Page:Monier Monier-Williams - Indian Wisdom.djvu/29

 Vaisyas, and S'udras are born and must remain (at least in each separate existence) distinct from each other; and that to force any Hindu to break the rules of caste is to force him to sin against God, and against nature. It is true, that the endless rules of caste in India principally hinge upon three points of mere social economy and order: i. food and its preparation1, 2. intermarriage-, and 3. professional pursuits3; but among a religious people, who regard these rules as sacred ordinances of their religion, an offence against any one of them becomes a great crime. It is a remarkable fact, that the jails in India often contain hardened criminals, who have fallen in our estimation to the lowest depths of infamy, but who, priding themselves on the punctilious observance of caste, have not lost one iota of their own self-respect, and would resent with indignation any attempt to force them to eat food prepared by tlie most virtuous person, if inferior to themselves in the social scale.

A full account of the origin and development of caste—of the strictness of its rules, and of the power it still exerts as a religious rather than as a social institution—will be found at p. 218, p. 231, &c. Moreover, for a description of the rise of Buddhism and its influence in the opposite direction the reader must refer to p. 53, &c.

It remains to point out that the very nature of the Hindu religious

1 The preparation of food is quite as vital a point as eating together. Food prepared by a person of inferior caste causes defilement. Some castes cook with their shoes on: but most Hindus would abhor food thus prepared, because leather causes defilement. Food cooked on board a boat or ship is supposed to destroy caste; thus, a boat proceeding down the Ganges sometimes stops to allow native passengers to cook their food on shore; perhaps, because wood is regarded as a conductor of defilement. It cannot, of course, be said that the rules of caste are confined to these three points. A Hindu's ideas about unclean animals are very capricious. He dreads the approach of a fowl to his house or person, as a source of contamination; but he does not mind ducks. Happily caste can no longer hold its own against necessity and advantage—against railroads and scientific inventions. (See the quotation at bottom of p. 219.)

2 See the note on the mixed castes, p. 218, and p. 232 with note.

3 It is the restriction of employments caused by caste which necessitates a large establishment of servants. The man who dresses hair feels himself degraded by cleaning clothes, and one who brushes a coat will on no account consent to sweep a room; while another who waits at table will on no consideration be induced to carry an umbrella.