sir - there is a main difference between a bramin & a non bramin. whereas for a bramin it is compulsory to believe, follow & respect orthodox hindu traditions, for a non bramin all these things are voluntary! a bramin who does not follow, believe or respect orthodox tenets became a non bramin the very next second! so there is no question of a bramin not following, respecting or believing orthodox religion, because he was out of the religion if he refuses to follow, believe or respect traditions!
this is the main reason why bramins were permanently appointed as priests in orthodox temples. moreover bramins were totally depended on temples for their livelihood, unlike other castes. so they were given total control of temples, because they had no other place to go. they also had to live a life of pure vegetarian, teetotaller, respect, belief & adhere to temple values, to continue to remain in temples. but after muslims & british destroyed temples, the life of bramins changed, and they also had to go in search of jobs outside temples. but even today, there are many priestly families whose life is totally dependant on temples. where will they go if their monopoly is plucked? what is the need to do so? even founding fathers of indian constitution did not try to do this. even supreme courts have ruled that there is nothing unconstitutional in bramins being appointed as priests in orthodox temples permanently, as there is no casteist discrimination involved in this, because even bramin gods, priests, devotees are restricted n temples in many ways, beyond a point!!!
sir - in orthodox saiva temples, priests will not give vermillon (kungumam) to devotees, but they will give vibuthi (sacred ash) instead! whereas in orthodox vaishnava temples, priests will give vermillon and not vibuthi! so even in small matters, there are differences, even among bramins! here 'rationalists' are trying to enforce uniform practices for all 'hindus' copying the pattern of religions like islam & christianity!!
priests train their children right from the birth to become a priest! in fact, this is the main reason why in those days, many bramins want a male child, because a male child can contribute to temple by becoming a priest, which a female cannot. moreover, since only married persons can become priests, bramins would generally marry at a relatively younger age in those days, so that the male becomes a priest and services god!!
http://www.chennaionline.com/columns/DownMemoryLane/diary172.asp
the above link contains interesting facts about dikshithars of chidambaram,their commitment & love for Lord Natarajar, how there is 100% equality amongst dikshithars there, how they perform even duties of sweepers, how democratic their set up is and how honest they are!!
http://www.mkgandhi.org/epigrams/b.htm
the above link contains the respect and love , the father of india, mahatma gandhi had for bramins & braminism!!! no wonder rationalists abuse the mahatma!!!!!!!!
Last edited: