Caste in India: The Facts and the System c5.28

c5.28

It must be admitted that a long-underlying current of what I have called popular Hinduism, under the direction of the Brahmans, who organized it to some extent and imposed on it the apotheosis of the Veda and of the privileged persons for whom it was reserved, finally took the form, reputed orthodox, of Brahmanic Hinduism. It is from this current that have, I believe, emerged, with a force which compelled the adherence and active help of the Brahmans, the ideas and the gods, the legends and the cults, which constitute the foundation of the system.