A lot of time has gone into this forum in discussing about brahmin rituals, forms of performing puja and may be even the rules laid out in the scriptures.
Let us re examine our current state.
A few examples to awaken us to the reality.
1. AN was a proud Vadama Iyer. He did sandhyavandanam every day and prayed to God with great respect to procedure, knew vedas and even preached on conduct and life. He often made fun of other subcastes and even relatives whom we felt did not perform rituals properly. He felt that he and his family had come from some heavenly abode and have come to this world to change the world. I admired this man. Then discovered some facts. This man for all his boastfullness , I came to know was not always truthful - He spoke per his convenience . He took to occassional alcohol when it came to his corporate dealings.
2. PK was a proud Iyengar, boasting all about the facts that many of his ancestors had become jeers of some famous mutts. For all his boasting , came to discover this man felt that drinking wine(not merely felt but practiced also) and alcohol was absolutely fine and went well with his jeer family status. So much for this man who did not want to hear the name of Lord Shiva- Greater crime than even drinking.
3. ABC was a Sastrigal who performed some of the most important rituals. A client of his accidently slipped in a few thousand more money than requested. This man had no sincerity to return back the extra money that he took from his client or even reveal it. So much for his so-called eligibility and pureness which is required for performing such holy ceremonies.
4. PQ Talks and gives lectures to everyone about why one should be a good brahmin, follow traditions, why intercaste marriage is bad and so on and on. He admonishes his relative whose son married outside the caste. Apart from this one flaw , I have never seen this son do anything dishonest or bad in his life. Now for all this vain boasting and pride, PQ could have helped a close relation of his during his life and death illness- Being the closest relative of that man near his deathbed. On the contrary instead of helping this death bed ridden man, PQ admonishes this man. He said- "This relative of mine did not lead a ritualistic life, he deserves to die. I will not help him. Let him die"
So what was this person's fault- The death ridden person neglected certain essential rituals but otherwise lead a good and clean life. So PQ who was one of the few who could have helped a dying elder, ignored and had only bad things to say. This so called self righteous PQ, had no problems taking financial help from the dying person , when the person was doing well.
5. XYZ is an Iyengar who goes on and on about the merits of Sri Vaishnavism and the greatness of Sri Vaishnava Lineages. I wouldnt be surprised if he has a family tree hidden in his pocket, so whenever he meets a relative he can update his great family tree. For all this big talk on Vaishnavism and why Sri Vaishnavas are genetically, intellectually and spiritually superior to Smarthas- I have never seen this man do a single puja with pure bhakti. His mind always delves on the peripherals, whether the time of puja is right, whether it is done according to the laid out srivaishnava procedure or not, whether madi is followed by people around him. When he chants the mantras - One is certain of the following thought that must be resonating in his mind- "I the great Sri Vaishanava descendant of xyz, having studied and obtained ... degree from the great ... universities , still respect tradition inspite of acquiring modern degrees and being academically brilliant. I follow the rituals of Ramanuja in the best possible manner. I therefore pay homage to you, O Lord Vishnu. Considering the excellant way I have worshipped inspite of being in modern society- please accept my prayers", People might ask how I know what this man thought in his mind. It does not matter, I am not sure we have all met such people.
The list of such hypocrites (ourselves included) goes on................
So I am not sure whether I look like a brahmin basher. I am not one. But it irritates me that we all talk about great brahmin rituals, keeping away from intercaste marriages, but we dont follow the essential requirement as laid out in Bhagawat Gita.
Lord Krishna clearly says that he values internal purity more than all the external karma and show.
There are many of us who follow certain rules and whatever is inconvenient we reinterpret or forget them.
Let me remind us all that Brahmins were respected in ancient time for their conduct as well as their knowledge. I do not remember any brahmin being considered only because of his knowledge alone. When we speak of conduct , it is not just following vegetarianism or the rituals. It is also about leading a life of truthfullness, purity of mind, having affection towards one and all etc.
By now, I am sure that if there is a Brahmin here who sincerely wants to progress in spiritual life, he will agree with me on all these points, that I have mentioned. I am also sure that the rest of people (who really dont want to progress in spiritual life) will not care to go beyond this point.
In the early days or perhaps even a century ago, there were brahmins who sincerely followed all the rules laid out in shastras and tried to follow all the great recommendations on conduct - such as being always truthfull, not being affected by greed, genuinely liking all living beings and so on.
Today we have come to really bad state- almost all of us, have left out certain important rules on the code of conduct of brahmins.
We all like to say- The ancient law books cannot be applied in the modern context. Let us take this statement to be true.
I then have this to propose- Let us all agree to a code of conduct which can be followed today. Let us list the codes and draw a circle around us. There are certain mahans who have already done that. But many mortals like me, have not yet fully defined a circle around us. These rules cannot be arbitary. It cannot be something that suits our whims and fancies. Because in that case we would continue to be bad brahmins and only bring more disrepute to our ancestors. Unless we follow a clear code of conduct , the monkey mind of ours will get tempted to the materialism that surrounds us.
The purpose of the thread should now be clear, What are the rules that ordinary brahmins should follow. Let us think and define these rules clearly. Let us then live by them. That is the point- Live by a code of conduct like our ancestors did and never ever break them.
Let us define all the rules and let this be exhaustive and let us all agree on them. I am sure that even if 10% of brahmins live by this code, we will certainly make a big difference to our society.
Let us please start- Start from rules reagrding food , to the kind of language we should be using, to the way we behave with others, to the kind of books and movies we should be watching and so on.
