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Brahmin

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Who is a Brahmin?

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 A Brahmin (ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣ, ब्राह्मण, Sanskrit pronunciation- braahmaNa) is a member of a particular division of the Hindu caste system. The Hindu community has been divided into four intransient sections (varnas) : Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The fifth (sometimes erroneously clubbed into the fourth) section is the Dalit. The Brahamins are believed to be responsible for society's spiritual progress. A person born into a Brahmin family becomes twice-born (dvija) when he undergoes upanayana, initiation into Vedic education. The Brahmins are mainly further divided into priestly and non-priestly castes.

The 'Nirukta' of 'Yask' says "Brahmam Janati eti Brahmanam" meaning a person who knows Brahman is a Brahmin. Some texts refer to Brahma to mean Vedas. Some texts refer to Brahman as the creater of the universe as we know it. Some verses also refer to the transcendent and immanent supreme soul as "Brahman" (ब्रह्म, Sanskrit pronunciation- brahma).

The Brahmins are one of the many minority groups in India. In 1931, Brahmins were 4.32% of the total population. The Brahmins, even in Uttar Pradesh, where they are most numerous - constitute just 9% of the total populace. In Tamil Nadu they form less than 3% and in Andhra Pradesh they are less than 2%.

Due to the existence of the caste-system the Brahmins had access to resources that the rest of the Hindu society did not. They quickly adapted to changing conditions and used their influence and money to get into lucrative fields and make a name for themselves. To their credit - they also did well in learning and professional fields like accountancy, medicine, engineering and business.

The Brahmins lost their collective way as a community when they refused to let other sections of society benefit from the vast knowledge that they had collected over centuries. Thus, when ethnic cleansing took place in the form of 'Anti-Brahmin' movements in many parts of Free India - they were driven out of their homes and hearth.

Practices of the Brahmins

Most practicing Brahmins adhere to the principles of Brahminism, such as acceptance of the Vedas with reverence; adherence to the position that the means or ways to salvation and realization of the ultimate truth are diverse; God is one, but has innumerable names and forms to chant and worship due to our varied perceptions, cultures and languages; that a Brahmin works for the welfare of the entire society (sarvejanaassukhinobhavanti), belief in vasudhaiva kutumbam (the whole world is one family); and so on. Daily practices of Brahmins include sandhyavandana (Gayatri prayer to Sun God), prayer to ishtadaiva or ilavelpu (personal God), yoga, ahimsa (non-violence), vegetarianism etc. Everything in the daily life of a Brahmin is a sacred ritual. However, special rituals include marriage, ritual of conception and consummation of the wedding, rituals of childbirth, naming ceremony, first feeding ceremony, the child’s first tonsure, upanayana (the sacred-thread ceremony - initiation into vedic learning and ritual), ritual baths, cremation rituals, shraaddha, etc. All of these rituals are very important for a practicing Brahmin.

Also see:

Deivatthin Kural: A Day in the Life of a Brahmin

The Brahmin Scholarship

The Vedas are the primary source of knowledge for all Brahmin traditions, both orthodox & heterodox. All religions of Brahmins and all traditions, in one way or other, take inspiration from the Vedas. Traditional Brahmin accepts Vedas as apaurusheyam and (not composed by human) and "Anaadhi" (with no origins), but revealed truths and of eternal validity or relevance and hence the Vedas are considered Srutis that which have been heard and are the paramount source of Brahmin traditions and is believed to be divine. These Srutis include not only the four Vedas (the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda), but also their respective Brahmanas. Brahmins also give tremendous importance to purity of body and mind and hence attach importance to ritual baths and cleanliness.

Due to the diversity in religious and cultural traditions and practices, and the Vedic schools which they belong to, Brahmins are further divided into various subcastes. During the sutra period, roughly between 1000 BC to 200 BC, Brahmins became divided into various Sakhas or branches, based on the adoption of different Vedas and different readings and interpretations of Vedas. Sects or schools for different denominations of the same Veda were formed, under the leadership of distinguished teachers among Brahmins. The teachings of these distinguished rishis are called sutras. Every Veda has its own sutras. The sutras that deal with social, moral and legal precepts are called dharma sutras, whereas those sutras that deal with ceremonials are called Srauta sutras and domestic rituals are called gruhya sutras. Sutras are generally written in prose or in mixed prose and verse. These sutras are based on divine Vedas and are manmade and hence are called Smritis, meaning “recollected or remembered.”

There are several Brahmin law givers such as Angirasa, Apasthambha, Atri, Brihaspati, Boudhayana, Daksha, Gautama, Harita, Katyayana, Likhita, Manu, Parasara, Samvarta, Sankha, Satatapa, Usanasa, Vasishta, Vishnu, Vyasa, Yajnavalkya and Yama. These twenty-one rishis were the propounders of Dharma Sastras or sutras. There is a lot of contradiction among these Dharma Sastras, even within one Smriti. These differences in the rules and rituals resulted in the rigid stratification of subcastes among Brahmins. None of these smritis is supreme and universally applicable. The oldest among these Dharma sutras are Apasthambha, Baudhayana, Gautama and Vasishta Sutras.

Also see:

Manu Smriti Learning of Vedas

The Brahmin communities

রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর — Ravindranath Tagore

Major Brahmin castes in the Indian Continent are divided into two regional groups, as divided by Kalhana in Rajatarangini.

Pancha-Gauda: Those from North or Eastern India:

Pancha-Dravida: Living in Dakshinapatha (including Gujarat):

They can also be grouped according to sampradaya (philosophical schools) :

The Brahmin goals have been the spiritual enlightenment, peace and prosperity of the whole society. Brahmins played an extraordinary role in the spread of knowledge and vitalizing the Indian society for millennia and resulted into extraordinary diversity of Indian cultures and religious traditions.

Scholars and authors

Sanskrit

Telugu

Bengali

Hindi

English

Spiritual leaders

National leaders

Ancient:

Recent:

Reformers and independent thinkers

Others

  • Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru: India's first Prime Minister
  • Rani Lakshmi Bai: Rani of Jhansi, hero of 1857
  • Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak:Nationalist leader, journalist
  • Goswami Tulsi Das: author of Ram-charita-Manas
  • Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: A President of India, Philosophy author
  • Shankar Dayal Sharma: President of India
  • