Pandharpur temple allows women, men of all castes as priests.

[V.Balasubramani]

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Pandharpurtemple allows women, men of all castes as priests - The Hindu.

The 900-year-old place of worship is challenging the entrenched tradition of patriarchy and casteism in one stroke. The temple administration has already interviewed women and those from outside the Brahmin community for appointing them as priests.

The Vitthal Rukmini Temple Trust (VRTT), which functions under the Maharashtra government, has made the radical move possible. “For thefirst time, a temple is throwing open its doors to everyone.

We thought it was time now for us to set an example. No group should claim monopoly for serving as priests in the temple,” Anna Dange, chairman of the trust, told The Hindu.

Read more: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/pandharpur-temple-allows-women-men-of-all-castes-as-priests/article6038635.ece

 

[renuka]

Good move..cos at least candidates that want to be priests can apply cos these days I feel no one practices caste based occupation anymore and everyone takes up jobs based on their ambition.

Priesthood should be made into a tertiary education too so that we have well informed priest who are also employable by the Temple Trust and be paid a good salary so that they dont face poverty.

Also allowing women to work as priests is a good move cos these days any gender can do any job..so why not a female priest.

 

[V.Balasubramani]

While there are temples which don’t allow ladies inside even for worship, this move is really a break through.

While women are engaged in various other fields, why not their services utilised as temple priests too?

Mel Maruvatthur Adhiparasakthi temple is probably the onlytemple in Tamilnadu where women enjoy the right of men-priests performing pujas in the very sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

 

[renuka]

While there are temples which don’t allow ladies inside even for worship, this move is really a break through.

While women are engaged in various other fields, why not their services utilised as temple priests too?

Mel Maruvatthur Adhiparasakthi temple is probably the onlytemple in Tamilnadu where women enjoy the right of men-priests performing pujas in the very sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

Yes...and its long overdue...so far males have been inventing all sorts of rules and regulations for females when it comes to prayers etc..so high time we females break free from such rules imposed..cos some rules are not within the scope of logic!


Males some how feel they know it all and even think they know about a females biological functions better than a female herself!LOL

So I welcome changes like this where everyone male or females are given the opportunity to serve as priest..in fact even transgenders should be encouraged to take up priest hood in temples cos they too have the right to what others have.

 

[P.J.]

The concept of a female priest is not a new one.


Nutan Vimal Motilal is also a practising priest and points out that women priests were written about in the sacred Vedic texts.


Hindu temples have also requisitioned women.


"They were more honest, sincere and the clarity with which they performed the ceremony was also refreshing," he says.

Both Sunitee Gadgil, who has been practising for 10 years, and Nutan Vimal Motilal, who has been practising for two, say they have never had a negative experience.



With an increasing number of men of religion taking up other more lucrative vocations, women are now stepping into the gap to actually outnumber male priests in Maharashtra.
Dr. V L. Manjul, a research scholar and chief librarian at Pune's Bhandarkar Oriental Re. search Institute, says "between 1986 and '96, about 6,000 women have been trained as purohits (priests) and today, lady purohits outnumber male ones."



In the Vedic period, says Dr. Manjul, "we come across female scholars like Ghosha, Lopamudra, Romasha and Indrani. In the Upanishadic period, names of women philosophers like Sulabha, Maitreyi, Gargi are encountered."
This tradition is exemplified in a verse from "Bhihadaranyakopanishad," which reads "atha ya icched duhita me pandita jayeta," (a well-to-do Political instability and successive foreign invasions further made it difficult for women to take up formal learning, which made it impossible for her to undertake Vedic studies and conduct Vedic rites.

Hindu Wisdom - Women in Hinduism
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1298208.stm

In Vedic times women and men were equal as far as education and religion was concerned. Women participated in the public sacrifices alongside men.

One text mentions a female rishi Visvara. Some Vedic hymns, are attributed to women such as Apala, the daughter of Atri, Ghosa, the daughter of Kaksivant or Indrani, the wife of Indra. Apparently in early Vedic times women also received the sacred thread and could study the Vedas.

