What is the reason for the existence of Shudras and Harijans?
Synthesized from Source
definition
"The existence of Shudras and Harijans is not a divine decree but a human invention to maintain power, freezing the fluidity of life into rigid castes that breed apathy and enslavement."
According to Osho, Shudras (and later ‘Harijans’) arose not from any divine order but from India’s calculated invention of varna—a device to freeze fluid class differences, eliminate competition, and secure upper-caste privilege. By fixing people’s destiny through social barriers and doctrines like karma, society immobilized the lower masses, bred apathy toward the nation’s fate, and invited stagnation and enslavement.
Society made these groups to keep poor people stuck below so the powerful had no competition—not because God wanted it.
Why this matters practically
- Exposes spiritualized justifications (like karma) that mask injustice, empowering us to reject casteism.
- Promotes equal opportunity and mobility, strengthening social cohesion and responsibility.
- Encourages challenging internalized limits and reforming systems that freeze people’s potential.
- Promotes equal opportunity and mobility, strengthening social cohesion and responsibility.
- Encourages challenging internalized limits and reforming systems that freeze people’s potential.
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