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Here are the links to the short stories. Copy and Paste
http://www.shortstoryteller.com/BrahmanaBoyandDalitGirl.html	http://www.shortstoryteller.com/IndianPythonandtheBoy.html
http://www.shortstoryteller.com/CalufaTheWarDog.html	http://www.shortstoryteller.com/PolyandrousMathanam.html
http://www.shortstoryteller.com/SadhuAndHisPeregrinations.pdf	http://www.shortstoryteller.com/SeerKing.html
http://www.shortstoryteller.com/TheKingAndTheCow.html	http://www.shortstoryteller.com/EggDiamonds.html
http://www.shortstoryteller.com/LecherKing.html	http://www.shortstoryteller.com/BangleSalesman.html
http://www.shortstoryteller.com/ThreeDaughters.html	http://www.shortstoryteller.com/MargaraTheCat.pdf
http://www.shortstoryteller.com/FourBrothers.html	http://www.shortstoryteller.com/DemolitionDerbyDebates.html
http://www.shortstoryteller.com/SankaraAndMaleChauvinism.html	http://www.shortstoryteller.com/SadhuAndHisPeregrinations.pdf
http://www.shortstoryteller.com/TwoFriends.html	http://www.shortstoryteller.com/TheKingandHisKleptomania.html

 

Click the link below: castes_asramas_all.pdf by Woodroffe

Caste and Color

Varna – The Color and the Veil

 

September 17, 2013. The Principal Upaniṣads. Dr. Radhakrishnan Page 51. The Upaniṣad seers are not bound by the rules of caste, but extend the law of spiritual universalism to the utmost bounds of human existence. The story of Satyakāma Jābāla, who, though unable to give his father's name, was yet initiated into spiritual life, shows that the Upaniṣad writers appeal from the rigid ordinances of custom to those divine and spiritual laws which are not of today or of yesterday, but live for ever and of their origin knoweth no man. The words tat tvam asi are so familiar that they slide off our minds without full comprehension.

 

There are skeptics who feel that some of the passages were interpolations in the Sacred Texts. Here is an example of the author who shows his prejudice against Sudras. Maitri Upanisad. page 855 The Principal Upanisads. translation and comment by Dr. Radhakrishnan. December 9, 2013. VII.8. Now then, the hindrances to knowledge, O King. This is indeed the source of the net of delusion, the association of one who is worthy of heaven with those who are not worthy of heaven, that is it. Though it is said that there is a grove before them they cling to a low shrub. Now there are some who are always hilarious, always abroad, always begging, always making a living by handicraft. And others there are who are beggars in town, who perform sacrifices, for the unworthy, who are the disciples of Śūdras and who, though Śūdras, are learned in the scriptures. And others there are who are wicked, who wear their hair in a twisted knot, who are dancers, who are mer­cenaries, travelling mendicants, actors, those who have been degraded in the King's service. And others there are who, for money, profess that they can allay (the evil influences) of Yakṣas (sprites), Rākṣasas (ogres), ghosts, goblins, devils, ser­pents, imps and the like. And others there are who, under false pretexts, wear the red robe, earrings, and skulls. And others there are who love to distract the believers in the Veda by the jugglery of false arguments, comparisons, and paralogisms, with these one should not associate. These creatures, evidently, are thieves and unworthy of heaven. For thus has it been said: The world bewildered by doctrines that deny the self, by false Comparisons and proofs does not discern the difference between wisdom and knowledge.

Jñānopasargaḥ: hindrances to knowledge Jñānotpatti-vigātakā hetavaḥ

vṛthā = falsely, mthyā

veda-Vidyā = wisdom and knowledge, vedāvidyā = knowledge and ignorance

The caste prejudice comes out here with reference to the Śūdras. (comment by Dr. Radhakrishnan.)

Here is what Ramakrishnaparamahamsa says about accretions in sacred texts.  Accretion = an added part; addition: The last part of the legend is a later accretion.   January 19, 2014 321. Those who take fish do not want the useless head and tail of the fish, but only the soft middle portion of it; so the ancient rules and commandments of our scriptures must be pruned of all their accretions to make them suit modern times.  Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna.

 

 

thehindu.com April 29, 2015 Naveen Naik, a 13-year-old tribal boy from Narsapur tanda in Marpalli mandal of Ranga Reddy district, is all to set don the role of a priest forcing his way into domain largely held by the upper castes. He is the only student from the tribal community who has been studying in the Sri Dattagiri Maharaj Vedic Pathashala located in Bardipur Ashram. The Vedic Pathashala has been offering Archaka, Vara and Pravara courses which includes even teaching Jyotishya. Naveen is rated as one of the bright students in his way with his immaculate skills in chanting and reciting “Ganapati Pooja, Shanti Mantralu and Shodhashopachara pooja”, which are traditionally practised by wards of Brahmin community. In the next few years he would come out successfully as a priest who can help people in performing their religious rituals. Currently as many as 60 students are studying and the school is offering admissions for the next academic year for 30 students. Last date for submission of applications was April 30 and interviews would be held on May 4.

 

 

July 31, 2013 There are castes in animal kingdom: Honeybees, Leafcutter Ants... Leafcutter ants are in Agribusiness. They live on fungus. The colony has ants in millions. They cut leaves, flowers and grasses, and take them to the underground lairs. The fungus grows on the leaves and is fed to the ant larvae. The fungus and ants need each other to live: Obligatory mutualism. Leafcutter colony is a busy place. The ants have four castes: Minims, Minors, Mediae, and Majors. Obligatory Mutualism among castes is the soulful cry of the supporters of Varna Dharma. The Brahmana teaches his pupils Vedas in oral-aural tradition. The Ksatriya fights the enemies and rules. The Vaisya is the trader in the society. The Sudra does the menial work that needs very little brain, though he may be endowed with an IQ of 200.  The Indian Government after independence put an end to the Maharajas. Having used and enriched their cerebral mantle over millennia and having lost interest in Vedic adhyayana (Study, Reciting, learning) and adhyāpana (Teaching), the Brahmanas moved from the Sacred to the secular and the sacrilegious practices.  Brahmana  minus (Adhyayana + adhyāpana) = Brahmin (= Brahmana-Bandhu = Adjunct or Associate Status). அத்தியாயனம் attiyāyaṉam. svādhyāya or adhyayana. Study & Reciting the Vēdas. அத்தியாபனம் attiyāpaṉam. adhyāpana. Teaching the Vēda.  svādhyāya = is the study of the scriptures dealing with liberation or repetition of the pranava. (Dr. Radhakrishnan)  Sacrilegious is not having direct relationship to religious practices. --Random House Dictionary. A Brahman's (Brahmana) six duties as enjoined by Manu (X. 75) are different. They are— 1. repeating the Veda, 2. teaching it, 3. sacrificing, 4. conducting sacrifices for others, 5. giving, 6. receiving gifts.-- Monier Monier-Williams Brahmanism and Hinduism Taittiriya Upanisad page 537 The Principal Upanisads. Dr. Radhakrishnan. December 10, 2013 11.1. Having taught the Veda, the teacher instructs the pupil. Speak the truth.' Practice Virtue. Let there be no neglect of your (daily) reading. Having brought to the teacher the wealth that is pleasing (to him), do not cut off the thread of the offspring. Let there be no neglect of truth. Let there be no neglect of virtue. Let there be no neglect of welfare. Let there be no neglect of prosperity. Let there be no neglect of study and teaching. Let there be no neglect of the duties to the gods and the fathers. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- page 196.  The Principal Upanisads Brhad aranyaka upanisad. Dr. Radhakrishnan. Just as a donkey bearing the weight of sandal-wood knows its weight but not its fragrance, so also is a Brāhmaṇa who knows the texts of the Vedas and scriptures but not their significance. The Brahmins do not always exhibit the spirit of noblesse oblige to all people, who, they consider, were born in other castes due their so-called karmic loads. Claiming to be high on the totem pole of caste hierarchy and not truly being there in the said spirit are the reality of a segment of Brahmin caste. The true Brahmanas, as they come from all castes, are an exception and exhibit the said spirit to all beings, human or otherwise. A Brahmin comes from one caste, but Brahmanas come from all castes and even the Tribals. Brahmanahood is sacred and unique, while Brahminhood is ubiquitous. A Brahmana is well-versed in sacred texts, universal in his or her outlook and a god-realized person. Rituals and rites mark the present day Brahmins. There are more intellectuals among the Brahmins because of their dedication to education and immersion in the culture. The society will be that much poorer, if not for the likes of Dr. Radhakrishnan. These stalwarts may not be God-realized persons of the Brahmana genre but superior Brahmins, whom everybody reveres. There are many intellectuals in Non-brahmin castes, equal and exceeding the achievements of the Brahmins. -Krishnaraj  December 28, 2013 This movement away from the original intent reduced them from the state of sacred Brahmanahood to sacrilegious Brahminhood. They were sacred because they emerged from the mouth of God. Because of their educational background and a tradition of accommodation, the British and the Brahmins found each other. They went in droves to take all the privileged and plum positions, where one's cerebral mantle made a difference. New Universities embracing the western secular education started sprouting on the landscape. They abandoned the Agraharas and Vedic Patasalas, received education in modern universities, went far and wide to do the bidding of the new masters and made a name for themselves. Their Varna Dharma as declared by Manu suffered irretrievably. Their sense of service to fellow citizens did not keep with their rise in power and prestige. They, with certain exceptions, did not uplift the fellow human beings. It took Indian independence and laws to take the lower classes up on the economic, social and educational ladder. I was the second doctor in my caste in the 1950s and the first one to go abroad in the early 1960s. Now there are many more engineers and doctors. Everyone of my caste members has someone near and dear abroad for higher learning... It is not that they became more intelligent to cope with higher education. They did not have equal opportunity in the past, or simply they did not care and were happy owning lands and raising crops. They were happy marching in place. They were probably Manu's minions. They were for many Yugas content to be land-owning class. Now they are restless as the nation is. They want to take on and tackle new challenges. That is human nature totally against the dictates of Varna Dharma, which advocates division, compartmentalization, segregation, stratification, stagnation...;  the end result is stultification of the mind, which serves the rise of higher castes and stagnation of the lower castes.  The main purpose and thrust of the caste divisions are to keep people in intellectual, mental, attitudinal, social and economic stagnation. Some Sudras and others because of the native brain power moved from mere weaving (Valluvar = திருவள்ளுவர் of Tirukkural) or Nathaswaram playing (கம்பன் = Kamban of Kamba Ramayanam, of the Occhan caste = ஒச்சன்) to the ivory towers of erudition, scholarship...and made Tamil Nadu shine from its hoary past to the glorious present. Nammazvar was a sudra Vishnava saint. Swami Vivekananda (a Kayestha, lower than a Brahmin) says that many of the sacred texts came out of the mouths and styluses of kings, who were one step below the True Brahmanas. The very emergence of Brahmana from the mouth of the God is for the sole purpose of adhyayana and adhyāpana.  The great Brahmana Vaishnava Ramanuja learnt Sri Vaishnava Mantra and its explication from a mere Sudra, who according to the Laws of Manu and Varna Dharma should have been tending Ramanuja's cow. Instead Ramanuja expressed and enjoyed the milk of wisdom from the Sudra. Still the caste business is holding its own, though there are early signs of slow death in the cities. There are entrenched stalwarts holding the fort against any seize. What is regrettable is that Sudras and Vaisyas with their many sub-castes discriminate, kill and maim the Dalits and the Tribals. Then the Sudras and the other higher castes have no right to blame others, when they do not keep their house clean. Overt virulence and violence are not the stock-in-trade for the true Brahmana. Other castes have exhibited this ugly side. The old and venerable Varna Dharma divided the society into four Varnas. Did they look at the bees or the leafcutter ants and pick up the clues from nature? Division of labor among insects serves as the paradigm for the founders, the flaunters and the followers of Varna Dharma. Minims are the tiniest and the lowest among all castes in the leafcutter colony and run the nursery. They tend to the brood and the fungus gardens. When you saunter on the sidewalks of Park Ave New York, you will see neat strollers glide by you with lily-white babies and attended and pushed by minority-babysitters with earthy skin tones from all over the world. They are glad to have the jobs, but if you give them equal opportunity, they will shine as their employers do. Minors are large in numbers and bigger than Minims. They provide the first line of defense and attack the intruders, enemies and fungus foragers.　 Have you noticed the burly and brusque doorman (sometimes lean and mean) at the entrance to the famous hotels and high-rise apartment buildings? We see his obsequious bows to the rich, the famous, the high and the mighty and disdainful treatment of "the uncouth, the unwashed, the slovenly and the stragglers." Sometimes the doorman looks more impressive than his employers or owners. He finds the need to be stern with the stragglers, mean to the undesirables and obsequious to the apartment owners or hotel guests.　He is a Ph.D in street psychology, a degree obtained in the University of Sidewalks. He should be offered a visiting professorship in Street Psychology 101 in the university. Have you seen the colonic deposits and the meandering streams (from the cistern) in the sidewalk of high-risers? It is the work of "the uncouth and the slovenly" in an act of getting even with the doorman, who did not let him use the bathroom. Have you heard of the doorman who gave CPR until the ambulance came? Yes, he saved that life. Mediae are the leafcutters bringing the leaves to the nest. These are the hard workers. Have you taken notice of the hard-working commuting office workers on the city bus or subway cars? They bring the bread home as uncomplaining leafcutters bring the leaves home. Do the office workers complain? Yes, they do. About working conditions, living wages, low pay, rising prices... They have more brains than the leafcutter ants. They want to move up from their social class. They aspire to climb the social and economic ladder. They want their children to do better than they do. They do not want to be stuck in the mire of near-poverty or lack of higher education. They are poor and working, and paying taxes. Majors have the biggest bodies among the leafcutters, serve as soldiers, keep the trails clear for the Mediae and help carry bigger items to the nest. Talk about the big, the burly and the bad (the good)... Consider this: Who gives $10.00 to the doorman to carry stuff from the sidewalk to the elevator door? I like that job, but no one would hire me because I am neither big, nor burly nor comely but more Woody Allen-esque. Take a Major, it is written in its genome (DNA) that it does work for food without ever questioning or aspiring for higher social status. (This is the battle cry of the Varna Dharma proponents to keep the divisions or stratifications intact, functioning and stultifying so they can stay at the top of the heap. But we are not ants; we are people with social mobility written in our genome.) The males and females emerge from the nest on their wings hoping for nuptial flights. A single polyandrous flying female ant will mate in the air with as many males as possible in a marathon orgiastic love fest until her sac has 300 million sperm she has to have to establish a colony of her own. Many fail. She carries the seed fungus in her mouth to start the agribusiness for her young ones. An aspirant could carry on his or her orgiastic fantasies in the air in his or her own jetliner while he or she is flying over the Atlantic ocean. In this ant colony, the castes do not fight with each other. They have the robotic brains; they do what they are programmed to do. People do not have engineered brains and so want social mobility upwards. This is totally against the Varna Dharma. The respective castes do the assigned jobs and stay content and happy. That is what Varna Dharma die-hards say about maintaining castes. The Minim ants tend the babies born to the queen, maintain the fungus gardens, and remove the debris and the dead without one wisp of a complaint. This caste system is all right for ants with ant brains. Men and women have more sophisticated brains. They can go from their natal caste to the next up and down the caste hierarchy based upon their brain power or lack thereof. You cannot keep the Brainy down too long, though he is the lowly Minima (a Sudra, a Dalit or a Tribal). One could have been born a Major. If he cannot do the job of the Major, he has to be happy with what he can do as Minima. It may be less prestigious but goes with his ability and aptitude.

 

August 19, 2013  A Brahmin marries an orphan. On Monday Aug 19, 2013, an educated Shivalli Brahmin boy from Hornad married an orphan brought up in a government shelter without bothering about her lineage, horoscope, caste or gotra and without seeking the counsel of a priest. In a simple religious ceremony organised by the Department of Women and Child Development, Roopa, who entered the government orphanage as a six year old, was united with B.P. Satish, who was raised in a highly traditional Shivalli Brahmin family. “There hasn’t been a single inter-caste marriage in my family for centuries. I changed all that,” beamed Satish who works in a college at Sringeri. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/when-push-comes-to-shove-caste-gives-way/article5039274.ece?homepage=true ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is a story unrelated to the above real-life event. http://www.storywallaby.com/BrahmanaBoyandDalitGirl.html

 

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Swami Vivekananda on caste Today is his 150th Anniversary--January 12th. January 12, 2013 I do not propose any levelling of castes. Caste is a very good thing. Caste is the plan we want to follow. What caste really is, not one in a million understands. There is no country in the world without caste. In India, from caste we reach to the point where there is no caste. Caste is based throughout on that principle. The plan in India is to make everybody Brahmana, the Brahmana being the ideal of humanity. If you read the history of India you will find that attempts have always been made to raise the lower classes. Many are the classes that have been raised. Many more will follow till the whole will become Brahmana. That is the plan. We have only to raise them without bringing down anybody. And this has mostly to be done by the Brahmanas themselves... http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/raise-the-masses-slowly-up-raise-them-to-equality/article4299189.ece?homepage=true ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Swami Vivekananda was born a Kayastha. Kāya(m) [= காயம்] in Tamil and Sanskrit (काय) means body. Kāyastha means Writer. Swami comes from the family of writers, they who write for the illiterates. It was a common sight during my schooldays in 1940s in towns that a battery of typists with typewriters in bazaars and near post offices  write letters for the illiterates. Brahmins claim they were born from the mouth of Prajapathi. Since Kayasthas are born from the body of Prajapathi, they do not claim origin from the mouth of Prajapathi. Brahmins look down upon Kayasthas. Born a Kayastha and becoming a Tapasvin or Monk, Swami Vivekananda brought Hinduism to the West and became the Brahmana of Brahmanas. A Brahmana is a god-realized person irrespective of his or her natal caste. Swami lost his temper, upon being called a Sudra.  (The Brahmins of erstwhile Madras wondered aloud how Vivekananda being a Sudra could become a monk.) Vivekananda and Thoreau By C. H. MacLachan Swami Vivekananda and Thoreau were both without guile. The Swami’s fellow disciple Swami Brahmananda used to teach his disciples always to tell the truth, but never to tell a harsh truth. But the truth with Swamiji could be very harsh however much deserved it might be. When Aswini Kumar Datta (a saintly patriot of Bengal) reproached Vivekananda for his retort to Madras brahmins who had called him a sudra: (“If I am a sudra, ye the brahmins of Madras are the pariah of pariahs”), the Swami replied: “I never said I was right. The impudence of these people made me lose my temper, and the words came out. What could I do? But I do not justify them.” Aswini Kumar Datta then replied: “Now I realize why you are a world conqueror and why the Master loved you so much!”   Caste is not being but becoming. Caste is what your parents apparently give you. What they really give you is their DNA. One's high birth caste is a spurious claim and appellation, and a medallion, only the spurious and the vainglorious can gloat about. Born a Sudra-weaver, Tiruvalluvar wrote 2000 years ago the Greatest Manual on Ethics--Tirukkural- திருக்குறள். Born a Sudra and becoming a Saint-poet is an example of becoming a Brahmana for Nammalvar. Born in the family of  wind instrument players (Nadasvaram) and becoming a Brahmana and a Poet of all Tamil poets is Kamban of Kamba Ramayana. Valmiki, purportedly a highway robber by name Ratnakar, a hunter, a Naga tribesman... becomes a changed man and a Brahmana by attributes and not by birth and is the First Poet to write the story of Rama in Sanskrit. The West observes that Nagas are brachycephalic Negritos from Africa and are among the earliest people to come to India from Africa. --Page198. Harper's Dictionary of Hinduism. Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi was born a Brahmin but became a murderer (of the Great Soul), a caste lower than the lowest. Mahatma Gandhi, born a mere mercantile Vaisya, becomes a Brahmana by his sheer selfless sacrifice for his country. Ambedkar born a lowdown Dalit (untouchable) became a Brahmana by his education, attainment and service to his country. Ramana Maharishi and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa born in Brahmin families became true Brahmanas. Brahmin is a caste; Brahmana is transcending all castes. Brahmanaka is a nominal Brahman but not a Brahmana.  --Veeraswamy Krishnaraj, a Brahmana-priya (a friend of Brahmanas). February 2015:  Godse and his apotheosis. Om Nathuram Godseya namah. GODSE GALORE:Om Nathuram Godseya namah. Godse has God as the Inner Abider (Antar Yāmi) in his name. Nathuram Godse is the shooter and killer of Mahatma Gandhi. Remember Gandhi uttered Ram Ram as he died, indicating Gandhi invoked Ram as in NathuRAM. Godse is the Prime Candidate to join the gallery of gods in the Hindu temples. Saints and Savants have been consulted for apotheosis of Godse (the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of a god). There will be Pranaprathishta in the temples. It means infusion of breath in the idol, also known as Installation and Consecration. Apotheosis and sainthood involve 1) Declaration of Godse as the Servant of God. 2) Giving Godse the moniker-Venerable. 3) Recognition of Godse as The Blessed. 4) Admission of Godse as a member of Hindu Pantheon of Gods (akin to Cannonization and Beatification). The mantra to invoke Godse is Om Nathuram Godseya Namah. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/hindu-mahasabha-to-install-godse-statue-in-temple-premises-across-india/article6835093.ece?homepage=true The Tamil Nadu government thwarted efforts by fringe Hindutva groups to install a statue of Nathuram Godse, assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by taking strong precautionary measures, Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam informed the Assembly on Friday, February 20, 2015.--thehindu.com

 

39. A Brahmin's son is no doubt a Brahmin by birth; but some of these born Brahmins grow up into great scholars. some become priests, others turn out cooks, and still others roll themselves in the dust before courtesans' doors. --Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna.

 

 

SriVaishnava View on Castes, Dalits (the Opressed) and Untouchability. Dalits (Hindus) are outside and below the caste system (Brahmins, Ksatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras = Priests, Warriors, Traders and Menial Workers. Srivaishnavas = the Worshippers of Vishnu and His incarnations. November 30, 2012 Sri Ranganatha Yatheendra Maha Desikan, 46th pontiff of Sri Ahobila Mutt (monastic and similar religious establishments), who had accompanied senior pontiff, the 45th Jeeyar, Sri Narayana Yatheendra Maha Desikan to a visit to Tirupullani recently. Both the Jeeyars took bath in Sethukarai Sea along with hundreds of devotees before leaving Tirupullani. The Junior Jeeyar, who was gracious to spend time with The Hindu Correspondent recently, laid stress on everyone doing their duty and strongly felt that a sense of give and take and discipline were necessary for social harmony. He touched on a range of subjects from caste conflict to the Ayodhya temple. The math ( monastic and similar religious establishments) was trying to instill Hindu dharma in everyone, he said. “Follow dharma and there won’t be conflicts, he said. What is his take on untouchability that prevails in some parts of the country that includes the South? “It is unacceptable,” states the jeer categorically. “Only those who do not perform their duties with sincerity and commitment are untouchables. Caste has no role here,” he adds. http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/religion/tolerance-vital-for-harmony/article4146762.ece?homepage=true ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday March 6, 2013. Non-Brahmins as trained priests. According to the Travancore Devaswom Board, 12 priests of the nearly 40 in temples under its Vaikom group belong to the non-Brahmin community. Nearly 50 per cent of the candidates applying for the posts of priests in about 2, 000 temples under it were non-Brahmins last year. About 40 per cent of the people selected as pujaris were non-Brahmins. Explaining that anybody can conduct poojas as per veda vidhi, noted poet-priest Vishnu Narayanan Namboodiri told The Hindu on Tuesday that many non-Brahmins were taking up priesthood and performing the rituals as per traditions. “We should understand that varnam (caste) is decided by human beings while vasana (subconscious inclination) is decided by God. Varnam is not important,” he said. Non-Brahmin priests like Harish reminded that they had received training and certificate from tantra vidya peetoms and had taken pains to adhere to the code of conduct expected from a priest. “We have got elementary knowledge of tantra shastra and are also trained in reciting mantras. It is difficult to clear the interview without these basic qualifications,” he said. Accepting that the declining number of Brahmins taking up priesthood remains a major reason for the increase in people from non-Brahmin communities being appointed as priests, Vaidikan Sreekumar Thottakkad said women in Brahmin community these days prefer men in IT or other related fields rather than marrying a priest. “It’s also a social issue. Women feel that a priest may not get the time to lead a normal life,” he said. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/caste-still-a-bar-in-sanctorum/article4479630.ece?homepage=true ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 12, 2013. A noble soul coming from Brahmin community serves the "Untouchables" in 1930s. A. Vaidyanatha Iyer, an eminent lawyer from Madurai is remembered for the significant role he played in the Temple Entry Movement. He led four Harijans into the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple for the first time on July 7, 1939. Seventy-four years down the line, Tamil Nadu Harijan Seva Sangam will recall the historic movement and recollect his contributions to the cause of the downtrodden on Wednesday, his 58th death anniversary. Iyer was the president of Tamil Nadu Harijan Seva Sangam in the 1940s and followed the instructions of Mahatma Gandhi to fight for the justice of harijans. A series of public meetings were organised where Iyer vociferously said that Harijans should be allowed inside all the temples in the State. “To allay the fears of the Harijans who had been assuming that it was a sin to enter the temples, Iyer took them to Travancore where the Temple Entry Proclamation was issued and implemented. After the temple entry in Madurai, he faced the ire of many people and legal actions were initiated against him. The then Chief Minister C. Rajagopalachari, who was Iyer’s good friend, intervened and came to his rescue. But for Rajaji’s intervention, Iyer would have been prosecuted for fighting for equality,” Mr. Srinivasan said. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/man-who-led-harijans-into-the-temple/article4500396.ece

 

 

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The curse of Caste. One's higher caste is flaunted and the lower caste is flouted.

The Pyramid- the living monument of Manu, the author of the Laws of Manu.

 

There are very many castes in Tamil Nadu. The following link lists some if not all of them.

http://www.snipview.com/q/Social%20groups%20of%20Tamil%20Nadu

 

Dr. Radhakrishnan (Statesman and Philosopher) in his book about castes      Very early in the history of Hinduism, the caste distinctions came to mean the various stratifications into which the Hindu society settled. The confusion between the tribal and the occupational is the cause of the perpetuation of the old exclusiveness of the tribal customs in the still stringent rules which govern the constitution of each caste. Caste on its social side is a product of human organization and not a mystery of divine appointment. It is an attempt to regulate society with a view to actual differences and ideal unity. The first reference to it is in the Purusa Sukta, where the different sections of society are regarded as the limbs of the great self. Human society is an organic whole, the parts of which are naturally dependent in such a way that each part is fulfilling its distinctive function conditions the fulfillment of function of its function by the rest. In this sense the whole is present in each part, while each part is indispensable to the whole. Every society consists of groups working for the fulfillment of the wants of the society. As the different groups work for a common end they are bound by a sense of unity and social brotherhood. The cultural and the spiritual, the military and the political, the economic classes and the unskilled workers constitute the four-fold caste organization. The different functions of human life were clearly separated and their specific and complementary character was recognized. Each caste has its social purpose and function, its own code and tradition. It is a close corporation equipped with a certain traditional and independent organization, observing certain usages regarding food and marriage. Each group is free to pursue its own aims free from interference by others. the functions of the different castes were regarded as equally important to the well-being of the whole. The serenity of the teacher, the heroism of the warrior, the honesty of the businessman and the patience and energy of the worker all contribute to the social growth. Each has its own perfection.

 

 

THE LAWS OF MANU CONDUCT BUT NOT BIRTH DETERMINES CASTE THIS IS THE BENIGN VIEW OF MANU, THE MALIGNANT VIEW LATER IN THE ARTICLE. 2.155. The seniority of Brahmanas is from (sacred) knowledge, that of Kshatriyas from valour, that of Vaisyas from wealth in grain (and other goods), but that of Sudras alone from age. 2.156. A man is not therefore (considered) venerable because his head is gray; him who, though young, has learned the Veda, the gods consider to be venerable. 2.157. As an elephant made of wood, as an antelope made of leather, such is an unlearned Brahmana; those three have nothing but the names (of their kind). 2.158. As a eunuch is unproductive with women, as a cow with a cow is unprolific, and as a gift made to an ignorant man yields no reward, even so is a Brahmana useless, who (does) not (know) the Rikas. 3.150. Manu has declared that those Brahmanas who are thieves, outcasts, eunuchs, or atheists are unworthy (to partake) of oblations to the gods and manes.