The Haritasmrti mentions a class of women called brahmavadinis who remained unmarried and spent their lives in study and ritual. Panini's distinction between arcarya (a lady teacher) and acaryani (a teacher's wife), and upadhyaya (a woman preceptor) and upadhyayani ( a preceptor's wife) indicates that women at that time could not only be students but also teachers of sacred lore. He mentions the names of several noteworthy women scholars of the past such as Kathi, Kalapi, and Bahvici.

The Upanishads refer to several women philosophers, who disputed with their male colleagues such as Vacaknavi, who challenged Yajnavalkya. The Rig Veda also refers to women engaged in warfare. One queen Bispala is mentioned, and even as late a witness as Megasthenes (fifth century B.C. E.) mentions heavily armed women guards protecting Chandragupta's palace.





Hindu Wisdom - Women in Hinduism

 

[tks]

The concept of a female priest is not a new one.


Nutan Vimal Motilal is also a practising priest and points out that women priests were written about in the sacred Vedic texts.


Hindu temples have also requisitioned women.


"They were more honest, sincere and the clarity with which they performed the ceremony was also refreshing," he says.

Both Sunitee Gadgil, who has been practising for 10 years, and Nutan Vimal Motilal, who has been practising for two, say they have never had a negative experience.



With an increasing number of men of religion taking up other more lucrative vocations, women are now stepping into the gap to actually outnumber male priests in Maharashtra.
Dr. V L. Manjul, a research scholar and chief librarian at Pune's Bhandarkar Oriental Re. search Institute, says "between 1986 and '96, about 6,000 women have been trained as purohits (priests) and today, lady purohits outnumber male ones."



In the Vedic period, says Dr. Manjul, "we come across female scholars like Ghosha, Lopamudra, Romasha and Indrani. In the Upanishadic period, names of women philosophers like Sulabha, Maitreyi, Gargi are encountered."
This tradition is exemplified in a verse from "Bhihadaranyakopanishad," which reads "atha ya icched duhita me pandita jayeta," (a well-to-do Political instability and successive foreign invasions further made it difficult for women to take up formal learning, which made it impossible for her to undertake Vedic studies and conduct Vedic rites.

Hindu Wisdom - Women in Hinduism
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1298208.stm

In Vedic times women and men were equal as far as education and religion was concerned. Women participated in the public sacrifices alongside men.

One text mentions a female rishi Visvara. Some Vedic hymns, are attributed to women such as Apala, the daughter of Atri, Ghosa, the daughter of Kaksivant or Indrani, the wife of Indra. Apparently in early Vedic times women also received the sacred thread and could study the Vedas.

The Haritasmrti mentions a class of women called brahmavadinis who remained unmarried and spent their lives in study and ritual. Panini's distinction between arcarya (a lady teacher) and acaryani (a teacher's wife), and upadhyaya (a woman preceptor) and upadhyayani ( a preceptor's wife) indicates that women at that time could not only be students but also teachers of sacred lore. He mentions the names of several noteworthy women scholars of the past such as Kathi, Kalapi, and Bahvici.

The Upanishads refer to several women philosophers, who disputed with their male colleagues such as Vacaknavi, who challenged Yajnavalkya. The Rig Veda also refers to women engaged in warfare. One queen Bispala is mentioned, and even as late a witness as Megasthenes (fifth century B.C. E.) mentions heavily armed women guards protecting Chandragupta's palace.





Hindu Wisdom - Women in Hinduism

Excellent post with real useful content. Thank you!

 

[Kuvalayavalli]

Priesthood is not in decree-ing but in the DNA.

 

[krish44]

Priesthood is not in decree-ing but in the DNA.

priesthood and such things IMHO is not for ladies

with great difficulty , devadasi system has been eradicated.ladies can keep off temples which are dens of corruption and sin

there are good occupations for ladies.they can get get educated and join some other profession

 

[renuka]

priesthood and such things IMHO is not for ladies

with great difficulty , devadasi system has been eradicated.ladies can keep off temples which are dens of corruption and sin

there are good occupations for ladies.they can get get educated and join some other profession

What????

