Brahminism
Brahmin, derived from "Brahmana", means "belonging to Brahma". A Brahmin of olden times, was considered the possessor of "exclusive" rights to education and matters of social and spiritual importance. Those were the days when the Hindu religion boasted of the four major castes in Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants and land owners), Shudras (laborers) and the Brahmins.
Focusing on just the Brahmins, one cannot miss to notice the complexity of their society in the past. Westernization (along with ridicule from all corners) has had its share of destroying its traits. The Brahmins of today (including the "real" priests) have so completely transformed so as to blend comfortably into modernity.
Some of the most important characteristic traits of the "original" brams were the vibhudhi (ash markings on the forehead and body), saffron attires and the sacred thread (tied around the body from the left shoulder, going back circularly from underneath the right arm). Some of brams of today can hardly even recognize these - wearing the sacred thread is considered to be a mere formality. But how can it be when it is changed once a year without fail on the day of Aavani Avittam??!!!; the saffron-colored clothes are now part of the wardrobes of the so-called "Human Gods" with the power to do even the scientifically impossible!
However considering today's society of brams as a whole, they form part of the middle and the upper-middle class, with very little hold on the other sections of the society (a trait they had once mastered simply due to their "acquired" reach of knowledge and education). Apologies for not being euphemistic: this practice was plain bad!
Even today you can notice elderly brams asking the maids to enter through the back door, or asking them not to go near the pooja area (I can create a never-ending list, or may be a separate blog post just for the list!). This attitude is very easily assimilated by the younger generation, without questions being raised; the human brain LOVES to rule dudes!
If only the Brams comprised of at least 10% (as opposed to the meagre 2-3% in reality) of the Indian population, they could've kept up with the race to the throne. Now, facing them is a light-less tunnel, with no signs of an approaching train. The political oppostion started with "Thandhai" Periyaar, after Mahatma Gandhi fought for the "Harijans". The power of Periyaar was fabulous, and he got an immediate mass following. Our "No God, No Superstition" Kalaignar has only to add fuel to the fire with announcing "Anybody can become priest".
I can't quite understand what he means by "No God" when he takes so much effort to define what a "priest" is. Nor can I understand the meaning of "superstition", if sticking on to your yellow dhothi even when you can't even stand properly is not considered to be one! The point being, Kalaignar, and the thousands who own a priced political post, probably don't give a damn about how to pen the definitaion of a priest. This issue, by virtue of being Kalaignar's enemy's friend, was his enemy!
Has the brahmin society given a lot more importance to its self-pride than it should have? Is it now feeling the heat from all corners because of that? If not anything, the reservation is going to only surge. The political harted is going to deepen. Brams are slowly but stedily running away from the country to seek greener pastures.
Is this all because of our (Yes! After all that flaying, I'm a Bram too!) ancestors' flawed and self-deceiving livelihood? If only we had given a chance for the others in the soceity too! Is it too late now? Yes, I think so...
Focusing on just the Brahmins, one cannot miss to notice the complexity of their society in the past. Westernization (along with ridicule from all corners) has had its share of destroying its traits. The Brahmins of today (including the "real" priests) have so completely transformed so as to blend comfortably into modernity.
Some of the most important characteristic traits of the "original" brams were the vibhudhi (ash markings on the forehead and body), saffron attires and the sacred thread (tied around the body from the left shoulder, going back circularly from underneath the right arm). Some of brams of today can hardly even recognize these - wearing the sacred thread is considered to be a mere formality. But how can it be when it is changed once a year without fail on the day of Aavani Avittam??!!!; the saffron-colored clothes are now part of the wardrobes of the so-called "Human Gods" with the power to do even the scientifically impossible!
However considering today's society of brams as a whole, they form part of the middle and the upper-middle class, with very little hold on the other sections of the society (a trait they had once mastered simply due to their "acquired" reach of knowledge and education). Apologies for not being euphemistic: this practice was plain bad!
Even today you can notice elderly brams asking the maids to enter through the back door, or asking them not to go near the pooja area (I can create a never-ending list, or may be a separate blog post just for the list!). This attitude is very easily assimilated by the younger generation, without questions being raised; the human brain LOVES to rule dudes!
If only the Brams comprised of at least 10% (as opposed to the meagre 2-3% in reality) of the Indian population, they could've kept up with the race to the throne. Now, facing them is a light-less tunnel, with no signs of an approaching train. The political oppostion started with "Thandhai" Periyaar, after Mahatma Gandhi fought for the "Harijans". The power of Periyaar was fabulous, and he got an immediate mass following. Our "No God, No Superstition" Kalaignar has only to add fuel to the fire with announcing "Anybody can become priest".
I can't quite understand what he means by "No God" when he takes so much effort to define what a "priest" is. Nor can I understand the meaning of "superstition", if sticking on to your yellow dhothi even when you can't even stand properly is not considered to be one! The point being, Kalaignar, and the thousands who own a priced political post, probably don't give a damn about how to pen the definitaion of a priest. This issue, by virtue of being Kalaignar's enemy's friend, was his enemy!
Has the brahmin society given a lot more importance to its self-pride than it should have? Is it now feeling the heat from all corners because of that? If not anything, the reservation is going to only surge. The political harted is going to deepen. Brams are slowly but stedily running away from the country to seek greener pastures.
Is this all because of our (Yes! After all that flaying, I'm a Bram too!) ancestors' flawed and self-deceiving livelihood? If only we had given a chance for the others in the soceity too! Is it too late now? Yes, I think so...
posted by thegaad at 5:01 AM
3 Comments:
good one da.. the kalaignar part was well written.. the brahmin society will still remain, however the practices will tend to stop soon.. other than the 'poonal' (the word that u cud have mentioned), is there any other noticeable, distinct, valuable practice/trait of the brahmin clan? anything for women?? dont say 'madisar' :D
there were quite a few traits: sitting on tiger's skin, the rudraksha, the chain with 108 beads,the elephant-hair ring etc etc...
surprisingly, other than madisaar, i cant think of any for women! :s
will be an interesting issue to talk about :)
new can of worms :) as long as any such distinctions based on caste etc remain in society, there's hardly any hope of "no change". i believe that unless some kind of equality is brought about among everyone, the tide will turn again.. maybe not BACK to what it was, but definitely leading to some kind of rethinking of ideas.
Is it only the brahmins going in search of greener pastures by the way?
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