To KRS ji,
Thanks for your citation… that again propels the thought that it might be a later inclusion? Looking at the deductive logic at which the definition of the Brahmin is arrived at, it dawns upon me that such a Brahmin as explained is indeed the Brahman!!! To summarise, one who has realised Brahman is a Brahmin – but then how does this fit in amongst the other varnas?
If Brahmin = Realisation of Brahman, then do the other varnas represent stages in realisation? This thread of reasoning would then, open up a whole new world of looking at the varna structure…
Dear Seshadri Subramaniam Ji.
Seems to me that you just read the last stanzas of the Upanishad. Please go back and read the whole - as your question is answered there.
The answer is not about realizing the Brahman. but rather about understanding the steps towards realizing Brahman.
Regards,
KRS
Good question. But to answer the question is not that simple in the present day. "Brahmana" forms a part of Varnasrama according to "Srimad Bhagavatha Purana". Lord describes about Varnasrama and qualities of Brahmana in Skana XI (Chapter 17): I quote below from the book by His divine Grace AC Baktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of ISCON.
SB 11.17.15: The various occupational and social divisions of human society appeared according to inferior and superior natures manifest in the situation of the individual's birth.
SB 11.17.16: Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, cleanliness, satisfaction, tolerance, simple straightforwardness, devotion to Me, mercy and truthfulness are the natural qualities of the brāhmaṇas.
I do not know how far the present day "Brahmanas" will satisfy the description of the Lord. Thus in today's world, birth alone decides the nomenclature.
Regards,
Brahmanyan.
thnx for the enlightening thots ..pls keep them coming ....
first of all terms like brahmavarta .. like aryavarta ..and dharmaksetra .. are metaphors for a culture in pratice .... here it is worth noting that arya means noble , not a race as often wrongly portrayed ...
manana of the brahman --refers to meditative contemplation on the brahman
the rig vedha gives the earliest and best defn probably of the brahmana ... it clearly refers to the four varnas from the standpoint of function alone , never birth ..therefore "brahmanosya mukha maaseeth ".... should not be reduced to a materialistc "brahmins are considered superior ,hence refered to the face of the brahman ,while shudras are inferior ,hence the foot" ..these are divisive thots planted into the minds of a generation that needs english to get acquainted with the vedhas ... , it actually refers to "considering the fabric of society as a human form , the one at the helm of affairs, here face by extension also includes the head and brain , is one whose duty it is to contemplate and help direct the other indriyas constructively" ... this the suktha refers to allegorically as the brahman itself being represented in parts by the 4 varnas ... when reading the vedhas , one needs to look beyond the apparent ... they talk abt the one that is intangible to the senses .. why will their meanings conform to those of the senses? .... (to be contd)
KRS-ji,The rest of the varnas have left us. They have told us, we have no real use for you. We have no need for real knowledge. They offer this spurious and imagined reason that we took up on jobs that make us money to survive as the reason for not looking up at us anymore! If they search their hearts they would realize that it was they who stopped supporting the brahmins financially as our customs ordained, so the brahmins had no choice. So the glue is gone, the link is broken..
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