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Summary of Question:Who Came Up With Caste?
Category:Sikh History
Date Posted:Friday, 3/31/2006 2:38 AM MDT

vahe guru ji ka khalsa...

i was wondering..about the caste system, if it dosnt exist then why did someone create it in the firts place?? who came up with it first?

They dont know how much problems it is creating for the loverz out there in this world?
dont you think we should do more to spread the word around to the parents? instead of using the net..because parents dont know how to use the net..we wanna get a message through to the parents and adults not youngsterz...

is there anything else that we can do to get the message through to the adults?

appriciated if u can answer this question :)

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reply
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Sat nam. Caste system is over 5000 years old. Not sure who came up with it. It is in the cultural DNA of India and its children, that's how deep it is as a practice and tradition. Many many Sikh parents know that Guru Granth Sahib teaches us that caste is irrelevant, but Indian society--in India and in Indian communities outside of India--thinks that anyone who doesn't observe caste is to be rejected, disrespected and/or ignored. I would bet that a lot of Sikh parents of marriage-able children in their heart of hearts would prefer to let the kids marry whomever, but the pressures of the larger community and the tradition that goes with it are bigger than they are willing to endure. To ignore caste under these conditions takes a lot of courage and willingness to stand out or be different.

I have to add that non-Indians, especially in the west, do not care about caste labels. Most of us do not know the difference. Many think it is pointless.

You can research other replies on this forum by putting 'caste' in the searchbar.

Challenge your gurdwara community to promote education about our Gurus' teachings on caste. Challenge the SIkhs you know to live their lives ignoring caste. Challenge gurdwara leadership to sanction marriages across castes.

A 1000 mile journey begins with a single step. Action, not words, is important. So what are you going to do? Guru ang sang,
-DKK



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