 

Virat-Purusa  page 239, Harper's Dictionary of Hinduism The origin of Castes from Purusa.  April 8, 2012 Purusa is depicted as a cosmogonic figure,' a creative  source, the primeval male who envelops the whole  earth and who represents totality." This hymn is the earliest account of secondary creation and is of particular interest as the earliest account of the structure of Vedic society, which its alleged composer Narayana divides into four occupational or functional categories, each corresponding to a particular part of the sacrificed body of the Purusa. This sacrifice became the prototype of all  future sacrifices.' From the Purusa's severed body the  brahmana emerged from his mouth, from his arms the  rajanya; from his thighs the vaisya, and from his feet the  sudra. From his mind was produced the moon; from his eye the sun; the wind from his breath; from his navel the atmosphere; from his head the sky, and so forth. Upon  this purely symbolic description of the social, political  and economic structure of late Vedic society, subsequent Indian 'sociologists' built a caste system, which  was ultimately presented in the Manu-smrti as the  inviolable expression of divine law. The Purusa-sukta  was also prescribed for those desiring a son, for purification, 'and in the ceremonies performed in founding a  temple which is constructed in the likeness of the  Purusa'."  In the SBr. (XI. 1.6, 1-2) Purusa appears as the secondary creator Prajapati, who emerged from the golden egg produced by the primeval waters. In the Ait Up. (1,1-4) he is also portrayed as a cosmogonic  figure, the instrument of secondary creation, from  whose bodily parts emerged speech (vac), breath  (prana), sight (caksus), hearing (Srota), mind (manas),  etc. But in the Samkhya system the term purusa denotes  the passive complement of the active creative principle  (prakrti).  There is nothing higher or beyond the Purusa (Katha  Up., 3, II); it represents the material from which the  world was made, (i.e., the causa materialis) as well as its  creator (causa efficiens).  'Man is limited by his body and sense-impressions,  only his inner 'universe' is within his reach; hence the  universe, the macrocosm, is depicted as a Cosmic Man.   The Unborn was one of the early designations of the  World-ground. It was later called Purusa, Prajapati,  Brahman or Narayana; later Visnu inherited the  formula (Coomaraswamy, Yaksas, pt. ii, p. 25).  The hymn contains sixteen verses, this number representing totality.    Purusa becomes the oblation = the animal victim of the  cosmic sacrifice = creation performed by the gods.  'The self-immolation of the demiurge is conceived in many mythologies to be an essential prerequisite of creation. In Christian mythology the corrupt creation is restored to its pristine glory through Christ's self-sacrifice, which is like a second creation' (IT., p. 335;  v. also Eliade, Patterns, p. 183). The myth of the sacrifice of the Primordial Giant is European, but it  has also been found among other ethnic groups,  including some of the most archaic' (Eliade, Yoga,  p. 138, n.112).

 

A twenty-year-old Dalit who was working as a priest in a local temple was assaulted after he objected to the efforts asking him to be absent on auspicious occasions and festival times as it was alleged that devotees felt hesitant to visit a temple where Dalit was a priest.  September 19, 2012

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/article3906383.ece

 

 

Dalits (the Oppressed) of Sanyasipatti near Sankagiri in Salem district fought bitterly for five days before forcing the district administration to take firm action to demolish a four-foot-high and 20-foot-long wall erected right across a tar-topped road with the intention of preventing them from using it. The ‘wall of untouchability' erected on November 29, 2011 in the middle of the night by some caste Hindus was pulled down on Sunday by those who put it up after revenue authorities intervened. Thehindu.com December 05, 2011. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- October 1, 2012. Temple Entry by the Dalits or the Oppressed Caste. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/dalits-enter-temple-offer-worship-in-violencefree-environment/article3954105.ece Around 400 Dalit men and women, led by members of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front, entered the Mariamman Temple in Kalapatti station limits on Sunday morning. He also said that the district Collector, Superintendent of Police and Revenue Divisional Officer had assured them that henceforth, the members of the community would not have problems in entering the temple and that that they would stand by them. A release from the Front said that its members undertook the temple-entry agitation on September 30, 2012 which was the anniversary of Sreenivasa Rao of Thanjavur, who had fought against discrimination. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- November 09, 2012. Caste girl marries a boy from Dalit caste (Oppressed caste = Pariah = A beater of a drum. 2. A low caste man--Tamil Lexicon; a derogatory characterization). 268 Dalit Dwellings burnt in Tamil Nadu. Gandhi called the Dalits Harijan, meaning children of Lord Hari or God. Three colonies of Dalits (of the Adi-Dravida community) near Naikkankottai in Dharmapuri district of western Tamil Nadu remained benumbed on Thursday by the fury unleashed on them by a rampaging mob of caste Hindus on Wednesday. As many as 268 dwellings – huts, tiled-roof and one or two-room concrete houses – were torched by the mob after a caste Hindu man, Nagarajan, committed suicide over his daughter marrying a Dalit boy from one of the colonies. Police said there was no casualty as occupants of the houses escaped and took shelter in another village. Ninety persons were arrested by Thursday evening and cases registered against another 500 “unidentified” persons. The prime target of the attack was Natham Colony, whose resident, Ilavarasan (23) had married N. Divya (20), a caste Hindu. But, the mob’s fury was also directed at the adjoining Anna Nagar Colony and Kondampatti Old and New Colonies. Police said Ilavarasan and Divya were safe and under police protection. http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/3-dalit-colonies-face-mob-fury-in-dharmapuri/article4076539.ece

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chinnaswami Subramanya Bharathi (Tamil: சின்னசுவாமி சுப்பிரமணிய பாரதி) (December 11, 1882 – September 11, 1921) was a Tamil writer, poet, journalist, Indian independence activist and social reformer from Tamil Nadu, India. Popularly known as Mahakavi Bharathiyar (Tamil: மகாகவி பாரதியார்), he is a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry.--Wikipedia Tamil Poet Bharathi belonging to Brahmin caste deplores practice of caste. ஜாதிகள் இல்லையடி பாப்பா = O child, there are no castes. ஜாதிகள் இல்லையடி பாப்பா குல = O child, there are no castes. Lineage or caste தாழ்ச்சி உயர்ச்சி சொல்லல் பாபம் பாப்பா  = sin to attribute (caste) inferiority or superiority (to people) ஜாதிகள் இல்லையடி பாப்பா = O child, there are no castes. நீதி உயர்ந்த மதி கல்வி = learning, mind with a lofty sense of justice நீதி உயர்ந்த மதி கல்வி அன்பு = learning, mind with a lofty sense of justice and love நிறைய உடையவர்கள் மேலோர் பாப்பா = those plenteous (of love and justice) are of higher rank, O Child. ஓடி விளையாடு பாப்பா - நீ = run and play, O Child--You. ஓய்ந்திருக்கலாகாது பாப்பா = weariness is a no-no, Child. ஓடி விளையாடு பாப்பா = run and play, O Child. கூடி விளையாடு பாப்பா - ஒரு = togetherness in play is a must, O Child. One குழந்தையை வையாதே பாப்பா = Do not abuse (any) child, O Child. ஓடி விளையாடு பாப்பா = run and play, O Child. Translation by Veeraswamy Krishnaraj

 

 

 

 

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article3466554.ece?homepage=true      May 29, 2012 Racism in India But time and again, various groups of people, particularly from the north-east have experienced forms of racial discrimination and highlighted the practice of racism in India. In fact, institutionalised racism has been as much on the rise as cases of everyday racism in society. In 2007, the Delhi Police decided to solve the problems of security faced by the north-easterners in Delhi, particularly women, by coming up with a booklet entitled Security Tips for North East Students asking north-eastern women not to wear “revealing dresses” and gave kitchen tips on preparing bamboo shoot, akhuni, and “other smelly dishes” without “creating ruckus in neighbourhood.” Many were asked to produce their passports or other documents to prove that, indeed, they were Indian citizens and not refugee Tibetans. How does one prove that when an autorickshaw driver asks a north-easterner on the streets of Delhi if he or she is going to Majnu ka Tila, a Tibetan refugee colony, that the former is reproducing a common practice of racial profiling? This remark could be doubly interpreted if made to a woman from the region — both racial and gendered. How do I prove racism when a young co-passenger on the Delhi Metro plays “Chinese” sounding music on his mobile, telling his friend that he is providing, “background music,” sneering and laughing in my direction? And what one cannot retell in the language of evidence, becomes difficult to prove. Racism is most often felt, perceived, like an invisible wound, difficult to articulate or recall in the language of the law or evidence. In that sense, everyday forms of racism are more experiential rather than an objectively identifiable situation.

 

 

Displaced Hindu Kashmiris trickle back to Kashmir, their native land. One blood, two religions: Hinduism and Islam http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/article3469119.ece?homepage=true

Omar vouches of Pandits’ return  May 29, 2012

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that a sense of security and economic safeguards were the basic elements which will help in return of Kashmiri Pandits to their native land.

“Before bringing back Kashmiri Pandits, we have to instill a sense of security in them. We are making all our efforts in this direction,” Omar told reporters after visiting the Kheer Bhawani temple here.

He said economic package in the shape of employment to the youth of the Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley is an important step to help return of these families.

While the atmosphere of peace and security is gaining ground gradually and the state government has implemented half of the employment package for Kashmiri Pandits, the situation is becoming more and more palatable for their return, he added.

The Chief Minister said the state government is taking up the issue of enhancing financial support to Kashmiri Pandits to enable them construct their residential houses in the Valley.

He said the remarkable increase registered in the number of Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kheer Bhawani during last few years is an encouraging phenomenon.

“Government would continue to work to improve the facilities for the large number of devotees visiting Kheer Bhawani,” he added.

The Chief Minister said Kashmiri Pandits are integral part of the culture and ethos of Kashmir and Kashmiriyat.

He said that their return to the Valley is the cherished goal and desire of the government and the civil society.

Mr. Omar said the gradual improvement in the security situation and generation of economic avenues for this community would give required boost to the endeavours of the government to achieve this goal.

 

 

In this day and age, there are people who still believe that they (brahmins) emerged from mouth of god, while all other castes emerged from lesser body parts; without lesser parts, no one is a complete person. All without exception emerged from the womb of the respective mothers.  The myth started by Manu and others and perpetuated by self-serving and ruthless higher castes (of bygone era) to protect their means of livelihood and untenable superiority is still alive and well. The kings and princes (Bhagavan Krishna, Mahavira, and Buddha) gave us the religions and what the self-styled 'twice-born' Brahmins (and not Brahmanas) gave us were castes and rituals with costs. Brahmanas are a distinct group of men and women coming from all castes with Brahma Vidya (God Realization: Brahma- or bhagavat-sākşātkāra)), belong to no caste and have risen above the pettiness of the castes. Where do Chinese, Europeans, and Eskimos fit in this inane system of caste stratification?

As to the celebrated Vishnu temple of Jagannāth at Puri in Orissa, its sanctity is such that 100,000 pilgrims annually eat the sacred food (prasāda) distributed in its courts to priest, prince and peasant alike; for no distinctions of caste are recognized in the Presence of Krishna (Vishnu) ‘the lord of the world.’(The car festival is described in my ‘Modern India,’p. 68.)Monier Williams in Brahmanism and Hinduism (12 November 1819 – 11 April 1899) Note added on Dec 26, 2014.

On the other hand, there is spice and nice(ness) in mythology that some were born from the body parts of the Lord. That our ancestors were apes is not appealing. Let us repeal that notion from our mind. Against my sterile scientific bent of mind, I will accept mythology as a charming alternate explanation of the origin of man. Science is bent; once bent, you can never make it straight. A dog's tail can't be straightened. I am going to stop the fight and accept wight (human being) came from body parts of god.

Mleccha: म्लेच्छ மிலேச்சன்.

This is a contemptuous term which has descended from the days when the stranger was looked on as an object of enmity or contempt. Just as the Greeks and Chinese called anyone not a Greek or a Chinese a "barbarian," so Hindus of the Exoteric School call all non-Hindus, whether' aboriginal tribes or cultivated foreigner, Mlecchas. Mlecchatā is the state of being a Mleccha. It is to the credit of the Sākta-Tantra that it does not encourage such narrow ideas.  Woodroffe, The Serpent Power, Page 275

बर्बर: Bar-bar-ah. Barbara in Sanskrit is cognate with Barbarian. A barbarian is the one with 'uncouth and incomprehensible speech'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mleccha

Gotra: By Veeraswamy Krishnaraj

Gotra: Gotra means "Cow-pen or Cow-shed" and is of two kinds - Vaidika and Laukika.  Vaidika is according to the Vedic prescription and the Laukika is "mundane, worldly, common". In ancient times the extended family members shared one cowshed and therefore that name stuck. Yes, they were living in the barn with livestock and grains.  Gotra is a family tree whose root can be traced to a common ancestor. Since  it is exogamous and patrilineal, it is  based on the Y chromosome.  The females claim the gotra of  father, and of  husband after marriage. A man can not marry a woman of the same gotra.  But a male can marry a woman of the same gotra at least seven degrees removed from his father.  The Vaidika Gotra members trace their lineage from high priests and renowned  Rishis, namely  Bharadvaja, Gautama, Jamadagni, Visvamitra, Kasyapa, Atri, Vasistha (SaptaRishis) and more (Atharvan, Angiras, Bhrgu).  Strictly speaking only Brahmanas can claim a  gotra.  The Ksatriyas and others can not claim any such medallion or pendant, simply because they are not cognate to the original  Brahmana Rishis and for that reason they are categorized in the laukika (mundane) variety. There were exceptions:  Visvamitra and Vasistha,  both Ksatriyas by birth performed tapas ( austerity) and were accepted as Brahmanas. Mundane gotra members  are defined as non-cognate followers of  a succession of disciples of the original Priests and  Rishis.  There is no genetic or Y chromosome linkage here between the mundane gotra members and the original Progenitors listed above.  Y chromosome is  transferred intact from father to son. It is very common especially in everyday speech, in temples and in books that a person claims his Gotra from the High Priests of Yore.

Brāhmaṇa is a descendant or member of a priestly family and never claimed any superiority over others of the Āryan tribe. The priests were Brahman, Hotṛ, Adhvaryu and Udgātṛ.  These priests had assigned duties in a sacrifice. Brahman is the supervising priest. Adhvaryu, the reciter of Yajur Veda, is the Engineer responsible for the design and construction of the sacrificial pit and the immolator of the sacrificial animal.  Construction of the sacrificial pit was a precise mathematical exercise. Hotṛ and Udgātṛ are the reciters of Ṛgveda and Sāmaveda. The invention of zero is attributed to Aryabhata.

 

 

Aryabhata, mathematician and astronomer in Ancient India. Inventor of Sunya or Zero. Public Domain-Wikipedia
File:2064 aryabhata-crp.jpg Uploaded by Mukerjee Uploaded: October 11, 2006

 

In 498 AD, Indian mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata stated that "sthānāt sthānaṁ daśaguṇaṁ syāt;" i.e., "from place to place each is ten times the preceding,"^[19][20] which is the origin of the modern decimal-based place value notation. ^Wikipedia

The purpose of the sacrifice is to obtain liberation (Mokṣa or Mukti) from the miseries of existence in this world as a human, animal, and plant.  Birth, death and rebirth are metempsychosis: transmigration of the soul to a human, animal or plant depending upon the nature and weight of the karmic load.

Take the human: the life is not a bed of rose petals; there are thorns and misery. Take the majestic tree 2000 plus years old; it is struck by lightning simply because it is taller than others; man cuts down such an old tree which has witnessed Buddha, Jesus Christ and many other great souls. Take the animals and plants: many disappeared from earth, where man shed his responsibility to care for the less intelligent and the more vulnerable. Hindus consider that all animate and inanimate things have consciousness: Conscience sleeps in stone, feels in flora, senses in fauna and thinks in man. Sentience runs parallel to conscience. Hindus classified these miseries of existence as Theogenous, endogenous and exogenous (God-given, miseries coming from within the body, miseries coming from outside the body. Birth is misery for all beings. Liberation is freedom from rebirth.

Ahimsa or non-injury was a code originally introduced by the Indo-Aryan; obviously, it got lost along the way.  Some say that the Jains were the first ones to adopt Ahimsa, followed by the Buddhists.

 

A true Brahmana is the one who obtained God-realization; it is not being but becoming. By that measure, there are very few Brahmanas today. There are tons of brahmins but only a ten of Brahmanas. The examples are Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, Ramana Maharishi, Ramalinga Swamigal.... Brahmins are born in the caste everyday by thousands but have not become  Brahmanas judging by the paradigm of Paramatma Saksatkara. A true Brahmana comes from all castes, races, religions, countries.... Becoming a Brahmana is to obtain realization of the God-- Bhagavad Sākṣātkāra (भगवद् साक्षात्कार). Sākṣātkāra = perception; realization.  Akṣa = eye. Experiencing with one’s own eyes. Experiencing God with one's own eyes = God realization. This realization goes by several names: Paramatma Saksatkara, Isvara Saksatkara, Brahma Saksatkara....

Performance of and strict adherence to rituals do not make a Brahmana, but an observant tradition-bound brahmin. Whether this will yield Moksa is doubtful. In Hindu religion obtaining Moksa is an individual effort, unlike the Mahayana Buddhists who claim universalism in enlightenment as they ferry a boatload of people to the Pure Land by faith in Buddha and invocation of Buddha's name. There is a prevailing hypothesis that Mahayana has nothing to do with Great Vehicle (big boats) but with Great knowledge (mahājñāna (great knowing). Great knowledge somehow got corrupted to Great Vehicle. Jñāna (ज्ञान = Knowledge ) is corrupted to Yāna (यान = vehicle).

 

 

Pervasive Untouchability afflicts the Judicial system in India  March 25, 2012 http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/article3220750.ece?homepage=true And even if with great difficulty a lower caste person tries to make it to those positions, Dalit is kept out through shrewd manipulations. Between 1950 and 2000, 47% of Chief Justices and 40% of judges were of Brahmin origin, according to a parliamentary committee report. In order to continue their monopoly over important positions, upper caste people have fought tooth and nail using all possible means to keep Dalits from even dreaming of aspiring for those positions. Dr. Ambedkar's observations were true, made on the basis of some of his own painful experiences, when way back in 1918 in spite of attaining high educational qualifications he was not allowed to drink water from a pot ‘reserved' for the high caste professorial staff at Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai. Dr. Ambedkar realised then that education had not succeeded in bringing out the desired attitudinal change in most of the “upper” caste people towards Dalits. “Upper caste” in village or city even with the highest degrees shared the same mindset when issues of Dalits emerged.   Only recently, on 15 February 2012, at Daulatpur village in Haryana's Uklana region, a Dalit youth had to face the wrath of an upper caste when in a bid to quench his thirst he drank water from a pot located on his premises. Once his caste became known, his hand was chopped off with a sickle. Even though we are living in the 21 century and make claims of having the world's largest democracy, there is little change in the attitude of the upper caste towards Dalits, literate or illiterate. * (The details of the surveys have been sourced from the book, Untouchability in Rural India, authored by Ghanshyam Shah, Harsh Mander, Sukhadeo Thorat, Satish Deshpande and Amita Baviskar published by SAGE Publications, New Delhi,2006).    July 14, 2013. Ambedkar and Barking dog in 3-D images. A company representative has been arrested at Sadar Bazar here for allegedly selling offensive 3-D pictures of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The pictures, which have been seized, were purportedly imported from China. “The sacrilegious 3-D pictures, presenting Dr. Ambedkar’s popular facsimile photographs in one shade, represented a barking dog in another shade and this has hurt the sentiments of people especially members of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Buddhists. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/offensive-imported-pictures-of-ambedkar-seized-in-delhi/article4912812.ece A statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was damaged by unknown persons at Dabri in South-West Delhi on Saturday, July 13, 2013.

 

Brahmin's spit (Saliva) is a panacea for many and varied skin diseases. Dec. 2011 Got Skin Disease; I heard of a universal cure, which will save a visit to the Dermatologist and hundreds of dollars and Rupees. The cure is not a lotion, potion, ointment....You have to have a complete trust and roll over the Banana leaves containing leftover food eaten by Brahmins in a temple in Karnataka. I am a devotee of Krishna Paramatma and though this event takes place annually there in a Temple, I have the regrettable duty to report it. It is the Brahmin's saliva in trace amounts and the condiments in the food which cure a person of skin diseases. This 500 year old practice is wholesome and sanitary for the believers. The official position on this is not to interfere with age old custom. Hundreds of devotees from the backward castes took part in the ritual. But there was a dissenter coming from the oppressed caste (Dalit = दलित in Hindi = Oppressed = Pariah = பறையன்: a pejorative word = actual meaning is Drummer who announces on the village streets.), who saw superstition, humiliation, perpetuation of caste system, unhygienic practice,.... Luckily for him, the leftover food does not contain chicken bones, ribs, animal bones because Brahmins do not eat dead animals as food in public. Vedic Brahmins did eat beef and some priests even today eat goats sacrificed to Mother Kali. Some Brahmins do eat non-vegetarian food as a matter of convenience and taste. "The ritual is over 400 years old. According to legend Samba, the son of Krishna, during the Dwapura Yuga (according to Hinduism, the third of four eras of evolution of life) defeated leprosy rolling on banana leaves, on which his devotees had consumed food. In 1979 the "Made Snana" was abolished, but was soon reinstated because of the protests of the devotees. (NC)"   November 10, 2012: In a move to end the controversy surrounding the centuries-old practice of ‘made snana’ at the Kukke Subrahmanya temple in Dakshina Kannada district, the State government has decided to modify the annual ritual. Devotees will no longer be allowed to roll over plantain leaves with leftovers of food had by Brahmins. Instead the food offered to the deity will be directly brought from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple to the outer yard in the form of ‘prasadam’ and it will be placed on the plantain leaves. Any devotee can roll over it as part of their ‘harake’ (offering to god). It has also been decided against serving food to Brahmins or anybody else in the outer yard on the day the ritual is held. It has also been decided to ensure that the temple does not encourage, sponsor or permit ‘pankthi bedha’ (caste discrimination while serving food). http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/modified-made-snana-to-continue/article4078488.ece   The low-caste and other believers thrashed him (and dumped him over a Banana Leaf--I just made it up).  I am sure the thrashers were not Brahmins, because they, by tradition, are pacific people and do not believe in violence. Another reason I believe the miscreants are not Brahmins is that a Brahmin touching a Pariah is unheard of unless the Brahmin is a physician. Oh, I see, the dissenter can be hit with a stick; that is non-polluting to the hitter. The business end of the stick is polluted and the other end is not. The bare-chested hitter here is not a Brahmin, Ksatriya or  Vaisya because I do not see a sacred thread across his chest. My assessment is that the man was beaten by fellow caste members, who go along with the custom. I doubt brahmin shed his sacred thread and caste mark, took the stick and smote the low-caste protestor. It is unlikely that the perpetrators were instigated by the Brahmins. No Brahmin compelled any non-Brahmin or Dalit to show up and roll over the Banana leaves. They were free to stay home. They are other castes below Brahmins but above the Dalits. He filed a complaint with the police against the bare-chested and non-threaded thrasher-in-chief, the cohorts and the minister and vowed to take the case to the Supreme Court. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/article2675394.ece?homepage=true   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "While the ritual itself was sickening, Karnataka Chief Minister Sadanand Gowda's response clearly indicted that he would not be the one to crack down on such inhuman practice. Instead of condemning the practice, Gowda said it was typical ritual that has been going on for several years. He said he would look into the matter and a decision on discontinuing it would be taken only after consultations." "How can the government promote discrimination based on caste? The Brahmins are served food in a separate dining hall while people representing other castes are served food in the general dining hall. Then, these people roll over the leftovers of the Brahmins. This is ridiculous. It is happening right under the nose of the government," political historian Dr A. Veerappa said. The practice is called Made Snana.   December 1, 2011. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I saw in the villages and towns in the 40s, 50s... that Banana leaf was used as kind of non-stick bed sheet for a person who had burns, small pox, and or festering and oozing skin diseases. The Banana leaf is spread on the floor or bed smeared with oil and the patient with burns and or sticky and oozing skin disease was laid over it. The modern petroleum-laden dressing over burns: fugetaboutit. This Banana and Oil bed sheet was superior because patients did recover from their diseases. But I don't recommend asking a Brahmin to spit on the poor patient though a Brahmin's saliva is believed curative for skin diseases. Let us take a hypothetical brahmin dermatologist. He stands on a raised platform in his office. The patients are lined up in another room; fees are collected from fee-for-service patients; others make a co-payment and give insurance information; the patients walk into the office one by one; the doctor spits on the patient; the patient walks out of the room; a week later he is all cured. The doctor keeps a lemon sucker and a bottle of water by his side; whenever he runs out of saliva, he drinks water and sucks on the lemon and the saliva comes in profusion. The doctor is a considerate man (because he took the Hippocratic oath); he renders free service to indigent patients. All he needs in his medical armamentarium is a mouthful of saliva, water and a lemon, lime or a pickle bottle. The high-caste Hindus have a separate room to assemble and a separate session for salivary treatment. The caste Hindus receiving  salivary splatter objected mixing with the Dalits. The organizers set up two adjoining rooms, one for the Dalits and Tribals and the other for the caste Hindus. The middle of the separating wall accommodates a revolving chair on a platform that can face one or the other room simply by rotation. The good doctor simply rotates the chair to render salivary treatment to the Dalits and the Tribals and then again rotates to come back to the room with caste Hindus. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The fourth tier caste, a notch above the untouchables, Sudra is vilified in Dharmasutras. Dharmasutras Translation by Patrick Olivelle. page 269, verse 6.26:Among all my worthy of receiving  gifts,  the most worthy is the man into whose stomach the food of a Sudra has never entered. 6.27: If a Brahmin dies with food of a Sudra in his stomach, will be reborn as a village pig or in the family of that Sudra. 6.28. Such a Brahmana does not find the celestial path. 6.29. If such a Brahmana has sex soon after eating, his sons will belong to the Sudra and he will not go to heaven. I thought postprandial sex is a common occurrence in the offices in the west; I never knew Vedic Brahmanas were mixing Sandhyavandanam (worship) with sex. If it did not happen, why would Dharamasutras make a mention of it? I have seen in Indian villages men from oppressed castes chasing to kill feral pigs for a community meal. According to Hindu Sacred Texts, these feral pigs might have been Brahmins who ate food from a Sudra in their past lives. Now the Oppressed in the name of Sudras are exacting their revenge, if you believe in reincarnation. Brahmins are Numero Uno and the Sudras are 4th down in the layered cake and the Dalits or the Oppressed is outside the inane caste system.

 

Why is it that we all harp on Gotra, birth star....? Do we really believe in Sapta Rishis who were purported to be the head honchos with superior cojones to have disseminated their respective Y-Chromosomes and started the inane Gotras. Yes, there were Rishis or seers in India, who were not the mind-born sons of Brahma, but were womb-born like everybody else. What is this all about Vaidika and Laukika Gotras? I must admit that Gotra consideration prevented proscribed marriage within the same Y-chromosome-dependent Gotra. Do you know of any Gotra member attain Moksha or even college admission on the strength of his high Gotra?  I bet the interviewers in college admissions panel did not ask for Gotra. May be, they should so they can choose the lowest Laukika Gotra candidate from among candidates otherwise equally eligible for the seat. Science tells us that the first man and first woman were Africans (African Adam and Eve)  and definitely not Sapta Rishis, the mind-born sons of Brahma. We are all Africans first and then only the other mutated races. The African lurks even in the lily white with blond hair, blue eyes, peachy peach skin....  Why then perpetuate this myth? Even the educated and the enlightened announce their Gotras.... The VIPs and the High and the low Govt. officials announce their Gotra, when they go to temple to offer prayers. If one were a high Government official or a minister, he or she would look stupid for not knowing, when the priest asks for the name, Nakashatra and Gotra. People say it is all tradition. When the Dalit minister goes to the temple, every priest and the congregation know who he is. They dare not eject him for he may be the minister for Hindu religious and charitable endowments. When the priest asks him for his Gotra, Birth star etc, he appears confused because he is outside the caste system. What malefic spell cast on a noble soul, who comes in the form of a Dalit, a product of crafty artifice. In real life story, a Brahmin priest carried a devout Dalit on his back to the inner sanctum upon the command of the Lord in the Brahmin's dream. What Gotra and Kula does Siva belong to? If God Himself has no Gotra (Siva is Akula, not sakti = not having any power.), why do ordinary Karma-bound earthlings take pride in spurious Gotra appellations? Of course, Daksa did not think much of his son-in-law Siva because He lived in cremation grounds, begged for food and ate out of a skull bone. Even worse, Daksa called Siva a Sudra. How low can you get? That is hitting below the belt. When God Himself is denigrated and beaten down to the ground, mortals should know the stupidity of the caste system.

Here is a brahmin (not a Brahmana) introducing himself to others about his high birth and the eminent Seers belonging to His Gotra and the rest. A Brahmin of Vedic Times or an Atavistic Brahmin of today introduces himself in a snobbish, pompous, highfaluting, superior-than-thou flamboyance, whereby he diminishes everyone around. A Dalit is already diminished for no fault of his; you can't take him down any further. To say that Great Rishis born of Brahma belong to his Gotra is to append greatness to his name by invoking the names of the Saptarishis of spurious bygone era. That is name-dropping of spurious kind. Why would not every one stand on his own intrinsic merit?  You have the mouth of a brahmin but not the feet of a Sudra. Even a genuine Brahmana (Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Ramana Maharishi...) whom we all revere, respect and look up to, cannot honestly  and does not claim heredity, sampradaya or parampara from the Great Rishis. That kind of pompous claim is antithetical to being a Brahmana.

A Brahmin is born of God's mouth, a Ksatriya of His shoulders, a Vaisya of his thighs and a Sudra of His feet. If that is so, where do the Dalits and the Tribals come from? They are real people and should have come from somewhere. What about all the foreigners who are the degraded Mlecchas according Hindu sacred lore.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmin_gotra_system 

The full affiliation of a brāhamana consists of (1) gotra, (2) pravaras (3) sutra (of Kalpa), (4) shakha. 

(Example :) A brahmana named 'X' introduces himself as follows : I am 'X', of Shrivatsa gotra, of Āpastamba sutra, of Taittiriya shākha of Yajurveda, of five pravaras (the most excellent Seers) named Bhārgava, Chyāvana, Āpnavan, Aurva and Jāmadagnya (This example is based upon the example given by Pattābhirām Shastri in the introduction to Vedārtha-Pārijata, cf. ref.). 

