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AN ESSAY ON HINDUISM

manical supremacy, which is in fact the least injurious part of the caste system.

But what does all this show? It first of all gives us a strong reason to be optimistic. The abolition of caste is, then, not a superhuman task. "Reformers" of the past failed because their methods had been wrong and because the time had not yet come. Realization of this fact itself should give us ground for hope. Our efforts therefore have great chances for success, provided we do not commit the same old blunders which men from the times of Gautama to those of Ram Mohan Roy have committed. This task would, of course, require huge efforts, a sacrifice on the part of the upper castes, a larger philosophy of brotherhood, and many other kinds of efforts, guided by the help of social sciences yet to be created.

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