My dear Children--The people of India are divided into castes, as they
are called. Their sacred books declare, that after Brumha had peopled
the heavens above and the worlds below, he created the human race,
consisting of four classes or castes. From his mouth proceeded the
Brahmin caste. Those of this class are the highest and noblest beings on
earth, and hold the office of priests. At the same time there flowed
from his mouth the _Vedas_, or sacred books, of which the Brahmins are
the sole teachers To their fellow-men, they were to give such parts of
these books as they thought best. From Brumha's arm proceeded the
military caste. The business of this class is to defend their country
when attacked by enemies. From his breast proceeded the third caste,
consisting of farmers and merchants. From his feet, the member of
inferiority, proceeded the Sudras, or servile caste. Carpenters,
braziers, weavers, dyers, and the manual cultivators of the soil, are
included in this class.
Caste is not a civil, but a sacred institution. You must get some one
older than yourself to explain what this means. Caste is a difference of
_kind_. Hence, a man of one caste can never be changed into a man of
another caste, any more than a lion can be changed into a mole, or a
mole into a lion.
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