Duties of a Brahmin

courtesy:Sri,PR.Kannan & Sri.Sankara chidambaram

The writeup of the 90 years old devotee of Sanatana Dharma needs to be widely publicised and his suggestions should be adopted in individual lives.

I had written a similar article on MINIMUM GRIHASTHA ROUTINE, published in four parts in www.thanjavurparampara.com under 'Artifacts' section.

I am attaching the soft copy of the article again.

 

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                                              Sri Rama Jayam,

                               THE BRAHMIN SOCIETY TO DAY

NOTE: Pl read the appendix also,  dated 7 oct 2014, added now and appearing at the end of this.

Most of us  know already about the status of our Brahmin Society to day. In the Hindu Society, there are Brahmins. But is there a Brahmin Society? To be true, "No". It becomes necessary that there is an unsullied portion of Brahmin society available, to further the study and preservation of the Vedas.

Let us take our Brahmin society as it is to day, first. Here, we have to consider the situation prevalent in the entire country, and not necessarily our own South India, about which we know some what. What is described below, however, relates to the condition in South India only.

 We have our Acharyas. We go to them to solve our personal problems. Take their advice, if it is convenient for us, but, if it does not match with our own thinking, we ignore it and act on our own. Till about a century ago,  we were having respect for the words and advices of our Acharyas. Even now, some of us do make a show of respect to our Acharyas, but then, in a hypocritical way. Being Sannyasis, they are "udaseen" (attach no importance) about it; but they continue to give advices to who so ever approaches them, irrespective of this. Being Peethadhipatis, they do not swerve from what is said in our Shastras. Once in a while, a great Mahan arises among them and for some time, we show renewed respects and hypocritical approaches to him. But we continue in our own pre-set path of self aggrandizement. Some of us even go further to criticize them, pass derogatory remarks about them, and even abuse them in private, in all possible manner. A few years ago , such a scene was also witnessed. But Their own innate greatness and spiritual power, proved a shield for such onslaughts on Them,  from our own kind.

Let us come back to our subject of Brahmin Society. Until and unless the elders among us, follow the basic requirement of Shastras, and heed the advices of our own Acharyas, and lead our own off springs in that way, we cannot have a Brahmin Society. Without a tag of a society, our identity will vanish (Already, we are on that path, due to various other reasons). As individuals, we must follow the prescriptions of Shastas, as far as our  health permits. I give below a few :

FOR ELDERS

--Wear Dhoti always, and with a Uttariyam. If health permits wear  Pancha kachcham

--Wear a tuft (unless totally bald), or kudumi, as it is generally known.

--Always wear Tripundra, Gopi Chandana, Tirumann, or Karikkode, as prescribed, by our Matacharyas.

--Eat according to the doctor's advice, enough and not more, and only those foods which our shastras have admitted.

Perform Sandhyavandanam thrice as prescribed, and Gayatri Japam, as much as possible. Perform Amavasya Tarpanam, masika Tarpanam, and annual  Sraddham, as long as health permits.

--Read daily,  Bhagavad Gita if you know Sanskrit; if not, Thevaram or Divya Prabandham. or any religious texts in your own language, to the extent possible. Dwell mentally upon the form of God, most appealing to you, for some time at least.

--Avoid unnecessary talk with others. Your habits and interactions must be matching your age and family background.

FOR THE MIDDLE AGED

Perform trikala Sandhyavandanam with Gayatri regularly

Learn the names of you immediate forefathers, for three generations prior to you (Both on the father's side and in the mother's side). Know your Gotra and that of your maternal grand father. Know your Nakshatra, and that of your wife and children.

Wear the caste Mark without fail when going to your office ( I  did it till the day of my retirement. You do not have to feel shy or shameful about your own habits. People, you will find, respect you for it)

Perform Amavasya Tarpanam  (if you are without your father), and annual Shraddham regularly for your father and mother

Read stotras (Thevaram or Divya Prabandham) for 10/15 mins before going to office. Keep your children by your side when doing this, if not in the morning, at least in the evenings, if it is not possible in the mornings.

Do not eat non-veg food,  or use liquor, cigarette or any addictive  food

Be kind to all in the family, and particularly to your aged parents. Look after them well.

