12-22-2005, 05:19 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->for people the lower jatis how will they even come out of the self confidence<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sarangadhara ji, time and again I stress the same thing. There is no LOWER jathi, or UPPER jathi. Brith does NOT make one higher or lower. KARMA too does not make one lower or higher. GUNA alone makes one lower or higher.
The Varna based on birth is not a position I would like to stick with, nor is it something I would voluntarily hide. I have to come to terms and reason as to why this position even professed by the great Gurus. Is it just a starting point (like being born rich - which actually means being born to parents who are rich) ? Is it a prarabdha that places you in a particular family (as Bhagavaan mentions in the Gita about Yoga-Bhrashta) and from there your samskraaras take over?
The foot soldiers, and to all Hindu Brethen, we stand as one family. Tracing my lineage is one thing, but praising or insulting someone based on the birth is quite another. I am aware that Islamic invasion and other factors may have diluted if not destroyed any purity in the lineages. Nonetheless, the varna (atleast of the yesteryears) remains open to scrutiny.
We tend to shy away from the subject owing to the present social trend, and that it is detrimental for Hindu unity. I completely agree with this. But it does not make sense to profess unequivocal-equality on the one side, and having caste-based-reservations on the other - which again is based on birth. A Brahmana is not one who sports a sacred thread, but He who fearlessly speaks the truth, however painful it may be.
This is one such subject.
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I will try to get Sri Ramanujacharya's views on the subject. But there may be others who are more qualified than I to speak on Ramanujacharya or Madvacharya's views.
Sarangadhara ji, time and again I stress the same thing. There is no LOWER jathi, or UPPER jathi. Brith does NOT make one higher or lower. KARMA too does not make one lower or higher. GUNA alone makes one lower or higher.
The Varna based on birth is not a position I would like to stick with, nor is it something I would voluntarily hide. I have to come to terms and reason as to why this position even professed by the great Gurus. Is it just a starting point (like being born rich - which actually means being born to parents who are rich) ? Is it a prarabdha that places you in a particular family (as Bhagavaan mentions in the Gita about Yoga-Bhrashta) and from there your samskraaras take over?
The foot soldiers, and to all Hindu Brethen, we stand as one family. Tracing my lineage is one thing, but praising or insulting someone based on the birth is quite another. I am aware that Islamic invasion and other factors may have diluted if not destroyed any purity in the lineages. Nonetheless, the varna (atleast of the yesteryears) remains open to scrutiny.
We tend to shy away from the subject owing to the present social trend, and that it is detrimental for Hindu unity. I completely agree with this. But it does not make sense to profess unequivocal-equality on the one side, and having caste-based-reservations on the other - which again is based on birth. A Brahmana is not one who sports a sacred thread, but He who fearlessly speaks the truth, however painful it may be.
This is one such subject.
--------------------------------------------------------
I will try to get Sri Ramanujacharya's views on the subject. But there may be others who are more qualified than I to speak on Ramanujacharya or Madvacharya's views.