I dont want to start, because I am just hoping that a more worthy and wise member may help us out.
PK
Let us re examine our current state.
A few examples to awaken us to the reality.
1. AN was a proud Vadama Iyer. He did sandhyavandanam every day and prayed to God with great respect to procedure, knew vedas and even preached on conduct and life. He often made fun of other subcastes and even relatives whom we felt did not perform rituals properly. He felt that he and his family had come from some heavenly abode and have come to this world to change the world. I admired this man. Then discovered some facts. This man for all his boastfullness , I came to know was not always truthful - He spoke per his convenience . He took to occassional alcohol when it came to his corporate dealings.
2. PK was a proud Iyengar, boasting all about the facts that many of his ancestors had become jeers of some famous mutts. For all his boasting , came to discover this man felt that drinking wine(not merely felt but practiced also) and alcohol was absolutely fine and went well with his jeer family status. So much for this man who did not want to hear the name of Lord Shiva- Greater crime than even drinking.
3. ABC was a Sastrigal who performed some of the most important rituals. A client of his accidently slipped in a few thousand more money than requested. This man had no sincerity to return back the extra money that he took from his client or even reveal it. So much for his so-called eligibility and pureness which is required for performing such holy ceremonies.
4. PQ Talks and gives lectures to everyone about why one should be a good brahmin, follow traditions, why intercaste marriage is bad and so on and on. He admonishes his relative whose son married outside the caste. Apart from this one flaw , I have never seen this son do anything dishonest or bad in his life. Now for all this vain boasting and pride, PQ could have helped a close relation of his during his life and death illness- Being the closest relative of that man near his deathbed. On the contrary instead of helping this death bed ridden man, PQ admonishes this man. He said- "This relative of mine did not lead a ritualistic life, he deserves to die. I will not help him. Let him die"
So what was this person's fault- The death ridden person neglected certain essential rituals but otherwise lead a good and clean life. So PQ who was one of the few who could have helped a dying elder, ignored and had only bad things to say. This so called self righteous PQ, had no problems taking financial help from the dying person , when the person was doing well.
5. XYZ is an Iyengar who goes on and on about the merits of Sri Vaishnavism and the greatness of Sri Vaishnava Lineages. I wouldnt be surprised if he has a family tree hidden in his pocket, so whenever he meets a relative he can update his great family tree. For all this big talk on Vaishnavism and why Sri Vaishnavas are genetically, intellectually and spiritually superior to Smarthas- I have never seen this man do a single puja with pure bhakti. His mind always delves on the peripherals, whether the time of puja is right, whether it is done according to the laid out srivaishnava procedure or not, whether madi is followed by people around him. When he chants the mantras - One is certain of the following thought that must be resonating in his mind- "I the great Sri Vaishanava descendant of xyz, having studied and obtained ... degree from the great ... universities , still respect tradition inspite of acquiring modern degrees and being academically brilliant. I follow the rituals of Ramanuja in the best possible manner. I therefore pay homage to you, O Lord Vishnu. Considering the excellant way I have worshipped inspite of being in modern society- please accept my prayers", People might ask how I know what this man thought in his mind. It does not matter, I am not sure we have all met such people.
The list of such hypocrites (ourselves included) goes on................
So I am not sure whether I look like a brahmin basher. I am not one. But it irritates me that we all talk about great brahmin rituals, keeping away from intercaste marriages, but we dont follow the essential requirement as laid out in Bhagawat Gita.
Lord Krishna clearly says that he values internal purity more than all the external karma and show.
There are many of us who follow certain rules and whatever is inconvenient we reinterpret or forget them.
Let me remind us all that Brahmins were respected in ancient time for their conduct as well as their knowledge. I do not remember any brahmin being considered only because of his knowledge alone. When we speak of conduct , it is not just following vegetarianism or the rituals. It is also about leading a life of truthfullness, purity of mind, having affection towards one and all etc.
By now, I am sure that if there is a Brahmin here who sincerely wants to progress in spiritual life, he will agree with me on all these points, that I have mentioned. I am also sure that the rest of people (who really dont want to progress in spiritual life) will not care to go beyond this point.
In the early days or perhaps even a century ago, there were brahmins who sincerely followed all the rules laid out in shastras and tried to follow all the great recommendations on conduct - such as being always truthfull, not being affected by greed, genuinely liking all living beings and so on.
Today we have come to really bad state- almost all of us, have left out certain important rules on the code of conduct of brahmins.
We all like to say- The ancient law books cannot be applied in the modern context. Let us take this statement to be true.
I then have this to propose- Let us all agree to a code of conduct which can be followed today. Let us list the codes and draw a circle around us. There are certain mahans who have already done that. But many mortals like me, have not yet fully defined a circle around us. These rules cannot be arbitary. It cannot be something that suits our whims and fancies. Because in that case we would continue to be bad brahmins and only bring more disrepute to our ancestors. Unless we follow a clear code of conduct , the monkey mind of ours will get tempted to the materialism that surrounds us.
The purpose of the thread should now be clear, What are the rules that ordinary brahmins should follow. Let us think and define these rules clearly. Let us then live by them. That is the point- Live by a code of conduct like our ancestors did and never ever break them.
Let us define all the rules and let this be exhaustive and let us all agree on them. I am sure that even if 10% of brahmins live by this code, we will certainly make a big difference to our society.
Let us please start- Start from rules reagrding food , to the kind of language we should be using, to the way we behave with others, to the kind of books and movies we should be watching and so on.
I dont want to start, because I am just hoping that a more worthy and wise member may help us out.
PK