Here I am, a pallid pensioner compared to the pompous pundit.--V.Krishnaraj

(I am Veeraswamy Krishnaraj, claim my ancestry from African Adam and Eve, and wear Indo-European genes; no eminent seer or seers have the distinction to belong to my nondescript ancestry, heredity and circumstance. I don't claim high Gotra, eminent Pravaras, Sutra or Shaka). What you see is what you get.

Take the Master Painters of the West. They painted Adam and Eve in their image: tall, handsome, very white.... I heard some say they are with the angels while (they said) others were with apes. We all heard that time and again. The very idea that other people belonged to category of apes did not impress on them that their own forefathers were apes, monkeys or whatever.

On the other hand, does it really matter that a person invokes cognate but mythical lineage from non-existent Brahma-born Saptarishis or claims a proximate affiliation with the angels? It does not matter. This is all a case of benign sometimes malignant self-massaging of one's ego.

 

Gotras go the way of Gomūtra (गोमूत्र = cow's urine)

In a court case "Madhavrao vs Raghavendrarao" which involved a Deshastha Brahmin couple, the German scholar Max Mueller's definition of gotra as descending from eight sages and then branching out to several families was thrown out by reputed judges of a Bombay High Court.[3] The court called the idea of Brahmin families descending from an unbroken line of common ancestors as indicated by the names of their respective gotras impossible to accept.[4] The court consulted relevant Hindu texts and stressed the need for Hindu society and law to keep up with the times emphasizing that notions of good social behavior and the general ideology of the Hindu society had changed.[5] The court also said that the mass of material in the Hindu texts is so vast and full of contradictions that it is almost an impossible task to reduce it to order and coherence.[3]--Wikipedia. By the way, the judges were staunch Hindus.

 

 

Out of Africa According to the Out-of-Africa model, developed by Chris Stringer and Peter Andrews, modern H. sapiens evolved in Africa 200,000 years ago. Homo sapiens began migrating from Africa between 70,000 – 50,000 years ago and eventually replaced existing hominid species in Europe and Asia.[60][61] Out of Africa has gained support from research using female mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the male Y chromosome. After analysing genealogy trees constructed using 133 types of mtDNA, researchers concluded that all were descended from a woman from Africa, dubbed Mitochondrial Eve. Out of Africa is also supported by the fact that mitochondrial genetic diversity is highest among African populations.[62]  Wikipedia

 

 

 

Bhagavadgita Verses.

4.13: I founded (created) the four-fold order of Varna according to guna and karma - fundamental quality and work. Though I am the founder, know me thou as unable to act or change.

The emphasis is on Guna and Karma and not on birth. Gunas dictate and determine which caste a person belongs to.

Some reputable Hindu scholars have mentioned that many sacred texts have interpolations. Could this be one of those interpolations?

It is quite possible that this verse is an interpolation. There are very many so-called sacred texts written by men and falsely attributed to God.

Assuming that Krishna Paramatma Himself uttered these verse, let us analyze them.

 

18.41: Brāhmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sūdra, O Parantapa, and their activities are divided according to their own nature born of their own Gunas. Caste is not being but becoming.--Krishnaraj (There is clear evidence here that the Varna system, commonly called caste division, is based not on birth but on the content of one’s character.) Definition: Vipra, Brahmana, and Brahmin: . Strictly Vipra is one who has learnt the Vedas and Brahmana is he who knows the Brahman.   --Page 250, The Ten Sacraments by Sir John Woodroffe.     By this definition, very few of the so-called Twice-born qualify for these appellations. A Brahmin claims birth in Brahmana caste, but neither learnt the Vedas, nor realized God or Brahman. Exceptions and examples: Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ramana Maharishi.

18.42: Tranquillity, self-control, austerity, purity, patience, honesty, knowledge, wisdom, and belief in God are the duty of the Brāhmana born of his own nature. This is how a Brahmana is measured, not by birth.--Krishnaraj

18.43: Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, not fleeing from the battle, generosity, and leadership are the duty of Kshatriya born of his own nature.

18.44: Cultivation, cow protection, and trade are the duty of Vaishya, born of his own (Vaishya) nature. Duty of Sudra is of the nature of service (to other three), born of his own nature. (Cow protection is rearing of cattle.)

18.45: Devoted to his own duty, man attains perfection. Hear now as to how he engaged in his own duty attains perfection.

 

True Srivaishnavas do not entertain caste feelings in their dealings with others, but it is not difficult to find some rule breakers. Krishnan Swamy, the foremost among the present Acharyas, emphasizes on Bhakti, Varna and Asrama, and Sikhai. Brahmins in dedicated pursuit of moolah (money) do not wear the tuft, and sporadically and waveringly practice Varna and Asrama and Bhakti. I have not seen a tuft wearing CEO. There are noble Brahmanas of egalitarian type as exemplified by Sri Krishnan Swami. The Tuft (குடுமி) is a bunch of hair strands perched and anchored on the posterior Fontanel area (= the occiput) left behind after a shiny close tonsure of the rest of the head and corresponds to Bindu in the brain or the Sahasrara. It is worn by celibate monks and temple priests. Bindu is not an anatomical part of the brain. BINDU Think of Bindu as Singularity with no dimension, from which everything proceeds. Nada and Bindu are the progenitors of Tattvas, the building blocks of the universe. In Srivaishnava tradition, the triad is composed of Isvara, Cit and Acit. BG04  --Krishnaraj Krishnan Swamy in answer to question ID: 586:.... 1.    For bhakti1 to remain in our mind, we need to follow acharyam2. It is only these acharams that purify our mind and nurture bhakti. But for them we would get contaminated. A college principal cannot say that I care for only marks and not for your dress, or behaviour in the college. 2. Yes God says that performing one's varna and asrama3 dharma is the only way to please Him. He mentions that those who disobey His commands in the form of sruti and smruti are His enemies. 3. Sikhai4 is the best form suitable for mental health considering the nervous system and brahma randhram5. 4. When you have faith in these, kindly brush aside the ignorant arguments. Do not waste time in them. Explanation of terms by Veeraswamy Krishnaraj bhakti1 = devotion (to Narayana) ஆசாரம் = acharyam2 = Conducting oneself according to the dictates of the Šāstras. varna and asrama3 dharma = Varna = four principal classes described in Manu's code: Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras; Caste; Jati.  Asrama = stages in the life of a Brahman: Brahmacharin [student of Veda], Griha-stha [householder], vAnaprastha [anchorite], Samnyasin [abandoner of all worldly concerns]. --Monier Williams dictionary. சிகை¹ cikai = Sikhai4, n. < šikhā. குடுமி 1. Tuft of hair on the crown and other parts of the head. In this instance, the head is shaved on the top and sides. In another instance, the frontal area is shaved. In another, a tuft of hair is seen on the posterior fontanel area.  see the pictures The tuft is knowledge (Jnana). In Saiva tradition hair-tuft is the corporeal equivalent of Tirodhana or Veiling power of Siva, whereby Siva conceals Divine Knowledge and Grace until the soul sheds its impurities.  உலோகதருமினி (Lokadharmini) is a mode of initiation in which the hair tuft which represents the Veiling Energy is not removed for the worldly minded disciple. சிவதருமினி (Sivadarmini) is a mode of initiation accompanied by the removal of hair-tuft on the head, upon acquisition of spiritual knowledge. The area of the tuft on the head corresponds to Bindu center inside the head. Inside Bindu, Moon secretes Amrta or nectar. This nectar comes down from Bindu Visarga and has its origin in Sahasrara Chakra, the abode of Cosmic Consciousness. The Universal Pure Consciousness becomes dilute as it  comes down and individual consciousness takes shape in Bindu Visarga. Between Bindu and Vishuddha Chakra, there is a repository for the nectar in the vicinity of nasopharynx. This nectar should not be mistaken for postnasal drip. This reservoir, Lalana Chakra or Talumula is stimulated by the long tongue (Khechari Mudra) that folds back into the nasopharnx and can occlude the Ida and Pingala Nadis (posterior Choanae-opening in the back of the nostrils). The stimulation helps the Lalana Chakra empty the nectar into the Vishuddha Chakra, which processes the nectar and separates the pure form from the poison. The pure form promotes health, longevity, and regeneration of the body. Vishuddha Chakra neutralizes the poison. Khechari Mudra involves folding back of the tongue released from its anterior anchor by cutting the frenulum at the bottom of the tongue and pulling the tongue over many months to elongate it so that it can fold back and reach the openings at the back of the nose. This Mudra helps the tongue taste the nectar from the Bindu Visarga and Lalana reservoir. Yogis say that they can live on air and nectar. An auspicious procedure in Saiva tradition is wearing one bead on the tuft, thirty on the head, 50 around the neck, 16 around the arm on each side, 12 around each wrist 500 on the shoulders 3 strings of 108 beads each worn as the sacred thread. He who wears all these 1000 beads and performs rites punctiliously is worthy of worship like Rudra. Others say that Bindu exists in the back of the head (brain) which corresponds to the area of the head where the Brahmins and Hare Krishnas keep their tuft of hair. brahma randhram5 = Brahma's gate, aperture, or opening corresponding to anterior fontanel area of the head--Soft spot on the infant's head. This opening is the entry and exit point of the soul in an individual. It is said that the soul of good people exit by this aperture; those of evil people exit 'in the same manner as the excreta'. Some believe that the soul exiting the body by the feet go to Vishnu; by the Brahmarandhra to Brahma; and by the eyes to Agni or Fire god. Brahma writes the destiny of a child on his or her forehead on the 6th day after birth; this squiggly line on the skull is Brahmarekha (Brahma's line), commonly known as sutures of the skull by anatomists. Katha Upanishad Section 2 on Individual Self mentions that there are in the body-city 11 gates--ekAdasa-dvAram. Bhagavadgita 5.13 says:  The embodied soul, while controlling all his activities, renouncing them in his mind, and remaining in happiness in the city of nine gates, neither works nor causes any work. The gates in the city of the body: They are two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, one mouth, one anus, and one generative organ (phallus or vagina). In all humility, I want to mention that the female has another opening superior to vagina, known as urethra. In man, penis is a generative organ and urinary passage in one. In females, the vaginal passage and urinary passage are separate; thus the female has 10 openings, while male has nine openings. On top of these nine gates in man there are two more: the navel and the saggital suture on the skull. That is 11 in man and 12 in females.  The soul passes up the Susumna Nadi and escapes through BR in good people and true SriVaishnavites. The sagittal suture is Brahmarandhra through which the soul, dwelling in the heart, escapes upon physical death. The good soul takes the path of Light [ArchirAdi MArga] to the sun and on its way to the world of Brahma Loka, Satyaloka, Vaikuntam from which there is no return. The souls that took the path of Smoke [DhUmAdi MArga] return back to the world of transmigration.

   

Ref: http://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/hinduism/dn/scb.txt

Gita Chapter 18 Verse 41:

Gita C18V41  Lord Krishna states:

The Brahmanas, Ksatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras, O Parantapa, are  separated by the gunas – Sattva, Rajas, Tamas – born of their own nature.

The Uddhava Gita Verse 12.16 says, disposition of a Brahmin should be to control the manas and Indriyas (mind and senses), meditate on Isvara, observe purity,  live contented, exercise compassion, abide in Truth, renounce, walk a straight path, and remain devoted to the Supreme.

The Uddhava Gita Verse 12.41 says  acceptance of  gifts by a Brahmin for performing sacrificial rites is antithetical to austerity, independence, and reputation. He should use only the grain gleaned from previously harvested fields.

Read what Vivekanada says about Ksatriyas (kings) and Brahmana priests.

What business had the priests to interfere (to the misery of millions of human beings) in every social matter?

You speak of the meat-eating Kshatriya. Meat or no meat, it is they who are the fathers of all that is noble and beautiful in Hinduism. Who wrote the Upanishads? Who was Rama? Who was Krishna? Who was Buddha? Who were the Tirthankaras of the Jains? Whenever the Kshatriyas have preached religion, they have given it to everybody; and whenever the Brahmins wrote anything, they would deny all right to others. Read the Gita and the Sutras of Vyasa*, or get someone to read them to you. In the Gita the way is laid open to all men and women, to all caste and colour, but Vyasa tries to put meanings upon the Vedas to cheat the poor Shudras. Is God a nervous fool like you that the flow of His river of mercy would be dammed up by a piece of meat? If such be He, His value is not a pie!

There is one thing that is certain; if there were no Brahmanas, Hindu religion will be unrecgnizable something else; to that extant Brahmanas (not Brahmins) deserve a universal sky-high credit from all people of the world.

A List of Brahmin Communities

Compiled by Vikas Kamat
First Online: April 01, 2003
Page Last Updated: January 02, 2012

The following is a list of Brahmin communities of India. It is documented here for anthropological research purposes. Where available, links to related pictures and topics on the particular community are provided. Please suggest additions/corrections to askkamats@gmail.com

 

Adi Goud Ahiwasi Brahmins Anavil Brahmins Ashtasahasram Iyers Aravttokkalu Brahmins Audichya Brahmins Babburkamme Smartha Brahmins Badagnadu Smartha Brahmins Barendra Brahmins of Bengal Basotra Brahmins Beyal Brahmins Bhargava Brahmins of Bundelkhand and Madhya Pradesh Bhumihar Brahmins Bral Brahmins Brahatcharanam Iyers Brahmabhat Brahmins Daivajna Brahmins Deshastha Brahmins Devrukhe Brahmins of Konkan region in Maharashtra Dhima Brahmins Dravida Brahmins (originally from Tamilandu, migrated to parts of Godavari and Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh) Embranthiri Brahmins of Kerala Gaur Brahmins Gouda Saraswat Brahmins Gurukkal or Shivacharya Brahmins Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins, also known as Muguru Karnataka Brahmins Havyaka Brahmins Hebbar Iyengars Hoysala Karnataka Brahmins Jijhotia Brahmins Kandavara Brahmins Kanyakubj or Kanaujia Brahmins Karhada or Karade Brahmins of Karhad region of Maharashtra Kashmiri Saraswats or Kashmiri Pundits Kayastha Brahmins Kerala Iyers Khajuria or Dogra Brahmins of Jammu Khandelwal Brahmins Khedawal Brahmins Konkanastha or Chitpavan Brahmins Konkani Saraswat Brahmins Kota Brahmins Koteshwara Brahmins Kudaldeshkar Brahmins Madras Iyengars Madhwa Brahmins Maithil Brahmins

Malwi Brahmins Mandyam Iyengars Modh Brahmins Mohyal Brahmins Muluknadu Brahmins Nagar Brahmins Namboothiri Brahmins Nandimukh or Nandwana Brahmins of Gujarat and Rajasthan area. Naramdeo or Narmdiya Brahmins Nepali Brahmins Niyogi Brahmins Padia Brahmins Paliwal Brahmins Pangotra Brahmins Pottee Brahmins of Kerala Punjabi Saraswat Brahmins Pushkarna Brahmins Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins Rahri Brahmins of Rahr region of Bengal Rigvedi Deshastha Brahmins Sadotra Brahmins of Jammu Sakaldwipi Brahmins Saklapuri Brahmins Sanadhya Brahmins mainly of western Uttar Pradesh Sanketi Brahmins Sarwaria Brahmins Sarypari Brahmins of Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh Sirinadu Smartha Brahmins Shrimali Brahmins Shivalli Brahmins Smartha Brahmins Srigaur Brahmins Sthanika Brahmins Suryadwij Brahmins (of Kota region in Rajasthan) Thenkalai (a.k.a.Thengalai) Iyengars Tuluva Brahmins Tyagi Brahmins Uppal Brahmins Utkal Brahmins Uluchakamme Brahmins Vadagalai Iyengars Vadama Iyers Vaidik or Vaidiki Brahmins Vaishnava Brahmins Vathima Iyers Yajurvedi Deshastha Brahmins

 

The Tribal neglect in India from the days of Mahabarata to today. The Bhagavadgita teaching is all are equal; the practice is all are unequal. विद्याविनयसंपन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि । शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः ॥५- १८॥ vidyāvinayasaṁpanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini śuni caiva śvapāke ca paṇḍitāḥ samadarśinaḥ 5.18 vidya1 vinaya2 sampanne3 brāhmaṇe4 gavi5 hastini6 śuni7 ca8 eva9 śvapāke10 ca11 paṇḍitāḥ12 sama-darśina13  5.18   paṇḍitāḥ12 = The learned ones; sama-darśina13  = see with equal view [eye]; brāhmaṇe4 = on a Brahmana; vidya1 vinaya2 sampanne3  = endowed with knowledge and humility = [learning1-humility2-endowed3];  gavi5 = on a cow; hastini6 = on the elephant; ca8 = and; śuni7 = on the dog;  ca11 eva9 = and surely; śvapāke10 = on the dog-eater.   5.18   5.18:  A punditah (sage) regards (sees) with an equal eye a learned humble Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even a dog-eater.  --Bhagavan Krishna in Bhagavad Gita       As it may surprise many, India--as Americas are--is a nation of immigrants going back several thousand years. India is the true melting pot and a polygenic DNA Soup. The tribal people are the original inhabitants scattered all over India even to the present day. The Dravidians and the Indo-Aryans were the immigrants in that order. From time immemorial, the Tribals suffered in the hands of the immigrants. At all times, the immigrants entertained benign neglect or discriminated against, injured, and prevented advancement of the Tribals. In real life, there is a lot genetic mix and mash seen on the faces of many Indians, who do not fall into neat racial slots. The Brahmin, the Indo-Aryan and the Tribal of Mahabarata. Excerpt from Hindu Jan 13 2011. The well-known example of injustice to tribals is the story of Eklavya (Tribal) in the Adiparva of the Mahabharata. Eklavya wanted to learn archery, but Dronacharya (Bharadwaja Brahmin) refused to teach him, regarding him as lowborn. Eklavya then built a statue of Dronacharya and practised archery before the statue. He would have perhaps become a better archer than Arjun (Indo-Aryan), but since Arjun was Dronacharya's favourite pupil Dronacharya told Eklavya to cut off his right thumb and give it to him as guru dakshina (gift to the teacher given traditionally by the student after his study is complete). In his simplicity Eklavya did what he was told. This was a shameful act on the part of Dronacharya. He had not even taught Eklavya, so what right had he to demand guru dakshina, and that too of the right thumb of Eklavya so that the latter may not become a better archer than his favourite pupil Arjun? Despite this horrible oppression on them, the tribals of India have generally (though not invariably) retained a higher level of ethics than the non-tribals. They normally do not cheat or tell lies, or commit other misdeeds, which many non-tribals do. They are generally superior in character to non-tribals. It is time now to undo the historical injustice to them. India's Supreme Court Instances like the one with which we are concerned in this case deserve total condemnation and harsh punishment.

Vyasa*: Vyasa  was born of a Brahmana father and a non-Aryan mother.

 Facts and a little parody  If you see some apparent irreverence, it makes it all the more enjoyable.

At the end of the article, a definition of  Brahmin (Brahmana) is given. The verses were uttered by the Buddha (a prince before He became the Buddha) Himself. 

 Information was gathered from several sources.
Ramanuja, Kanchipurna, Ambedkar, Narayana, Andal, Nammalvar, Panalvar, Vivekananda. what is  their  Varna?  Is it  by birth or by attributes?  Which is it? Now it is becoming increasingly apparent that it is the attributes that make a Brahmin, as originally intended and advocated by Lord Krishna. 

The president, Dr. Kalam, is a Muslim; the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, is a Sikh; there are Dalits (the oppressed or untouchables) in the legislature, parliament, and ministries; India is showing signs of equality of races and castes. Sonya Gandhi, if she wished, could have been the Prime Minister. Gujarat government cited its two-decade old notification which says the Modh-Ghanchi (oil-pressers) caste, to which Modi belongs, was inlcuded in Other Backward Castes (OBCs) categories. "The Social Welfare Department of the Gujarat Government has passed a notification on July 25, 1994  which included 36 castes as OBCs and at number 25(b) Modh-Ghanchi caste has been mentioned to which Narendra Modi belongs. The caste has been included amongst OBCs," Nitin Patel, the state government's spokesperson, said.  Updated on May 8, 2015

The pernicious casteism spreads to USA among upper-caste Indians.

NYTimes reports in the METRO section on 10/24/2004 the following: Mr. Daniel, former director of Columbia's South Asian Institute, told of the resistance he faced among upper-caste Indians on an academic committee when he wanted to name an endowed chair in Indian political economics after a noted untouchable, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, a Columbia graduate who helped draft the Indian Constitution, which decades ago abolished caste system." Article in NYT: Family Ties and the Pressure to Live an Outmoded Tradition

 

    Vivekananda  (1863-1902) the disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa came to Chennai (formerly Madras) and talked about Atman, Brahman, Reality, inane caste system and untouchability. The pernicious, calcified, ossified and petrified orthodox Brahmins of Madras of yore threw verbal barbs without touching him; they called him a Sudra. They asked him in a pointblank in-your-face verbal assault (physicality is out of question; touch is defiling) how a Sudra like him could become a Sannyasi. A Sudra can be householder but not a Sannyasi according to the Brahmanical canons (cannons) of Varnasrama Dharma. Vivekananda tried his best to convince the irate Brahmins that Sannyasa is open to anyone with proper qualification. They saw no reason. Vivekananda loaded his verbal gun with enough powder and pellets and fired it on the pack of Brahmins by saying, "You the Brahmins of Madras, you are the pariahs of the pariahs!"

    By the way, even pariah sheds his bondage and obtains liberation when he mentions the Lord's name, Narayana, once. (Bhagavata Purana 5.1.35)

Swami Vivekananda actually belongs to Kayastha family. The Kayasthas have sprung from the kaya or body of Lord Brahma. They are similar in rank to Brahmans. Krishnaraj: Brahmanas are born from the mouth and thus Kayasthas originating from the body cannot really be called Brahmanas. Swami Vivekananda speaking on the status of Kayasthas said:[citation needed] “I am the descendant of that great man at whose feet every Brahmin bows his head.” Wikipedia.   Comment by Krishnaraj: kAya  = काय in Sanskrit and காயம் (KAyam) in Tamil refer to body; காயம் has other meanings too. Going by present knowledge, genetics and evolution, the origin of the castes from various body parts of a deity appears unscientific and open for question. That being so, You, I, He and She are not born from the various body parts of the deity. Our true ancestors - that is of the humanity- are the African Adam and African Eve in scientific and genetic terms. Why are we still insisting that we have the supreme halo of the Saptarishis and their disciples as our ancestors. This gotra game is self-cheating, self-aggrandizing, self-elevating, self-important put-down of other castes.

 

    This was the same man who came to the west later and addressed  The World's Parliament of Religions Chicago, 11th September 1893, "Sisters and Brothers of America." The recalcitrant Brahmins of Madras of yore saw their stupidity and ineptitude and had a change of heart, after the intelligentsia of the world first and later India recognized his greatness.

Swami Vivekanda says the following to his listeners in America (26th September, 1893):  "The religion of the Hindus is divided into two parts: The ceremonial and the spiritual. The spiritual portion is specially studied by the monks. In that there is no caste. A man from the highest caste and a man from the lowest may become a monk in India, and the two castes become equal. In religion there is no caste; caste is simply a social institution." Another blow to Manu; one-two punch; down goes Manu. Manu is the ancient man who wrote "The Laws of Manu" which codified men into castes. Dr. Ambedkar, who wrote the constitution of India, burnt a copy of 'The Laws of Manu and converted to Buddhism.

My comment: What is amazing is even now there are religious heads who profess, practice, support, and enforce Varnasrama Dharma. Dharma label does not make it sacred or the word of god. It is a misnomer in this context; Dharma cannot be conjoined with Varnasrama; they are poles apart. How could there be justice (Dharma) based on caste, color, race, creed...? Krishna's words on Varnasrama are twisted, tortured and molded to fit their cast and caste. Those words may not be those of Bhagavan Krishna.

Vivekananda also is not thrilled about the hereditary Gurudom in India: the father Guru passing on the mantle to the son. Read what Vivekananda says about pseudo-Gurus and real Gurus.

One more idea. There is a peculiar custom in Bengal, which they call Kula - guru, or hereditary Guruship. "My father was your Guru, now I shall be your Guru. My father was the Guru of your father, so shall I be yours." What is a Guru? Let us go back to the Shrutis --"He who knows the secret of the Vedas", not bookworms, not grammarians, not Pandits in general, but he who knows the meaning. [Sanskrit]--"An ass laden with a load of sandalwood knows only the weight of the wood, but not its precious qualities"; so are these Pandits. We do not want such. What can they teach if they have no realisation? When I was a boy here, in this city of Calcutta, I used to go from place to place in search of religion, and everywhere I asked the lecturer after hearing very big lectures, "Have you seen God?" The man was taken aback at the idea of seeing God; and the only man who told me, "I have", was Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and not only so, but he said, "I will put you in the way of seeing Him too". The Guru is not a man who twists and tortures texts. [Sanskrit]--"Different ways of throwing out words, different ways of explaining texts of the scriptures, these are for the enjoyment of the learned, not for freedom." Shrotriya, he who knows the secret of the Shrutis, Avrijina, the sinless, and Akamahata, unpierced by desire -- he who does not want to make money by teaching you -- he is the Shanta, the Sadhu, who comes as the spring which brings the leaves and blossoms to various plants but does not ask anything from the plant, for its very nature is to do good. It does good and there it is. Such is the Guru, [Sanskrit]--"Who has himself crossed this terrible ocean of life, and without any idea of gain to himself, helps others also to cross the ocean." This is the Guru, and mark that none else can be a Guru, for [Sanskrit]--"Themselves steeped in darkness, but in the pride of their hearts, thinking they know everything, the fools want to help others, and they go round and round in many crooked ways, staggering to and fro, and thus like the blind leading the blind, both fall into the ditch." Thus say the Vedas."

Purusasūkta of Rg Veda [(Purusa = man, heavenly man +  Sukta = Vedic hymn) = The Purusa Hymn or Hymn of Rg Veda)]. It contains the revealed wisdom, cosmogony, race, color, and origin of man.

Varnasrama dharma and separation of the Hindu man /woman into four classes (Brahmana, Ksatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra) and its origin  can be traced back to Rg Veda.

According to the Tantrics, generally man is divided into three types: Divine man, Hero, and Animal (Divya, Vira, and Pasu).  Tantric classification takes the whole human race into consideration in this classification. Tantrics do not, by their tenets and precepts, practice discrimination by caste. And yet you can see some remnants of Brahmanical system even among Tantrics.

Here is man, not according to his birth, caste, race... but according to what he is.

 

 

 

Intuitional = pure, untaught, noninferential knowledge,  largely spiritual.

The above chart illustrates the stages of man in general based on his intrinsic quality which has seven ranges, five steps or three stages according to the system of classification.

Tantric System:  three kinds: 1. Pasu (animal man), 2. Vira (Hero or man-man), and 3. Divya (god-man).

Kundalini System: Seven stages: anal man, genital man, emotional man, thinking man, Sattvic man, intuitional man, and Yogi.

Swami Sivananada Radha: five stages: 1. mineral-man, 2. vegetable-man, 3. animal-man, 4. man-man, and 5. god-man.

Sattvic = good, virtuous.... Rajas = motion and passion; Tamas = darkness, sloth, slumber. Guna = mode, quality, attribute.

W + E + SC = Wealth, Education, Social Climbing; several degrees of separation from animal man; traces of Sattva or goodness.

 

It appears that Manu's system is based on natal division and comes into conflict with other Indian systems of classification, which pertain to one's post-natal behavior and accomplishment. The Non-Aryan system of classification is much older and robust than the Aryan Manu's decrepit system.

 

Saint Ramalingar (1823-1874) of Tamil Nadu Vellalar caste advanced the following precepts. They (Vellalars) have been described as Upper Shudras or Sat-shudras in the Brahmanical Varna system. The Vellalar community however never accepted this classification and they have challenged the Brahmins who described them as shudras Common titles are Mudaliar and Pillai. When southern parts of Tamilnadu came into the control of Telugu Nayak kings, most Vellalars were employed by them as accountants, hence they assumed the title Kanakku Pillai, in Kerala they use the title Karnam Pillai.  Wikipedia.   1) There is only one God. 2) He is Arut-perum-Jyothi (God, the great embodiment of  effulgent Grace). 3) Do not waste time with worshipping minor deities. 4) Do not perform animal sacrifices. 5) Do not eat meat, poultry, fish etc. ("When I see men feeding on the coarse and vicious food of meat, it is ever-recurring grief to me.") 6) There should not be any discrimination based on caste, jati, race and religion.     There should not be any difference among Jatis, castes and religions. 7) Consider all life equal to yours; see unity in all beings. 8) The door to heaven of happiness opens when you feed the hungry and show mercy. 9) Puranas and Sastras do not reveal the Ultimate Truth (A fundamental departure from established religion.) 10) Get rid of bad habits. 11) Do not pierce your ears and nose (body-piercing). (A 19th century statement is still good today. are you listening, boys and girls?) 12) Do not take back the Thali of woman upon her husband's death. (Thāli = marriage badge (equal to a wedding ring) worn as the neck ornament by married woman.  The badge, usually made of gold, hangs at the level of the heart from the neck chain.) 13) The dead should be buried and not cremated. 14) Do not perform funeral ceremonies and Tithi (Ceremony performed in honor of a deceased person on the anniversary of his death) 15. Entertain a balanced view on all matters. 16. "Service to mankind is path of moksha or Liberation".

