Acharya Prashant addresses the argument that the caste system (Varna Vyavastha) should be followed based on birth, as children inherit traits from their parents. He counters this by stating that if this logic is accepted, then humans are reduced to machines or robots. He uses an analogy where different robots are manufactured for specific tasks like sweeping, washing clothes, fighting, or acting as a database. If a person's life is predetermined by their birth, it implies they have no consciousness, freedom, or volition. This, he asserts, is a very dangerous argument. He explains that this dangerous logic is the foundation for both casteism and misogyny, as both are based on the body. Just as a person is oppressed based on the caste they are born into, women are oppressed based on their gender. He argues that the lowest caste is that of women, as they are oppressed in every household, whether it belongs to a Brahmin, Vaishya, or Shudra. The woman in a Shudra's house is also beaten. He challenges those who claim a pure lineage to get their DNA tested, stating that it would reveal a mix of genes from all over the world, including Russian, Iranian, and African, proving that we are all one large, mixed family. The caste system is exploitative for everyone, including Brahmins, as it binds them to predetermined roles. For instance, a Brahmin who wishes to dance is forbidden from doing so because of his caste. Acharya Prashant further explains that the solution lies in Vedanta, which teaches that you are not the body but consciousness. This understanding is the greatest freedom, the freedom from the body itself. He quotes the poem "Invictus" to emphasize that one is the master of their fate and the captain of their soul. He then addresses a quote by Swami Vivekananda, clarifying that Vivekananda was not a materialist. When Vivekananda said he doesn't believe in a God who cannot give bread but promises heaven, he was critiquing otherworldly religions that ignore present-life suffering. His point was that religion's purpose is to remove inner weakness, and a person with a weak body cannot pursue liberation. The ultimate liberation (mukti) is liberation while living (jivanmukti), which means freedom from the body-idea. He concludes by defining a true theist as one who finds God within as the Self (Atman), while an atheist is one who seeks God externally in objects, rituals, or heavens.
