<!--QuoteBegin-Shambhu+Sep 26 2008, 02:39 AM-->QUOTE(Shambhu @ Sep 26 2008, 02:39 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was a Dalit.[right][snapback]88463[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Shambhu, that's christo psyops lingo which the psecular media employs. Harijan is what Hindu communities tend to use for themselves. Best to refer to Hindus as Harijan or, in normal circumstances, just plain Hindus (since what does it matter to you/IF or me).
In the sense that Brahmana also has the meaning of one who has realised Brahman (a primary meaning), Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati is a Brahmana.
Otherwise, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati just like Kanchi Shankaracharya and the other Acharyas specifically do not have a Varna, neither do they identify with any region, nor do they have a jati or even any smaller unit of community. They are beyond all those things, and represent/belong to all Hindus and all Bharatam.
Not actually related, but the following deserves to go somewhere - and a thread mentioning Swami is at least as good as anywhere else:
Hindunet
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->...in one of the publications of Rama Krishna Mission...
vritten hi bhavatyaryo na dhanen na viddya
Mahabharata 5-90-53
The essence is:It is the right Attitude which denotes Arya
rather than Knowledge or wealth.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->For confirmation, I hunted down its context -
Pritha (Kunti) utters it - here with reference to Vidura:
http://www.bharatadesam.com/spiritual/maha...arata_05090.php
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><i>Neither by learning, nor by wealth doth one become worthy of homage. It is by disposition alone</i> that one becomes respectable, O Krishna, endued with great intelligence and profound wisdom, the character of the illustrious Vidura, like unto an ornament (that he wears) adorns the whole world.'<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
In the sense that Brahmana also has the meaning of one who has realised Brahman (a primary meaning), Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati is a Brahmana.
Otherwise, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati just like Kanchi Shankaracharya and the other Acharyas specifically do not have a Varna, neither do they identify with any region, nor do they have a jati or even any smaller unit of community. They are beyond all those things, and represent/belong to all Hindus and all Bharatam.
Not actually related, but the following deserves to go somewhere - and a thread mentioning Swami is at least as good as anywhere else:
Hindunet
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->...in one of the publications of Rama Krishna Mission...
vritten hi bhavatyaryo na dhanen na viddya
Mahabharata 5-90-53
The essence is:It is the right Attitude which denotes Arya
rather than Knowledge or wealth.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->For confirmation, I hunted down its context -
Pritha (Kunti) utters it - here with reference to Vidura:
http://www.bharatadesam.com/spiritual/maha...arata_05090.php
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><i>Neither by learning, nor by wealth doth one become worthy of homage. It is by disposition alone</i> that one becomes respectable, O Krishna, endued with great intelligence and profound wisdom, the character of the illustrious Vidura, like unto an ornament (that he wears) adorns the whole world.'<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->