I saw on one example that Mantras acquired without permission are not useful. But then, who can acquire Mantras via Deeksha? I wondered if Shoodras were permitted.
Cases from Shruthi
todo Copy from Shoodras who learned Vedas.
Initiation of Satyakaama Jaabaala
The 4th Prapaathaka (Chapter) of Chaandogya Upanishad deals with a boy named Satyakaama Jaabaala, who is of unknown lineage since his mother was a prostitute, but was accepted as a Braahmana based on his honesty.
Objections and my Dismissals
Now some people do interpret this to mean that the Guru realized that he was born to a Braahmana. But his mother was a Kshoodra, and the son of a Kshoodra and a Braahmana is a Chandaala as per the Dharma Shaasthras.
And secondly, the same people point out that this is how Parashuraama found Karna to be a Kshathriya. But then, seeing one’s qualities does not imply that it should come only through the “bloodline.” This is an ancient mistake, which is disproven by current social awareness.
Special Objection: Brahma Soothras
The Brahma Soothras have a section dealing with the possibility of initiation of Shoodras
Brahma Soothras, Adhyaaya I, Pada 3, Adhikarana 9 (Soothras 34-38):
शुगस्य तदनादरश्रवणात्तदाद्रवणात्सूच्यते हि ॥ ३४॥
क्षत्रियत्वागतेश्चोत्तरत्र चैत्ररथेन लिङ्गात् ॥ ३५॥
संस्कारपरामर्शात्तदभावाभिलापाच्च ॥ ३६॥
तदभावनिर्धारणे च प्रवृत्तेः ॥ ३७॥
श्रवणाध्ययनार्थप्रतिषेधात् स्मृतेश्च ॥ ३८॥
The original story referred in the Soothras is in Chaandogya Upanishad IV.4.3-5.
Chaandogya Upanishad, IV.4.3-5
sa ha hāridrumataṃ gautamametyovāca brahmacaryaṃ bhagavati vatsyāmyupeyāṃ bhagavantamiti || 4.4.3 ||
taṃ hovāca kiṃgotro nu somyāsīti sa hovāca nāhametadveda bho yadgotro’hamasmyapṛcchaṃ mātaraṃ sā mā pratyabravīdbahvahaṃ carantī paricariṇī yauvane tvāmalabhe sāhametanna veda yadgotrastvamasi jabālā tu nāmāhamasmi satyakāmo nāma tvamasīti so’haṃ satyakāmo jābālo’smi bho iti || 4.4.4 ||
taṃ hovāca naitadabrāhmaṇo vivaktumarhati samidhaṃ somyāharopa tvā neṣye na satyādagā iti tamupanīya kṛśānāmabalānāṃ catuḥśatā gā nirākṛtyovācemāḥ somyānusaṃvrajeti tā abhiprasthāpayannuvāca nāsahasreṇāvarteyeti sa ha varṣagaṇaṃ provāsa tā yadā sahasraṃ sampeduḥ || 4.4.5 || || iti caturthaḥ khaṇḍaḥ ||
Translation:
Satyakāma went to Gautama, the son of Haridrumata, and said: ‘Revered sir, I wish to live with you as a celibate. I have come, revered sir, to be your disciple’.
Gautama asked him, ‘O Somya, what is your lineage?’ Satyakāma said: ‘Sir, I do not know what my lineage is. When I asked my mother, she said to me: “I was very busy serving many people when I was young, and I had you. As this was the situation, I know nothing about your lineage. My name is Jabālā, and your name is Satyakāma.” So, sir, I am Satyakāma Jābāla’.
Gautama said to him: ‘No non-brāhmin could speak like this. [Therefore, you must be a brāhmin.] O Somya, go and get me some fuel [for the sacrificial fire]. I will initiate you [as a brāhmin by presenting you with the sacred thread], as you have not deviated from truth.’ After the initiation, he selected four hundred feeble and famished cows. Addressing Satyakāma, Gautama said, ‘O Somya, take these cows away [and look after them].’ As Satyakāma was taking them away, he said, ‘I will not come back until there are a thousand of them.’ He lived away for many years until they had become a thousand.
Swaami Vivekaananda also criticized Shankara Aachaarya for enforcing caste. Since it’s lengthy, I moved it to a separate note, here.
General Case
More criticism (long): https://muktipadablog.wordpress.com/2015/12/10/vedic-study-is-open-for-all/ Also (medium): https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/43845/40901
Also, what about adopted children? Adopted children in are treated as of the same Varna, for example, how Seetha was adopted by Janaka.
My General Argument
The assumption on which this system lies is that a Shoodra-to-be would only be born in a Shoodra family, and that a Braahmana-to-be would only be born in a Braahmana family. That is, since one’s mental state is based on their Gunas as shaped by their past Karma (actions), the assumption made is that someone with a specific Guna will only be born to parents who have those Gunas.
However, this is not true, since if we simply take any quality that’s empirically verifiable, we see that parentage does not always correlate to one’s inclinations. For example, a carpenter’s son may be a musician.
Then, the caste system which was from the onset an extra addition to what should’ve just been explainable by the Gunas, and is immediately removed by the Occam’s Razor principle, was only kept to ensure the social hierarchy. Some people justify this by saying that this is the only stable system they can think of. I say that it is their lack of imagination, which is exactly the reason why they as a society developed a reliance on an educated caste.