 

Virudunagar Vital signs “People’s Watch”, an NGO, alleged the two-tumbler system still existed in the village, wherein Dalits and upper caste people are made to use different tumblers (drinking utensil) in tea shops and eating joints. Some people belonging to upper caste attacked Dalits, including women and children, ransacked their houses and took away valuables including some jewellery, they said, adding the houses damaged in the incident included that of the Tamaraikulam Municipal vice-president. Krishnaraj: The Dalit jewelry is fit for stealing and wearing; but the higher caste thief won't drink out of the same stainless steel tumbler used by a Dalit, though it might have been heat-sterilized.  The Hindu Feb 6, 2011 http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article1161650.ece

 

The one who knows the Imperishable as Brahman is a Brahmana (Brhad Upanishad 3.8.10). The last statement in the Upanishad absolutely eliminates any doubt that only Brahmins have the privilege to know the sacred scriptures and learn about and know Brahman. The birth caste of a person is irrelevant; his Guna or nature is relevant. For Yoga sadhana, a Guru's guidance is recommended. A Guru transfers spirituality to his pupil by sparsa (touch), Dharshana (sight), and Sankalpa (thought). Ramana Maha Rishi was known to have conveyed his wisdom, grace and bliss just by casting his eyes on the visitors.

 

Siva in answer to a question from Parvati tells her: Veda is not Veda, the eternal Brahma  is Veda. Whosoever knows the Brahma Vidya is a Brahmin, skilled in the Vedas (Verse 50).  After knowing Brahma Jnana, one is free from all distinctions of caste (57). Jnana Sankalini Tantra.

A view from the West: Abbe Dubois in his own words in green.

Abbe Dubois (1770-1848) a Christian Missionary from France was one of the most astute Hindu watcher in Tamil Nadu, India and an acerbic commentator. He did feel that Mantras neither induced vibrations nor oscillations of Spirit nor obtain realm of peace. He most of his time was watching the Hindus so much so that he did not have time and that he converted in his own words only  "two to three hundred converts, 2/3rd were 'pariahs' (his words) or beggars and the rest composed of Sudras, vagrants and outcastes of several tribes." He was frustrated that Roman Catholicism contaminated with caste system prevailed among the converts. The converts consulted the astrologers and purohitas (priests), practiced Hindu manners and customs in marriage. He had a particular annoyance at the Brahmin community then, whom he regarded as the sole purveyors of Mantras, which 'enchain the power of gods themselves.' Gods thus bound by chains were afraid of Purohitas who declared themselves as 'Brahma gods or gods of the earth.' He quotes a Mantra familiar to Purohitas:

 

Devadhinam jagat sarvam,

Mantradhinam ta devata

Tan mantram Brahmanadhinam

Brahmana mama devata

 

Which means, 'The universe is under the power of gods; the gods are under the power of Mantrams; the Mantrams are under the power of the Brahmins; therefore the Brahmins are our gods.'  'The argument is plainly set out, as you may see, and these modest personages have no scruples about arrogating to themselves the sublime title of Brahma gods or gods of the earth. When one points out  to the Brahmins that these much-vaunted Mantrams do not produce startling effects in the present day, they reply that this must be attributed to the Kali-Yuga, a veritable age of iron when everything has degenerated.

Abbe Dubois derides Gayatri Mantra, so highly regarded by Hindus. He observes derisively that Gayatri Mantram removes the sins and that gods tremble at it. The Brahmin must make sure that he always repeats it in a low voice,  that he is not overheard by a Sudra, or even by his own wife, particularly at the time  when she is in a state of uncleanness (monthly periods). The Mantram should not be imparted to an unbeliever (like Abbe Dubois). Page 138-140: Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies. (Dubois speaks and writes here in green and I in black.)

 

Dharmasutras (of Vasistha): Verse 5.10. People in whose homes there are menstruating women, people who do not maintain the sacred fires, and people in whose family there hasn't been a Vedic scholar--all these are equal to Sudras. Translation by  Patrick Olivelle, page 265

 

 

The Sudras, the Sutras, the gotras and the Y chromosome

  The Brahma Sutra devotes a whole section 1.3.34 to 38 on the topic of disqualification of Sudras for Brahma-knowledge.  Janasruti, a previously documented Ksatriya (warrior caste) but now mistaken for a Sudra (menial worker) was grief-stricken to hear words of disrespect. Of all birds, a flamingo derided Janasruti for lack of Brahma-knowledge and  he ran to Raikva in grief.  When Raikva saw grief written all over the face of Janasruti, Raikva called him a Sudra for the word Sudra also means "grief."  That makes every Sudra feel good, for a Sudra it is a little better to grieve than to heave in pain.  The Sudras are prohibited from offering  sacrifices, but not acquiring Brahma-knowledge.  A well-known Sudra of Mahabharata is Vidura, born of  Vyasadeva and a palace maid and is known to have mastered Brahma-knowledge.  

By the way Sutra means thread and is cognate with Suture; in this context Sutra means aphorism.

The Gotra game

Gotra means "Cow-pen or Cow-shed" and is of two kinds - Vaidika and Laukika.  Vaidika is according to the Vedic prescription and the Laukika is "mundane, worldly, common". In ancient times the extended family members shared one cowshed and therefore that name stuck.   Gotra is a family tree whose root can be traced to a common ancestor. Since  it is exogamous and patrilineal, it is  based on the Y chromosome.  The females claim the gotra of  father, and of  husband after marriage. A man can not marry a woman of the same gotra.  But a male can marry a woman of the same gotra at least seven degrees removed from his father.  The Vaidika Gotra members trace their lineage from high priests and renowned  Rishis, namely  Bharadvaja, Gautama, Jamadagni, Visvamitra, Kasyapa, Atri, Vasistha (SaptaRishis) and more (Atharvan, Angiras, Bhrgu).  Strictly speaking only Brahmanas can claim a  gotra.  The Ksatriyas and others can not claim any such medallion or pendant, simply because they are not cognate to the original  Brahmana Rishis and for that reason they are categorized in the laukika (mundane) variety. There were exceptions:  Visvamitra and Vasistha,  both Ksatriyas by birth performed tapas ( austerity) and were accepted as Brahmanas. Mundane gotra members  are defined as non-cognate followers of  a succession of disciples of the original Priests and  Rishis.  There is no genetic or Y chromosome connection here between the mundane gotra members and the original Progenitors listed above.  Y chromosome is  transferred intact from father to son. The only way to resolve the dispute is to perform DNA analysis of Y Chromosome in males,  and Mitochondrial DNA of all people and find out the common denominator or tree structure in Vaidika and Laukika Brahmins, Ksatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras. Additional benefit  would be finding any strays among other castes who belong to Brahmana caste and strays who are Non-Brahmins among Brahmana caste by the strength of DNA analysis. It is a known finding that Brahmins by and large belong to Eurasian genetic pool and are closer to Europeans than to ancient people of India. Ramanuja took in his fold a lot of Jains and non-Brahmins; genetically there is a mingling between the Brahmins of yore and the neo-Brahmins of post-Ramanuja period. The Brahmins are not as pure as they think they are. There are whites in USA who have sickle cell trait or even disease, though they have all the conventional features of white people. Does it all mean anything? Claim of superiority by race, color or caste is for the weak, who has no other flotation device in this sea of Samsara; he or she clutches on the straw of race, color or caste to claim superiority in a roiling sea, where intellect, prudence, patience, tolerance, compassion, sympathy, and empathy are the flotation devices. Bigotry, arrogance, false sense of superiority, and inhumanity are the dead weights that sink the soul, body, and mind into the abyss of darkness.

 

Sri U. Ve Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy The combination of rishis , pravara and gothra make every lineage unique. So we need to avoid spouse of same gothram only. For that matter all rishis were born from Brahma and so we would all belong to one father including saraswati the consort of Brahma. Comment by Veeraswamy Krishnaraj Sri Krishnan Swamy is a Srivaishnavite of first order today (April, 2010). He is a strict Srivaishnava constructionist and adheres to its tenets and precepts without any deviation or exegesis. His knowledge, sincerity of purpose and devotion are unquestionable. And yet the above statement in one part conflicts with scientific evidence. It appears to me that Gotra has a geographical confinement to India. What Gotra, the people in the rest of the world belong to?  Bhagavan Krishna talks about Varna (Castes). I am not sure He talks about Gotra. It serves a good purpose in that marriage between same Gotra members is prohibited thus ensuring genetic diversity and avoiding in-breeding. Do the Chinese attribute their descent from Brahma and the Sapta rishis? How about the evangelical Christians, who call all these Gotras are mumbo Jumbo.

We are Africans, no matter what your race, color or caste is. No Escape Clause

Mitochondrial  DNA can trace mother backwards to the African Eve. The first man and the first woman are Africans; one cannot wash that off from one's genes, body, mind and soul. If modern science and genealogy are any guide, where do Saptarishis fit in? Why are the Brahmins and the priests play this Gotra Game?  It is the tradition which perpetuates the feigned superiority of high birth, high Gotra and doubtful mythical lineage to prop something that does not exist in real-life genetics.

The SaptaRishis were the original Rishis, most favored by the gods and were saved at the time of the Great Deluge by Lord Vishnu by taking them on to a floatation device.  These seven Rishis are seven stars forming the Great Bear in the sky. Rig Veda says that Rishis came from all castes. That being so, let us embrace this delightful multi-chromatic hodgepodge.

My mom doesn't know my Gotra.

Jabala, the poor boy goes to Gautama for Brahma-knowledge. Gautama, a man way ahead of his time, asks him what his gotra is. The youngster born of a maid working in a travel lodge (eons ago) admits to his indeterminate status (Nirkkottiram = நிர்கோத்திரம்) Gautama immediately puts his trust on his honesty and truth and takes him as a pupil. The lesson here is that the content of his character rather than his birth or gotra determines his caste. The Sudra fortunately originated from a body part of the Lord, namely the feet, at which all the Alwars worshipped. At the feet of Lord Krishna, the Alwars, the Sudras, and the twice-born see eye to eye. That is Lord's grace.

நிர்கோத்திரம் =  nirkkōttiram

, n. < nir- gōtra. The state of belonging to no family. See கோத்திரமின்மை. (சிலப். 10, 188, உரை.)

 

The power-grubbing lesser gods cause all the trouble.

Knowledge, power, wealth, service and justice are the cornerstones of a society.  Brahman  establishes order through varnasrama dharma.

Brhad-Aaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 - 17: In the very beginning there was Brahman, who "became all". Becoming all means that he is the Brahmana, Ksatriya, Vaishya and Sudra -the priestly class, the warriors, the traders and the nourishers, (including the Dalits, the Tribals, the Mlecchas and the rest of the human race).  The gods, seers and men who "knew" this became Brahman themselves.  Whoever thinks that he and Brahman are separate and worships a god, "knows not", and is like an animal to the gods.  The gods did not like this secret - the Truth - known to men, for the gods wanted to be worshipped by men and offered sacrifices.  Brahman was not pleased with his first creation, Brahmana and created the Ksatra.  He did not flourish and Brahman created Vis -Vaishyas.  Just remember that the created classes - Brahmanas / Brahmins,  Ksatriyas and Vaishyas were gods originally.  The Vis did not thrive and so Sudras were created.   Sudra is compared to the earth. He is the nourisher.   He did not thrive and Brahman created justice.  This justice / Dharma / Truth / Law establishes order and is the common thread joining the classes. There is nothing higher than this justice or Truth. Brahmana represents knowledge, the ksatra the power, the Vaisya  wealth, and the Sudra service to all. Knowledge, power, wealth, service and justice are the cornerstones of a society.  Sri Chanakya Niti-Shastra says: The strength of a Brahmana, a king, a Vaisya, or a Sudra comes from his learning, army, wealth, and aptitude to serve others respectively.  

 Joseph Campbell on separation of castes and internal segregation within a group, Myths of Light, page 103-104.

Joseph Campbell says, that Hinduism and Judaism are ethnic religions as opposed to creedal religions, Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam. Creedal religions span across geography and race and are founded by a single persona. By and large the ethnic religions come under ritual laws, while creedal religions come under ethical laws. He believes that Dharma and Varna keep a certain group of people compartmentalized and separate from the other group. Since these groups and descendants do not generally intermarry and have their special external markers, they can be distinguished from one another by their physiognomy and other markers, particularly at the village level and even in cities. The behavior of the group is dictated by the ritual laws.  Group identity supercedes  individual aspirations. Societal structure and strata keep the various castes touchable within the group and untouchable outside the group and between the groups. Violation of  ritual laws  within a group makes the violator untouchable and not worthy of having at a dinner table. He cites an example of a Brahmin youth who could not sit with his father to eat at the same table because he crossed the seas and ate with "lechers."  If the youth was Jewish, the father would have used the word goyim, "gentiles." according to Campbell. "These are the people who are not of the holy society. This is a very important point to remember about the great old traditional religions out of which these later creedal religions have developed. The current situation--the relationship of traditional Hindu culture to the secular cosmopolitan society--is extremely complicated, and one can only feel anxiety for the problem of the Indian psyche."

    The caste laws (of each caste) determine the morality, stratum in the society and individual behavior in such ways that the individual spends his lifetime within the confines of their respective constrictive laws; they tell him what he must do and does not address what he wants to do. The individual is smothered and the group is tethered to its laws. "Everything about the individual that you meet on the street proclaims his caste: the dress that he wears; the name that he bears; even his physical character. Since people have married only within the caste for thousands of years, these groups have essentially become separate races. If you travel in India and have the good fortune to get outside of the Cook' s Tours area and meet people of different social orders or see them, you'll know within days how to distinguish the people walking down the street: you can tell when you see them, That's a brahmin, that's a merchant, this one is a Sudra. And it is not merely a matter of bearing and material possession that signals these differences, as they would in the West. Remember, there are wealthy, proud sudras and humble, poor brahmins: everything about the person proclaims his identification with the caste. The goal of all this is to make the individual forget that he's an individual, to make him lose the sense of himself as a freely willing, freely judging, unique being. The highest caste is called the brahmins; in Sanskrit, that is brāhmana. Now that long ā with the line, or macron, over it at the beginning means "related to." So brāhmana means "having to do with Brahman," that divine power which we have been examining-the source and being of the universe."

    Campbell says that the Brahmins employ two important services to assert their top position in the Hindu hierarchical society; one is action and the other word; they are the rituals and chanting of hymns. All aspects of Hindu life from birth to death and everything in-between are governed by rituals and hymns. A Brahmin's presence at every ceremony, stage, and station in life, birth, coming of age,  school, temple, various events, marriage, and death is so significant that the society does not move without them. They chant their way into a Hindu's life from birth to death.  Not paying for his services is sin. Every movement in the ritual act is choreographed; every word is intonated, modulated and uttered precisely. They are passed on from one generation to the next generation. It is a miniature cosmic dance and music.

   Brahmanas are more powerful than gods.

They are the agents between gods and men; their rituals and chanting of Mantras and hymns invoking  god are so powerful that gods are pleased to receive the burnt offerings; if it is not for the brahmana priest, the gods will be starving for lack of food and attention and not receive the holocaust (burnt offerings) of butter and cereal; thus, the brahmanas became more powerful than gods. Without Brahmanas, the temples will not function according to Agamas and Nigamas. One such Brahmana, Bhrgu Muni,  had the temerity to kick Vishnu on his chest because Vishnu was not quick enough to get up on his feet to greet him. The same Bhrgu Muni laid a curse on Vishnu to be born on this earth as Avataras. When was the last time you heard that a delivery boy kicked his boss because the boss did not get up from his seat to receive him with honor guard and a round of applause for delivering interoffice mail?  Strange things happen in heaven! To be fair, Bhrgu Muni was testing  Vishnu as to his fitness to run his Office of  Creation, Maintenance and Destruction of the universe under duress and abuse. Vishnu played along and accepted the kick on his chest. Krishna in The Uddhava Gita, Dialogue 1 Verse 28-34  says, "I served my purpose in my descent as Krishna. The Yadu line has become very arrogant, proud, and greedy and seize all they see. I stopped their usurpation; their end is near and I will oversee it before my departure. The Brahmin's (Bhrgu Muni) curse is in full force on me and the Yadhava clan. My family's destruction has begun. "O Brahma, let me stay with you for a while before I return to Vaikuntha. Look at this devastation and destruction all around you. Nothing can stop the destructive power and play of the curse of Brahmins."  Thus, Bhagavan Krishna Paramatma himself could not escape the wrath and the curse of the Brahmins. The story behind the curse is as follows.

 

      Vishnu’s incarnations were due to karma. Once the Asuras (demons) took shelter in hermitage of Bhrgu Muni. Vishnu, Indra and other lesser gods seized the hermitage and Bhrgu’s wife pleaded with gods and asked them to leave her hermitage forthwith. She threatened to burn them down with the fire of her Tapas. At the suggestion of Indra, Vishnu killed Bhrgu’s wife. (Bhrgu once kicked Vishnu on his chest. The story on that incident is in the Supplement section titled “The Cagey Sages.”) Bhrgu Muni cast a curse on Vishnu saying that he would be born a human being seven times. Bhrgu, being a muni and sage, brought his wife back to life immediately for them to witness his power.  Thus a Brahmana was able to cast the Lord of the Universe Vishnu into a world of misery and kick him on His chest for not paying respects promptly. On top of all this, Vishnu, the Divine Smoothie Extraordinaire, massaged his feet for they might be tired from all the walking he did before coming to Vishnu and the one kick he delivered on Vishnu's chest. Mahalakshmi massages the feet of Vishnu; Vishnu massages the feet of Bhrgu Muni: the optics does not look good.

 

Show me my place in the totem pole of Hindu Caste hierarchy.

How do I get to the top of the list?

 

    The following is the hierarchical layers of a community from top down.

The King (Though the Ksatriya is lower than the Brahmin, the latter is in his employ.)

The Chieftain

The Vedic Brahmin

The Temple priest

The farmer

The blacksmith

The carpenter

The cowherd

The merchant or grocer

The oil vendor

The toddy-tapper

The barber, physician, and surgeon

The washerman

The weaver

The potter

The fisherman

The hunter

The Pulayan: புலையன் pulaiyaṉ. he who eats offal (the inedible parts of butchered animal); aboriginal; low or mixed caste person.

What started as craft gelled and became fossilized as caste; craft passed down generations as a birth privilege or curse.

 

What does a donkey know about sandalwood?

Sometimes gods traded insults by obliquely calling each other a Sudra.  Bhagavatham Canto 4 Text 13: When Daksa entered an assembly of gods, Shiva did not rise to pay Daksa respects. Daksa expected respect from Shiva, because Shiva was married to Daksa's daughter. Daksa excoriated Shiva by saying that giving his daughter to Shiva in marriage  was like teaching Vedas to a Sudra.   Chandogya Upanishad 6.1.1: The Veda chanter is compared to a donkey which knows the weight, but not the fragrance of the sandal wood.  When it comes to food, the tongue knows what the hand knows not.  Maitri Upanishad 7.8  exudes an aroma (is it a stench?) of prejudice against Sudras as follows: it is unworthy of being disciples of Sudras who are learned in scriptures.  A Brahmana cannot be a mere draft animal and  a Sudra cannot be a Vedic expert. A double whammy to Joseph Campbell's nostrum, "Follow your bliss". There were exceptions. The most famous real-life Brahmana, Ramanuja (1017 C.E.) had his Guru and preceptor in a Sudra, Mahapurana / Kanchîpûrna.

Here is an extract from Devi Mahatmya by Coburn on page 27.

 

From our perspective, the most significant agreement of these two traditions is on the applicability of a phrase that has become the virtual motto of Puranic study: itihāsapurānābhyām vedam samupabrmhayet. R.C. Hazra translates this in its fuller context as follows:

 

That twice-born (Brahmana), who knows the four Vedas with the Angas (supplementary sciences) and the Upanisads, should not be (regarded as) proficient unless he thoroughly knows the Puranas. He should reinforce the Vedas with the Itihasa and the Purana. The Vedas is [sic] afraid of him who is deficient in traditional knowledge (thinking) "He will hurt me."79

 

When Mular (Ca200BCE) Speaks, everybody listens.

Tirumular  (●Verses 230-233) states that thread and tuft do not make a Brahmana. True Brahmana wears Vedanta as his thread and his knowledge as tuft.  They, who are devoid of pure wisdom, lack control over senses, remain spiritually bankrupt and vacuous of devotion, and fail to grasp the Truth, are mad fools and not Brahmanas. True and pure Brahmanas follow the path of neither Chit nor Achit, reach the Supreme Guru’s (Siva) feet with guidance from earthly guru, give up all actions, rituals, rites, and ceremonies, and finally slip into Turiya state.  Those who chant the Vedas are the Pure Brahmanas. The Vedanta that flows out of the pure Brahmanas is pure and conducive to salvation. The true Brahmanas realize that Vedanta preached by others is deficient; it is mere ostentation.

234.
அந்தண்மை பூண்ட அருமறை அந்தத்துச்
சிந்தைசெய் அந்தணர் சேரும் செழும்புவி
நந்துதல் இல்லை நரபதி நன்றாகும்
அந்தியும் சந்தியும் ஆகுதி பண்ணுமே.

●234: The Brahmanas, who adopt pure life and reflect on the Truths of the Vedanta, have fertile lands, their king flourishing, if they maintain the sandhi fires.

235.
வேதாந்த ஞானம் விளங்க விதியிலோர்
நாதாந்த போதம் நணுகிய போக்கது

போதாந்த மாம்பரன் பாற்புகப் புக்கதால்
நாதாந்த முத்தியும் சித்தியும் நண்ணுமே.

●235: When Jnana of Vedanta shines, the Brahmanas receive relief from karma, tread the path to the Light of Nadanta, and reach the Bodhanta Light of the Great Lord; Nadanta mukti and Siddhi come within their reach.

The Vedists, who practiced Vedic Truths, abandoned their desires. Thread and tuft declare not the state of Brahmin; thread is cotton, fine tuft is mere hair; (true) thread is Vedanta, fine (true) tuft is Jnana (knowledge); the (true) thread-Brahmins do see the virtues of a real Brahmin.

241.
மூடங் கெடாதோர் சிகைநூல் முதற்கொள்ளில்
வாடும் புவியும் பெருவாழ்வு மன்னனும்
பீடு ஒன்று இலனாகும் ஆதலாற் பேர்த்துணர்ந்து
ஆடம் பரநூல் சிகையறுத் தால்நன்றே.

●241: When the (Brahmins) flaunt their tuft and thread out of rank stupidity, the land withers, and the high-life king is deprived of greatness. Therefore, after great deliberation, it is better the king cuts the thread and the tuft of the pretenders.

242.
ஞானமி லாதார் சடைசிகை நூல்நண்ணி
ஞானிகள் போல நடிக்கின் றவர் தம்மை
ஞானிக ளாலே நரபதி சோதித்து
ஞானமுண் டாக்குதல் நலமாகும் நாட்டிற்கே.

●242: The unwise don matted locks and sacred thread, and act like the wise. The ruler of men should employ the truly wise to test (the pretenders), and educate the unwise in ways of wisdom. That increase in wisdom will bring goodness to the country.

Lakshmi: Don't pick my petals.

Here is a humorous episode as related by Chanakya, a man of words and wisdom.  Lord Vishnu wondered aloud as to why His consort Lakshmi did not want to live in the house of a Brahmana. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, not living in a house means that the house is deprived of wealth and prosperity.

She said " O my Lord,  Rishi Agastya swilled my Father, the Ocean; Brigu Muni booted you on the chest where I reside; the Brahmanas are too haughty with their knowledge gained from Sarasvathi,  my competitor; and last but not the least, they keep picking  the petals of  my Lotus seat. Therefore, my Lord, I stay as far away as possible from a Brahmana."  There is a reason why Lakshmi does not like the petals picked by any one. Lakshmi or Sri rose up with a lotus in her hand  from the ocean that was churned by Suras and Asuras.  Another version states that she was seated on the fully blossomed lotus flower  floating in the ocean at the time of creation of the universe. Sri knew that having the petals picked while seated and floating on the lotus flower is not the thing to do to a friend.   She did not care for Bhrgu Muni, who came to test the patience, fortitude of, and the ability under stress to offer salvation to the devotees by Lord Vishnu by kicking Him on the chest wherein Sri Lakshmi took up residence. 

Agni (Fire) consumes Manu, as Ambedkar rewrites Laws of Manu.

The modern lawyer goes after the Vedic law giver.

Manu wrote the Laws of Manu, codifying the castes. Reference to castes and their respective qualities is mentioned in Bhagavadgita. According to some scholars, the Laws of Manu may have been written by more than one person.  The modern-day Manu was Dr. Ambedkhar, who burnt a copy of the laws of Manu in  public to express his disgust at the codification of people by caste and other disagreeable laws listed in the Laws of Manu.  How about our erudite distinguished President Narayanan? How about President Dr. Kalam, a Muslim by birth and a devotee of Lord Rama? All of them are not Brahmins by birth. But they rose to the highest of the offices in India by sheer Brahmin attributes. No one is born with Brahmin attributes, which are not hereditary. A Brahmana is not being but becoming. A Brahmin does not have to be a Hindu; any one with qualification can claim to be a Brahmin.  Now we have a non-Hindu, non-Brahmin as our Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh and  a Muslim (Dr. Kalam) as the president. India is changing for the better. As of 2011, a woman is the president of India: Pratibha Patil. 2015. Now we have Mr. Modi as a Prime Minister from the "Oil-Pressor" caste.

Varna generally means color, but literally means veil, or screen. Since it means veil or screen, you can right away rule out that color is not the only aspect of varna. In the ancient Indian literature, colors have alluded to men and Gods. Puranas and Alvars describe God in different colors. In various yugas, God appears in colors such as gold, white, red, green, and blue black. The most common color for God according Alvars, is dark blue complexion of the clouds. As you know, the God of the Alvars is Narayana / Vishnu / Krishna.    Black was beautiful as far as Indira (the chief of gods) was concerned.  Krishna and Rama were of dark-blue complexion.  It is interesting to note that the pillar of cloud, Fire, and Ark are the earthly manifestations of G-d (God), according to Jews.

The Color Scheme.  (castes4MenColors.jpg)

 

Each caste was doled out a color. Brahmin got the white, Ksatriya  the red, Vaisya  the yellow, and Sudra the black. On second thought, the colors and  the associated castes reflect the gunas as told by Krishna in BG C18V41. The white goes with sattvic attributes of a person, the red goes with rajas, the yellow goes with a mixture of white and red, and mixture of Sattva and rajas, and  the black with tamas.  He (God) created man in his His own multiple colors. This separation of people by gunas or attributes or tendencies degenerated into a hereditary birth right and privilege. Religion and speech were also some of the distinguishing factors in this separation by varna. Sanskrit, as opposed to Prakrits, connotes that it is cultivated. It is said that the Aryans were faced with Dravidians and proto-Austroloids. It is claimed that color and the nose struck the Aryans. The brown Dravidians and the black proto-Austroloids were branded as dasyu-varna and the Aryans branded themselves as Arya-varna.  Religion, language, speech and Arya-varna congealed into separation of people into a four-fold division: Brahmin, Ksatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra. This was codified, and sanctified by Manu. 

Varna is discussed in Narada Purana (2.43.53b-89) in a question and answer fashion. Bharadvaja, a great sage asks Bhrgu Muni (Remember, he is the one who kicked Vishnu on his chest) to list the criteria used for dividing people into different castes in the light of the fact that sweat, urine, feces, phlegm, bile and blood are of the same nature in all.

 

Notes 2010. In India, skin tones can take you to places or deny admission, earn adoration, adulation and approbation or disapprobation. My father was a light-skinned, clean-shaven Brahmin-looking person fluent in local, national and international politics living in T' Nagar in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. He went to the Siva-Vishnu temple or next door assembly hall daily to listen to the pundits and Brahmins talk about religion (and politics rarely). My father never practiced religion at all but visited holy places. He never spoke ill of gods; if he stumbled upon an idol, he would pay respects and go on his way. The Brahmins always gave him respect and treated him well. They used to wonder and talk in whispers who that Brahmin (look-alike) was. They assumed he was a Brahmin because he was light-skinned and had Indo-Aryan looks. All Indians like the wheat complexion or the color of tender mango leaf (மாயிலை நிறம்). He never opened his mouth and told any of them his name or caste. He died in late 1970s a light-skinned Brahmin in the eyes of the dark-skinned Brahmins. The prevailing attitude at that time was, 'If he is light-skinned, he must be a Brahmin until proven otherwise.' He never went into the Sanctum Sanctorum on his own accord unless he had to tag along with us and I never knew him worship any god in his life. My family never celebrated any religious events in our household. Yet we were Hindus; go figure that. He stayed in Tiruvannamalai and listened to Ramana Maharishi. He was rather a closet philosopher than an idolator. And he never taught me any Hindu philosophy. He went to Gandhi Ashram once and stayed there for a few months. People took to him and Gandhi personally asked him to join the Ashram. He lived in Rishikesh for several months and rubbed shoulders with mendicants, yogis and foreigners. All this he did without much Moolah on hand. He was living on donated food, I assume. We never questioned him about it. Every time he came back home, he looked like a stick. He had a wanderlust and came home for good when the lust weakened and the bones became weary. In good old days, god-men (hermits) wandered with no money, holding a stick and kamandalam (Today's water bottle) and somehow managed to live. Nowadays, this is impossible. My feeling is that he wanted to become a Sannyasi, an Avadhuta or a recluse. Some modern Indians try hard to become anchorites in the dusk of their lives but fail miserably and come back home in tatters.

