[Advaita-l] Mlecchas not eligible to take Hinduism?
Srikanta Narayanaswami
srikanta.narayanaswami at yahoo.com
Sun Jul 1 07:10:26 CDT 2012
There are many portions in the Vedas(Brahmanas and mantra)which declare whi is a Brahmin and what makes a Brahmin.In our day to day sankalpa in "Sandhyavandanam"we say,"Mamopattha samasta duritakshaya dvara,Sri Parvathi Parameshwara preethyartham..."and "Bharathavarshe Bharatha Khande Karmabhumeh meroh dakshineparshve Shakabdhe vartamane Vyavaharike...".Here,we define the boundaries of our "Karma ritual"which is Bharatha varshe Bharatha Khande"and vartamane vyavaharike ...Samvatsaranam madhe,which defines the Space and time.
1)A westerner or a foreigner who has born in that country cannot define his space and time as per the above "Mantra".So,the first condition is violated."Karma"means "Kriya"which subscribes to certain rituals based on rules prescribed in the Vedas.A Mleccha cannot perform according to these rules.
2)A Person to get qualified for the "Upanayanam"initiation has to observe certain basic requirements.First,is the "shoucha"or cleanliness which he has to observe till his death.These can be known from our "Dharmasastra"books.If he is a "Gruhastha"he has to lit the "Garhapathya"agni,which has to be kindled daily till his death,and this Agni has to be carried to his funeral pyre when he dies.
3)It is not enough if he performs "Sandhyavandanam"daily.He has to perform "Agnihotram daily if he is a Bachelor.He has to observe the "Pancha Yagnas"if he is a householder.
4)He must observe the Vidhi neshadas for his food.He must distinguish between,"bhojya and abojya"(eatable and non-eatable),he must observe the "varjya and avarjyam as per "Dharma sastras".The cow is held sacred in Hinduism.It is said the previous "Janma"(birth) for a Brahmin is "Cow"(Gobrahmana hitaya cha).
5)The Vedas prohibit "Upanayanam"for a "Shudra"and "Chandalas".These are strict injunctions in our Vedas.
The disciple has to live with his Guru doing his services and learning Vedas for 12 years.Then only he is eligible for "Grhasthashrama"or "Sanyasa".
N.Srikanta.
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