> Which has been very problematic. Education for all is good, but they have enforced Christian education and many other negative things.
How is getting educated becomes problematic verses no education at all. I am taking about basic reading and writing ? Controlling the access to education and maintain the hierarchy of the society is the fundamental idea of the varna system. This is one of the important reason there were very few Nobel laureates and inventions have come from India in correlation with its population. By the way Britishers never had religion as part of education.
> It seems like there are some gaps in your understanding of Hindu and Vedic thought. Yes, you are born according to your past life karma, but the soul (in a body or in the other loka) always have free will – so you chose your karma – you chose to do actions that created future karmas to be resolved. By extension, you chose your birth. This is the full understanding.
This is same as saying you don't choose your varna/caste.This is just another way of saying you are born in to lower caste and have to do the back breaking job because for your sins in the previous birth.
> In the original varna dharma, there isn’t an “easier life” for one caste or another.
A priest life is much easier than a farmer or manual scavenger.
> Your natural abilities are the way that you choose your caste. One person has no interest or ability for the spiritual life, but they are good at business. Your natural abilities are chosen based on past karma, which you also chose.
Not true. Its very explicit. Even if it assumed true, once education is denied and fathers occupation is enforced on the children's for all the generation's how does one will have the time to find out and grow their natural abilities ?
> A person of the priest caste would offer equal respect to the worker caste
If education is not restricted based on religion, then one does not have to seek privilege or validity based on birth.
> The authority should be by one’s own volition and the community.
The enforcement is not by community its by the kings as preached by the vedas. The kings enforce varna system by denying education, owning property based on the caste or enforce fathers occupation over their childrens. Naturally kings have the incentive to avoid competition and hold on to their power.