May 11, 2014. In the south, there is also the ideological possibility that many don’t think about Modi’s caste; an imperviousness that, under normal circumstances, I would applaud. But here the reason is different. Another ugly reality of our society is all that goes with skin colour. The fairer you are then the more brahmin you will be. Ask a random South Indian what caste he thinks Modi belongs to, and you are likely to hear “I assumed he is Brahmin.” Even if you are non-Brahmin, you can, if fair-skinned, get taken to be a ‘brahmin by colour’. http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/the-big-paradox/article5996032.ece?homepage=true

 

 

 

Brahmanas morphed or mutated into Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras.

Bhrgu Muni says in reply that at the time of creation by Brahma, there was no difference between people. All people created by him were Brahmanas, equal in all aspects. Their different karmas made them different people.  Some Brahmanas became lascivious, violence-prone, jealous, risk-taking, red-complexioned fighters full of Rajas (passion and motion) guna. They became the Ksatriyas, warrior class. Some Brahmanas were fond of making a living by tending and rearing cattle, became yellow (mixture of Rajas and Tamas) Vaisyas. Some Brahmanas practiced violence, spoke untruth, worked at odd jobs, and became greedy and black (Sudras) full of Tamas. Here, the colors of Brahmanas (white), Ksatriyas (red), Vaisyas (yellow) and Sudras (black) indicate their character rather than the pigment of their skin. Take heed Sudras and Vaisyas, you were once Brahmanas, but you slipped and slid from your high station and now feel like Sisyphus trying to get back on the top. Brahmanas (the old timers) are saying that things have deteriorated in the past 50 years; it is euphemistic saying for the rise of Sudras and Vaisyas and the fall of Brahmanas. The Sudras and Vaisyas have moved in on them in their neighborhoods and jobs, as they started going to colleges and getting better in their skills. Forget about the Ksatriyas (the warrior class); the Government took care of them: their kingdoms, fiefdoms, titles and purses were abolished in the democratic India. It is like saying in the West that the neighborhood has gone bad, when the minorities move in, take the jobs and marry their daughters.

Those people who practiced truthfulness, charity, benignity, kindness, compassion, sympathy, and asceticism are the Brahmanas. He should be learned in Vedas, have external and internal purity, practice religious duties, respect the elders and the learned, and observe Vratas (vows) and rites. (Now show me one who is qualified!)

A Ksatriya should study Vedas, collect taxes, make gifts and defend his subjects. A Vaisya engages in business, husbandry of nonviolent nature, makes gifts, studies Vedas, and respects the Ksatriyas and Brahmanas. When a person has fallen from the study of Vedas, performs odd jobs and no ordained duty, and eats any food, he becomes a Sudra. If a Sudra by birth shows Brahmanical qualities, he is no longer a Sudra. If a Brahmana by birth does not show Brahmanical qualities, he is no longer a Brahmana.  (It is time for Sudras and Vaisyas do what Brahmanas are supposed to do and become the Brahmanas that you were once before., not in the name but by true worth.)

The difference between a Brahmana and a Brahmin.

This Varnasrma dharma became the foundation of the Vedic society.  The Brahmanas claimed to be the representatives of gods on earth. They sought and got exemptions and privileges from the king. They were exempt from death penalty for capital offences.  They were entitled to receive gifts, freedom from oppression, and exclusive rights to consume sacrificial soma and Prasaada. Since they were gods on earth, no body  was  holy enough to eat prasaada.  His wife and his cow were declared sacred.  The priestly services to the king helped the Brahmana  advance his career to ministerial posts and other high offices of the state.  They became very learned in Vedas.   The Brahmanas were the forerunners of the present day Brahmins. There is a distinction between a Brahmana and a Brahmin.  The former was very much immersed in the study of all scriptures and Sanskrit.  They were the gurus, the teachers, the priests, and the high officials above the king.  A Brahmana was a truly sattvic person in all respects. The Brahmanas trace their lineage to seven Rishis.   In the passage of time not all Brahmanas were able to keep up with the stringent demands and requirements of being a Brahmana.  They took up other professions. Most of them were not proficient in their scholarly pursuits of scriptures or Sanskrit and deterioration took place. Brahmanas became Brahmins.  He, who is not a true Brahmana or a Ksastriya is called a Brahmana-Bandhu or a Ksatra-Bandhu.  It is an associate or an adjunct status. When Gayatri has not been sung for three generations in a Brahmana family, the family loses its privilege and caste status and ceases to be Brahmanas. They still retain the Brahmin status, which is one or several notches below the real entity. He is called a Vrātya = a degraded or disqualified Brahmana. The family which has not performed sacrifices for three generations loses its status and is called degenerated Brahmanas, Durbrahmanas. A degenerate Brahmana can regain his status by performing Prayascittas, expiatory rites. Full restoration is not possible for those who gave up Gayatri for three generations; this Brahmin cannot be made whole again; he is simply a Brahmana-bandu. The neighborhoods where the Brahmana-bandus live lose their status, Agrahara.

Brahmana: Don't flaunt your Tuft and thread. Repeat-skip

Tirumular (V230-233) states that thread and tuft do not make a Brahmana. True Brahmana wears Vedanta as his thread and his knowledge as tuft.  They, who are devoid of pure wisdom, lack control over senses, remain spiritually bankrupt and vacuous of devotion, and fail to grasp the Truth, are mad fools and not Brahmanas. True and pure Brahmanas follow the path of neither Chit nor Achit, reach the Supreme Guru’s (Siva) feet with guidance from earthly guru, give up all actions, rituals, rites, and ceremonies, and finally slip into Turiya state.  Those who chant the Vedas are the Pure Brahmanas. The Vedanta that flows out of the pure Brahmanas is pure and conducive to salvation. The true Brahmanas realize that Vedanta preached by others is deficient; it is mere ostentation. V241-2: When the (Brahmins) flaunt their tuft and thread out of rank stupidity, the land withers, and the high-life king drowns in sorrow. Therefore, after great deliberation, it is better that the king cuts the thread and the tuft of the pretenders. The unwise don matted locks and sacred thread, and act like the wise. The ruler of men should employ the truly wise to test, and educate the unwise in ways of wisdom. That will bring goodness to the country.

Daksa flings insults on Mendicant Siva, the Yogin of Yogins.

Daksa, the progenitor and Prajapati, conducted a sacrifice to increase the material prosperity of the world. Siva, one of the attendees, was insulted by Daksa for not respecting Daksa. Siva’s follower Nandisvara blasted all the officiating Brahmanas for calling themselves twice-born spiritual leaders while they actually put matter over spirit in the performance of sacrifice. They, he said, were guilty of vidya-buddhi, avidyam, and karma-mayam (material knowledge, ignorance, and delusion of karma). Nandisvara cursed all the Dvija-kulayas (the twice-born Bahmanas) for their materialistic pursuits in the performance of the sacrifice, by saying that the Brahmanas of the genre – Vedas-for-sale, Vedas-for-livelihood—would be wandering beggars, glorifying wealth, creature comforts and satiation of senses.

With all the deterioration, as a caste they still enjoyed a privileged place in Indian society and their contribution to the arts and sciences are noteworthy.  There were many Brahmana Rishis, who contributed to the spiritual development.  There were many Sudras too who contributed to bhakti movement both in Siva and Vishnu sects.  All castes made significant contributions in the matters of religion, arts and sciences. There were Dalits (the Oppressed, below the 4 castes) and Tribals who were saints in the true sense of the word.

When a Brahmin is born, he is not a Brahmin until he undergoes the cord ceremony, at which time he becomes twice-born.  Take the Sudra: he is eka-janman (once-born)

Mix and Mash (the gene pool)

But as things go through their natural evolution, there was racial  / caste mixing and integration going on from the time of its inception.   Vyasa  was born of a Brahmana father and a non-Aryan mother.  (Krishna says in The Uddava Gita, Dialogue 11, Verse 19, " I am a Brahmin, Guru and priest."  A technical nincompoop could right away challenge Krishna's assertion pointing out his less than desirable parentage and lineage.) The race became less of a factor as time went on. But the division did solidify into distinct entities not only for the beneficial interdependence of the whole society, but also for the preservation of  privileges and prestige attached to Varna by birth. Even the modern world is divided into a  four-fold division. There is no escaping that fact. The division exists whether we like it not in all societies. It is the mutual respect that is lacking, and most desirable. It is not the color or the jati  (caste) but the attributes that matter. But this Varna was given a boost by allusion -or is it illusion? It is claimed that the Brahmins originated from the mouth of the God, the Ksatriyas from the arms, the Vaisyas from the legs and the poor Sudras from the feet.  (But don't call them poor yet. You have no feet and you arn't a complete person; this in no way denigrates a handicapped person.  Thank God that the Brahmins originated from the fore end.   God puts His money where His mouth is.  While Brahma was creating animals from various parts of his body, he created goats from his mouth [Brahmanda Purana1.2.8.43]. That does not mean that Brahmins and goats are equal or Brahmanas are no better than goats.) The Brahmins, by tradition occupied the higher echelon in all departments of noble endeavor. (Money talks and you know who walks. Yea yea, the Sudra walks.)  But over years, other castes played catch-up. There is no way this Organism can function satisfactorily without the full complement of the four Varnas -divisions. Dynamic tension among castes helped betterment of other castes in all noble endeavors.

Brahmanas claim (genetic) superiority for wearing Aryan genes; but genetics do not support this wishful longing of many Brahmins. A significant number of non-brahmins wear Aryan genes but don't know that fact. Non-brahmins moved up the ladder by adopting their practice. Coburn in his book Devi Mahatmya says on page 10-11 the following as a quote from the book by Srinivas Religion and Society among Coorgs of South India.

"The caste system is far from a rigid system in which the position of each component caste is fixed for all time. Movement has always been possible, and especially so in the middle regions of the hierarchy. A low caste was able, in a generation or two, to rise to a higher position in the hierarchy by adopting vegetarianism and teetotalism, and by Sanskritizing its ritual and pantheon. In short, it took over, as far as possible, the customs, rites, and beliefs of the Brahmins, and the adoption of the Brahmanic way of life by a low caste seems to have been frequent, though theoretically forbidden. This process has been called "Sanskritization" in this book. . . ,28".

[According to text 15 of Brahmasamhita, Maha-Vishnu floating and resting in the causal ocean created Vishnu from His left limb and Brahma from His right limb and the effulgent halo of male principle from the space between the eyes.  If the Supreme God Himself emerged from a limb and not from the mouth or head of Maha-Vishnu, the Sudra should be pleased that he came out of the feet of God.  There were certain people and beings  who emanated from the buttocks and anus of Brahma. Consider Vishnu here . Even though He is derived from Maha-Vishnu, the adjunct or the delegate status does not diminish His  potency.  He is the personal God of the Vaishnavas.]

 

Mixed castes according to Garuda Purana 1.96-1-73, as narrated by Yajnavalkya.

Mixed caste marriages among castes is somewhat like miscegenation in the west once considered illegal in the US. Inter-caste marriage is not illegal but looked down upon by people, less so now. There may be consequences if one party turns out to be an Untouchable.

Father	Mother	The offspring
Brahmin	Ksatriya	Muurdhaabhisikta
Brahmin	Vaisya	Ambastha
Brahmin	Sudra	Nisaada, Parvata
Ksatriya	Vaisya	Maahisya
Ksatriya	Sudra	Mleccha
Vaisya	Sudra	Karana
Ksatriya	Brahmin	Suta  (Sūta)
Vaisya	Brahmin	Vaidehaka
Sudra	Brahmin	*Chandaala (Lowliest of all)
Vaisya	Ksatriya	Maagadha
Sudra	Ksatriya	Ksattr
Sudra	Vaisya	Ayogava
Maahisya	Karanii	Rathakaara

 

Definitions from Tamil Lexicon.

caṇṭāḷan = சண்டாளன் = Chandalan is a common curse word in Tamil Nadu. சண்டாளன் = caṇṭāḷan An apostate who has forfeited the privileges of his religion, caste, ...4. One born of a Brahmani and a Sudra father.  Chandalan is male; Chandalini is female.

சமுத்திரலங்கனன்சண்டாளன்: Samudra-langanan-chandalan = The Brahman (Brahmin) who passes over the sea (goes overseas) is an apostate. கருமசண்டாளன் = Karuma-chandalan = A villian, a scoundrel, a rogue, an abandoned wretch. பரமசண்டாளன், = parama-chandalan =a vile wretch.  சண்டாளப்பாவி = chandalap-Pavi = a vile wretch and sinner.

Conjugate embrace versus conjugal embrace

The pleasures of sweet vengeance

Siva and Parvati as Chandalas

    Matangi (Maatamgi) is one of the ten Mahavidyas who are various manifestations of goddess Parvati or Kali. Matangaka was the name of the chief of Chandalas. Chandalas are one of the lowest among the castes. In a game of impersonation, "fool me, fool me not," Siva impersonated as a traveling jewelry salesman (the milkman of the by-gone era in the west), sold some ornaments to Parvati while she was visiting with her father, and suggested that she could pay him by sexual favors. Parvati without missing a beat said, "Yes, but not now." She had the intuitive divine vision that the traveling salesman was her husband in disguise. Siva went on his way and sat down on the banks of Manas Lake for meditation and worship. Parvati assumed the appearance of a nubile outcaste (Chandala) girl with a shapely body accentuated by a red dress, and  beautiful and beguiling eyes, and danced in front of Lord Siva jiggling her moon-like breasts. Siva's ravenous eyes imbibed Parvati's beauty in motion and gently asked her who she was. Parvati in the sweet innocence of youthful voice replied with the utmost bashfulness, "Swami, I am a Chandala girl. I came to do penance."  Siva is the Yogi of Yogins. Who else is more fit to teach penance? Siva gently took her lotus hand and pressed it tenderly against his lotus lips. Then he proceeded to make love to the captive but willing Parvati, whose identity was unknown to Siva. (They call it consensual sex nowadays.) While they were in the conjugate embrace in Siva's mind and conjugal embrace in Parvati's mind, Parvati morphed Siva into a Chandala (in embrace with a Chandalini). Siva in a flash realized that Matangi (Chandala girl) was no other than his dear wife, Parvati.

    Parvati reaped her sweet vengeance, laid open utter lowness of her action and sexual submission, and begged Siva to accept her in his heart as "Ucchista Chandalini." Ucchista = rejected (once used commodity); remnants of food in the mouth after eating, that are spit out of the mouth; food sticking in the mouth and hands after eating, therefore impure remainder of sacrificial food; left over crumbs. Siva accepted to honor her supplication. She is thus called Matangi (a woman from a degraded mountain tribe or hunter-gatherers, who became Sudras from neglecting all prescribed rites, mlecchas.)  The deities in this instance did not feel ashamed in playing the role of Chandalas You are whom you associate with. One who makes love to a Chandalini, is a Chandala, though he is a god. These Lilas (plays of gods) affirms the fact that all are born equal. The very fact that Parvati asked Siva to accept her as she is (Ucchista Chandalini and Matangi)) speaks volumes about equality. Remember, once Siva's Father-in-Law insulted him as unworthy like a Sudra.

The egalitarian aspect of gods and goddesses did not leave an imprint on the recalcitrant few of the higher castes.

My burial mound is taller than yours. I am Spring and you are Winter.

To further concretize this division, the height of the burial mounds were raised or lowered according to the anatomical assignment of the four castes. The Brahmin's burial mound was the tallest from the ground up and rises to mouth level and so on and so forth. This was not enough for the separation by varna. What metal each one is made of?  I thought people are judged by their mettle.  No pun is intended here. You guessed it right. Each one is assigned a metal that they can wear as jewelry. The Sudra is the iron man.  Guess what?  You got no iron; you got  iron-poor blood. The Vaisya is the brass man. The Ksatriya is gold and silver man of low quality. And the Brahmins wore gold and silver of highest quality. You thought this is the end of it. No way. Who do you think is the man for all seasons ?  Or should I say which is the fair-weather caste?  Just kidding.  Find out. Initiation - upnanayana - ceremonies: Spring for the Brahmin, summer for the Ksatriyas, and fall for the Vaisyas. Sudra, obviously left out in the cold, was not initiated. Could that be why the Sudra is hardy, enduring and catching up fast?  He could take the heat;  no no, I mean he could take the cold. 

Brahmin, Ksatriya and Vaisya carry staffs progressively shorter (than that of a Brahmin) according to the caste superiority, Brahmin's staff being Palasa wood , Ksatriya's Banyan wood, and Vaisya's Udumbara wood.  You can tell them apart by the length and the species of the wooden staff each one carries. The girdles accordingly are Munja grass, bowstring, and hemp thread. Upper garments respectively are the skins of black antelope, spotted antelope, and cow or goat. The colors of garments are white, purple-red and yellow. Condensed passage. --Dharmasutras of Vasistha Verses 11.52-67. page 279 Dharmasutras Translation by Patrick Olivelle.

Mantras, Sudras excluded.

The Brahmin is initiated at the eleventh year after conception and Ksatriya in the twelfth year. Just hold your  Asvas / horses. Gayatri - Vedic poetic meter of 24-syllables, triplet of eight syllables each - was assigned to the Brahmin, Tristubh - meter of 4 feet of 11 syllables each - to the Ksatriya (funeral verses are in Tristubh),  Jagati - meter of four feet with 12 syllables each -to the Vaisya. Jagati has the quality of spreading like waves of water, came out of the western mouth of Brahma and goes with consecration and sacrificial animals. Brhati meter of 36 syllables helped gods gain heaven. Viraj meter consists of 40 syllables (4X10 or 8X5).  Read on.  I love this one, the best of all. The Brahmin can take four wives- holy mackerel-, the Ksatriya, three wives and the Vaisya, two wives and the Sudra only one wife; all this happened at Vedic times.  Poor Sudra, he always gets short changed.  Why does a Brahmana, expected to control his senses, end up with four wives? The primary wife is of the same varna. One can marry down but can't marry up the line, Shucks! Name that Dalit who married up. Dr. Ambedkar married a Brahmana lady, who found no one more fit to be her life partner. Apacharam, Apacharam! according to Varna Dharma. apa-cāra *அபசாரம் apa-cāram = , n. < apa-cāra. Incivility, disrespectful conduct, irreverence. This union might result in mixed-caste children. More Apacharam!

 

Virginity is highly regarded.   Manu Chapter 3.21 to 26: Since a Brahmana is god on earth, a Brahmana  is allowed to marry Brahma, the gods, the Rishis,  Prajapati, the demons, and the Ghandharvas to fill the quota of secondary wives.  Brahmana had in front of him a whole panoply of choices.  The king can have secondary wives, the primary wife being of the same caste, from among the Asuras,  the Ghandharvas,  the Raksasas and  the Pisakas.  Brahma is the creator, Rishis are the seers, Prajapati is the Lord of the creatures, Asuras are the demons /  anti-gods / a-suras, Gandharvas are the atmospheric godlings or akin to the Greek Centaurs ( half human  and half animal - Chimera), the Raksasas are the ogres,  the Pisakas are the carnivorous demons.  The female of Pisaca is Pisaci.  Pisacas are known to metamorphose to any form and render themselves invisible.  Just cover your mouth or snap your fingers in front of your mouth when you yawn. If not, don't be surprised that the feces-eating Pisacas enter the intestine via the mouth. (Sorry for being blunt and forthright, but it is true!)  I wonder why a king would want to have a Pisaci as his secondary wife.

Adultery is discouraged, because it causes confusion of castes. The king can dispense punishment for adultery. 

Sudras left to their own devices.

Coming to the duties of the respective castes, the following is pertinent. Teaching is the essential duty of a Brahmin. No wonder it is that the anatomical origin of a Brahmin is the mouth of the God.   Bearing arms is the principle duty of Ksatriya.  Does that mean he is more brawn than brains?  No, I don't think so. Because there were very erudite kings. Hinduism owes its birth and existence to Kings and less so on Brahmins. Take Krishna Bhagavan a king, who gave Bhagavad Gita free of charge. Take king Rama, the most virtuous. Take Prince Buddha, on whose name and teachings Buddhism came about. Take king Mahavir, on whose teaching, Jainism was born.  Agriculture is for Vaisya. Service to the other three is expected of Sudra. Just like each caste can marry down, each caste also can do the work of a lower caste, when needed, say when the king is a drunk - you had your moonshine and we had our Soma Rasa - and the Brahmin minister had to take over the kingdom  - You call this a step-down, you must be kidding - or when a Brahmin has fallen off his station in life or when the Sudras went on strike! Holy moly.   Sudras can attain merit by imitating virtuous men with the exception of reciting sacred texts. What kind of deal is that?  Only Brahmins, Ksatriyas,  and Vaisyas were  allowed to perform Jnaana yoga, Karma yoga, and  Bhakti yoga.  Sudras were left to their own devices. Sudras never gave up,  played within the system and progressed.

Sudra Saint Nammalvar.

Nammalvar (798AD) was born a Sudra, but respected and loved the Vedas and the Brahmins. The most famous Sudra Saint Nammalvar deviced, practiced, propounded and taught Prapatti and Saranagatti.   Prapatti  and Saranagatti are resignation and  total self-surrender to God with six conditions for its fulfillment.  1: (God) Pleasing acts 2: Avoidance of  (God) displeasing  acts 3: Humility, helplessness, vulnerability because of ordained ineligibility to practice yogas 4: Absolute and irreconcilable faith in God 5:  Supplication to God  for Protection  6: Prayerful pleading of God to safe-keep one's self.  The sixth is the centerpiece.  Here is the Greatest Soul who didn't fight the system, but studied the system inside out  and devised ways to overcome the obstacles.  If you take evolution, you will see that an organism changes its own  devices in order to thrive in an adverse environment.  The organism effected an internal change rather than a change in its milieu .   Now guess who adopted this prapatti and Saranagatti. It was Sri Ramanuja himself, the propounder of Visistadvaita.

A Brahmana takes a Sudra as Guru.

According to Bhagavata Dharma:  Lord Hari's true devotees are the ones who claim no superiority by birth, knowledge, deed, or caste.
Ramanujacharya's genius -Qualified Non-dualism  -  is not only his philosophy, but his humanity. Ramanuja, a Brahmin by birth  (1017 A.D) and attributes, sat and learnt at the feet of Mahapurna, a Sudra, and received important lessons on bhakti and more. Ramanuja's wife, a practicing Brahmin lady - if you call her a lady -, served meals to Mahapurana / Kanchîpûrna  on a plantain leaf, pushed out the leaf by a stick to prevent contaminating herself and took a ritual bath  after serving meals to Kanchîpûrna. She also scrubbed the house clean. Sri Ramanuja was very upset and said that he would have eaten  from out of the same leaf used by Kanchîpûrna. Ramanuja's wife and Kanchîpûrna's wife were quarrelling over drawing water from the same well. In those days and even now, it is not uncommon, esp in remote villages,  that the higher caste person won't share the same well  for water with a lower caste person for fear of contamination.  Kanchîpûrna saw the incident and left Ramanuja to prevent such incidents happening again. In another instance, Ramanuja's wife didn't serve a hungry man, telling him that she had no food in the house.  Ramanuja, to his disgust and consternation, found out that there was enough food to feed the hungry man and more. These three  incidents upset Ramanuja so much that he sent his wife back to her parents and became a sannyasi.  No, Not all Sannyasis were created this way! Eventually Ramanuja asked for forgiveness from Kanchîpûrna, who graciously wondered why Ramanuja was asking for forgiveness.

Holier than me

Once Ramanuja was circumambulating a holy shrine when he saw a Chandala woman ( a person of mixed caste) coming towards him.  R asked her to move away from him so that he could pass.  The woman did not budge one bit and retorted saying that there was purity all around her and which side could  her impurity  turn to.  R was struck speechless at the woman's retort and later  asked her  for forgiveness and declared that she was holier than him.  Later he visited all the holy places all over India, in an attempt to purify himself.

Tantrics are the most broad-minded and yet they impose some restrictions on Sudras.

 Guru Tantra states that Guru is the central figure in all activities of Sadhakas. Any tantric activity without the guidance of Guru is sin. Others are of the opinion that practice of Tantra due to mitigating circumstances like unavailability of Guru for initiation and teaching  does not constitute sin. Guru by convention and sastras is a Brahmana for initiation. A Brahmana Guru can initiate all castes; in his absence, Ksatriya and Vaisya can serve as initiating Gurus for their own or lower castes; a Sudra can never initiate any caste, because initiation, with a Mantra by a Sudra, of other caste member or even another Sudra will take the initiator and the initiated to depths of the Nether worlds.

    Kamadhenu Tantra is very strong in its condemnation of Sudra initiators; they are characterized as follows: Their sinning tongue should not utter Mantras, because their tongues are contaminated with feces, urine and blood. His face is urine, feces and blood; his food is excrement; his water is urine; he is a Chandala (lowest of the low). The mere sight of his face makes the sacred River Ganga abandon its own waters and take a flight out of abhorrence. All  Tirthas (places of pilgrimages) scoot from their seats out of repulsion. A Mantra-Mongering Sudra (seller of Mantras) is an atrocious sight which makes Ganga go to Brahmaloka, the highest place, unreachable to a Mantra-Mongering Sudra. (Sudra's tongue is contaminated because he is presumed to eat meat, blood, and bone of an animal for the satiation of his hunger. Prescribed eating of Mamsa and Matsya (meat and fish) are not proscribed. Mantramongers (Venders) are ubiquitous among  higher castes too. They are not vilified here, but should elicit same condemnation and repercussions.)

 

Dharmasutra by Vasistha 1. If a Sûdra approaches [has sex with] a female of the Brâhmana caste, (the king) shall cause the Sûdra to be tied up in Vîrana grass and shall throw him into a fire. He shall cause the head of the Brâhmanî  [brahmna woman] to be shaved, and her body to be anointed with butter; placing her naked on a black donkey, he shall cause her to be conducted along the highroad. It is declared that she becomes pure (thereby). 1  http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe14/sbe1424.htm   Here is a real life story. Bhadragiri was a king. He married a beautiful commoner and made her his queen. She stealthily had sexual relations with a Stable hand regularly in the Royal Stable. One night he saw what they were doing. Apart from that, the stable lad was beating up the queen. The king next day put the woman on a horse and paraded her in town with a royal crier announcing her infidelity to the king. People stoned her to death.

Shoulder to shoulder with a Sudra, an accidental devotee

Dhanurdasa was an athletic handsome charming young man in love with a beautiful lass by name Kanakamba.  K wanted to go to Srirangam to witness festivities.  D was so much in love with the girl with beautiful eyes and clear skin; he was holding a cover over her to protect her from the scorching sun, wherever  she went.  Ramanuja accompanied by his disciples, was returning from River Cauvery and saw D making love to K, a private act in a public place.  He pointed this private act to his disciples and took up the challenge, saying that he would direct the love of  the handsome man  from girl to God.    R approached him and gently posed him the question as to how he could engage in an act of such nature so publicly.  D replied that he couldn't help but do it, considering her lotus-like eyes, her beauty and charm.  R told him that if it was alright with him, he could show him eyes more beautiful than those of his  girl friend.  D agreed to be shown such eyes and went along with R who took him to the temple, showed him the eyes of Lord Ranganatha and asked him to study the eyes of the Lord well.  D could not not take his eyes off the Lord's eyes and agreed that he never saw anything like them.  He thanked R profusely for having been kind to him and immediately became the devotee of Lord Ranganatha and the disciple of Ramanuja.  K having heard this episode became a devotee of Ranganatha and a disciple of R.  R after morning customary ablutions in the River Cauvery walked many times with his hands on the shoulders of Dhanurdasa, a commoner.  The Brahmin disciples did not like this one bit.  How could he do that?  Apacharam, Apakarman - offence, an offender.  Why so?  Because he was a Sudra.  R told his Brahmin disciple that they were all guilty of  setting themselves high because of  high birth, learning and wealth.  He added that D was completely free from three vices namely pride of high birth and caste, pride of learning and pride of wealth, and they are all contaminated with those vices.  R pointed out that the Cauvery river water could purify their or his body but his mind was purified by the TOUCH of a devotee like D.  The Brahmin devotees did neither raise the subject again, nor protested.

Andal was found as a baby by a flower  bed / garden by Perialvâr.

Nammalvâr belonged to Vellala  Sudra family.  According to Upanishads, only Brahmins, Ksatiyas and Vaisyas were allowed to practice  Bhakti yoga,  Jnaana yoga, or Karma yoga. He was in a fix, because he was  a Sudra. He was a man in a hurry to attain moksa / liberation in this life, not next life.  So his genius devised Prapatti and Saranagatti, resignation and total self-surrender to God.  See above for details.  

The low-born rides on the back of the High-born: A real-life story.