If you are worried about sin etc..fear not.....females can run the temples and males can be the Devadasas!LOL


BTW I dont find it wrong at all to have a female priest..cos at least females can feel comfortable dealing with a fellow female when it comes to prayers and rites and rituals.

With a male priest one can not be too friendly.

 

[krish44]

What????

If you are worried about sin etc..fear not.....females can run the temples and males can be the Devadasas!LOL


BTW I dont find it wrong at all to have a female priest..cos at least females can feel comfortable dealing with a fellow female when it comes to prayers and rites and rituals.

With a male priest one can not be too friendly.

do you ever know what all wives and womenfolk of priests have to put up with in case they live in temple premises. try meeting them. go with sarees to be presented to them for some occassion. you will hear many bizarre stories.

over the years I have gone to so many temples in tamilnadu and transacted with them and I am totally disillusioned regarding their status. poverty of these ladies make them do menial things in the temple premises.the escape route for them is next generation if they can get educated and come up

girls even from poor dalit families are becoming engineers. it is wrong to condemn these ladies to priest hood. my sons cooks husband is kovil gurukkal in bangalore .his daughter has done bcom MBA 23 yrs is working in MNC. I floated a matrimonial profile for her in matrimony website .her family background is against her. the parents are afraid of looking for anyone other than priests
the girl wants a man with modern values . I seemed to have stirred a hornets nest. she is a vadama iyer

I have taken this as challenge for want of better things to do.lol

 

[prasad1]

Krishji,
I understand your post very well. But op is expressing an option for female priest. That is honorable and women should be allowed to be priest if they choose it.

 

[renuka]

do you ever know what all wives and womenfolk of priests have to put up with in case they live in temple premises. try meeting them. go with sarees to be presented to them for some occassion. you will hear many bizarre stories.

over the years I have gone to so many temples in tamilnadu and transacted with them and I am totally disillusioned regarding their status. poverty of these ladies make them do menial things in the temple premises.the escape route for them is next generation if they can get educated and come up

girls even from poor dalit families are becoming engineers. it is wrong to condemn these ladies to priest hood. my sons cooks husband is kovil gurukkal in bangalore .his daughter has done bcom MBA 23 yrs is working in MNC. I floated a matrimonial profile for her in matrimony website .her family background is against her. the parents are afraid of looking for anyone other than priests
the girl wants a man with modern values . I seemed to have stirred a hornets nest. she is a vadama iyer

I have taken this as challenge for want of better things to do.lol

read my earlier post on page 1 where i wrote make priesthood into tertiary education including Vedic Studies so that they can be employed by Temple Trust and have a steady income with EPF too.

Single unmarried or divorced or widowed women who do not have intention to marry/remarry can opt to work as as para priestess( like how we have para medic or para legals). A priest does need an assistant too isnt it?

Poverty need not go hand in hand with priesthood...it has been linked with poverty all these while cos it was a caste based occupation..so let it not be caste based and make it an occupation that comes with vocational training and a diploma/degree.

I know so many Christian Priests out here who are Phds in Psychology..many of the choose to study Psychology to help people with problems.

Many Islamic Preachers here are also Phds in Islamic and Arabic Studies ..they are attached to the State Islamic Department.

So in India..the government should set up a Hindu Religious Affairs state department and make priests register with them and also use their services to conduct religious classes.

So you see this way..no one will be poor and at the same time religious practices will be monitored by the state department.

