Cargando…

Gandhi on Caturvarṇa and Niṣkāma Karma: A Re-interpretation

Gandhi’s writings on the issue of Caturvarṇa, despite their apparent lacunas, dogmatic tones and seeming inconsistencies, are available to a convincing reconstruction. With this purpose in view, the first section of this paper will attempt to give an anti-foundational reading of Caturvarṇa—where var...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Ray Mitra, Enakshi
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer India 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7473828/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40961-020-00219-1
_version_ 1783579243158962176
author Ray Mitra, Enakshi
author_facet Ray Mitra, Enakshi
author_sort Ray Mitra, Enakshi
collection PubMed
description Gandhi’s writings on the issue of Caturvarṇa, despite their apparent lacunas, dogmatic tones and seeming inconsistencies, are available to a convincing reconstruction. With this purpose in view, the first section of this paper will attempt to give an anti-foundational reading of Caturvarṇa—where varṇa is seen to be based neither on the different proportions of the three guṇas (sattva, rajas and tamas), nor on a system of hereditary professions, but as abstract dimensions that are not mutually exclusive—and at best serves to give an orientation to our cognition and actions. This reading, while borrowing heavily from Shri Aurobindo’s reading of Caturvarṇa, will seek to give it a more neutral and expansive direction, shorn of all associated suggestions of intransigence and empirical contingencies, in order to effect the best possible synthesis with Gandhi. The second section of this paper will concentrate on appropriate portions of Gandhi’s commentary on Gῑtā, trying to track down Gandhi’s reservations against any psychological determinism with respect to varṇa. His direct but scattered observations on varṇa and caste will be addressed in the last section—to see how far our neutral reading of Caturvarṇa can be responsibly reconciled with his distinction between varṇa and caste—indicating a way to dissolve the Gandhi-Ambedkar debate on varṇabheda and jātibheda. Overall, this paper attempts a paradigmatic reconstruction of Gandhian Caturvarṇa in the light of his approach to the notion of niṣkāma karma.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7473828
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2020
publisher Springer India
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-74738282020-09-08 Gandhi on Caturvarṇa and Niṣkāma Karma: A Re-interpretation Ray Mitra, Enakshi J. Indian Counc. Philos. Res. Article Gandhi’s writings on the issue of Caturvarṇa, despite their apparent lacunas, dogmatic tones and seeming inconsistencies, are available to a convincing reconstruction. With this purpose in view, the first section of this paper will attempt to give an anti-foundational reading of Caturvarṇa—where varṇa is seen to be based neither on the different proportions of the three guṇas (sattva, rajas and tamas), nor on a system of hereditary professions, but as abstract dimensions that are not mutually exclusive—and at best serves to give an orientation to our cognition and actions. This reading, while borrowing heavily from Shri Aurobindo’s reading of Caturvarṇa, will seek to give it a more neutral and expansive direction, shorn of all associated suggestions of intransigence and empirical contingencies, in order to effect the best possible synthesis with Gandhi. The second section of this paper will concentrate on appropriate portions of Gandhi’s commentary on Gῑtā, trying to track down Gandhi’s reservations against any psychological determinism with respect to varṇa. His direct but scattered observations on varṇa and caste will be addressed in the last section—to see how far our neutral reading of Caturvarṇa can be responsibly reconciled with his distinction between varṇa and caste—indicating a way to dissolve the Gandhi-Ambedkar debate on varṇabheda and jātibheda. Overall, this paper attempts a paradigmatic reconstruction of Gandhian Caturvarṇa in the light of his approach to the notion of niṣkāma karma. Springer India 2020-09-05 2020 /pmc/articles/PMC7473828/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40961-020-00219-1 Text en © ICPR 2020 This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.
spellingShingle Article
Ray Mitra, Enakshi
Gandhi on Caturvarṇa and Niṣkāma Karma: A Re-interpretation
title Gandhi on Caturvarṇa and Niṣkāma Karma: A Re-interpretation
title_full Gandhi on Caturvarṇa and Niṣkāma Karma: A Re-interpretation
title_fullStr Gandhi on Caturvarṇa and Niṣkāma Karma: A Re-interpretation
title_full_unstemmed Gandhi on Caturvarṇa and Niṣkāma Karma: A Re-interpretation
title_short Gandhi on Caturvarṇa and Niṣkāma Karma: A Re-interpretation
title_sort gandhi on caturvarṇa and niṣkāma karma: a re-interpretation
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7473828/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40961-020-00219-1
work_keys_str_mv AT raymitraenakshi gandhioncaturvarnaandniskamakarmaareinterpretation