ThirupPananAlvar  (b 781 A.D)  was a low-caste devotee of  Lord Ranganatha.  He was not allowed to enter the temple. He composed  a poem with ten verses extolling the body, the body parts and the ornaments of Lord Ranganatha.  The ending line in his poem - paraphrase -, is:  My eyes having seen You can't see anything else. One day he was sitting by the banks of the  Kaveri River meditating on Lord Ranganatha.  He was deep in ecstasy. He wasn't aware of his surroundings.  A Brahmana temple priest, by name lokasaranga muni,  uttered abusive words and threw a stone on this low-caste Panan because he was on his path to the river. Having been hurt and a victim, the low-caste Panan apologized to the high-born and said that he didn't hear him coming and repented.  This episode didn't go unnoticed by the Lord Himself.  The Lord is color-blind and caste-blind.  He loves His devotees and would never allow anything to happen to His devotees.  The Lord appeared in the dream of the Muni and ordered the high-born to carry the low-born Panan on his shoulders to the Sanctum Sanctorum.  And the high-born carried the low-born to the Sanctum.  The low-caste saint was named Munivahana, meaning that his vehicle was a muni himself or the one who rode on the Muni.

The low-born ThiruPananAlvar sings the eulogy to the Lord in Srirangam. 936. கொண்டல் வண்ணனைக் கோவலனாய் வெண்ணெய் உண்ட வாயன் என் உள்ளம் கவர்ந்தானை அண்டர்கோன் அணி-அரங்கன் என் அமுதினைக் கண்ட கண்கள் மற்று ஒன்றினைக் காணாவே 10 Divyapraphandam verse 936 The Lord of the color of the clouds descended as the cowherd youth and the eater of the stolen butter. He stole my heart. He is the king of the cowherds appearing as beautiful Ranganatha. My eyes, having seen my Ambrosial Lord, will not see anything else. Comment: Lord Ranganatha as child Krishna stole butter from the cowherd households in the hamlet and made a mess of the pots. That same Krishna steals the heart, mind and soul of the poet and the devotees. He is of the color of dark-blue clouds. The Lord is so beautiful that no one can take his eyes off Him. His form once seen, the eyes never see another. The West calls Krishna the pastoral king. Veeraswamy Krishnaraj

 

 

A Dalit (low-caste or Harijan) real-life Saint, Nandanar

    An unnamed Dalit (Pulaiyan) lived in Adanur in Tamil Nadu. He worked on the lands and dead carcasses of animals and made leather goods for the Chidambaram Nataraja temple for the temple drums. He was a Siva devotee. (I lived in Chidambaram for two years while attending Annamalai University in the 1950s.)

Pulaiyan = புலையன் = A tribe of aborigines, inhabiting some mountains. புலை = meat. Pulaiyan = meat-eater or meat handler

(Dalit, known by the derogatory word Paraiyan (பறையன்) in Tamil Nadu; the word Pariah is derived from Parai, the drum; Pariah or Paraiyan is the one who beats the drum to make announcements. Mahatma Gandhi christened them Harijans (children of God). They live on the outskirts of the village and are mostly day laborers, tend cattle and lands for the village upper caste landowners. I lived in such a village in Tamil Nadu and know their lot very well. If there is anything nobody wants to do, that is the job that a Dalit takes. )

   He was later named Nandanar, after people became aware of his saintliness. Before that, he could not go to Chidambaram to see Lord Nataraja because of his daily toil on the lands and low-caste status. People used to ask him when  he was going to visit Chidambaram. He used to say, "I will go tomorrow."  So people named him Tiru-naalai-povar (திருநாளைபோவார்), meaning the "sacred-tomorrow-goer." Right from childhood he was a devotee of Lord Nataraja but he never gained entry into the temple because of his caste status. He watched from a distance the temple and went  around the temple walls as a mark of his devotion to Lord Nataraja.  He did not want to break the caste barriers imposed by others on him and his caste. Once he went to Tirupungur to see the Deity Sivalokanathar. He and his friends stood outside the temple to see the deity in the Sanctum Sanctorum; the sacred stone bull Nandi was in the way for a proper darsan (தரிசனம்). Siva ordered the stone bull to move so that his devotee can take a look at him well. Nandi moved and he received the vision of the Lord. Since then he was known as Nandanar (named after Nandi), a very respectful name for a devotee.  He wished to visit the sanctum sanctorum in Nataraja Temple. How was it going to be possible for a Dalit to enter the temple? Lord Nataraja appeared in the dreams of Nandanar and the temple priests and ordered the priests to let him take a bath and walk through fire and visit him in the Sanctum Sanctorum. 

    Nandanar enters fire

Nandan's  physical body euphemistically called the illusory body perished in the fire with the emergence of a radiant muni of great virtue with the sacred thread shining on his chest and matching matted locks.  When the crimson fire rose to the sky, he was radiant-looking like Brahma seated on the lotus flower. Dundubhi (large kettle drum) sounded; the celestials poured showers of flowers and ManthAra blossoms (shoe flower, Japapushpa, hibiscus rosa-sinensis). He,  to the amazement of the hereditary temple priests (Thillai-Vaz-Anthanar) walked on his own power to the Sanctum (Golden Hall) and merged with the Lord with no trace of him either in the cinders or in the Sanctum.

    Bharati added some dramatic elements in the biography of Nandanar with good intentions and changed the biography, true in spirit and practice. The word VaruhalAmo (வருகலாமோ) packs all that is wrong in the oppression of the Dalits. May I come in to your street so that you can all retreat to your houses and thus stay pure and not see the polluting sight of a Paraiyan?

Vedhiar is an airy character, to whom Bharati gave a physical body and a spurious run side by side with Nandanar.

                    Walking through fire to prove purity and chastity (Sita) and sacredness (Nandanar) has been a disturbing feature of Hindu religion, though ordered by the gods.

        A low-caste Chandala asks high-caste Brahmana Sankara a pointed question.

We have the Pure Self we all share. I can keep my body away from your body. How could I keep the Self that we both share away from you?

Once Sankaracharya (Propounder of  Monism, b 788 A.D) was walking along Ganges River, a Chandala was walking by with his dogs. The disciples of Sankara yelled at the chandala and asked him to get out of the way of Sankara.  It is claimed that a Chandala was born of a Brahmin women and a Sudra man. Here is an instance of confusion of castes as mentioned earlier.  Those days this confusion of castes and its  prohibition were equated to the miscegenation laws of the west.   Here the varnasrma dharma was broken. Chandala was also a lowest person outside the Varna system. The chandala asked Sankara whether the propounder of Advaita philosophy should see the difference between man and man and how it was  consistent with his advaitism. Another expansive version of the same incident gives the following narrative. Sankara himself asked the Chandala to keep some distance from him. The Chandala spoke his mind: What is it that you want to keep away from, my Self or my body? Your and my body are made of food; if you desire, I could keep my body away from your body.  The Self, that is pure awareness, is shared by you and me.  How is it possible for the omnipresent Pure Awareness go away from itself?  Sankara fell at his feet like a stick with all his eight angas at prostration. (Eight Angas / Sashtanga Namaskaram: Prostration by touching with eight limbs: two hands, two knees, two shoulders, chest, and forehead.) Sankara thought that Lord Siva himself in the form of Chandala was there to teach him a lesson. He composed 5 slokas, named Manisha panchaka. Every sloka ended with a phrase that essentially said that anyone, be a chandala or Brahmin, who was learned enough to look at phenomena in the light of Advaita, was his guru.  The great Indian tradition doesn't exclude anybody from acquiring knowledge.  He can rise to any height according to his ability and depth of devotion. According to Chandogya Upanishad 5.24.4,  if any one offers the sacrificial remnant of his food to a chandala, it is offered to the Universal Self.  Here the caste, the race, and all other discriminatory pettiness are given the short shrift.

When the Indian masses were buffeted by orthodox Brahmanical Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Buddhism and other Isms at various ages, Bhakti movement of personal devotion without the umbral priests blocking the light of Grace brought God into hearts and minds of the masses. If it is not for the Bhakti movement, Hinduism would have fallen prey to the latter-day religions and the constrictive, restrictive, destructive, and ritualistic Brahmanical Hinduism, which would have only stunted its growth. 

 

Saint Ramalingar  (b: Oct/05/1823) states that there is no such thing as higher or lower castes.  He adds that the Lord revealed to him that color of the skin is not an indication of a higher caste,  and  that these distinctions of caste and life styles are childish plays.

 

18.41: Brāhmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sūdra, O Parantapa, and their activities are divided according to the Gunas born of their own nature.

 

 

Character (Guna) makes a Brahmin and not natal caste Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) should be the case with castes.  The four classes are not determined by birth or colour but by psychological characteristics which fit us for definite functions in society.  Dr. Radhakrishnan, The Bhagavadgītā , page 364-5. Sri Nārāyana Guru  (August 22, 1856  –  September 20 1928)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sree_Narayana_Guru  Sri Nārāyana Guru  (1855–1928)  From the beginning of time, so far as anyone knew, only Brahmins had ever installed an idol. Yet when Gurudevan (born in Ezhavan Caste) performed the sacred rite it appeared so natural for him to pick up a small rock and install it. When brahmins challenged his right to consecrate, he replied in his famous quote:This is not a Brahmin Siva, but an Ezhava Siva.To those who questioned the timing of the consecration saying it was not an astrologically auspicious time, he replied: Horoscope is to be cast after the birth of a child, not before. He instructed to place a plaque containing a motto on the temple wall which read as: Devoid of dividing walls of Caste Or hatred of rival faith, We all live here In Brotherhood, Such, know this place to be! This Model Foundation! Next, he started a Sanskrit school in Varkala. Poor boys and orphans were taken under his care. They were given education regardless of caste distinctions. In 1913, he founded the Advaita Ashram at Aluva. This was an important event in his spiritual quest. This Ashram was dedicated to a great principle - Om Sahodaryam Sarvatra (all men are equal in the eyes of God). This became the motto of the new Ashram.  He further said in that message, The name Ezhava does not denote a caste or a religion and he made temple rights to everyone. Therefore people can be admitted to this organization without paying heed to differences of caste. Schools rather than temples are to be preferred, he exhorted in a dramatic shift of focus, he said. He advised Sri Buddha's principles of five purities - body, food, mind, word, deed called as Pancha Dharma. An Advaithin to the core, he did not differentiate people on the basis of their religion, caste, colour or beliefs. He was tolerant toward all philosophies that stood for the progress of mankind. In the year 1916, he proclaimed : It is years since I left castes and religions. Yet some people think that I belong to their caste. That is not correct. I do not belong to any particular caste or religion.

The fourfold order is not peculiar to Hindu society. It is of universal application. The classification depends on types of human nature. Each of the four classes has certain well-defined characteristics though they are not to be regarded as exclusive. These are not determined always by heredity.

The Gītā cannot be used to support the existing social order with its rigidity and confusion. It takes up the theory of the four orders and enlarges its scope and meaning. Man's outward life must express his inward being; the surface must reflect the profundity. Each individual has his inborn nature, svabhāva, and to make it effective in his life is his duty, svadharma. Each individual is a focus of the Supreme, a fragment of the Divine. His destiny is to bring out in his life this divine possibility. The one Spirit of the universe has produced the multiplicity of souls in the world, but the idea of the Divine is our essential nature, the truth of our being, our svabhāva, and not the apparatus of the gunas, which is only the medium for expression. If each individual does what is appropriate to him, if he follows the law of his being, his svadharma, then God would express Himself in the free volitions of human beings. All that is essential for the world will be done without a conflict. But men rarely do what they ought to do. When they undertake to determine events believing that they know the plan of the whole, they work mischief on earth. So long as our work is done in accordance with our nature, we are righteous, and if we dedicate it to God, our work becomes a means of spiritual perfection. When the divine in the individual is completely manifested, he attains the eternal imperishable status, śasvataṁ padam avyayam. The problem that human life sets to us is to discover our true self and live according to its truth; otherwise we would sin against our nature. The emphasis on svabhāva indicates that human beings are to be treated as individuals and not as types. Arjuna is told that he who fights gallantly as a warrior becomes mature for the peace of wisdom.

There are four broad types of nature and answering to them are four kinds of social living. The four classes are not determined by birth or colour but by psychological characteristics which fit us for definite functions in society.  Dr. Radhakrishnan, The Bhagavadgītā , page 364-5.

 

 

'Caste is a state, not an iron-bound class, and every one who knows and loves God is a true Brahmin.'   Swami Vivekananda The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 2 [ Page : 508 ]

 

Mr. Thomas, Professor of Sanskrit, University of Oxford was visiting Tiruvannamalai Tamil Nadu in December 1937 and posed a question to Ramana Maharishi.

Q: What do you think of castes?

A: The castes relate to bodies and not to the Self. The Self is Bliss. To realize Bliss one realizes the Self. No need to worry oneself about caste, etc. Talk 433. Ramana Maharishi.

 

Here is what Vajrasucika Upanishad says about caste. This belongs to Sama Veda and undermines caste distinctions based on birth. This passage is a complete extract minus Sanskrit text of Vajrasucika Upanishad,  The Principle of Upanishads, translated by Radhakrishnan (page 935-938).

 

I.I shall describe the Vajrasuci doctrine which blasts ignorance, condemns those who are devoid of the knowledge (of Brahman) and exalts those endowed with the eye of knowledge.

 

2. The Brahmana the Ksatriya, the Vaisya and the Sudra are the four classes (castes). That the Brahmana is the chief among these classes, is in accord with the Vedic texts and is affirmed by the Smrtis. In this connection there is a point worthy of investigation. Who is, verily, the Brahmanas? Is he the individual soul? Is he the body? Is he the class based on birth? Is he the knowledge? Is he the deeds (previous, present or prospective)? Is he the performer of the rites?

 

3. Of these, if the first (position) that the Jiva or the individual soul is Brahmana (is to be assumed), it is not so; for the individual's form is one and the same in the large number of previous and prospective bodies. Even though the Jiva (the individual soul) is one, there is scope for (the assumption of) many bodies due to the stress of (past) karma, and in all these bodies the form of the Jiva is one and the same. Therefore the Jiva is not the Brahmana.

   4. Then if (it is said) that the body is the Brahmana, it is  not so, because of the oneness of the nature of the body which is composed of the five elements, in all classes of human beings down to the candalas (outcastes), etc.; on account of the perception of the common features of old age and death, virtue and vice, on account of the absence of any regularity (in the complexion of the four classes) that the Brahmana is of the white complexion, that the Ksatriya is of the red complexion, that the Vaisya is of the tawny complexion, that the Sūdra is of the dark complexion and because of the liability of the sons and others (kinsmen) to becoming tainted with the murder of a Brahmana and other (sins) on cremating the bodies of their fathers and other kinsmen: Therefore the body is not the Brahmana.

5. Then (if it is said) that birth (makes) the Brahmana, it is not so, for there are many species among creatures, other than human; many sages are of diverse origin. We hear from the sacred books that Rsyasrnga was born of a deer, Kausika of Kusa grass, Jambuka from a jackal, Valmiki from an ant-hill, Vyasa from a fisher girl, Gautama from the back of a hare, Vasistha from Urvasi (the celestial nymph), Agastya from an earthen jar. Among these, despite their birth, there are many sages, who have taken the highest rank, having given proof of their wisdom. Therefore birth does not (make) a Brahmana.

 

6. Then (if it is said) that knowledge (makes a) Brahmana, it is not so because among Ksatriyas and others there are many who have seen the Highest Reality and attained wisdom; Therefore knowledge does not (make) a Brahmana.

 

7· Then (if it is said) that work (makes a) Brahmana, it is not so, for we see that the work commenced in the present embodiment or accumulated during the previous or to commence on a future embodiment is common to all living creatures and that good men perform works impelled by their past karma. Therefore work does not (make) a Brahmana.

 

8. Then (if it is said) that the performer of religious duties is a Brahmana, it is not so; for there have been many Ksatriyas and others who have given away gold. Therefore the performer of religious rites is not the Brahmana.

 Giving away gold is an act of religious duty.

 

9· Then, who, verily is the Brahrnana? He who, after directly perceiving, like the amalaka fruit in the palm of one's hand, the Self, without a second, devoid of distinctions of birth, attribute and action, devoid of all faults such as the six infirmities, and the six states, of the form of truth, wisdom, bliss and eternity, that is by itself, devoid of determinations, the basis of endless determinations, who functions as the indwelling spirit of all beings, who pervades the interior and the exterior. of all like ether, of the nature of bliss, indivisible, immeasurable, realizable only through one's experience and who manifests himself directly (as one's self), and through the fulfillment of his nature, becomes rid of the faults of desire, attachment, etc., and endowed with qualities of tranquility, etc., rid of the states of being, spite, greed, expectation, bewilderment, etc., with his mind unaffected by ostentation, self­sense and the like, he lives. He alone who is possessed of these qualities is the Brahmana. This is the view of the Vedic texts and tradition, ancient lore and history. The accomplishment of the state of the Brahmans is otherwise impossible. Meditate on Brahman, the Self who is being, consciousness and bliss, without a second; meditate on Brahman, the Self who is being, consciousness and bliss without a second. This is the Upanisad,

   six infirmities: old age, death, sorrow, delusion, hunger and thirst. six states:  birth, being, growth, change, waning and perishing.

   Many texts declare that the determining factor of caste is character and conduct and not birth.

Listen about caste, Yaksa dear, not study, not learning is the cause of rebornness. Conduct is the basis, there is no doubt about it. M.B. Aranya-parva 312. 106.

 

O King of serpents, he in whom are manifest truthfulness, charity, forbearance, good conduct, non-injury, austerity and compassion is, a Brahmana according to the sacred tradition.

 

O serpent he in whom this conduct is manifest is a Brahmana; he in whom this is absent treat all such as Sudra. M.B. Aranya-parva 180. 20, 27. The gods consider him a Brahmana (a knower of Brahman who has no desires, who undertakes no work, who does not salute or praise anybody, whose work has been exhausted but who himself is unchanged.

 

Sanatsujata defines a Brahmana as one who is devoted to truth: sa eva satyānnāpaiti sa jñeyo brahmanas tvayā.

 

It is valuable to recall the teaching of this Upanişad which repudiates the system that consecrates inequalities and hardens contingent differences into inviolable divisions.

End of Vajrasuika Upanishad.

 

 

India: (Dalit) Woman Wins Post of Speaker, (proficient in Sanskrit, English, Hindi and Spanish). By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: June 4, 2009 India’s Parliament on Wednesday elected its first female speaker, the daughter of a former deputy prime minister and a Dalit, a member of India’s lowest caste. Meira Kumar, 64, was elected unopposed and immediately assumed her post. She replaced Somnath Chaterjee, a member of the Brahmin caste, India’s highest. Ms. Kumar has been elected to Parliament five times and has also served as social justice minister.

 

 

 

Here is what Pujya Swamiji of  Rishikesh does in his Gurukulam; here is his stance on caste. He takes orphaned children irrespective of caste, names them Rishikumars, and offers them both secular education and Vedic studies.

Parmarth Gurukul, Rishikesh India　

At the sacred time of the Paush Purnima (full moon), 24 of the rishikumars had their official upanayana, or sacred thread ceremony. This ceremony marks the boy's official entry into the study of the vedas and the "gurukul" system. Although historically it was a ritual performed only for the brahmin caste, Pujya Swamiji made no distinctions between children born of different castes. Any of the boys who wanted to undergo the official ceremony - during which they also receive a sacred mantra from Pujya Swamiji - were welcome.

In India today there are thousands and thousands of abandoned and impoverished children, roaming the streets of the cities and the dirt paths of the villages. These are children whose parents were too poor to raise them, or who simply decided they did not want to accept the burden of a child, or who were befallen by an accident that left them incapable of fending for themselves, let alone a child.　

However, simple shelters with food, beds and babysitters are not sufficient. These children need not only to be fed and sheltered - they need to be educated and trained so they can be productive members of society. They need to be inculcated with values, ethics and spirituality which will make them torchbearers of Indian culture and divine cultural ambassadors. We have opened an orphanage /gurukul in Rishikesh where 100 young boys live and study - both basic academics as well as intensive Sanskrit and ancient Vedic texts. Their days are filled with yoga, meditation, Vedic chanting, reading of scriptures, mathematics, seva and special programs designed to infuse their lives with essential sanskaras. They are being trained to be not only doctors, scientists and engineers, but they are also being trained to be India's cultural ambassadors, to be the priests and guides who will travel throughout the world, carrying with them the ancient secrets of the Vedas combined with the blessings of Mother Ganga.

　From the first minute that the boys arrived, their identity was changed from "orphan" and "poor" to "Rishikumar." With that slight, simple change of term, their entire identities have changed. Looks of hopelessness have become looks of great optimism and hope. Lightless eyes have become bright, shining eyes. Feelings of destitution and despair have become feelings of pride, of faith and of enthusiasm.

　We currently have 150 young boys living in our 2 gurukuls, one on the premises of Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh and the other on the premises of the Veerpur ashram, 8 km. away. We are looking to take in up to 500 more children.

Computer Centre for Rishikumars

February 2005 saw the inauguration of a computer centre in the Gurukul, which was kindly sponsored by Bellaben and Yogeshbhai Patel. A special prayer was said at the function so that the rishikumars grow, blossom and bridge the gap between ancient traditions of the Himalayas and modern technology of the computer age.

　Janeo Sanskar of Rishikumars

On 12 July 2005, Parmarth Gurukul accepted 91 new Rishikumars into the Gurukul. The children, all of whom come from poor, disadvantaged situations (some of whom are orphans, some who have one parent, some who have both but the parents cannot properly care for the children) received their janeo sanskar. The sacred thread ceremony is an important ritual in the life of a Hindu boy (see www.parmarth.com/sanskaras.htm for details of the meaning of this ceremony), and one which prepares him to study the scriptures.

The ceremony was performed and all the rishikumars received the sacred mantra from Pujya Swamiji and a mala for japa, as well as a special asana for sitting for their meditation and sandhya.

　In the evening, after the Ganga Aarti, the rishikumars all (new and old) received new clothes, new school books and big sweet ladoos, by the hands of the Shahra family from Indore and Mumbai.

Here is a real-life story of a high-caste Nayanar (Naminandhi Adikal (நமிநந்தி அடிகள்) , a devotee of Siva.  Lord ThyAgEsar (Image) rode in state from TiruvArUr to Manali. There was a huge crowd jostling with each other for a good clear obstruction-free Darshan (¾¡¢ºÉõ = Auspicious sight of the deity) of the Lord. The Brahmanas, Vaishyas, Sudras and other unclassified castes were mingling in the crowd and rubbing shoulders. Adikal went home that night but did not enter his pollution-free house because his body was polluted by the touch of the lower castes. He went to sleep in front of the house that night, as he was thinking he would take a cleansing bath. Siva in His Archana form appeared in his dream and told him that all those born in TiruvarUr are His Ganas (attendants) and that he should take a note of this condition. He woke up early in the morning, told his wife of his dream and being afraid of Apasaram («Àº¡Ãõ = irreverence) for not doing the morning worship, left for TiruvArUr. All the people of TiruvArUr appeared as Siva-Nilakanta (Siva with blue throat) to Adikal, who raised his hands above his head, held the palms together and fell prostrate on the ground in humility and became ecstatic at having seen Siva (Siva clones). Here you may notice several things. Siva is the egalitarian God. He forgives His devotees for any infractions and wrong notions about caste. He positively tells them what is right and what is wrong in a very non-threatening and amiable manner without flustering the devotee. He even gives a vision of Himself to his erring devotees. Pollution is just not a physical but mostly a mental perception. Siva tells the down-trodden and oppressed people that they are one with the higher castes and He has their interest in His mind. Siva gives Grace (அனுக்கிரகம்) to all irrespective of caste. The following verse depicts the appearance of Siva with blue throat to His devotee as myriad Clones of Himself, to teach the high-caste errant devotee that He belongs to all castes.

Periya Puranam (பெரிய புராணம்) Verse 1899 by Sekkizar.

தெய்வப் பெருமாள் திருவாரூர்ப் பிறந்து வாழ்வார் எல்லாரும்

மைவைத்து அனைய மணிகண்டார் வடிவே யாகிப் பெருகு ஒளியாய்

மெய்வைத்து அமர்ந்த மேனியராம் பரிசு கண்டு முடிகுவித்து

கைவைத்து அஞ்சி அவனி மிசை விழுந்து பணிந்து கண் சிறந்தார். 1899

All the people born in Tiruvarur under the aegis of the Supreme Lord of the gods (ThyAgEsar) with the black throat appeared as the blue-throated Nilakantappas with effulgent bodies. Having seen the nature and appearance and become afraid, he raised his hands above his head, brought his palms together, fell prostrate on the ground in worship and humility and became ecstatic at seeing the form of the Lord.

May 2009: Indian students in Australia, the land down under of Aussies and a former Penal Colony are the victims of assault by the Junkies among Aussies.

There is a lesson to be learnt from the Aussie Junkie Curry Basher, who is an equal opportunity  Basher. All Indians and Indian look-alikes joined together to protest the violence against Indians. The basher did not pick and choose one's religion, caste, economic status and other identifiers. The victim could be Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Brahmin, (Ksatriya), Vaishya, Sudra, Dalit, other or any one of the scheduled castes and tribes (SCs & STs constitute 24% of India's population). The Curry Basher goes by your look and not by your affiliation. All of you joined together in the protest, because each one of you felt the pain irrespective of that which separates one from the other. When you go back to India, you should remain Indian, advocate oneness of all Indians and do not engage in divisive politics or practices. In a larger global context, each one of us is a citizen of the world and thus should rise above that which separates us. Obviously the supreme ignoramus the curry basher is not destined for greatness. They are the scum, the dross, the riffraff, the dregs, the refuse, the curse of Australia and the world. We should not be part of his culture.

What Krishna Bhagavan tells about Varna in Bhagavad Gita:

4.13: I founded (created) the fourfold order of Varna according to guna and karma (fundamental quality and work). Though I am the founder, know me thou as unable to act or change.

It is quite possible that this verse is an interpolation by the unscrupulous. This social engineering of the past was deliberate in excluding other castes from acquiring knowledge.

