Equality, the core of Sanatan Dharma

In the series of articles on Sanatan Dharma, another article on the Gender & Caste Equality is posted.  
 
World Equality & Peace:
The concept of World Equality in Sanatana Dharma is based on the premise that each one and everyone cannot grow unless there is equality and all are treated as one family. When world is treated one family, there will not be exploitation to harm one and gain of other. In this situation, people will not contribute to their best and world will not grow optimally and earn peace.
 
A few verses from Vedic system are as under:

1. अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघु चेतसाम्। उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥

Meaning - For those who have a big heart, the whole earth is a family, and those whose heart is small, they think that it is ours, it is theirs.

1. सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिन: सर्वे सन्तु निरामया:। सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिद् दु:ख भाग्भवेत्॥

Meaning: May everyone in the world be happy, healthy, have good vision and no one suffers.

1. संधिविग्रहयोस्तुल्यायां वृद्धौ संधिमुपेयात्।

Meaning: If there is an equal benefit in peace or war, he (the king) should choose peace.

1. स्वस्तिप्रजाभ्यः परिपालयन्तां न्यायेन मार्गेण महीं महीशाः। गोब्राह्मणेभ्यः शुभमस्तु नित्यं लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु॥

Meaning: May the well-being of all people be protected by the powerful and mighty leaders be with law and justice. May the success be with all divinity and scholars, May all (samastah the worlds (lokaḥ) become (bhavantu) happy (sukhino).​
 
Gender Equality in Vedic System:
Gender equality etc. are the terms evolved in last few hundred years. But in Hindu's ancient literature one can find, we come across the names of many Brahmavadini ladies like Lopamudra, Gargi and Maitreyi who took part in the great discourses and expressed striking knowledge of Supreme Self.
Women during the period of Vedic India was never treated as inferior to male personalities, but was always regarded only as two different forms inherently built in one singular entity. So, in the Vedic age men and women both played equal part in social and cultural life.
Many Ṛigvedic mantras were revealed to women. A virgin daughter inherited paternal property. In the Ṛigvedic period woman had the right to choose her husband. A girl was honoured in her husband's house. Altekar said a girl in the Vedic age was married when she was fully grown up.
It is in Atharvaveda that maiden was eligible to get married if she had proper educational training during her time of Brahmacharya (brahmacharyeṇa kanyanaṃ yuva vindate patiṃ). In the Vedic and post Vedic literature there are many such evidences when young maidens were given equal opportunity of receiving education and studying the different branches of knowledge. It is also described in this literature that there were families of teachers known as Gurukuls where female students used to reside with their Acharyas and received education along with their brother pupils.
 
The Vedic ladies were much respected in the society and this respect attained to such a height that they were personified with veneration as goddess Saraswati, the symbol of ultimate knowledge and also were named after other goddesses like 'Kāli', 'Lakshmi' representing the wealth and Shakti respectively.
 
In had been found in the Ṛigveda that both husband and wife together were performing and reciting sacrificial ceremony (ya dampati samanasa sunuta a ca dhavataḥ/devaso nityayasira'').
 
Brahmaṇa girls were taught Vedic lore and kshatriya girls were taught the use of the bow and arrow (parivṛkteva patividyamanaṭ pipyana kṛcakreṇeva sincan / eṣaiṣya cidrathya jayema sumangalaṃ sinavadastu satam//'').
 
There were many educated ladies who had chosen teaching as a profession. Sanskrit language coined a special word to distinguish between the lady teacher and the wife of a teacher.
 
This is evident from several mantras mentioned here: -

1. यत्र नार्यस्तु पूज्यंते रमंते तत्र देवताः। यत्र तास्तु न पूज्यंते तत्र सर्वाफलक्रियाः ॥

Meaning – Where women are worshipped, the gods reside there and where women are not worshipped; it is futile to do all the work.

1. कुसुम-सधर्माणि हि योषितः सुकुमार-उपक्रमाः। ताः तु अनधिगत-विश्वासैः प्रसभम् उपक्रम्यमाणाः संप्रयाग-द्वेषिण्यः भवन्ति। तस्मात् साम्ना एव उपचरेत्॥

Meaning: Women are like flowers; they should be treated very tenderly. No action should be forced unless full faith is instilled in the wife’s heart towards the husband.​

1. राष्ट्रस्य श्व: नारी अस्ति. नारी राष्ट्रस्य अक्शि अस्ति. नारी माता अस्ति नारी कन्या अस्ति नारी भगिनी अस्ति. नारी अस्य समाजस्य कुशलवास्तुकारा अस्ति.

