Brahmana

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Mon, 10 Feb 1997, Giri wrote:

>
>         Huh ? IF a brahmin (brahmana) loses his brahmin-hood by crossing
> the ocean, then your parents have lost it by crossing the ocean by coming
> to the west. If you are born to parents who are not brahmins, you cannot
> be a brahmin. This is, of course, based on the dharma-sastra definition
> of brahmin. As Shruti, for example vajrasuchi upanishad, clearly states
> only a person who knows (Atman/Brahman) is a Brahmin.
>

I prefer the spelling Brahman.  although it isn't perfect either it is
closer to the proper pronounciation of the word than Brahmin, the
mispronounciation of idiotic Englishmen.

Secondly, the vajrasuchi "upanishad" is probably a late forgery.  It
certainly isn't quoted as an authority by any of the shastris or
mimamsakas I know of.  The definition Shruti gives of a Brahman is the one
every single person in India except a few stupid socialists is aware of.
A Brahman is the son of two Brahman parents.

Do you neccessarily lose your caste by leaving Bharata? Even today there
are Brahmans in Thailand (where they are astrologers to the Buddhist
king.) and Bali (Where they are priests to the Hindu population.)  And we
know from history that they travelled to other lands too.  for instance
Gujarati Brahmans accompanied Gujarati merchants to Zanzibar and Aden.
The crossing of the ocean makes one ashuddha but as the saying goes for
every paapa there's a prayaschita.

--
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