Acharya Prashant explains that caste persists in India because it has become deeply embedded in the consciousness and intertwined with religion. While the Constitution provides for equality, it is a document that does not easily change the "soil" of human consciousness where caste is rooted in livelihood, marriage, and identity. He argues that humans, as conscious beings, inherently require religion (Dharma) to distinguish right from wrong. Because caste has been presented as a religious obligation, people fear that abandoning their caste is equivalent to abandoning their religion. He traces the historical distortion of the Varna system. In the Rigveda's Purusha Sukta, the division was symbolic and represented a division of labor without hierarchy or hereditary basis. Shri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita also emphasizes that Varna is determined by one's qualities and actions, not birth. However, later texts like the Manusmriti transformed this into a hereditary social law, and the Puranas further solidified it as a divine religious mandate. This led to the belief that violating caste rules is a sin against God, making it nearly impossible for the common person to renounce it. Acharya Prashant highlights that even the profound philosophy of Advaita Vedanta failed to eradicate caste because practitioners separated absolute truth from worldly behavior. He asserts that social reform alone is insufficient; a religious revolution is necessary. This involves returning to the "Shruti" (the Upanishads) and rejecting the "Smriti" (social codes) whenever they contradict the core spiritual truths. He concludes that until Sanatana Dharma is redefined through the lens of Vedantic philosophy, caste will continue to hinder India's progress.