 

[sarang]

Will do after declaring bharath as a Hindu state.

do you ever know what all wives and womenfolk of priests have to put up with in case they live in temple premises. try meeting them. go with sarees to be presented to them for some occassion. you will hear many bizarre stories.

over the years I have gone to so many temples in tamilnadu and transacted with them and I am totally disillusioned regarding their status. poverty of these ladies make them do menial things in the temple premises.the escape route for them is next generation if they can get educated and come up

girls even from poor dalit families are becoming engineers. it is wrong to condemn these ladies to priest hood. my sons cooks husband is kovil gurukkal in bangalore .his daughter has done bcom MBA 23 yrs is working in MNC. I floated a matrimonial profile for her in matrimony website .her family background is against her. the parents are afraid of looking for anyone other than priests
the girl wants a man with modern values . I seemed to have stirred a hornets nest. she is a vadama iyer

I have taken this as challenge for want of better things to do.lol

read my earlier post on page 1 where i wrote make priesthood into tertiary education including Vedic Studies so that they can be employed by Temple Trust and have a steady income with EPF too.

Single unmarried or divorced or widowed women who do not have intention to marry/remarry can opt to work as as para priestess( like how we have para medic or para legals). A priest does need an assistant too isnt it?

Poverty need not go hand in hand with priesthood...it has been linked with poverty all these while cos it was a caste based occupation..so let it not be caste based and make it an occupation that comes with vocational training and a diploma/degree.

I know so many Christian Priests out here who are Phds in Psychology..many of the choose to study Psychology to help people with problems.

Many Islamic Preachers here are also Phds in Islamic and Arabic Studies ..they are attached to the State Islamic Department.

So in India..the government should set up a Hindu Religious Affairs state department and make priests register with them and also use their services to conduct religious classes.

So you see this way..no one will be poor and at the same time religious practices will be monitored by the state department.

 

[krish44]

read my earlier post on page 1 where i wrote make priesthood into tertiary education including Vedic Studies so that they can be employed by Temple Trust and have a steady income with EPF too.

Single unmarried or divorced or widowed women who do not have intention to marry/remarry can opt to work as as para priestess( like how we have para medic or para legals). A priest does need an assistant too isnt it?

Poverty need not go hand in hand with priesthood...it has been linked with poverty all these while cos it was a caste based occupation..so let it not be caste based and make it an occupation that comes with vocational training and a diploma/degree.

I know so many Christian Priests out here who are Phds in Psychology..many of the choose to study Psychology to help people with problems.

Many Islamic Preachers here are also Phds in Islamic and Arabic Studies ..they are attached to the State Islamic Department.

So in India..the government should set up a Hindu Religious Affairs state department and make priests register with them and also use their services to conduct religious classes.

So you see this way..no one will be poor and at the same time religious practices will be monitored by the state department.

state should not go near religeous institutions.recent supreme court judg
ement on chidambaram temple.

instead of wasting human resources on unproductive courses like vedic studies, they can choose better vocational courses which can give better returns.

 

[tbs]

state should not go near religeous institutions.recent supreme court judg
ement on chidambaram temple.

instead of wasting human resources on unproductive courses like vedic studies, they can choose better vocational courses which can give better returns.

hi krish sir,,

just info...i was vedic student in veda patasala.....vedic study was not my choice....like me many students force to go veda

patasala in 70s or 80s....due to family pressure/poverty etc,,,,not many private engineering colleges were available....so

supply and demand makes everything....now many veda patasalas are closed due to non availability of students....not

all parents can afford for medical/engineering colleges....i know the ground reality....

 

[krish44]

hi krish sir,,

just info...i was vedic student in veda patasala.....vedic study was not my choice....like me many students force to go veda

patasala in 70s or 80s....due to family pressure/poverty etc,,,,not many private engineering colleges were available....so

supply and demand makes everything....now many veda patasalas are closed due to non availability of students....not

all parents can afford for medical/engineering colleges....i know the ground reality....

tbs garu
vedic institutions are dying .

there are many vocational courses in engg , medical and others giving oppurtunities in labs and factories.to ladies.
all need not become engineers.

 

[renuka]

instead of wasting human resources on unproductive courses like vedic studies, they can choose better vocational courses which can give better returns.

Dear Krish ji,

Why do you call Vedic studies as unproductive?

Many people when they know I study sanskrit they tell me "why are you wasting time studying something that has no relevance with your medical practice and wont be productive in any way"


I tell them "there is no knowledge that is not productive..for every action there is a reaction"


So you see Krish ji..studies like Vedic studies should be encouraged at all levels and should be also offered as minor studies in those majoring in another studies so the person can also consider working as a part time priest.

