ਜਾਤਿ (jaat)
Meaning: noun: Caste, social class, order or status.
Quote:
ਜਾਤਿ ਕਾ ਗਰਬੁ ਨ ਕਰਿ ਮੂਰਖ ਗਵਾਰਾ॥ ਇਸੁ ਗਰਬ ਤੇ ਚਲਹਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਵਿਕਾਰਾ॥
jaat kaa garab na kar moorakh gavaaraa.
is garab te chalahi bahut vikaaraa.
O ignorant fool! Do not be proud of your social class or status. So many evils come from this pride. – Guru Amar Das, Guru Granth Sahib, 1127
Message: You are proud of your caste or social class if you believe you are higher or superior to your fellow beings and look down on them.
Historically, so many tyrannies and persecutions have been perpetrated on native Indians and blacks in the West, and the lower classes in the Indian subcontinent.
Not just in the past but, to a certain extent, even now many people feel so arrogant about their origins, race, and social status that they consider others to be lower or inferior to them.
In the verse above, the Guru does not sanction such social behaviour and strongly advises us not to indulge in pride or egoism on account of our class or race.
One doesn’t become higher just by being born in a ‘higher’ class. Those who practise higher values are the ones who should be looked up to.
It is very unwise to be proud of one’s caste or creed. This arrogance further gives birth to many other social evils, such as inequality, discrimination, hatred and vengeance.
Instead of considering ourselves of a higher and others of a lower class, we should realize that the entire creation has been created from one source and the same basic elements. We are all equal. Be humble.
Etymology: From Sanskrit jaati (birth, position fixed by birth; kind). Comparable to Persian zaad (born), Latin gnatus (born) and English cognate (alike, related).