Meaning: woman is our tomorrow. woman is the eye of the nation. woman is mother woman is daughter woman is sister woman is everything. woman is the perfect architect of the society.

1. चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागश: | तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम् ||

Meaning: BG 4.13: The four categories of occupations were created by Me according to people’s qualities and activities. Although I am the Creator of this system, know Me to be the Non-doer and Eternal.

1. ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च परन्तप | कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि स्वभावप्रभवैर्गुणै: ||

Meaning: BG 18.41: The duties of the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras—are distributed according to their qualities, in accordance with their qualities (and not by birth).

1. मां हि पार्थ व्यपाश्रित्य येऽपि स्युः पापयोनयः । स्त्रियो वैश्यास्तथा शूद्रास्तेऽपि यान्ति परां गतिम् ॥

Meaning: BG 9-32: For those who take refuge in Me. 0 Partha (Arjuna), though they are lowly born, women, Vaisyas, as well as Sudras, they also attain to the highest goal.

1. इति क्षेत्रं तथा ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं चोक्तं समासतः । मद्भक्त एतद्विज्ञाय मद्भावायोपपद्यते ॥

Meaning: BG-13-19: Know you that prakriti (nature) and purusha (soul) are both beginningless; and know also that the forms and modes are born of prakriti (nature).

1. प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि । विकारांश्च गुणांश्चैव विद्धि प्रकृतिसम्भवान् ॥

Meaning: BG – 13-20: Nature is said to be the cause of effect, instrument and agent (ness) and the soul is said to be the cause, in regard to the experience of pleasure and pain.

1. शोचन्ति जामयो यत्र विनश्यत्याशु तत्कुलम् | यत्रैतास्तु न शोचन्ति ह्मप्रासीदन्ति) वर्धते तद्धि सर्वदा ||

 
Meaning: The family in which women folks (such as mother, wife, sister, daughter etc.) are full of sorrow that family meets its destruction very soon; while the family in which they have not to grieve is always prosperous.
 
Caste Equality:
In today’s society, there broad classification as teacher, professor, industrialist, merchants, traders, service class, army man etc. likewise, in ancient India the society was divided into four principal varnas (castes), namely Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra, according to the avocation.
Many of India's major empires and dynasties like the Mauryas, Shalivahanas, Chalukyas, Kakatiyas among many others, were founded by people who would have been classified as Shudras, under the Varnas system.
An article by Padmanabh Samarendra published in Economic & Political Weekly dated 13th August, 2011 mentioned that between 1860 and 1920, “the British incorporated the Indian caste system and listed the castes. The birth of caste is directly linked with the census operations in colonial India. The purpose of the census was to count the population and classify it under different heads – age, sex, religion, caste, occupation, etc. The introduction of caste in census was accompanied with serious problems of identification and classification. The enumerators discovered during the surveys that society was not patterned according to the fourfold varna division comprising brahmin, kshatriya, Vaishya and shudra. Instead in their localities they encountered jatis – communities with unfamiliar names, uneven status and unalike characteristics.”
 The most revered Hindu scripture, in Shrimad Bhagavad Gita (BG, chapter 15, verse 1 & 2 of Purushottam Yoga), Shree Krishna advised that all human beings are created formerly by Brahma. Hence, there is no distinction of Varnas. This whole universe is Brahman. The Shrimad Bhagavad Gita thereafter recites a behavioural model for Varna based on attributes (gunas) of the persons. These attributes arise from Prakriti (Nature). Prakriti is the conceiving Mother, of which, three gunas viz. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are arise and tie down the imperishable soul to the body (chapter 14, verse 5). There is no entity on earth, or again in heaven among the Devas, that is devoid of these three Gunas, born of Prakriti. The pre-dominance of the particular gunas say sattvika are to be of category Brahmanas irrespective of birth. The work or duties should be adopted according to in-born Gunas of the persons and the categories of work are described as Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras.
BG -15.1 & 15.2 - ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् । छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥ १५-१॥ अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः । अधश्च मूलान्यनुसन्ततानि कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके ॥
​Shudra is the name of a Caste considered of equal nature as any other caste. According to the Svacchanda-tantra (verse 4.539c-545) - all those who have been initiated by this ritual are of equal nature, whether they be Brahmins, Kṣatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, or others. They have been brought into a state of fusion with the nature of Shiva.