I cant understand why when Vedic Studies/Sanskrit ect are so readily available in India people still do not make enough efforts to preserve them..that way at least those who are residing abroad make efforts to study it..I know a person a Non Brahmin from Msia who gave up his lucrative computer engineering job to pursue Vedic studies in India as a full time student..shaving his head..had a tuft of hair,,studying under various gurus..and also did his MA in Sanskrit.

He studied under various acharyas right from North to South of India and including Nepal.

Now he is back here and runs his own engineering firm and conducts Sanskrit and religious classes on weekends.

So no knowledge goes to waste

 

[talwan]

As I know in Mukthinath Temple in Nepal It is the Woman preist who sits in the Sanctom and bless the people come for the Dharshan of Shri Mukthinathji.
Alwan

 

[krish44]

Dear Krish ji,

Why do you call Vedic studies as unproductive?

Many people when they know I study sanskrit they tell me "why are you wasting time studying something that has no relevance with your medical practice and wont be productive in any way"


I tell them "there is no knowledge that is not productive..for every action there is a reaction"


So you see Krish ji..studies like Vedic studies should be encouraged at all levels and should be also offered as minor studies in those majoring in another studies so the person can also consider working as a part time priest.

I cant understand why when Vedic Studies/Sanskrit ect are so readily available in India people still do not make enough efforts to preserve them..that way at least those who are residing abroad make efforts to study it..I know a person a Non Brahmin from Msia who gave up his lucrative computer engineering job to pursue Vedic studies in India as a full time student..shaving his head..had a tuft of hair,,studying under various gurus..and also did his MA in Sanskrit.

He studied under various acharyas right from North to South of India and including Nepal.

Now he is back here and runs his own engineering firm and conducts Sanskrit and religious classes on weekends.

So no knowledge goes to waste

renukaji

we are talking of career oppurtunities which can give good returns

vedic studies may not be financially a good career choice

however one wants to study out of interest or sake of knowledge with money to spare for it.why not ?

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

Any one can pursue any vocation, profession or job of his choice provided he/she qualifies either through academic or practical credentials, certificate from bonafide council or authority.

But when it comes to priesthood it is different. Not everyone can qualify to become a priest. Especially in Hinduism, in my humble opinion, only the descendant of some brahmarishi qualifies to be a priest. Hence every brahmin is ascribed a Gothra. Your paternal ancestry and roots, when traced, must begin with any of the great Rishis of hinduism. You must belong to any one of the brahmin gothras to qualify to be a priest. This is the First, Primary, foremost and most important qualification. Certificate from some Veda Patashala and other qualifications follow after and are secondary. Priesthood is not a profession for earning money but a Calling, a Position of authority bestowed upon by God, which is inherited by birth, passed on traditionally and so many other things. It is a position no one from outside the brahmin community can claim for or compete for.

This exists not only in Hinduism. It exists also in Judaism, the only Original Religion other than Hinduism. Even among the Jews only the Levites, one of the 12 gothras of Jews, are authorized to perform priestly duties. Among Hindus, those other than brahmins who are claiming for priesthood are perhaps trying to follow the model of the non-original religions like christianity, islam, buddhism etc where anyone can opt to become a priest.

While among Jews, those belonging to gothras other than Levi, would dare not claim for priesthood. They obey their law at least in this one aspect. They don't compete with Levites for priesthood. They observe this discipline. I wonder why in Hinduism alone, which Vivekananda described as 'Mother of all Religions', people belonging to castes other than brahmins, are fighting for a share in priestly duties. I reckon it is an interference into others' rights.

It is my humble request to members of non-brahmin castes, to let brahmins enjoy a monopoly at least in this one calling and to refrain from robbing brahmins of this one means of livelihood, which is rightfully theirs.