 

Sri U. Ve Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy (VVKS) speaks to his flock. This is a question and answer forum. I have omitted the questions to save space. You may go into the web site for more on questions. http://www.kinchitkaramtrust.org/viewReleasedQuestions.action Commonly held views by the current Acharyas 1) One cannot move from one varna to another. It is decided when born. By conduct one can follow satvik qualities. Moreover there is no need to switch as moksham (मोक्ष = Liberation = Vaikuntam) can be attained from any varna. (VVKS) Varna = वर्न = appearance, color = Brahmana, Ksatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra (Brahmana, Warrior, Trader, worker.--Krishnaraj)) 2) All the three varnas (castes) have poonul (sacred thread), So not only brahmanas. 2. Your Varna (caste) is decided by your birth. If your father is a brahmana you are a brahmana. 3. We cannot choose or switch varnas (expect in extreme cases like Visvamitra who had enormous will power). So although you work you will have to follow brahmana dharma only and try to practise all karmas of a brahmana. 4,5. Yes if you realise your varna in the real sense then you can lead your life by chanting vedas and preaching bhagavat vishayam to others. Bhagavan would certainly protect you and your family. Before taking any decision discuss with your parents and wife.--(VVKS). (Chanting Vedas and preaching matters related to God are the duty of a Brahmana; If they follow the injunctions, many Brahmana households will be in penury. The country will lose the great minds from public service. Science and education will suffer.--Krishnaraj)) 3) Varna sankaram (inter-caste marriage) is a papa (sin) as per first chapter of Gita. (VVKS). (Comment: Inter-caste marriage as a sin is an empty rhetoric. This is like miscegenation of the races--marriage between the white and the black. Historians say that those days, marriage between the Aryan and the Non-Aryan was discouraged. Itihasas mention many instances of marriage between castes--Krishnaraj)) 4) Yes Ramanuja sampradaya would accept anybody as a Sri vaishnavite irrespective of caste or country provided the individual follows the prescribed rules. (VVKS).  (This is egalitarianism of SriVaishnavism, when it comes to moksa or liberation.--Krishnaraj) 5) The combination of rishis , pravara (lineage) and gothra make every lineage unique. So we need to avoid spouse of same gothram (cowshed, house, race) only. For that matter all rishis (seers) were born from Brahma (god of creation) and so we would all belong to one father including saraswati the consort of Brahma. (VVKS). (Every Brahmin claims lineage from Seers born of Brahma. This, though very gratifying, inspiring, self-aggrandizing, and elevating, is against present scientific evidence that we all came from African Eve and African Adam. Our remote ancestors were humanoids and sub-human beings--Krishnaraj) 6) Varna and asrama dharmas (caste and duties of the stages in a Brahmana's life) are relevant for any day. They may deteriorate due to the changing yugaas (Cosmic age) and more due to the nature of people in the yugaas. Your suggestion that we can alter the prescribed dharmas (caste duties) according to their current profession cannot be held valid as, prima facie, a change in profession itself is not acceptable. When there is a rule that I should not cross the yellow line can we formulate a fresh set of rules for driving across the line. In reality even if many are crossing it cannot be justified or ratified. (VVKS). (This essentially states that each caste should perform what  Manu-authored so-called sacred texts have prescribed: A Brahmana learning and teaching sacred texts; a warrior doing the fighting; a Vaishya doing agriculture and related things; a Sudra serving the first three. By this measure, we would not progress any further than what prevailed in Vedic India. We would be taken over by the stronger countries who do not believe in Vedic texts and prescriptions. This is a recipe for disaster.--Krishnaraj) 7) Mukti (liberation) is common to all varnas and asramas. The swamis whom you have mentioned are following sanyasa asramam (renunciation) as they have chosen that. Entertaining foreign guests especially when they are non veg and alcohol consumer would amount to papam (sin). Kindly abstain. You will have to wear metti (மெட்டி). I am sure you will find a way out of your shoes. (VVKS).  In Vedic times, the Twice-born indulged in Soma, a drink, the West claims, gives inebriation and hallucination. The present day religious heads dispute the west's assumption, though they and the west never imbibed the stuff and thus cannot offer any opinion. (Metti (மெட்டி) are silver rings worn on the second toes by married woman. The friction between the silver rings and the toes establishes a connection with the uterus and the brain (the pituitary), thus assuring pregnancy and lactation. These rings sometimes make it difficult to wear shoes especially in the winter. But removing Metti is against the injunctions. Entertainment by Brahmins of the foreigners (Whites, Blacks, Chinese, Europeans including Indians) with chicken, meat and alcohol are against Hindu injunctions. Just a reminder: the Vedic Brahmins ate Beef. I am a vegetarian and teetotaler.--Krishnaraj) Here is what Woodroffe says in his book on castes. Ref: The Garland of letters, page 295  The cultural restrictions in this country have been of a different kind, consisting in the social ordering of life, and in  later times exclusion from knowledge by reason of artificial distinctions of caste. But those, to whom the book of knowledge was open, have always been able to think freely enough. Comment by V. Krishnaraj: One of the main reasons why caste system came into being is to exclude people from knowledge. Thus all the sacred texts were excluded from the mental domain of the lower castes. A Brahmana woman joins the ranks of Sudras in the sense that both of them should be excluded from hearing Gayatri Mantra uttered by her husband. A mind thus deprived is an inferior mind. The mind thus enriched by knowledge is the superior mind. That is why in the whole of India, the Brahmins advanced by the paradigm of exclusion of other castes from acquiring knowledge. Simply by training and exercising the mind, the Brahmins became the best among Indians.  But not all Brahmins were endowed with superior knowledge because of inability, inaptitude,  disability and other unwelcome deficiencies. The oppressive caste system could not stop the Non-brahmins from acquiring knowledge either. The inherent genius of the Non-brahmins showed and it was unstoppable. The true Non-brahmin intellectual elites like Tiruvalluvar (திருவள்ளுவர், a weaver by profession) of Tirukkural, Kamban (கம்பன்) of KambaRamayanam (Kambar belonged to the Ochchan or Occhan caste, traditionally Nadaswaram players in southern India, who was well-versed in Sanskrit and Tamil) and Sudra Nammalvar  (நம்மாழ்வார்) of Divyaprabhandam. Nammalvar  is the prolific leading poet-devotee of Vishnu who described Vaikuntam, the Sri Vaishnava heaven. He composed 1296 hymns (1296/4000). There are many more like them. Valmiki (வால்மிகி) of Ramayana was the son of Sumali. Maharishi Valmiki was born in a tribal Koli/Bhil family(Dalit). His birth name was Ratnakara, and he was, by profession, a Robin Hood styled Dacoit. But the trust factor of the sources is questionable. When everyone left to travel south Sumali took his son and wife and moved near the bank of Vipasa River (Northern India).[3] The Uttara Khanda tells the story of Valmiki's early life, as an unnamed highway robber who used to rob people before killing them. Other versions name him Valya Meet. Robbing people who passed by was the only source of money for him.--Wikipedia Vyasa (வியாசர்) of Mahabharata appears for the first time as the author of, and an important character in the Mahābhārata. He was the son of Satyavati, daughter of a ferryman or fisherman,[4] and the wandering sage Parashara. He was born on an island in the river Yamuna.--Wikipedia The fact of the matter is that Brahmins by and large are in the privileged position of being the repository of knowledge. They thus had the best of jobs in the country. That is indeed good for them and for the country; but ethically speaking it is immoral and that privilege came about by excluding others. Chanting Vedas and preaching bhagavat vishayam (Matters of God) to others are what Brahmanas were ordained to do by sacred injunctions. But in practice, the Brahmanas took other professions where knowledge was essential; they stayed at the top of the heap. Take the Noble prize winners of South India like C.V.Raman and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan. The Brahmins have educational, religious and traditional culture that made them shine above others. Other castes should emulate them and advance. They should use their skills to promote the same ideals in others.  It has been once said by an eminent person: there in the paddy fields, there are many geniuses and hands toiling and languishing in the hot sun because of lack of equal opportunities for their mind to function and shine. The present day Acharyas should desist from saying that Brahmanas should only chant Vedas and spread the word of God and other castes should do their caste-ordained or caste-bound duties. India would never be able to compete with the west and the East in this world, if this stultifying paradigm continues to be the model. By the paradigm of exclusion of lower castes, promulgated even now by the die-hard purists, to acquire knowledge, Tiruvalluvar, Kamban, Nammalvar, Vyasar, Valmiki should have done exclusively their caste-ordained work of playing Nathasvaram, weaving and clerical jobs...  Fortunately, they were what and where their knowledge took them and benefited all. Equal opportunity is the new game in town. All classes and castes are advancing now. Why do you think India became the favorite country for foreign invasions? It is because we were divided and weak. Abdul Kalam says: In his book India 2020, Kalam strongly advocates an action plan to develop India into a knowledge superpower and a developed nation by the year 2020. He regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower. --Wikipedia.  He further states: First of all strength respects strength. To protect the nation, nation should have adequate strength. Hence we need to equip ourselves with minimum deterrent capability defense. If we have strength and good leadership, then peace in the nation will prevail. Remember the humiliation suffered by India in 1962 from the Chinese incursions into the so-called disputed territory. There ended the slogan, Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai, which was downgraded to Hindi-Chini bye-bye. January 12, 2012: The two Asian giants China and India might be rivals due to their border disputes and the said, unsaid willingness to beat each other. But in a major first both emerging economies are going to cooperate in astronomy research as partners in a Hawaii telescope, the world’s largest telescope when it’s built around 2018. AP reported that China and India will pay a share of the construction cost – expected to top $1 billion – for the Thirty Meter Telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea volcano. They will also have a share of the observation time. TMT will be a 30 meter long and with a segmented primary mirror of nearly 100 feet which will give it nine times the light-collecting area of the largest optical telescopes in use today. Its images will also be three times sharper. It will be able to observe planets that orbit stars other than the sun and enable astronomers to watch new planets and stars being formed. It should also help scientists see some 13 billion light years away for a glimpse into the early years of the universe. October 2012. http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/china-and-india-today-diplomats-jostle-militaries-prepare

 

 

Kasi Pilgrimage Incident converts a theist to an Atheist. Feeding others for the attainment of heaven. Here in this instance, the Brahmanas broke the rules and go to hell. Tirumantiram Verse 215. ஆகுதி வேட்கும் அருமறை அந்தணர் போகதி நாடிப் புறங்கொடுத்து உண்ணுவர் தாம்விதி வேண்டித் தலைப்படு மெய்ந்நெறி தாமறி வாலே தலைப்பட்ட வாறே. The Veda-chanting Brahmanas, who desire to perform oblations in the consecrated fire for the express purpose of enjoying future life in the house of salvation (heaven), eat after feeding others. Performing the daily duties, observing and knowing virtuous path, they behave accordingly.  EVR Periyar started Self-Respect movement and Dravidian Movement.  Theist, to begin with, became an Atheist, when he was seeking food from a free feeding station (அன்ன சத்திரம்) and thrown on the street on empty stomach for being a Non-Brahmin. Strangely, a wealthy Non-Brahmin from South India was the sponsor of the feeding program. Krishnaraj ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In 1904, Periyar went on a pilgrimage to Kasi to worship in the revered Siva temple of Kashi Vishwanath. Though regarded as one of the holiest sites of Hinduism, he witnessed immoral activities, begging, and floating dead bodies. His frustrations extended to functional Hinduism in general when he experience what he called Brahmanic exploitation. However, one particular incident in Kasi had a profound impact on Periyar's ideology and future work. At worship site there were free meals offered to guests. To Periyar's shock, he was refused meals at choultries which exclusively fed Brahmins. Due to extreme hunger, Periyar felt compelled to enter one of the choultries disguised as a Brahmin with a sacred thread on his bare chest, but was betrayed by his moustache. The gatekeeper at the temple concluded that Periyar was not a Brahmin as Brahmins were not permitted by the Hindu shastras to have moustaches. He not only prevented Periyar's entry but also pushed him rudely to the street. As his hunger became intolerable, Periyar was forced to feed on leftovers from the streets. Around this time, he realized that the choultry which had refused him entry was built by a wealthy non-Brahmin from South India. This discriminatory attitude dealt a blow to Periyar's regard for Hinduism, for the events he had witnessed at Kasi were completely different from the picture of Kasi he had in mind, as a holy place which welcomed all.[1] Ramasami was a theist till his visit to Kasi, after which his views changed and he became an atheist.  Wikipedia

                           Conversion is not the answer. The change should come from inside.

With all the conversions in the name of Jesus Christ, the Curse of Caste is deeply embedded in the hyphenated Christians: Naidu-Christians, Reddy-Christians, Vellalar-Christians, Kamma-Christians, Dalit-Christians. Obviously the guaranteed salvation and equality in Christianly are defeated roundly by these hyphenations, separation and endogamous marriages. It is not uncommon among Christians to announce and claim superiority that their ancestors were Brahmins, Reddys, Naidus, Velalars, Chettiars.... Dalit-Christians politely called Adhi Dravidas are the bottom of the heap, which is regrettable, and offensive to the moral, legal and ethical concerns of a community, a nation and the world. The hyphenated Christians always fall back on their ancestral heritage, when it comes to marriage, social standing, association.... Dalits are escaping discrimination and segregation by education and migration into cities. Matrimonial columns are the place to find out about castes, hyphenated castes couched in code words and the desired prospective spouses. I had the opportunity to associate with ease with Muslims,  Brahmin-Christians and Dalit-Christians in my professional and personal life. Dalit oppression and suppression are so locally pervasive, severe, and intolerable in some instances that they take refuge in the alien so-called Abrahamic creedal religions (formal creeds which of necessity limit and restrain thought, free will and intellectual pursuits.) which  took upon the mantle to salvage the world of unbelievers and which are driven by prophets, dogmas, central authority, occupations, military campaigns, colonialism, organizations, misrepresentations, false promises, conversions, and wealth. Hindus are largely to blame for these conversions. If they don't treat their brethren well, they fall into the hands of alien religions. Once the conversions have been accomplished, the Hindu organizations bend over backwards to reconvert them back to the Hindu faith. In the west Christianity suffers the same malady by separation, race, color, ethnicity, abuse.... Black church burning is an example of intolerance of Christianity of blacks. We have our castes; they have the race.

  PAGE 116 Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna  1836-1886

982. I had to practice the various religions once, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, and I have walked the paths of the different sects of Hinduism again--the Sakta, the Vaishnava, the Vedantic and others. And I have found that it is the same God towards whom all are travelling, only they come through diverse ways.  

 

It appears that the evil of caste has crossed its sardonic boundaries and embraced the hyphenated Christians. Here is an example given by Mark Twain. The fractured soul of the hyphenated Brahmin-Christian in the unusual role of a Brahmin-servant speaks in broken English. 

Mark Twain (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910) in Bombay records a conversation he had with his servant, Manuel.

Page 5002/9190 Entire Collection of Mark Twain.Pdf on Scribd.com

"Name, Manuel. Yes, master."

"I know; but how did you get the name?"

"Oh, yes, I suppose. Think happen so. Father same name, not mother."

I saw that I must simplify my language and spread my words apart, if I would be understood by this English scholar.

"Well--then--how--did--your--father--get--his name?"

"Oh, he,"--brightening a little--"he Christian--Portygee; live in Goa; I born Goa; mother not Portygee, mother native-high-caste Brahmin--Coolin Brahmin; highest caste; no other so high caste. I high-caste Brahmin, too. Christian, too, same like father; high-caste Christian Brahmin, master--Salvation Army."

Matthew 23:15 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and then you make that convert twice as much a child of hell as you are.-- Jesus Christ. 

I knew of a Christian classmate of mine training and working in a hospital on the East Coast in the USA. This was before the Civil Rights Legislation, and when the Jim Crow South had 'Whites  Only' signs and the blacks were riding in the back of the bus with white kids who rode in the back for fun of  a butt-bruising bumpy ride. This medical doctor was black like coal but ebony in appeal, handsome by appearance, brilliant and compassionate as a physician, and a gentleman by character; yet he was as black as it comes. The hospital was short on doctors; the staff was long on conventional racial attitudes at that time, place, and circumstances and had to take Foreign Medical Graduates to fill the positions.  His life was miserable in the hospital. (Even after Civil Rights legislation in the USA and with an avalanche of Indian doctors,  I was told by an immigrant white nurse with red hair and generous sprinkling of freckles on her otherwise lily white face to go back to India. The freckles were so crowded and so close together on her face that if they coalesced together, she would be no different from an Indian woman.  I see with amusement now a white tigress in human form. It appeared she asserted her right to be a legal immigrant and working and denied me the same right. She was antithetical to the good soul, Sister Nivedita, a white disciple of Swami Vivekananda.) He was adored and admired in his family and Christian Community in Tamil Nadu for his accomplishment and yet he suffered humiliation and prejudice here for his color, though he was a true Christian by name and practice. He left the hospital and went straight back to India. It appears that Indian Christians are better treated, tolerated, respected, educated and employed in India than in countries, which pride themselves on their Christian heritage. (If you have noticed, it is an invariable custom and tradition that the defense Minister of India [Currently A.K.Antony 2010; He claims to be an atheist.] is a Christian most of the time. A Muslim, a Dalit, a woman [Currently Pratibha Patil, 2010] or a Minority is the president of India. A Dalit [Dr. Ambedkar, formerly a student at Columbia University, NY] takes the honor of having written the constitution of India. We the people.) Some domiciled so-called educated Indians of higher caste shamelessly blocked Columbia University from establishing a chair in the name of Ambedkar simply because he was a Dalit (oppressed class). Do you think that they will get any vimōcanam (விமோசனம் vimōcaṉam vi-mōcana. Deliverance, liberation; absolution, as from sin)?

 I heard in another instance from reliable sources that a patient in the USA refused to undergo cardiovascular surgery by an eminent surgeon, who happened to be a Sikh with a full-length luxuriant flowing beard tied up neatly to be non-threatening, and a glittering turban to match. The patient has the right to choose his surgeon. But going by appearance of the reputed surgeon on the staff of a famous hospital (which is proof that he is good) is grievous stupidity and self-defeating racism; he uses the latter to justify his prejudices.  What if all patients refuse to take the surgeon's service by virtue of his appearance? That is a loss of talent and loss of job for the surgeon at that hospital. He goes elsewhere where his services are in demand.

Oct 17, 2010. Take Ajay Banga-the Sikh with a neat beard and a turban. Educated exclusively in India, he is the current president and chief executive officer of MasterCard. NYTimes reports the frequently asked question of his appearance in relation to his rise in his career.  Ajay Banga brushes off questions about his appearance. "People say 'How does it feel to be looking like you working in the West?' " he notes.

Without skipping a beat, he replies in fluent Hindi: "What difference does it make?"

A case of Ragheads and self-professed and self-anointed Rednecks

Today these good souls are referred to as Ragheads by a few (who proudly brand themselves as Rednecks) in the USA (Example: Sikh-born Nikki Haley, Republican Candidate for Governor SC --May, 2010). Now she is Governor-elect, the first woman governor of South Carolina and the 2nd Indian-American Governor in the USA. Nov 4, 2010. She was sworn in on Wednesday, January 12, 2011.

On that score, all woman all over the world are Ragheads when they step out of the shower with their heads wrapped in towels. The Indians or South Asians are called by pejorative names: Ragheads, Turban Toppers, Dot heads (Vs Dot busters), Wogs (Vs Curry Bashers), PAKIs....

When you think of good souls like Sir John George Woodroffe (1865–1936), also known by his pseudonym Arthur Avalon, Paul Brunton (October 21, 1898 - July 27, 1981), Sister Nivedita (1867-1911), born Margaret Elizabeth Noble... we have to cast aside our lurking disapproval of the marginal souls, who are yet to advance from Pasu Bhava (animal man), to Vira Bhava (man-man) and Divya bhava (spiritual or godly man).

 

Feb 4, 2011. http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article1144013.ece Volunteers of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF), Adi Thamizhar Peravai (ATP), Democratic Youth Federation of India and Dalits of Uthapuram were arrested at three different places in the district during their bid to enter Muthalamman temple in the village on Monday. Mr. Ramakrishnan said that the government, which should guarantee the Constitutional right of the Scheduled Castes to worship at any temple, was preventing them from entering the temple, thereby practising untouchability. CPI (M) cadre and activists of other organisations staged a protest at Mahaboobpalayam in Madurai on Monday, Jan 31, 2011.      High caste Christians discriminate against low caste Dalit Christians. Dalit = oppressed, untouchable, Adhi Dravidas, christened by Gandhi "Harijans (= Children of God). That tells me that we are all children of God. Hindu Newspaper reports:  Oct 8, 2009 VILLUPURAM: Alleging continued caste discrimination in the Roman Catholic Church, a section of the Adi Dravida Christians left Eraiyur and went to Elavanasurkottai, about three km from there, on Wednesday (Oct 7,2009). About 85 members of the Makkal Manram, including 45 men and 40 women, led by Antony stayed put at Elavanusrkottai from morning to evening, boycotting the annual car festival of Our Lady of Rosary Church at Eraiyur. They alleged that they were not allowed to use the common pathway to the cemetery and the common hearse kept in the church. Above all, the car procession deliberately avoided the Dalit colonies. Shameless so-called caste Hindus: December 25, 2008: MADURAI, India: After a decade-long struggle, Dalits*  at Panthapuli village in Tirunelveli district entered the Kannanallur Mariamman temple with help of district officials defying a ban imposed by caste Hindus. Dalits, led by district collector G. Prakash and Superintendent of Police Asra Garg, entered the temple at Panthapuli near Sankarankovil on Wednesday, the 24th December 2008. Dalits* (Harijans, Children of God, according to Gandhi, and untouchables according to the so-called caste Hindus, some of whom are ignominious godless hypocrites.) end of news.   Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna 1031. Why do religions degenerate? Rain water is pure, but by the time it reaches earth it gets dirty owing to the medium it passes through. If the roofs and the pipes and the channels are all dirty, the water discharged through them must also be dirty. (So religion gets defiled by the medium through which it manifests.)

 

Black Laws of the Manu Smriti Against
Dalits and Women
S. L. Virdi Advocate

On December 25th 1927,
Dr.Ambedkar burnt Manusmriti

http://www.bhagwanvalmiki.com/manu-smriti.htm

Manu divides Hindus into four varnas i.e. casteism. He not only divide Hindus into four varnas, he also grades them. Besides prescribing rank and occupation Manu grants privilege to swarnas and imposes penalties on the shudras.The status of the Shudras in the Hindu society as prescribed by Manu the Law-giver and the Architect of Hindu society. There are so many Codes of the Manu Smriti against the Shudras and Women which are below:

1. For the welfare of humanity the supreme creator Brahma, gave birth to the Brahmins from his mouth, the Kshatriyas from his shoulders, the Vaishyas from his thighs and Shudras from his feet. (Manu's code I-31,)

2. God said the duty of a Shudra is to serve the upper varnas faithfully with devotion and without grumbling. (Manu 1-91) Manu is not satisfied with this. He wants this servile status of the Shudras to be expressed in the names and surnames of persons belonging to that community. Manu says:

3. Let the first part of a Brahman’s name denote something auspicious, a Kshatriya’s be connected with power, and a Vaishyas with wealth but a Shudra’s express something contemptible. (Manu II. 31.)

4. The second part of a Brahmin’s name shall be a word implying happiness, of a Kshatriya’s (a word) implying protection, of a Vaishya’s a term expressive of thriving and of a Shudra’s an expression denoting service. (Manu II. 32.)

5. A hundred year old Kshatriya must treat a ten year old Brahmin boy as his father. (Manu 11-135)

6. The Brahmin should never invite persons of other varnas for food. In case, the latter begs the Brahmin for food, the Brahmin may give them some left-over. Even these left-over must be served not by the Brahmin but by his servants outside the house. (Manu II2).

7. He who instructs Shudra pupils and he whose teacher is a Shudra shall become disqualified for being invited to a shradha. (Manu III. 156.)

8. A Shudra is unfit of receive education. The upper varnas should not impart education or give advice to a Shudra.It is not necessary that the Shudra should know the laws and codes and hence need not be taught. Violators will go to as amrita hell. (Manu IV-78 to 81)
9. "Let him not dwell in a country where the rulers are Shudras." (Manu IV. 61)

10. He must never read the Vedas in the presence of the Shudras. (Manu IV. 99.)

11. Any country, where there are no Brahmins, of where they are not happy will get devastated and destroyed. (Manu VIII-20 to 22)

12. A Brahmana who is only a Brahman by decent i.e., one who has neither studied nor performed any other act required by the Vedas may, at the king’s pleasure, interpret the law to him i.e., act as the judge, but never a Shudra (however learned he may be). (Manu VIII. 20.)

13. The Kingdom of that monarch, who looks on while a Shudra settles the law, will sink low like a cow in the morass. (Manu VIII. 21.)

14. Any Brahmin, who enslaves or tries to enslave a Brahmin, is liable for a penalty of no less than 600 PANAS. A Brahmin can order a Shudra to serve him without any remuneration because the Shudra is created by Brahma to serve the Brahmins. Even if a Brahmin frees a Shudra from slavery the Shudra continues to be a slave as he is created for slavery. Nobody has the right to free him. (Manu VIII-50,56 and 59)

15. A Shudra who insults a twice born man with gross invectives shall have his tongue cut out; for he is of low origin. (Manu VIII. 270.)

16. If he mentions the names and castes of the (twice born) with contumely, an iron nail, ten fingers long, shall be thrust red hot into his mouth. (Manu VIII. 271.)

17. If a Shudra arrogantly presumes to preach religion to Brahmins, the king shall have poured burning oil in his mouth and ears. Manu VIII. 272.)

18. A Shudra who has an intercourse with a woman of the higher caste guarded or unguarded shall be punished n the following manner; if she was unguarded, he loses the offending part; if she was guarded then he should be put to death and his property confiscated." (Manu VIII. 374.)

19. A Brahman may compel a Shudra, whether bought or unbought, to do servile work for he is created by the creator to be the slave of a Brahmana. (Manu VIII. 413.)

20. No Shudra should have property of his own, He should have nothing of his own. The existence of a wealthy Shudra is bad for the Brahmins. A Brahman may take possession of the goods of a Shudra. (ManuVIII-417 & X129)

21. A Brahman may seize without hesitation, if he be in distress for his subsistence, the goods of his Shudra. The Shudra can have only one occupation. This is one of the inexorable laws of Manu. says Manu. (Manu VIII. 417)

22. A Shudra who wants to just fill his stomach may serve a Vaishya. If he wants a permanent means of living he can serve a Kshatriya. But if he wants to go to heaven or wants higher or superior birth in the next generation he must serve a Brahmin. (ManuIX334 & 335)

23. The most sacred duty of a Shudra is to serve the Brahmins, always, reciting the words "Brahman" with utmost devotion. Such a Shudra will get salvation. Otherwise he will die a worst death and will go to the worst hell. (Manu X-121)

24. But let a (Shudra) serve Brahmans, either for the sake of heaven, or with a view to both (this life and the next) for he who is called the servant of a Brahman thereby gains all his ends. (Manu X. 122.)

25. The service of Brahmans alone is declared (to be) an excellent occupation for a Shudra for whatever else besides this he may perform will bear him no fruit. (Manu X. 123.)

26. They must allot to him out of their own family (property) a suitable maintenance, after considering his ability, his industry, and the number of those whom he is bound to support. (Manu X. 124.)

27. Brahmins to give Shudras food leftovers, old torn clothes, spoiled grain and old utensils (Manu X-125)

28. No superfluous collection of wealth must be made by a Shudra, even though he has power to make it, since a servile man, who has amassed riches, becomes proud, and, by his insolence or neglect, gives pain to Brahmins. (Manu X. 129.

29. A Brahmin shall never beg from a Shudra, property for (performing) a sacrifice i.e., for religious purposes. All marriages with the Shudra were prescribed. Marriage with a woman belonging to any of three other classes was forbidden.

A Shudra was not to have a connection with a woman of the higher classes and an act of adultery committed by a Shudra with her was considered by Manu to be an offence involving capital punishment. (Manu XI. 24.)1, 2 ,3, 4In the matter of acquiring learning and knowledge Manu’s successors went much beyond him in the cruelty of their punishment of the Shudra for studying the Veda. For instance, Katyayana lays down that if a Shudra over heard the Veda or ventured to utter a word of the Veda, the king shall cut his tongue in twain and pour hot molten lead in his ear. Manu’s law book and its strict compliance by the Brahmans, it may be summarized that men and women are not born equal. There is no room for individual merit and no consideration of individual justice. If the individual has the privilege, it is not because it is due to his/her personally.
The
privilege goes with class, and if it is his/her good luck to enjoy it, he/she is destined to be born in the privileged class. On the other hand, if an individual is suffering in a class, it is because he belongs to that class. Thereby, logically speaking from Manusmriti’s point of view, the suffering of Shudras and women is because of their being part of their caste and sex respectively. Manu’s ‘social order’ breeds 'social out-caste,’ which in turn dishes out ‘social injustice’ to the underprivileged. Narda’s ‘Smriti’ (law book), openly advocate slavery, but since Varnashram (a creation of caste system by the Manu) was critical and deviously interwoven into religion, to subjugate the Shudras through superstitions like opium to an addict, the Brahmans let the slaves die."5From-Casteism: The Eighth Worst Wonder by Dr. S. L. Virdi, Pages-39-43)

References:
1. Dr.Babasahib Saheb Ambedkar, Writings and Speeches, Vol. 5, Page 113 to 115
2. Kovena, Toward Emancipation, Page 57, 62
3. S.L.Shashtri, Manu Simiri ki Shav Preksha, concluded, Page 54 to 155
4. Author Coke Burnale, Hindu Polity (The Ordinances of Manu) concluded.
5. G.S.Thind, Our Indian Sub Continent Heritage, Page 145

Black Laws against the Women - Casteism and Degration of Women

1. Every woman must be loyal, faithful. obedient honorable to her husband even if he is blind, deaf, dumb, old, physically handicapped, debauchel or, gambler and neglects his wife and lives with his concubine(s). If the husband is unhappy, it would be the fault of his wife. If he cries, she should cry. If he laughs she should laugh. She can only answer humbly to his question. She should not on her own put any question. She should eat only after her husband eats. If he is beating she should not react, but fall on his feet and beg him to pardon her, and kiss his hands and pacify him. If the husband dies she should burn herself to death on his funeral pyre and go along with him to the other world and serve him there in this manner. (Padma Purana)

2. Women are fickle minded. Never believe them. Friendship with a women is just like friendship with a wolf. (Rig-Veda 8-33-7)

3. A virtuous woman is one who dies on the funeral pyre of her dead husband and avails the privilege of serving her husband in the other world. (Atharva Veda 18-3-1)

4. Woman is the source of sorrow. At birth she makes her mother weep. At the time of the puberty she makes her parents weep. At the time of the marriage she makes all her family members and relatives weep. In youth she commits lot of blunders and brings bad name to the entire family, relatives and Varna. She tortures the hearts of her parents, husband and other family members. She is called 'DARIKA' because she is source of sorrow to all.

