The Caste System of the Hindus

Hinduism promotes stratification of society under the "caste system" and encourages discrimination against the less fortunate.
Truth
The caste system, originally described in the Vedas, but much abused and maligned over the years, is nothing but a representation of an efficient human society. The four castes described in the scriptures are - the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, and the Shudras. According to the Vedas, an efficient human society is based on the strength of its educational/knowledge-pursuit system (Brahmin), its military and defense system (Kshatriya), its economical and business system (Vaishya), and a strong, happy, productive workforce (Shudras).
This noble representation was misinterpreted, exploited, and abused by a few in the Indian society, leading to the indiscriminate creation of thousands of castes and sub-castes, including the so-called "upper" castes. Fortunately, the caste system has been more or less abolished since Indian independence and the distinctions are beginning to disappear, although not significantly.

The Importance of Devotion to God in Hinduism - Bhakti Yoga

Devotion to God is presented as one of the several ways to achieve "Moksha" or oneness with the Infinite, but perhaps the easiest. This idea is expressed in the "Bhagavad Gita" (Hindu scripture), ``Whosoever offers to Me with love a leaf, a flower, a fruit or even water, I appear in person before that devotee of sinless mind and delightfully partake of that article offered by him with love. Arjuna, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer as oblation to the sacred fire, whatever you bestow as a gift, whatever you do by way of penance, offer it all to Me.'' Again, ``To those devotees who worship Me, thinking of none else, who devote their mind to Me and are ever perseverent in My service and in My contemplation, I confer that permanent heavenly abode from which there is no return to life.''
Such devotion can be towards any form of the Infinite. A devotee of "Rama" will not spend a minute without thinking of Him and the Divine Mother. A "Shiva" devotee will spend his time eulogizing His "Lingam". If looked at more analytically, a "Karma Yogi" (one who serves the Infinite through service to society) immersed in the service of the poor and destitute sees God in them and hence cannot bear separation from them.
What is devotion? In short, it means submitting totally to God, discharging His obligations at His behest. How do we cultivate devotion? ``Concentrate and fix the mind on Me''. This sounds simple but in practice one knows how tough it is to tame the mind. When we sit in prayer, our minds are naturally unsteady, impetuous, powerfully defiant and unrelenting. To keep the mind subdued is as difficult as to control wayward wind. Concentration requires discipline and constant practice. So, ``If you cannot steady the mind, then seek to realize Me by practice which consists in constant retraction or withdrawal of the mind from worldly affairs. If you cannot discipline yourself, dedicate all your actions to Me." (Chanting His names all the time). "If you cannot do this either, take refuge in Me, renouncing all fruits of your actions." (Do everything as a service to God - looked at analytically, this will lead you into pious actions. Why would you do something evil if you wanted to do everything in the service of God?)

The Philosophy

Who are we?

The entire cosmos is subject to the vicissitudes of time and hence whatever has an origin at a point of time has to come to an end. According to Hinduism, everything is conditioned by time. The process of creation (Srishti) and dissolution (Pralaya) of the Universe is a periodic cycle in which the entire Cosmos manifests at the time of creation and withdraws at the time of dissolution. The Infinite alone is beyond time - beginningless and endless.
This endless cycle of births and rebirths that all "souls" experience is called "Transmigration". All souls are cursed to experience transmigration, except the Infinite, which is beyond creation or destruction. This Absolute Truth or Ultimate Reality does not perish even though all beings are subject to decay. This unmanifest being is spoken of as the Indestructible, the Supreme Being, God, Almighty. "Yogis" strive to become one with the Absolute Truth, and this oneness is called "Moksha". In other words, it is a state of mind where we are free from encumbrences, where we are indeed the One. "Tat Twam Asi", proclaim the Vedas, meaning "Thou Art That". We simply fail to realize that. It is not this web site's goal nor is it possible for this site to prescribe the method for attaining "Moksha".
A good analogy to transmigration of the soul is provided by the former Shankaracharya of Kaancheepuram in India. A person retiring to sleep wakes up the next morning in the same place. During sleep, the person is unaware of what happens to him. Similarly, the transmigrating soul at birth does not remember its state prior to coming into existence. So, death is also nothing but return to the same state from which one has come to this world. "Adi Shankara" believes that we are indeed the Absolute Truth, but that the illusion of our worldly lives prevents us from realizing this Truth. Others believe that we are "bonded souls" that merge with the Truth once we achieve the Truth. A discussion of these concepts follows later. In brief, however, this transcendental state that we are all asked to strive for is called "Moksha" in Hindu philosophy and "Nirvana" in Buddhist and Jain philosophies.
According to Carl Sagan, the distinguished Cornell University astronomer and Pulitzer Price-winning author of the book "Cosmos", the Hindu philosophy on the creation and dissolution of the Cosmos is the only philosophy that comes closest to the scientific idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes deaths and rebirths.

