சாதி வேற்றுமையும்போலிச் சைவரும்
மறைமலை அடிகள்
Preface to the Second Edition
This Tamil work on ‘Caste and Its Evil’ first appeared in the form of a somewhat long essay in the sixth volume of my Tamil magazine Jnanasagaram in October, 1911. The occasion which called it into existence was in this wise. In response to the invitation of the Saiva Siddhanta Sabha at Tuticorin, I had to go there in December, 1910, in order to preside at its grand annual gathering and so to conduct it as to make it meet the needs of the time. I took an active part in its proceedings, as it was ably managed by learned, intelligent and well-meaning Saivites and was also attended by a large number of men and women of enlightenment, earnestness and understanding. Everything went on smoothly and delightfully on the first day, except in one important respect. Able lecturers filled with enthusiasm for introducing reforms into religious and social matters, came from distant parts of the country, but some of them were not treated with that respect which learning, good intentions and good manners claim, but were treated, as appeared to my mind, rather badly, simply because they happened to belong to non-vegetarian castes. Whether learned or unlearned, good or bad, religious or irreligious only those who were known to be Saivites, that is, those only whose lineage was known to have originated with the vegetarian velala parents, were invited to sit in one hall and dine together, while others, whose adherence to Saiva religion and clean vegetarian mode of living could not be questioned but whose only fault was what was occasioned by the mere accident of birth, were made to sit aloof in a separate place and served meals rather lately. This I observed on the first day and, on the next, I questioned some of the prominent members of the society why they were treated thus. One amongst them replied me that they belonged to non-vegtetarain castes, and, therefore, could not be admitted into the dining – hall of the Saivites. But I said that though they were no born vegetarians, they too were Saivites in so far as they followed the principles of Saiva religion and adopted the vegetarian mode of living, and that, therefore, they ought to be encouraged, so that other like them might also come up in the hope of mingling with a higher class people and lead a purer and a truer form of religious life. I added that, if their object of conducting such religious meetings were sincere, they should spread the beneficial, teachings of the Saiva religion not in brotherly love and affection towards each other as all are the children of a single Heavenly Father Lord Siva and by prompting those of them who are morally and intellectually stronger to uplift the weaker and make them their own, and that such merciful, tender and benevolent kind of service by drawing together the choice people from every class and community, would not only tend to increase the strength of the Saivite community but would also heighten the value of their service to humanity at large. To this the man curtly replied that it was not the custom to do so. Again, I argued with him at some length pointing out to him that what he called ‘the custom’ was not really so but the reverse of it was the true one as is evident in the lives of the Saints and Sages who founded and spread the Saiva religion. But unfortunately the man was not amenable to reason, since his false and arrongant notion of the superiority of his caste blinded his whole mental vision. Thereupon I made up my mind to dine rather with the excluded party than with such self – conceited Saivites. And accordingly I did dine with the forbidden brethren. But so much did this action of mine enrage the Saivite brethren that, on the next day, they forbade me entering their dining hall during meal-times. This put me on my mettle and I told them point blank that, as the way to my room lay through their dining – hall, I could not go but through it as usual; and said also that I should not take the meals cooked by their men under their supervision, since i thought the meals prepared in the midst of such inhuman people get themselves contaminated. On that day, the sitting of the Conference was to commence at 3 p.m. with me in the chair; it was nearly 2 p.m., still I had not touched my meals; having seen me persevering in my determination, all the Saivite members, except one or two, had the kindness to come to me and apologize for what the had done and expressed their willingness to treat henceforth the lecturers and other with equality and without minding any caste – distinctions. Of course, there were one or two dissenting elements but these were eliminated from our group. We then sat together, prayed to God for blessing us with that bond of unity, and partook of our meals with one joyous heart. On that third sitting day of the conference, the lectures had been very illuminating and the proceedings were brought to a successful close by my concluding speech which impressed on the minds of the audience the urgent necessity of cutting at the root the evils of caste – distinctions.
Nevertheless, a few mischievous elements with whom caste was everything, while virtue, learning, intelligence. piety, religiousness and such other great qualities count for nothing, could not be silenced either by reasoning or by any regard to social unity, but they bestirred themselves most actively and attacked me in a magazine – article which, with much abusive matter, asserted the superiority of their caste on false and most erroneous grounds. I might have treated it with indifference, for it contained no argument worth contending for, but for the harmful influence it was likely to have on the minds of the unenlightened. I had, therefore, to take up the cudgels on behalf of the down – trodden and in the interest also of the true Saiva community whose progress consisted not in its exclusiveness but in absorbing into it and assimilating with itself persons of higher qualities turned out from lower orders and having an eager expectation to be lifted up from above; and the result was the first edition of this treatise.
