a very long period balancing these forces through varna system.

Now where do you see balancing of the three forces in India? Politicians (Kshatriya), Bureaucrats (Bramhan) and Contractors (Vaishya) have joined together and milking India. India is rich but Indians are poor. You and I like shudras are mute spectators and cannot do anything. Maoists became very potent when they got Academics and Jurists (Bramhan) on one hand, percentage income from contractors (Vaishya) on the other hand and arms (Kshatriya) Thus India invented a brilliant Idea. All others are using it for their own benefit. They are using it against Indian interest. But what about India, the inventor of the concept, the formula, the idea?

India today has neither Varna system nor even Jati system as all Yadavs joined in UP not for milk production but to occupy the power against the non Yadavs. The concept of mutual clientele that brought harmony in the past, is completely lost.