(Aithareya Brahmana)
5. Women are liers, corrupt, greedy, and unvirtuous. (Manu II 1)

6. Even for a woman, the performance of the sanskaras are necessary and they should be performed. But they should be performed without uttering the Veda Mantras." (Manu II. 60)

7. It is the nature of women to seduce men in this (world); the wise are never unguarded in the company of males. (Manu II. 213)

8. For women are able to lead astray in (this) world not only a fool, but even a learned man, and (to make) him a slave of desire and anger." (Manu II.214)

9. One should not sit in a lonely place with one's mother, sister or daughter, for the senses are powerful, and master even a learned man." (Manu II. 215)

10. A Brahmin male by virtue of his birth becomes the first husband of all women in the universe. (Manu III. 14)

11. Women not care for beauty, nor is their attention fied on age; (thinking); (it is though that) he is a man, they give themselves to the handsome and to the ugly. (Manu IV. 14)

12. By a girl, by a young woman, or even by an aged one, nothing must be done independently, even in her own house." (Manu IV. 147)

13. In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons; a woman must never be independent. (Manu IV. 148)

14. She must not seek to separate herself from her father, husband or son; by leaving them. She would make them both (her own and her husband's) family incompatible. (Manu IV. 149)

15. A Brahman must never eat food given at a sacrifice performed by a woman. (Manu IV. 205)

16. Sacrifices performed by women are inauspicious and not acceptable to god. They should therefore be avoided. (Manu IV. 206)

17. A girl must be under the care of her father . . . in youth under the care of the husband and in old age under the care of her sons. But she should never be free and independent. (Manu V. 148)

18. She must always be cheerful, clever in management of her household affairs, careful in cleaning her utensils and economical in expenditure. (Manu V. 150)

19. Him to whom her father may give her, or her brother with the father's permission, she shall obey as long as he lives and when he is dead, must not insult his memory. (Manu V. 151)

20. The husband who wedded her with sacred mantras is always a source of happiness to his wife, both in season and out of season, in this world and in the next. (Manu V1. 53)

21. Though destitute or virtuous, or seeking pleasure elsewhere, or devoid of good qualities, yet a husband must be constantly worshipped as a god by a faithful wife. (Manu V. 154)

22. No sacrifice, no vow, no fast must be performed by women, apart from their husbands. If a wife obeys her husband, she will for that reason alone be exalted in heaven. (Manu V. 155)

23. At her pleasure let her (i.e. widow) enunciate her body, by living voluntarily on pure flowers, roots and fruits, but let her not when her lord is deceased, even pronounce the name of another man. (Manu V. 157)

24. But a widow, who from a wish to bear children, slights her deceased husband by marrying again, brings disgrace on herself here below, and shall be excluded from the seat of her lord (in heaven). (Manu V. 161)

25. Responsibly the father who gives not (his daughter) in marriage at the proper time. (Manu IX. 4)

26. A woman must always maintain her virtue and surrender her body to her husband only, ever if she is married off to an ugly person or even a leper. (Manu IX. 14)

27. Through their passion for men, through their mutable temper, through their natural heartlessness, they become disloyal towards their husbands, however, carefully they may be guarded in this (world). (Manu IX. 15)

28. Knowing their disposition, which the Lord of Creatures laid in them at the creation, to be such, (every) man should most strenuously exert himself to guard them. (Manu IX. 16)

29. When creating them, Manu allotted to women (a love of their) bed, (of heart) seat and (of) ornament, impure desires, wrath, dishonesty, malice, and bad conduct. (Manu IX. 17)

30. Killing of a woman, a Shudra or an atheist is not sinful. Woman is an embodiment of the worst desires, hatred, deceit, jealousy and bad character. Women should never be given freedom. (Manu IX. 17 and V. 47, 147)

31. Women have no right to study the Vedas. That is why their Sanskars are performed without Veda Mantras. women have no knowledge of religion because they have no right to know the Vedas. The uttering of Veda Mantras, they are as unclean as untruth is." (Manu IX. 18)

32. All women are born of sinful wombs. (Bhagavad-Gita IX 32)

33. The husband is declared to be one with the wife, which means there could be no separation once a woman is married. (Manu IX. 45)

34. Neither by sale nor by repudiation is a wife released from her husband. (Manu IX. 46)

35. To a distinguished, handsome suitor of equal caste should she have not attained (the proper age) (i.e. although she may not have reached puberty). (Manu IX. 88)

36. A wife, a son and a slave, they three are declared to have no property: the wealth which they earn is (acquired)for him to whom they belong. (Manu IX. 416)

37. None of the acts of women can be taken as good and reasonable. (Manu X.4)

38. Day and night women must be kept in dependence by males (of their families), and, if they attach themselves to sexual enjoyments, they must be kept under one's control. (Manu XI2)

39. Her father protects (her) in childhood, her husband protects (her) in youth, and her sons protect (her) in old age; a woman is never fit for independence." (Manu XI. 3)

40. Women must particularly be guarded against evil inclinations, however trifling (they may appear); for, if they are not guarded, they will bring sorrow on to families." (Manu XI. 5)

41. Considering that the highest duty of all castes even weak husbands (must) scribe to guard their wives. (Manu XI. 6)

42. A woman shall not perform the daily sacrifices prescribed by the Vedas. Then according to IX.37 if she does it, she will go to hell. (Manu XI. 36)1, 2, 3, 4 From- Casteism: The Eighth Worst Wonder by Dr. S. L. Virdi, Pages-39-43)

References:
1. G.S.Thind, Our Indian Sub Continent Heritage, Page 146 to 151)
2. Author Coke Burnale, Hindu Polity The Ordinances of Manu) Concluded 3. Kovena, Toward Emancipation. Page 57, 62, 72, 73
4. S.L.Shashtri, Manu Simiri ki Shav Preeksha concluded page 54 to 155.

Vedas

No one is to argue critically about vedas because religion has originated from them. Any nastika (non-believer) or critic of the Vedas, who "insults" them on the basis of logic, is worthy of being socially boycotted by "noble" persons. Women, that is, even women belonging to Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya varna are not entitled to upanayan and the study of the Vedas. For them, marriage is equivalent to upanayan and service of their husbands is equivalent to the study of the Vedas in the gurukul. Even if the husband is morally degraded, engaged in an affair with another woman and is devoid of knowledge and other qualities, the wife must treat him like a god. A widower is allowed to remarry but a widow is not. Besides, women are not considered fit for being free and independent. They are to be protected in their childhood by father, in youth by husband and in old age by son. They should never be allowed by their guardians to act independently. A woman must never do anything even inside her home without the consent of her father, husband and son respectively. She must remain in control of her father in childhood, of husband in youth and of son after the death of her husband.

Ramayana

In Ramayana, Ram kills Shambuka simply because he was performing tapasya (ascetic exercises) which he was not supposed to do as he was a Shudra by birth.


Mahabharata

In Mahabharata, Dronacharya refuses to teach archery to Eklavya, because he was not a Kshatriya by birth. When Eklavya, treating Drona as his notional guru, learns archery on his own, Drona makes him cut his right thumb as gurudakshina (gift for the teacher) so that he may not become a better archer than his favorite Kshatriya student Arjuna!

Notes: Eklavia was a Nishada, historically identified as an African coming in the blood line of king Vena. Africans, the survivors of continental drift separating India from Africa. Dravidians forced the Nishadas to move into the hills and jungles. The Indo-Aryans further dispersed the Nishadas. Ref. Page 211 Harper's dictionary of Hinduism.

Bhagvadgita

The much-glorified Bhagvat-Gita, too, favors varna-vyavastha. When Arjuna refuses to fight, one of his main worries was that the war would lead to the birth of varna-sankaras or offspring from intermixing of different varnas and the consequent "downfall" of the family. On the other hand, Krishna tries to motivate Arjuna to fight by saying that it was his varna-dharma (caste-duty) to do so because he was a Kshatriya. In fact, Krishna goes to the extent of claiming that the four varnas were created by him only. There are unwelcome interpolations in Sacred texts. (This idea of Krishna Paramatma creating the castes is doubtful. In BG 18.66 Krishna advises people to abandon all duties and surrender to Him and He would forgive all sins and grant liberation.  If that is the case where is the need for any rituals?)

Notes by Krishnaraj: Arjuna is not a pure Kshatriya. He comes in the blood lines of Brahmana Rishi Parasara and Fisherman's daughter Satyavati.

Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata, and the Bhagavad Gita as told by Krishna,  was born of a Brahmana father and a non-Aryan mother (a fisherwoman).   

Satyavati (Sanskrit: सत्यवती) is the mother of Vyasa and great-grandmother of the Pandava and Kaurava princes, principal characters of the Mahabharata. She is nevertheless a commoner, daughter of a ferryman or fisherman. She is also known as Matsyagandha (one who has the smell of fish).  As a young woman, she met the wandering Rishi Parasara by whom she had a son, Vyasa (the son of a single mom).  Parasara by his mystic power guaranteed that she would not lose her virginity from union and delivery. This reminds me of girls  who had premarital sexual relations undergo hymenoplasty (surgical restoration of  inviolate contour of hymenal ring)) to restore the appearance of  hymen to its virginal inviolate state to impress the husband who insists on virginity in his wife in certain countries. Parasara and Satyavati had union and Vyasa's birth took place in secret on an island in the river Yamuna.  Vyasa was also known as Krishna Dwaipayana (Dark islander) because he was dark (Krishna) in color and born in an island.  Rishi Parasara by his Yogic power created an ambience of mist around the island, so that no body could witness the famed union, and delivery of the baby. Vyasa was born immediately after the union with no mandatory gestational period, which is the norm for humankind and immediately grew into a young man. This is again a Yogic phenomenon.  (Consider Jesus Christ born of Virgin Mary.) The West says that Vyasa is a generic name (meaning compiler) like teacher, tailor, barber. There were many Vyasas, according to the west. Many of the sacred texts span over many centuries and they could not have been all composed by one Vyasa. This is contested by devout Hindus.  Later,  King Santanu legally marries Satyavati with "inviolate hymen", who thus becomes the matriarch of the Pandavas in the lineage of Parasara Rishi and the Kauravas in the lineage of Santanu.  Pandavas (the good guys) have the Seer's (Rishi) blood run in their veins. The Kauravas (the bad guys) have the royal blood run in their veins.

 

 

Dealing with the question of wages to the shudras:

X – 124. They must allot to him (shudra) out of their own family property a suitable maintenance, after considering his ability, his industry and the number of those whom he is bound to support.

X – 125. The remnants of their food must be given to him, as well as their old clothes, the refuge of their grain and their old household furniture.

X – 129. No collection of wealth must be made by a shudra even though he be able to do it; for a shudra who has acquired wealth gives pain to Brahmana.

XI – 6. One should give, according to one’s ability, wealth to Brahmanas learned in the veda and living alone; (thus) one obtains after death heavenly bliss.

XI – 261-62. A Brahmana who has killed even the peoples of the three worlds, is completely freed from all sins on reciting three times the Rig, Yajur or Sama- Veda with the Upanishad.

Thus in Hinduism, there is no choice of avocation. There is no economic independence and there is no economic security. Economically, speaking of a shudra is a precarious thing.

Successors of Manu made the disability of the shudra in the matter of study of veda into an offence involving dire penalties as:

XII. 4. If the shudra intentionally listens for committing to memory the veda, then his ears should be filled with (molten) lead and lac; if he utters the veda, then his tongue should be cut off; if he has mastered the veda his body should be cut to pieces.

The Manu Code of Laws (the revered book of Hindus) stated 2000 years ago :

"No collection of wealth was to be made by Shudras (low caste) even though he /she may be able to do it, for a Shudra who has acquired wealth gives pain to Brahmin, and that a Brahmin may appropriate by force the property of Shudra" (Manu Smriti X, 129)

"Sri Brahma (God the Creator) had intended from eternity that the Untouchables should be born slaves, live as slaves and die as slaves" (Manu Chapter 19, #413)

 

 

 

 

Dhammapada by Buddha defines Brahmana as follows (Verses 383 to 423):

383. He who gives up sensuality and stills the mind is a Brahmana.

384. He who transcends duality (pleasure and pain) is a Brahmana.

385. He who is free from anxiety is a Brahmana.

386. He who meditates, tranquil in mind, free from taint and intrusive thoughts, and accomplished in yoga is a Brahmana.

387.  Day shines in sunlight; night shines in moon light; warrior shines in his armor; a Brahmana shines in meditation; at all times Buddha shines in his glory.

388. He who breaks with evil deeds is a Brahmana.

389. He who does not lose his temper is a Brahmana.

390. He whose mind recoils from pleasurable experiences is a Brahmana, who does not harm anyone.

391. He who does not inflict pain by body, mind and speech is a Brahmana.

392. He who tends the sacrificial fire is a Brahmana. Pay homage to him who teaches the Truth, like Buddha does.

393. Matted hair, caste, and lineage do not make a Brahmana. Purity and truth make a Brahmana.

394. Matted hair and antelope skin do not make a Brahmana; they make him look good; but he is a tangled knot inside.

395. A man may wear rags from refuse and look haggard; his strength glows in every fiber of body as he meditates alone in the forest; that man is a true Brahmana.

396. A Brahmana he is not, just because he is born of a Brahmana mother.  He is contemptible if he owns anything at all. A true Brahmana owns nothing to call his, having no attachment.

397.  He who  severs his bonds (with the world); shows equanimity, and transcends all worldly ties, is a liberated Brahmana.

398.  He who severs his harness (straps, bands, and bridle) and breaks out of the barrier is a Brahmana; he is Buddha himself.

399. He who stays calm under severe censure, brooks maltreatment, remains patient, and shows inner strength is worthy of his appellation, Brahmana.

400. He who is free from anger and desire, has enduring discipline, and lives in his last body (with no possibility of rebirth) is a Brahmana.

401. He is like water on a lotus leaf; he is like a mustard seed on the point of a pin; thus, he is not attached to the senses; he is a Brahmana.

402.  His experience of suffering in this life has come to an end, having put aside his burden; he is a Brahmana.

403.  He is wise; he knows right from wrong; he attained the supreme purpose; him I call a Brahmana.

404.  He shies away from monks and men, has no place to call home, and entertains few needs; him I call a Brahmana.

405.  He refrains from injury to mobile and immobile living things; he neither kills nor causes death; him I call a Brahmana.

406. He is placid among the tumultuous; he glows with peace among the violent; he is unclinging among the clingers; him I call a Brahmana.

407.  He transcends love and hate; ego and pretense have fallen by the wayside like the mustard seed on the point of a pin; him I call a Brahmana.

408.  He is gentle in speech and revealing in his words; he utters only Truth, criticizing no one; him I call a Brahmana.

409.  He takes nothing that is not given to him; him I call a Brahmana.

410. He has no desire in this or the next world; he is free from craving; him I call a Brahmana.

411.  He is a realized soul, having dived into deathless bliss; him I call a Brahmana.

412.  He transcends good and evil; he is faultless and pure with no sorrow; him I call a Brahmana.

413.  He is pure and stainless like the rays of the moon; he has drowned his desires; him I call a Brahmana.

414.  He crossed the ocean of Samsara and ignorance and reached the other shore, by meditation, tranquility of mind and paucity of desires; him I call a Brahmin.

415. He, having renounced contact with senses and expunged desires, wanders homeless; him I call a Brahmin.

416.  He, having renounced craving, gave up worldly life and home; him I call a Brahmin.

417. He, having broken the human bonds and transcended the desires of heaven, is free from all bonds; him I call a Brahmin.

418.  He, having transcended pleasure and pain and withdrawing the fuel, extinguished his desires and won over all worlds; him I call a Brahmin.

419.  He, having seen death and rebirth of all beings, frees himself from clinging desires, attains realization and enters a world of bliss; him I call a Brahmin.

420.  Devas, Ghandarvas, and men do not know his path; his mind is empty of mundane thoughts and passions; him I call a Brahmin.

421.  He had no possessions of his own at any time and remains unattached; him I call a Brahmin.

422.  He has no fear; he is noble; he is a great sage, a vanquisher of desires and a realized soul, having washed off all stains; him I call a Brahmin.

423.   He knows his former lives, heaven and hell; this life marks the end of birth for him who attained transcendent knowledge; him I call a Brahmin.

Vajrasūcika Upaniṣad

Translation from Sanskrit by Dr. Radhakrishnan

The futility of Caste distinctions

The Upaniṣad belongs to the Sāma Veda and describes the true character of a Brāhmaṇa and incidentally offers comments on the nature of the Supreme Reality. The Upaniṣad is valuable in that it undermines caste distinctions based on birth.

VAJRASŪCIKA UPANIṣAD     PAGE 935 The Principal Upaniṣads

1. I shall describe the Vajrasūci doctrine which blasts ignorance, condemns those who are devoid of the knowledge (of Brahman) and exalts those endowed with the eye of knowledge.

Jñānam = doctrine V. śāstra'  = scripture

2 The Brāhmaṇa the Kṣatriya, the Vaiśya and the Śūdra are the four classes (castes) That the Brāhmaṇa is the chief among these classes is in accord with the Vedic texts and is affirmed by the Smṛtis. In this connection there is a point worthy of investigation. Who is, verily, the Brāhmaṇa? Is he the individual soul? Is he the body? Is he the class based on birth? Is he the knowledge? Is he the deeds (previous, present or prospective)? Is he the performer of the rites?

3 Of these, if the first (position) that the Jīva or the individual soul is Brāhmaṇa (is to be assumed), it is not so, for the individual's form is one and the same in the large number of previous and prospective bodies. Even though the Jīva (the individual soul) is one, there is scope for (the assumption of) many bodies due to the stress of (past) karma, and in all these bodies the form of the Jīva is one and the same. Therefore the Jīva is not the Brāhmaṇa.

4 Then if '(it is said) that the body is the Brāhmaṇa, it is

Page 936 The Principal Upaniṣads   7

not so, because of the oneness of the nature of the body which is composed of the five elements, in all classes of human beings down to the caṇḍālās (outcastes), etc , on account of the perception of the common features of old age and death, virtue and vice, on account of the absence of any regularity (in the complexion of the four classes) that the Brāhmaṇa is of the white complexion, that the Kṣatriya is of the red complexion, that the Vaiśya is of the tawny complexion, that the Śūdra is of the dark complexion and because of the liability of the sons and others (kinsmen) to becoming tainted with the murder of a Brāhmaṇa and other (sins) on cremating the bodies of their fathers and other kinsmen: Therefore the body is not the Brāhmaṇa.

5 Then (if it is said) that birth (makes) the Brāhmaṇa, it is not so, for there are many species among creatures, other than human, many sages are of diverse origin. We hear from the sacred books that Ṛṣyaśṛṅga was born of a deer, Kauśika of Kuśa grass, Jāmbuka from a Jackal, Vālmīki from an ant-hill, Vyāsa from a fisher girl, Gautama from the back of a hare, Vasiṣṭha from Ūrvasī (the celestial nymph), Agastya from an earthen Jar. Among these, despite their birth, there are many sages, who have taken the highest rank, having given proof of their wisdom. Therefore birth does not (make) a Brāhmaṇa.

6 Then (if it is said) that knowledge (makes a) Brāhmaṇa, it is not so because among Kṣatriyas and others there are many who have seen the Highest Reality and attained wisdom. Therefore knowledge does not (make) a Brāhmaṇa.

Page 937  Verses 7- 9 Vajrasūcika Upaniṣad

7 Then (if it is said) that work (makes a) Brāhmaṇa , it is not so, for we see that the work commenced in the present embodiment or accumulated during the previous or to commence on a future embodiment is common to all living creatures and that good men perform works impelled by their past karma. Therefore work does not (make) a Brāhmaṇa.

8 Then (if it is said) that the performer of religious duties is a Brāhmaṇa, it is not so, for there have been many Kṣatriyas and others who have given away gold. Therefore the performer of religious rites is not the Brāhmaṇa.

Giving away gold is an act of religious duty.

9. Then, who, verily is the Brāhmaṇa? He who, after directly perceiving, like the amalaka fruit in the palm of one's hand, the Self, without a second, devoid of distinctions of birth, attribute and action, devoid of all faults such as the six infirmities, and the six states, of the form of truth, wisdom, bliss and eternity, that is by itself, devoid of determinations, the basis of endless determinations, who functions as the indwelling spirit of all beings, who pervades the interior and the exterior of all like ether, of the nature of bliss, indivisible, unmeasurable realizable only through one's experience and who manifests himself directly (as one's self), and through the fulfilment of his nature, becomes rid of the faults of desire,

Page 938 The Principal Upaniṣads

attachment, etc, and endowed with qualities of tranquility, etc , rid of the states of being, spite, greed, expectation, bewilderment, etc , with his mind unaffected by ostentation, self-sense and the like, he lives. He alone who is possessed of these qualities is the Brāhmaṇa This is the view of the Vedic texts and tradition, ancient lore and history. The accomplishment of the state of the Brāhmaṇa is otherwise impossible. Meditate on Brahman, the Self who is being, consciousness and bliss, without a second, meditate on Brahman, the Self who is being, consciousness and bliss without a second This is the Upaniṣad.

six infirmities: old age, death, sorrow, delusion, hunger and thirst.

six states: birth, being, growth, change, waning and perishing.

Many texts declare that the determining factor of caste is character and conduct and not birth.

Listen about caste, Yaksa dear, not study, not learning is the cause of rebornness Conduct is the basis, there is no doubt about it M.B. Araṇya-parva 312 106.

O King of serpents, he in whom are manifest truthfulness, charity, forbearance, good conduct, non-injury, austerity and compassion is a Brāhmaṇa according to the sacred tradition.

O serpent, he in whom this conduct is manifest is a Brāhmaṇa, he in whom this is absent, treat all such as Śūdra MB Araṇya-parva 180. 20, 27 The gods consider him a Brāhmaṇa (a knower of Brahman who has no desires, who undertakes no work, who does not salute or praise anybody, whose work has been exhausted but who himself is unchanged. MB XII 269 34 See Dhammapada, Chapter XXVI

It is valuable to recall the teaching of this Upaniṣad which repudiates the system that consecrates inequalities and hardens contingent differences into inviolable divisions.

 

Castes and Asramas. The Great Liberation By Woodroffe.

Siva in His talk with His Consort talks about he castes and their duties.

But for those who, neglecting the study of the Vedas, the service of mother and father, and the protection of their wife, go to places of pilgrimage, such holy places are changed to Hell (98-99). For women there is no necessity to go on pilgrimage, to fast, or to do other like acts, nor is there any need to perform any devotion except that which consists in the service of their husband (100). For a woman her husband is the place of pilgrimage, the performance of penance, the giving of alms, the carrying out of vows, and her spiritual teacher. Therefore should a woman devote herself to the service of her husband with her whole Self (101). She should ever by words and deeds of devotion act for the pleasure of her husband, and, remaining faithful to his behests, should please his kinsmen and relations (102).

A woman whose husband is her vow,² should not look at him with hard eyes, or utter harsh words before him. Not even in her thought should she do anything which is dis­pleasing to her husband (103). She who by body, mind, and word, and by pleasant acts, ever pleases her husband, attains to the abode of Brahman ³ (104). Remaining ever faithful to the wishes of her husband, she should not look upon the face of other men, or have converse with them, or uncover her body before them (105). In childhood she should remain under the control of her parents, in her youth

1 Devatã-ksetra. When they are worshipped such asSri-ksetra (POri) the land of Visriu; Arka-ksetra (Konarak) the land of the Sun God.

2Pati-vratã—i.e., a chaste and dutiful wife. Brahmapada = Brahmatva.

of her husband, and in her old age of the relatives of her hus­band. She should never be independent ¹ (106).

A father should not marry his daughter if she does not know her duty to a husband and how to serve him, as also the other rules ² of woman's conduct (107).

Neither the flesh of human beings, nor of the animals resembling them,³ nor the flesh of the cow, which is service­able in various ways, nor the flesh of carnivorous animals, nor such meat as is tasteless, should be eaten (108). O Auspicious One! ⁴ fruits and roots of various kinds, whether grown in villages or jungles, and all that is grown in the ground, may be eaten at pleasure (109).

Teaching and the performance of sacrifices are the proper duties of a Brahmana. But if he be incapable of these, he may earn his livelihood by following the profession of a Ksatriya or Vaisya (110). The proper occupation of a Rajanya ⁵ is that of fighting and ruling. But if he be incapable of these, he may earn his livelihood by following the profes­sion of a Vaisya or Sudra (111). If a Vaisya cannot trade, then for him the following of the profession of a Sudra involves no blame. For a Sudra, O Sovereign Queen! ⁶ service is the prescribed means of livelihood (112). O Devi! members of the Samanya ⁷ class may for their maintenance follow all occupations except such as are specially reserved for the Brahmana (113). The latter, void of hate and attachment,8

¹ i.e., her own mistress, with none to guide and protect her. This is the text of Manu.

² Dharma.

³ i.e., apes, monkeys, etc.

⁴     Siva..

⁵ Ksatriya.

⁶ Paramesvari

⁷ Vide p. 207, note 6.

⁸ Nirmama. Mama, or Mama-tā', is a sense of" Mineness," attach­ment to self, to one's property, etc.’’

self-control^led, truthful, the conqueror of his senses, free of envy and all guile, should pursue his own avocations (114). He should ever be the same to, and the well-wisher of all men, and teach his well-behaved pupils as if they were his own sons (115). He should ever avoid falsehood, detraction, and vicious habits,¹ arrogance, friendship for low persons, the pursuit of low objects, and the use of language which gives offence (116). Where peace is possible, avoid war.² Peace with honour is excellent.  O Beauteous One! ³ for the Rajanya it should be either death or victory in battle ⁴ (117). A man of the kingly caste should not covet the wealth of his subjects, or levy excessive taxes, but, being faithful to his promises, he should ever in the observance of his duty ⁵ protect his subjects as though they were his own children (118). In administration, war, treaties, and other affairs of State the King should take the advice of his Ministers (119). War should be carried on in accordance with Dharma.° Rewards and punishments should be awarded justly and in accordance with the Sastras. The best treaty should be concluded which

Vyasana (see p. 215, note 3). Manu enumerates ten evil habits as arising from pleasure, and eight from anger. Under the first head are: hunting, gambling, sleeping in the daytime, gossip, women, intoxicants, dancing, singing, instrumental music, and idle roaming; and under the second: slander, violence, insidious injury, envy, detraction, unjust seizure of property, violent language and assault. The word translated as " false­hood " (Mithyālāpa) in the text may also mean "frivolous conversation."

² The Sanskrit may also mean, "Desire for war when there is peace is blameworthy ".

³ Varānanā.

⁴ A Ksatriya should not flee from the field of battle.

⁵ Aṅgi-kṛītaṁ dharmam i.e., duty undertaken or promise made.

6Because men have to fight, they should not do so like beasts.

 

224                            THE GREAT LIBERATION                                  CASTES AND ARAMAS                                  225

his power allows (120). By stratagem¹ should the end desired be attained. By the same means should wars be conducted and treaties concluded. Victory, peace, and prosperity follow stratagem (121). He should ever avoid the company of the low, and be good to the learned. He should be of a calm disposition, judicious of action in time of trouble, of good conduct, and reasonable in his expenditure (122).

He should be an expert in the maintenance of his forts, well trained in the use of arms. He should ever ascertain the disposition of his army, and teach his soldiers military tactics (123). O Devi he should not in battle kill one who is stunned, who has surrendered his arms, or is a fugitive, nor those of his enemies whom he has captured, nor their wives or children (124). Whatever is acquired either by victory or treaty should be distributed amongst the soldiers in shares according to merit (125).

The King should make known to himself the character and courage of each of his warriors, and if he would care for his interests he should not place a large army under the command of a single officer (126). He should not put his trust in any single person, nor place one man in charge of the administration, nor treat his inferiors as equals, nor be familiar with them ² (127). He should be very learned, yet not garrulous; full of knowledge, yet anxious to learn; full of honours, yet without arrogance. In awarding both reward and punishment he should be calm and discriminating (128). The King should either himself or through his spies watch his subjects, kinsmen, and servants (129). A wise master should not either reward or punish anyone in a fit of passion

1 Upãya.

2 eschew playing and joking with the low.

Page 225

or arrogance and without due cause (130). Soldiers, com­manders, ministers, wife, children and servitors he should protect. If guilty, they should be punished according to their deserts (131). The King should protect, like a father, the insane, the helpless, children and orphans,' and those who are old and infirm ² (132).

Know that agriculture and trade are the appropriate callings of the Vaiya. It is by agriculture and trade that man's body is maintained (133). Therefore, O Devi! in agriculture and trade all negligence, vicious habits ,³ laziness, untruth, and deceit should be avoided in every way (134).

 

Siva! when both buyer and seller are agreed as to the object of sale and the price thereof, and mutual promises have been made, then the purchase becomes complete (135). O Dearest One! the sale or gift of property by one who is a lunatic, out of his senses ,¹ under age, a captive, or enfeebled by disease, is invalid (136). The purchase of things not seen is concluded by hearing the description thereof. If the article be found to differ from its description, then the purchase is of no effect (137). The sale of an elephant, a camel, and a horse is effected by the description of the animal. The sale is, however, set aside if the animal does not answer its des­cription (138). If in the purchase of elephants, camels, and horses a latent vice becomes patent within the course of a year from the date of sale, then the purchase is set aside, but not after the lapse of one year (139). O Devi of Kula! the

1 Mrta-bandhava, those whose protectors are dead.

2 The text is Jvarabhibhüta, but probably should be read (and is so translated) as Jarabhibhuta, the latter being the adjective of Vrddha. But, read as in the original, the meaning would be "stricken by disease ".

Vyasana (see p. 223, note 1). e.g., by drink.

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226                           THE GREAT LIBERATION

CASTES AND ASRAMAS                                                                                              227

human body is the receptacle of piety, wealth, desires, and final Liberation. It should therefore never be the subject of purchase; and such a purchase is by reason of My commands invalid (140).

O Dear One! in the borrowing of barley, wheat, or paddy, the profit of the lender at the end of the year is laid down to be fourth of the quantity lent, and in the case of the loan of metals one-eighth (141). In monetary transactions, agriculture, trade, and in all other transactions, men should ever carry out their undertakings. This is approved by the laws ¹ (142).

A servant should be skilful, clean, truthful, wakeful, careful and alert, and possess his senses under control (143). He shoud, as he desires happiness in this and the next world, regard his master as if he were Visnu Himself, his master's wife as his own mother, and respect his master's kinsmen and friends (144). He should know his master's friends to be his friends, and his master's enemies to be his enemies, and should ever remain in respectful attendance upon his master, awaiting his orders (145). He should carefully conceal his master's dishonour, the family dissensions, anything said in private or which would hurt the mind of his master (146). He should not covet the wealth of his master, but remain ever devoted to his good. He should not make use of bad words or laugh or play in his master's presence (147). He should not, with lustful mind, even look at the maidservants in his master's house, or lie down with them, or play with them in secret (148). He should not use his master's bed, seat, carriages, clothes, vessels, shoes, jewels, or weapons (149). If guilty, he should beg the forgiveness of his master. He should not be forward, impertinent, or attempt to place him­self on an equal footing with his master (150).

1Sastras.

Except when in the Bhairavi-cakra ¹ or Tattva-cakra,1 persons of all castes should marry in their caste according to the Brahma form,² and should eat with their own caste people (151). O Great Queen! in these two circles,³ however, marriage in the Saiva form is ordained,⁴ and as regards eating and drinking, no caste distinctions exist (152).