The first edition was merely a booklet of 22 pages, which dealt chiefly with the practical aspect of the caste question, while its theoretical part it touched but rather too briefly. How the barriers raised between one caste and another are mere fictitious ones existing only in the imagination of certain class of people in whom it was bred by their own arrogance and ignorance, how a mixture of castes results as a product of natural human needs and takes place both openly and covertly from the very beginning of the human family, and how easily a fusion of the good and cultured people picked up from every caste and community can be effected for the immense benefit of all, were clearly shown in it. That the tenets of Saiva religion do not stand against but lend a free, unstinted, undisguised support to such a whole-some fusion of the select, was also shown by quotations taken direct from the writings of the founders and exponents of tha religion. How useful the booklet proved to those who looked forward with eagerness to such a reform of castes, thought they themselves had not the courage to express the need of it might be seen from the rapid sale the thousan copies of it had in a few months.
Inevitably the book had been long out of print, though demands for it increased day after day. The elaborte research – work unaided I had to do, in order to redeem the literary and religious history of the land from the thick gloom of myth and uncertainty created and cast over it by selfish and selfinterested persons, the constantanduremitting study I pursued of works on ‘New psychology’, stimulated by a strong desire to introduce its subjects into Tamil, left me little leisure to devote to the preparation of its second edition earlier. But, now that I was enabled to undertake the work, years of study and research – work facilitating it for me, I set myself to enlarging the briefly – touched – subject on ‘The origin and growth of the institution of caste,’ since I thought that, for healing its present corruption and infusing new life into it, only a thorough knowledge of its past history could afford a proper and effective remedy. And accordingly the subject has been amplified and treated fully and extensively in the first five chapters of this edition.
In the first chapter, it is shown that the present day castes cannot be identified with those of the past since the callings of the former have undergone so radical a change as is opposed to the ordinances laid down in the Sanscrit Vedas and Dharma Sastras. Modern castes have become hardened into unworkable masses by losing completely their pliancy of meaning and original good quality. When the composition of the first nine mandalas of the Rig Veda took place, the four castes were quite unknown to the Aryans. But, by the time when the tenth was added, the institution of four castes had become almost an established fact. Still it should be borne in mind that this division of the Indian people into four castes was based merely upon division of labour and was introduces as a convenient theoretic classification intended for the purposes of social and economical sciences. Practically there was no any hard and fast rule that one caste shouldnot adopt the profession of another nor should the one mix with another. Many Dravidian kings, merchants and even slaves took part in the composition of the Vedic hymns and followed professions that suited best their taste and capacity.
In the second chapter, the same subject is continued and discussed how, even at the time of the twelve oldest upanishads and the two epics the Mahabharata and the Ramayana when attempts were made by brahmins to make castes hereditary and exalt themselves at the expense of others, only merit and not birth was regarded as constituting a high caste.
In the third chapter are shown how, at the time when a series of Sanscrit works called Dharma Sastras came to be written, the hereditary claims of castes were just beginning to tighten their hold on the people, how the brahmins were attempting to demand exclusive privileges for themselves and devise the cruellest and the most oppressive measures for the labouring classes, how, even then, importance was attached not to birth but to merit, and how the brahmins and others who failed, in the smallest degree, to perform the prescribed duties and functions of their caste lost their caste and became low-born. Here, for the first time, the mischief is pointed out of including the Tamilians in the Sudra or slave caste. The institution of caste-system originated not with the Aryans as is erroneously supposed by oriental scholars, but with the statesmen of the ancient Tamilians themselves who had attained to a high degree of civilisation long before the Aryans entered India.
In the fourth chapter, a critical inquiry of the ‘Tolkappiam’, a very ancient Tamil work which is older then even some portions of the Rig-Veda, is taken up – especially of its sections dealing with the social classifications of the Tamil people. How the Tamil people reached the agricultural stage many centuries before when the Aryans were still in the pastoral stage leading the life of nomads and how the life of an agricultural people necessitated the classification of its men and women into different classes according to their occupations, are clearly proved by the aid of its study. Though this division of the Tamil people was rendered necessary by the conditions of their civilized life, there was no prohibition in any Tamil classics of old of any caste – intermixture. On the other hand there are clear references in them to free intermingling of castes.
In ther fifth chapter in which the later day Saiva and Vaishnava religious literatures are taken up for solving this intricate and difficult problem of caste, are given numerous instances and clear quotations from the lives and writings of the Saints of the two great religious, in proof that it was only Love towards God and his servants and not caste was regarded and respected in them.
In the sixth chapter the whole of the first edition which dealt with the practical aspect of the castequestion is included with necessary alterations.
In the seventh and th concluding chapter, easy and practical means for wiping away caste-distinctions and consolidating the refined elements coming above from every grade of society, are set forth.
Another prominent feature of this edition is its pure Tamils style entirely free from Sanscrit words.
In fine it is my great pleasure to express my thanks and heart-felt gratitude to my esteemed friend Mr. C. Ariya Nayagam, Proctor, at Matale (Ceylon), for the extreme kindness with which he promptly sent me a charitable contribution of Rs 250 towards the printing expenses of the book. Words are inadequate to express sufficiently my deep debt of gratitude to this generous-hearted gentleman for similar contributions which he was making frequently for the past ten years and more towards the printing expenses of my writings. But for his munificent help, I would have been much embarassed in carrying out my literary and religious work successfully. By the grace of God may he live long in all glory!
VEDACHALAM
