The meeting concluded as Mangala, the supervisor and project coordinator of Bhoruka Charities, thanked the participants. As
Mahadeva Swamy, her assistant, rose to distribute tea and biscuits, a group of women excused themselves and left, without
having any refreshments.

The women, who were either Vokkaligas, Lingayats, Kurubas or Gollas, considered themselves too
“superior” to accept food or drinks offered by Swamy, who belonged to a Scheduled Caste.

The people of Madapura, a village in the T.Narsipur taluk near Mysore in the Karnataka State of India, are no different from
their counterparts elsewhere in the country. People don’t wear the castes on their sleeves; yet it’s there on everybody’s
mind all the time.

The departure of the upper class women set the stage rolling for some lively discussion on the discrimination of people based on caste.

“If we distribute the food packets, they will not accept. That’s why madam (Mangala) normally asks somebody from the upper caste to distribute them,” Kantamani laughed derisively, “then they accept and it does not occur to them that some of us might have prepared them.”

Even the government schools in the villages did not practise equality. For the government-sponsored midday meals, only cooks belonging to the upper caste are employed. “My son has grown big. He now refuses to eat in school, since they seat the students in different rows based on their castes,” complained Lakshmi.

Parvati said if she had to hand over something to those from the upper caste, she had to keep it on the ground. They had to
stand at a safe distance while talking to them. If she collected water from the bore well first, the upper castes cleaned the ‘defiled’ place with cow dung, before proceeding to draw water. “The water comes from the same earth. How does it
matter?” she queried defiantly. Mangala consoled, “They are the ignorant class. Not you.”

“If we ever asked water, they won’t give it in a glass. We will be asked to cup our hands and they will pour water into it,” Lakshmi said.

“When we travel in buses, they may be forced to sit next to us. Sometimes they remain standing to avoid sitting near us. If
they unknowingly sit close to us, some of them go home and take a bath,” Puttalakshmi said, “that’s why we never reveal our
castes, if a stranger asks us.”

“We can go to the temple, but not inside the sanctum sanctorum like them,” Puttalakshmi continued, “People from other
villages can enter inside even if they belong to Scheduled Caste, as nobody knows who they are.”

I suggest she too should be bold and enter, but Puttalaksmi says the temple authorities threatened them with fines. People
from other villages did not perhaps know their customs; but she did, so she should not breach the rules purposefully, the priests would reason.

Santamma, quiet all along, said thoughtfully,”It’s all our karma. If we started breaking rules, however small, we will end up in a group clash. Except shedding some blood, what use will it bring?”

Her fear was justified. Vokkaligas or Lingayats were generally landowners and possessed too menacing a political clout for the scheduled caste labourer they employed to protest.

There is another reason why they don’t protest. They don’t see anything wrong with it, except when affronted. They believe
that each caste has its own ‘shastra‘ or code of conduct and upper caste people are just following their ‘shastra‘. They also believe that their present station in life is dictated by deeds done in their previous birth.

One of the interesting comments came from Puttalakshmi who said she would not consider sitting with a woman from Jadumali
or Madiga, the caste to which the scavengers belonged. She belonged to a higher caste and would never associate with them. In fact the half-a-dozen self-help groups in the room did not have a single member of these ‘outcastes’. Mangala said the ‘untouchables’ formed their own groups.

The groups had never discussed caste discriminations earlier. Mangala, who had been apprehensive that her job as a project
coordinator should not come under a cloud for “inciting” clash, reminded the group they should “wipe out” from their mind
whatever had been discussed in the meeting.

Unless social reforms keep pace with the legal provisions, caste discriminations will continue to live. The media does not
care, unless a sensational story captures its attention. Even social welfare organizations wink at it; for who wants to tilt
a carefully stacked apple cart?

The biases that go back to at least 3,000 years cannot be wiped easily. Especially when it is sanctified by religion, glorified by tradition, and stoked by politicians to get votes.

Uma Shankari is a Bangalore-based freelance journalist, passionate about developmental issues.