Karma

Hinduism believes in transmigration of the soul. Such transmigration is what results in reincarnation. This, in short, is the popular theory of Karma.
Clearly, all forms of life on earth do not undergo the same experiences and are not at the same level of existence. Man is the most superior form of life, but there are also billions of life forms which are far less superior than him. Even among us humans, we constantly witness differences in our modes of existence. Some of us are billionaires and some are paupers. Some of us are extremely healthy and some are always disease-prone. There must be a reason for these different experiences that all forms of life go through, even within their own species. Hinduism's answer to this question is the theory of "Karma".
Karma and rebirth are interrelated concepts in Indian philosophy. According to the theory of Karma, we are all part of a cycle of births and rebirths. This cycle has no beginning nor end. We are simply experiencing the results of our own actions in our journey through this cycle. Each spoke in the cycle is a predecessor to the next spoke. When a cycle moves, all spokes move one after the other in a never-ending chain. Similarly, in the cycle of "Samsara", life forms are spokes that evolve from one experience to another, and from one form to another according to their actions. Good actions cause good effects (Law of Cause and Effects), while bad actions cause bad effects. It is as simple as that.
Our actions bind us to this world, and such bondage-causing action is known as "Karma". The bondage refers to the confinement to this "samsara" just as spokes are confined to the wheel of the cycle. While good actions cause us to be reborn to experience the good effects, bad actions cause us to be reborn to undergo pain and suffering. "Yogis", however, are free of karmic actions and reactions, therefore not bound by the cycle of transmigration. Such a state of everlasting freedom from "samsara" is known as "Moksha". Again, the means to achieving such a state of mind cannot be presribed in a "cook book" manner. There is no specific prescription either. If it were that easy, all of us would be free from "samsara" now. Again, some of us probably wouldn't want to be freed from rebirths, even if given the choice. Remember, this is philosophy and not religion. Religions have doctrines, prescriptions and cook books for happiness; philosophy does not. It is what it is!