If possible, an hour or two, a week can be allotted to learning some Veda Bhaga, (Surya Namaskaram and  a few Sooktas) with the help of a Veda Pandit.

Make it a habit of going to temple daily, or if that is not possible, at least on  important days. Take your children with you to temple.

On all days, food will be taken together by every member of the family being  present, in the evening,at least. Since the elders have to finish their dinner early, all will accompany them.

If you have a son, he must be initiated into the Gayatri Mantra at the age of seven. And a daughter married at the age of 18. Keep the Upanayanam and marriage expenses as little as possible. Avoid having a reception, Janavasam etc. It is preferable to have a marriage or upanayanam conducted in a temple nearby, with near relatives only being present. Because these are purely family functions. There is no need to call others and make a grand show, at a lot of expense. A kalyana mandapam function costs at least Rs 10 lakhs a day.

 The son, after upanayanam to be admitted in a nearby VIDYA NIKETAN school, where he can learn the subjects as per CBSE Syllabus, and morals, his basic Nitya Anushthanam and sports, and most importantly, morals and our own culture. A girl admitted in the same institution, will also learn the same subjects prescribed in the CBSE  Syllabus, plus domestic science and ways of domestic life, along with morals and sports. She will be taught music, Kolams etc.also depending upon her aptitude. After the plus Two stage, the son can opt to continue further study of the Vedas, and allied subjects in detail, or opt for the subjects he had learnt already according to the  CBSE in his Vidya Niketan, in a college like others. Both the boy and the girl will be learning Sanskrit language in the school itself. Study of the Sanskrit language will help them understand the meaning of what they read.

FOR YOUNGSTERS

They must respect elders, and help the aged, as far as possible.         They must speak the Truth always.

 They must learn to be of a humble approach and discreet  in interaction with others.

They must not tease or fight with their own friends in schools or other places of learning,

They must not waste their time. Youth is a golden opportunity to assimilate knowledge, because of high retentive power.

They can read the biographies of eminent men of all fields, including philosophy and spiritualism, Lives of Periyava, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Ramana Maharishi and others. Reading must be selective and inspirational and of good and great ideas.  The books that do not create wrong thoughts in mind must be chosen. School libraries, college libraries and good public libraries do have such books.

They must learn to save money and time. To save money, they can have a small Savings a/c in any of the recognized banks. A saving habit will help them in the long run.

They must learn to keep the body healthy and strong, by resorting to exercises and yoga, and with a regulated diet.

MODERN TRENDS

In this article it becomes necessary to discuss some of the tendencies observed among our Brahmin folk, both Men and Women (particularly youths). This is the effect of contacts with the western world, before attaining full mental maturity.

Men dress in pants only with coats and ties. This may be appropriate at the office, but not at home, temple or a Mutt with spiritual leaders or in non-official functions, where these Savants are expected to take part.

They have recourse to non-vegetarian food, liquor and cigarettes. They indulge in nefarious and corrupt activities to make money, Lawyers throw their principles to wind and take the case of known criminals, for money. Same is the case of chartered accountants who subscribe to hiding ill-gotten wealth, by their financial jugglery. They follow adharma in every way, bringing to bad repute the fair name of a Brahmin professional.

The way our women dress these days, keep their hair do etc.  has invited criticisms already, which every one knows. Any action to  bringing them into a sartorial order, unfortunately will get linked up with the women's lib movement, which is to day's trend.

At homes, the separation of the housewife, during their menses periods has also started diminishing to a significant level. The old world charm of a housewife has now seen the end of the day, almost. Most of us see women to day with distended hair (that is the latest fashion), lipstick, and of dress, not suitable for a domestic housewife, and Mangalyam brought out in full public view (the sacred mangala sutra is a very private one to the woman and it should not be seen by any one other than her own husband)

In a few households, divorce, which has now  become common in Brahmin societies,  has stunted the mental growth of the children, who look up to their parents for guidance in their day to day problems. Already, because of the housewife has to go to her office regularly, the intimate connection between the mother and her growing daughter, in her teens, has suffered, and the adolescent daughter has been left to fend for herself in facing her problems, peculiar to that age. The evils of a modern society seems to have engulfed our house holds, in almost all ways from the sartorial, eating habits, and living styles. All these are our making only,  by choosing to ape the western world, as a sign of modernity. Another disturbing trend has been noticed among them. Teen age unmarried girls are being allowed to stay overnight away from home,  with friends, visit restaurants etc.  God knows, if their morals are safe.  How can we expect such a girl, accustomed as she is, to the vagaries of the modern world, will accept as her husband, a Veda Pandit, or a Sangeeta Vidwan or even a professor in a college?. Such predicaments have arisen, both on the boy's side and on the girl's side, already,  in many households.