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

This has reference to Posts #17 (courtesy: renuka) and post #19 (courtesy: krish44).

i work in a leading IT Co in India. one of my colleague is part of a team who were designing and developing a highly advanced application and for long they were stuck in one point in the code that required a high level logic. my colleague who is conversant with the vedas, when studying the vedas, hit across one portion of the rigveda where to his amazement, he discovered that the sanskrit syllables were arranged in a pattern parallel to the elements in the sub-routine in their application where they were stuck. he closely studied and discerned that there was a logic concealed in those vedic verses. he transformed the login into his application, applied that logic and to his astonishment, he cracked the code and the application worked. it was a major breakthrough in the application which when implemented, had the potential to clinch a great deal from the clients which would defeat all their competitors. my colleague was overnight promoted to dizzy heights and our co has made waves in the it circle. my colleague has diplomatically held the logic secret and our competitors are desperately trying to employ my colleague willing to offer whatever he demands. even the americans are threatened by my colleagues breakthrough fearing that india might overcome america in the race for it supremacy.

my colleague has discovered numerous other things in the vedas which could be applied not only in IT but in almost every class of industry. He is contemplating on starting a company of his own and he might out-better every organization in india.

there is so much of treasure in the vedas. we have not explored into it. for instance the vedic verses follow a 16 syllable pattern and vedic mathematics emphasizes the hexagesimal system with 16 as base contrasting with the popular decimal system with 10 as base. It is well known among IT circles that hexagesimal is more perfect than decimal system and hence we use hex-codes in computers.

let us not under-estimate our own scriptures. it wont be a wonder if in a few years from now there would be a mushroom growth of sanskrit veda patashalas and every tom, dick and harry rushing to learn vedas.

 

[renuka]

It is my humble request to members of non-brahmin castes, to let brahmins enjoy a monopoly at least in this one calling and to refrain from robbing brahmins of this one means of livelihood, which is rightfully theirs.

Dear Sir,

These days no one does a caste based occupation anymore..Brahmins or Non Brahmins are not doing jobs that are caste based anymore...once upon a time the job of a physician was considered a Non Brahmin job cos it dealt with disease and exposure to "impurities" but Brahmins took up the occupation too.

We find Brahmins in the armed forces like Kshatriyas too..also we find Brahmins running restaurants serving food like a Vaishyas..some have gone into construction business too again the domain of a Vaishya.

So I guess times have changed..but there is no harm if anyone of any caste wants to study anything if they have the interest..but if the orthodox feel its not advisable for Non Brahmins to "rob" the livelihood of Brahmins..may be let only certain temples be run by Non Brahmins and have a quota based employment to make sure the Brahmin has the major share as priests.

 

[renuka]

This has reference to Posts #17 (courtesy: renuka) and post #19 (courtesy: krish44).

i work in a leading IT Co in India. one of my colleague is part of a team who were designing and developing a highly advanced application and for long they were stuck in one point in the code that required a high level logic. my colleague who is conversant with the vedas, when studying the vedas, hit across one portion of the rigveda where to his amazement, he discovered that the sanskrit syllables were arranged in a pattern parallel to the elements in the sub-routine in their application where they were stuck. he closely studied and discerned that there was a logic concealed in those vedic verses. he transformed the login into his application, applied that logic and to his astonishment, he cracked the code and the application worked. it was a major breakthrough in the application which when implemented, had the potential to clinch a great deal from the clients which would defeat all their competitors. my colleague was overnight promoted to dizzy heights and our co has made waves in the it circle. my colleague has diplomatically held the logic secret and our competitors are desperately trying to employ my colleague willing to offer whatever he demands. even the americans are threatened by my colleagues breakthrough fearing that india might overcome america in the race for it supremacy.

my colleague has discovered numerous other things in the vedas which could be applied not only in IT but in almost every class of industry. He is contemplating on starting a company of his own and he might out-better every organization in india.

there is so much of treasure in the vedas. we have not explored into it. for instance the vedic verses follow a 16 syllable pattern and vedic mathematics emphasizes the hexagesimal system with 16 as base contrasting with the popular decimal system with 10 as base. It is well known among IT circles that hexagesimal is more perfect than decimal system and hence we use hex-codes in computers.

let us not under-estimate our own scriptures. it wont be a wonder if in a few years from now there would be a mushroom growth of sanskrit veda patashalas and every tom, dick and harry rushing to learn vedas.