The Bible of the Hindus

The' Bhagavad Gita' is in a sense the Bible of the Hindus. 'Bhagavad Gita' means 'Divine Song'. The Bhagavad Gita or Gita is a portion of the Mahabharata Epic and is a collection of God’s answers to man’s questions about life, as envisioned by the author of the Mahabharata, Sage Vyasa.
In the Gita, God is represented by "Krishna", a pivotal character in the Mahabharata, who is believed by Hindus to be an incarnation of God. Mankind is represented by "Arjuna", an Indian Prince, who along with his four brothers was unjustly banished from his own Kingdom and went to war to win back what was rightfully theirs. The stage is set for the Gita when Arjuna gets ready on the battlefield and all of a sudden, loses heart and wishes he did not have to see bloodshed in order to get justice. He throws away all his armour and bowing before Lord Krishna, who assumes the role of Arjuna’s charioteer in the war, says he does not want to fight.
Lord Krishna’s response to Arjuna’s dilemma, the subsequent questions from Arjuna about life and its purpose, and Krishna’s answers all together make the Gita. Lord Krishna seeing Arjuna's dilemma and sorrow at the prospect of bloodshed, tells him,``Arjuna, you grieve over those who should not be grieved for and yet speak like the learned; wise men do not grieve over the dead or the living.'' Krishna talks about transmigration and explains that anything that comes into existence and perishes is impermanent, whereas the soul is permanent and never ceases to exist. Wise men are free from the existential bane that all of us experience and are therefore free from any state of existence. Karma is the bane of our existence and getting rid of karma is the answer to the illusion of our existence.
Usually, some emotional crisis is essential to force man to come to grips with his life and drive him towards understanding the meaning of life. Such an emotional crisis forms the basis for the Gita. The profound spritual knowledge which can liberate man eternally from "samsarik" bondage is imparted in the Gita. The Gita portrays the brave warrior prince Arjuna undergoing an intense emotional dilemma in the battlefield. Lord Krishna, his charioteer, becomes his Guru (Teacher), and thereby, the 'Jagadguru' (World Teacher).
The central message of the Gita for modern man is contained in a single verse, which when translated in English equates roughly to the following - "Seek not the fruits of your action but do your duty in this world and dedicate it to Me". There are several occasions in our lives when we wonder about our "rat race" and its relevance in the grand scheme of things. The Gita exorts us to perform our duties irrespective of the grand scheme of things, for nothing in this Universe ceases to perform action. The sun does not cease to rise every morning and set at night. To run away from the world and our duties is not an act of bravery, but one of cowardice.

The Itihasas

In order to make it easy for mankind to learn the central teaching of the Vedas, sages of ancient India presented them in the form of 'Itihasas' (Epics). The 'Mahabharata' and the ‘Ramayana’ are two great Itihasas, that capture all the core teachings of the Vedas through brilliant story-telling. The hero of the Mahabharata is Krishna, and that of the Ramayana is Rama (you may be familiar with the popular Hindu incantation - Hare Rama Hare Krishna). Both Rama and Krishna are believed by Hindus to be human incarnations of God come to earth to teach us how to lead our lives.

The three qualities of mankind

According to Hindu philosophy, all life forms fall under three different categories. These categories are called "Satwa", "Rajas" and "Tamas". "Satwa Guna" or the quality of Goodness is the most ideal quality. However, 95% of today's world population is supposed to have "Rajo Guna" or the quality of Passion. There are a few among us of "Tamo Guna" or the quality of Ignorance. People with the quality of Goodness like all good things, such as love, charity, selflessness e.t.c., and they have complete faith in God. People with the quality of Passion are given to the most common vices such as selfishness, jealousy, adultery, treachery and so on, and they are skeptical believers in God. People with the quality of Ignorance worship demons and ghosts, murder, rape, and commit other horrible crimes, and they detest God. The most amazing revelation, however, is that the true "Yogi" transcends all three qualities of mankind. The Yogi is free of material existence and has realized his true identity. He is therefore not bound by Goodness, Passion or Ignorance.

Yoga

In Hindu philosophy, Yoga is a means to attaining the Supreme State of mind. It is a skill, an art and a separate branch of knowledge. There are countless Yogas. A few spiritually advanced systems of Yoga are - Bhakti Yoga
Considered by many to be the highest and the best form of Yoga, especially in today's times, this is the path of Devotion. Bhakti yoga teaches us how to cultivate a devotional relationship with God. Some aids used include chanting the Lord's names, singing His praise and so on.
Jnana Yoga
Jnana yoga is an approach to spiritual enlightenment through discrimination and reason. This path makes strong use of the powers of the mind. It is the path of the philosopher who wants to go beyond the visible universe. Extremely difficult for the ordinary man to practise.
Karma Yoga
Karma yoga teaches us how to discharge our worldly duries in a spirit of detachment and yet harness the natural desire to be productive. This Yoga lays stress on doing one's duty ('karma') without expectation of the fruit. A simple example is a householder who provides for his children without any expectation in return (not even the child's affection, which clearly requires an extremely high level of perfection of the mind to perform such sacrificial yoga). Most of us expect something or the other in return for the duties we dischrage, thereby tainting the action with karma and binding us to this material universe.