Acharya Prashant explains that the fundamental scriptures of Sanatana Dharma, specifically the Upanishads, Brahma Sutra, and Bhagavad Gita, teach that all human differencesâsuch as caste, color, creed, gender, and economic statusâare superficial and unreal. He asserts that the world is a manifestation of diversity, but the only true reality is the invariable, common entity known as the Self. Because this internal reality is identical to the universal reality, Sanatana Dharma acts as a great unifier rather than a source of division. He argues that one cannot judge the core philosophy based on distorted social practices, just as one cannot condemn the entire field of medicine because of the actions of a single fraudulent practitioner. Addressing allegations regarding caste, Acharya Prashant clarifies that caste is a social evil and not a fundamental tenet of Sanatana Dharma. He points out that while many books were written over thousands of years across a vast geography, only the core scriptures like the Upanishads are canonical. He specifically cites the Ashtavakra Gita as a text that epitomizes the spirit of equality and the Vajrasuchika Upanishad, which explicitly denounces caste. He explains that caste belongs neither to the physical body nor to the true Self, but is merely an imagination of the mind. In the tradition of Non-dualism, caste is repeatedly described as unreal and false.
