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Social AyurvedaThe Scientific Basis Of Society (2)With Social Ayurveda, Let us explore The Scientific Basis of Social System- The Natural, Spontaneous and Practical Way. Find the basis of classes in society in our body, in its structure and function. Follow the system that has inbuilt space for the horizontal and vertical progress of the individual without clashing with the group. The system frees the individual for his or her personal growth and maintains the synergy and balance of the system as a whole. Social Ayurveda & Division Of Labor:Same way when the population starts to grow, there is felt a need for this ‘social division of labor’. Everyone has to find his niche and set there. Whenever our roles, position, place and social order is based on this principle of ‘social division of labor’ - the society remains healthy and thriving. The Basis Of Four 'Varna' Or Social Classes:In the same manner our body is divided into four gross sections 1) Head: it is the seat of perceiving, learning, thinking and guiding our body. 2) Hands: it performs chiefly the administrative or executive work. 3) Abdomen: it receives the food and after proper digestion it distributes the nutrients to the whole body. 4) Legs: these serve us and our body and take us to desired place. Four Social Classes Of Vedic Social System:Based on this physiological aspect, it is evident that in our society we can divide people into four major classes. This natural wisdom has been the base of the Varna order - the Indian caste system in its purest and practical form. As a single word in Sanskrit language has many meanings depending upon the context in which it is used. Some scholars misinterpret the word ‘Varna’ into color of the body and make a controversial statement that the Varna system refers to black and white color of the body and the associated stigma attached to color discrimination. The four Varnas are A) Brahmin: people suitable for this class took deep interest and are inclined towards learning, teaching, humanitarian and spiritual pursuits only. They are respected and lead the society with their wisdom, character and behavior. B) Kshatriya: The military and police and other personnel who are safeguarding the fellow countrymen both from outside and inside. C) Vaishya: these are the persons who pursue commercial activities. D) Shudra: people of this class are serving the society with manual work and physical labor. This classification is broad and perfectly serves the major classes of past civilizations. It is also contextual in modern society. We can add and adopt this system to our needs while retaining the inherent beauty and integrity of this system. The Criteria Of Assigning The Particular Social System & Its Flexibility:In ancient Vedic times and two centuries before, Gurukula system of education had been in use. Gurukula are the residential campus for the students where teachers and students lived together and there was no discrimination of any kind - financially, family background and racial or country wise. All the expenses are met by society and State. There any student is assigned his or her class based on the character, behavior and studies of the student. So this system was based on the character and behavior and not the birth. Further anyone whosoever took the pain to work hard towards changing the course of his life, is welcomed in the new or higher class and vice versa. It is just the most practical sense. Yes, We Are Following This System In Practice Even Today!We can easily fall prey to theoretize and be rational and label ourselves as higher than our fellow beings. We can use this discriminatory and biased self proclaimed superiority for wars, battles, social suppression or harassment of the minority. In the practical world can we think without this Natural Social System? Definitely not. Would our educational system anywhere in the world pass any student while he or she is continuously failing and give the responsibility of becoming a teacher or doctor or engineer or something else not suited to him? No. Would you like to go to doctor who has secured his admissions based on caste reservations only and not on the merits of his studies? No. Would you like your children be tutored by any less qualified or bad character individual? No. Would you assign the software needs of your company to any one else other than good software firms? No. Yes this is the point. We seek services not only from the particular class but from the one that is more competent and skilled in one’s filed. What are these? These are the social classes - based on character, behavior and studies and practical training - advocated and propounded by Vedic wisdom and Ayurveda. These are relevant and practical as they ever had been. The Distortion Of Scientific Social System:Many people later distorted this classes system basing it in the family i.e. anyone taking birth form a learned couple or higher class would be a person of that class. It has nothing to do with the character or behavior of that person. Pure nonsensical. It leads to deterioration of not only this scientific social order but also of the essential beauty and inherent assertion of free will and free choice of human being. As this distorted view was impractical for everyone - it disappeared from the scene somewhere sooner and somewhere later, as the society matured and developed. And we are still progressing toward it. Welcoming The New Scientific Era:We are into a wonderful era of transformation when our beliefs are challenged on the scale of scientific studies and practice. We as a society are adopting whatever is having universal and scientific appeal - be it Yoga or Ayurveda or Spirituality. This universal appeal is not monotonous. We can enjoy the differences and still be in the purview of that integrated social and scientific and religious and spiritual oneness. Very simple - You can enjoy South Indian or North Indian or Chinese or American food and can still be healthy as there is little difference only superficially. The basic nutrients are all there. As there is great convergence of all the good tools and researches and practices throughout the world, we are again realizing the great saying of ancient Vedic seers - ‘The earth is merely a grand family’.
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