Dear Sir,

You must be talking of Panini's Asthadyayi.

Panini's Asthadyayi is based on microanalysis of a syntactic format which uses the concept of Data/Data Base,Polymorphism etc which finds similarity with Programming languages.



BTW can you please tell me the verse of the Rigveda your friend hit upon..cos verses in Rig Vedas are Pre Paninian Vedic Grammar(different from Classical Sanskrit Grammar) which might not match the Computer Programming Language..so I am just curious to know which verse.

Pre Paninian Grammar can be seen in this:

om bhadram karnebhih shrinuyama devah |
bhadram pashyemashabhir yajatrah ||

ओम् भद्रं कर्णेभिः शृणुयाम देवाः ।
भद्रं पश्येमाशभिर्यजत्राः ॥
om bhadraṁ karṇebhiḥ śṛṇuyāma devāḥ |
bhadraṁ paśyemāśabhir-yajatrāḥ ||

Where Karnebhih is used instead of Karnabhayam.

Hoping for a feedback from you.

 

[Kuvalayavalli]

Dear Sir,

These days no one does a caste based occupation anymore..Brahmins or Non Brahmins are not doing jobs that are caste based anymore...once upon a time the job of a physician was considered a Non Brahmin job cos it dealt with disease and exposure to "impurities" but Brahmins took up the occupation too.

We find Brahmins in the armed forces like Kshatriyas too..also we find Brahmins running restaurants serving food like a Vaishyas..some have gone into construction business too again the domain of a Vaishya.

So I guess times have changed..but there is no harm if anyone of any caste wants to study anything if they have the interest..but if the orthodox feel its not advisable for Non Brahmins to "rob" the livelihood of Brahmins..may be let only certain temples be run by Non Brahmins and have a quota based employment to make sure the Brahmin has the major share as priests.

Dear Renu,

You seem to have missed out on the point Brahmachari is making. He means priesthood is not a vocation or profession to earn money but a calling which has been ascribed to members of a descendancy in hinduism. Even among the Born-Again disciples of Jesus who are entirely different from denominational Christians, there are pastors, evangelists etc who profess their respective activities only when 'called', who pursue after their 'calling' and not after their choice.

As regards your point of certain temples run by Non Brahmins, since time immemorial such temples have been existing where priest-like duties are to this day performed by people belonging to one particular community called 'Poojaris'. In Tamil Nadu, these are indigenous tamilian temples, founded by tamil speaking people and following after indigenous worship models and styles founded by tamilians, long before Aryan invasion, having little to do with sanskrit reciting Aryan origin brahmins. No one other than people from the Poojari community can aspire to become a Poojari. Although their numbers have dwindled over the centuries, they exist in miniscule numbers. Many of their temples have been taken over by the Hindu Religious and Endowment ministry and they have been displaced by priests appointed by the ministry (sadly).

 

[renuka]

Dear Renu,

You seem to have missed out on the point Brahmachari is making. He means priesthood is not a vocation or profession to earn money but a calling which has been ascribed to members of a descendancy in hinduism. Even among the Born-Again disciples of Jesus who are entirely different from denominational Christians, there are pastors, evangelists etc who profess their respective activities only when 'called', who pursue after their 'calling' and not after their choice.

.

Dear Kuvs,

I did not miss the fact..I knew what he meant but I did not want to argue on those lines cos the Hindu religion is still very much a Caste based religion when it comes to certain specific duties.

For me on a personal basis I dont believe in all that but I know others still believe in this and so I thought may be suggesting that some temples be run by Non Brahmins and the Major share being held by Brahmins priests will keep all happy.

Its not easy for us Hindus to accept change..so I did not want to argue on those lines.

Non Brahmin run temples can borrow some idea from ISCKON cos not all priests there are Brahmins.

So that way everyone can have their cake and eat it both!