There are some people who actually think they never sin. But this is not true. The idea that one does not sin is absolutely ridiculous. Even if a person were locked up in a closet unable to get out and go anywhere, he would be sinning with his thoughts! The person who thinks he does not sin would also believe then that he doesn’t have to pray, confess and repent either.

Still, there are others who continue practicing the same sin over and over and because they confess that sin over and over they think they are Christ Ones and are going to heaven. But this is not true either.

What is true is that some of us sin more than others and some of us cannot stop sinning, while others may go days without sinning. Sometimes we sin and we don’t even know that we have sinned! We are all sinners.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” 1 John 1:8-10

The death of Jesus Christ doesn’t mean much to those who think they are without sin or for those who do not believe that Christ suffered and died for their sins. The false teachers of Jesus’ day were like this, they believed they were perfect. They denied that sin breaks fellowship with God. They also denied they ever sinned. But all people sin by nature and habit.

Here is a great an awesome truth about sin. When we become a NEW person in Christ by believing, confessing and repenting, all our sins will be forgiven, that includes sins of the past, present and even future sins. Because of Christ’s death even future sins are forgiven! Did you know this? Wow!

But John says that if we continue in “a” certain sin, we cannot claim to be a part of God and if we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves and are in great denial to the truth! God knows our heart so we cannot continue in our sin and still believe we are a part of God’s family.

Even after we become NEW people in Christ (Christ Ones) we still sin once in a while and we still need to confess those sins. But a NEW person who is in Jesus Christ and who has a change of heart is not a “slave to sin”. There is a difference.

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You USED to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the NEW SELF, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Colossians 3:5-10

Sometimes confessing our sins to God or to others takes humbleness and honesty on our part. We simply need to recognize our weaknesses in life and work on those areas we are the weakest in. We should never fear revealing our sins to God. When we pray to God about our sins we can do it silently in our heart, we do not have to speak out loud in front of others to be forgiven by God –He hears our heart!

The difference between a sinner who is a slave to sin and the person who sins on accident is simply this: to err is to be human, but to continue in that err is to be a slave to it. We become a slave to what has mastered us. If we cannot come out from a sin its effects are controlling us. If we are under sin we are to confess, repent, and ask for God’s forgiveness. But the person who stays in their sin is NOT a NEW person in Christ but still in bondage to that particular sin.

We should never fear telling God about our sin(s) because he already knows what we have done, good and bad. He will not push us away no matter what it is we have done. When we confess our sins to God it will ease our consciences and lighten our worries and cares.

Some New people In Jesus Christ (Christ Ones) believe the reason for confession of sins is for God’s forgiveness. This is only partially true. What would happen if we suddenly got hit by a car and died without confessing our sins to God? Would we be condemned to hell? I don’t think so. It doesn’t work like that.

When we become NEW people in Christ, he forgives us of all the sins we have ever committed and even new sins too! We don’t need to keep confessing the sins of our past either. We also do not have to fear that God will reject us if we mark our clean slate once in a while.

The New person is not a slave to sin anymore because they do not seek sin out for the purpose of its outcome. Still, we should continue to confess our sins, not because failure to do so will alter our salvation but so we can enjoy the most from our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The New person is now a slave to Jesus Christ and his righteousness.

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey – whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness”. Romans 6:15-18

True confession involves a commitment not to continue in sin. We certainly would not be genuinely confessing our sins if we intended on committing those same sins again, would we?

Bottom line is every person has a master – either God or sin. A Christ One is not someone who cannot sin, but someone who is no longer a slave to sin because he or she belongs to God (Jesus Christ). They are dead to sin, alive in Jesus Christ.

Who is your master? …For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 2 Peter 2:19

Angie Lewis offers spiritual enlightenment tips for couples in marriage, and is the author of new release book JOURNEY ON THE ROADS LESS TRAVELED.
This unique book is about love, life, marriage, addiction, temptation, and understanding the power of spiritual awareness for your marriage. In her book, Angie reveals her own journey of overcoming addiction and battling with her negative emotions that she allowed to embrace her life and marriage.

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Angie Lewis counsels couples and writes a monthly newsletter where she reveals her secrets on how YOU can stay happily married for life! Subscribe to get your FREE monthly newsletter so you can stay happily and forever married!
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