To arrest all such trends, it is needed that a Brahmin society comes into effect early. How to form such a society, and how that society will function, needs to be examined calmly and in detail. Such a society will also be helpful in organizing the Veda Adhyapana and Adhyayana. Like  the Advaita sabha, a Brahmana Samooha Vikasana  Sabha may have to be established with the involvement of Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaishias. There will be willing Kshatriyas and Vaishias coming forward for this. (To day most of the Brahmanas are following the avocations of Kshatriyas and Vaishias only). Instead of having an unwieldy All India Body, at the beginning itself, we may have to start such  bodies at the Village level (Ward level in the case of cities), unite them into a District level and then to the State level.  This way we can have access to every Brahmin family, throughout the country. Such a build up will restrict itself to the development of the Brahmana society, and will not enter Politics, at any time. They will seek guidance from Kanchi Acharya and accept Him as their leader. Other Regional  Mutt Heads can be associated in an overseeing Committee, under His overall supervision. For an effective functioning, a single leadership is necessary, other factors take a second place only.

Here, in these paras, I have discussed, only those aspects, I am aware of. There may be many others, relevant to this subject, not discussed here.

                                                                                       Chidambaresan

                                                                                           1 Oct 2014

Appendix dated 7 Oct 2014

In the above paras, I have tried to describe the present condition of our Brahmin society. It can be seen that we have reached a stage where have to initiate a positive action, apart from discussing, our thoughts and ideas. If we fail to do it even now, there is every possibility of this community becoming extinct, due to our own making.

Most of us have our own hands full in running the household, in making money for it, in many ways. By our own choice,  we desist  in doing anything, which does not contribute to it. Placed below are a few steps, which every householder can adopt, in order to preserve himself, as a man and as a Brahmin.

We have to decide that at home, we will converse ONLY in our mother tongue, always, and teach our children to read and write our own mother tongue. If possible, it is recommended for men and ladies, to learn Sanskrit. Self-taught books on Sanskrit are available freely.

We will spend at least one hour daily with our own children, either teaching them their school lessons or talking about our own family elders, who are no more with us, and about our relatives, living in different places.

We will talk to them about our own countrymen who have excelled in their lives and served as a model for us, and about our ancient kings and Rishis, about whom we learn from Puranas.

 We will teach them, how to make coffee or tea, and cook a simple meal. We will teach them to draw Kolams and how to make our homes and its surroundings clean, tidy and beautiful.

We will discuss with them about the greatness of the Brahmin society, of our Vedas, our temples, the grand sculptures found in them, our  Carnatic music,  how it is conceived and how it scores high above the ordinary variety we find around, our Kula Deivam and the family habits. At least, one annual visit to the Kuladeivam temple, will bring prosperity.

We will not put our children in an anglo-Indian school or a convent for their primary education. The cultural background of the education, imparted in these schools for our impressionable young minds, is the main cause of the decay found in our Brahmin society to day.

The family will gather daily, in the evenings, after lighting the lamp in the Pooja Room, and spend about 15 mins, reciting shlokas, Thevarams or Divya Prabamdham.

At home, we will dress as far as possible in our own traditional way; men in Pancha kachcham/   or ordinarily worn dhothi,  and ladies in sarees . On festival days, it is recommended to wear Pancha kachcham for men and 18 yds sarees for ladies.

 The above are simple and easy enough to follow by every one of us, as it is to our own good. Our Paramacharya and our present Acharyas have been saying this all along, and I am repeating their advices only here. Only our own will is required for this, which will enable our children to be brought up in the way we were, by our own parents.

Namaskaram.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByHsyol17T5XMVNpaXU4V2VrbjJ5Tm9aMHYwckRxTjJFZWRF/view?usp=sharing