Question about Varna

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Fri, 22 Mar 2002, ravi chandrasekhara wrote:

> So my
> question is, do Brahmans who transgress certain
> shastric rules still eligible to undergo samskaras
> etc. e.g. is a beef-eating Brahman allowed to undergo
> Brahminic samskaras ?
>

Yes they are still entitled.  In the same way as an illiterate person is
also entitled to check out books from the public library.  And it will do
them about as much good.  Dharma is supposed to be a total way of life,
one cannot just pick and choose what one wants to do.  Also attitude is
important.  Even a person who does 100 ashvamedhas or vajapeyas or other
elaborate yajnas will suffer if they are done for selfish gain rather than
an offering to the Lord.

So while we object to those who try and hide the fact that ones Dharma
depends on ones' birth, we also caution those who arrogantly believe
merely being born in a particular station of life is enough.

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
It's a girl! See the pictures - http://www.braincells.com/shailaja/

>From  Fri Mar 22 22:52:00 2002
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Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 22:52:00 +0000
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To: List for advaita vedanta as taught by Shri Shankara
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From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Malolan=20Cadambi?= <mcadambi at YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Question about Varna
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> So while we object to those who try and hide the fact that ones
> Dharma
> depends on ones' birth, we also caution those who arrogantly
> believe
> merely being born in a particular station of life is enough.

I pretty much thought the same way, but have not found any pramAnas
to support what I think. I belong to the Apastamba Sutra, I would
like to enquire if you or anyone can post some verses from any of the
Dharma Sastras.

Regards,

Malolan Cadambi




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