Comment by actuator | Hacker News Reader

Comment by actuator | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

The concept of caste(the Indian words for this mean something different) as you understand in modern times was not the rigid structure you see today. There is no one true book for the dharmic faiths and over time the concept was rigidified by the people in power to keep their power.

I asked the bot

> Can anyone become a Brahmin?

> Yes, anyone can become a Brahmin through their actions and qualities. One's birth does not determine their caste or status. It is their actions that determine their place in society. As stated in the Bhagavad Gita, "One who is equal to all beings, seeing oneself in everyone, and seeing all beings in oneself, attains the highest Brahman, because one has attained perfect peace" (BG 6.32). This means that one who has attained the qualities of compassion, selflessness, and understanding can attain the highest state of Brahmanhood. Therefore, it is important to focus on one's actions and qualities rather than their birth or social status.

https://ibb.co/WkGs6nx

As I understand it, the bot is replying based on the data that it has been fed from the Gita and not based on our current understanding of caste etc.

We can't be sure of the fact that only Gita has been fed to it; and as my reply showed, it is showing that the caste is fluid as the reply mentioned anyone can become a Brahmin.

I have yet to see a single Indian BECOME a brahmin out of their own actions. Do you know anyone like that? Would like to talk to them.

EVERY SINGLE brahmin I have met was born into a brahmin household - except for some whites who are treated notionally like brahmins.

I did write

> There is no one true book for the dharmic faiths and over time the concept was rigidified by the people in power to keep their power.

The thing you see today is not what was intended. We have seen throughout in history when you give one group power, it tries to ensure that the power stays with it; this is what the so called upper castes basically did.

In modern times, why would you want to become another caste? In India, groups are dying to be called a backward or lower caste these days

I know of one person who "converted" into a brahmin and was an archaka (अर्चक) in a temple. However, there was a lot of resistance from the management committee against him, and he would get excluded from quite a few of the activities.

Have you read the Bhagavad Gita ?

Portions of it, yes

Reply on news.ycombinator.com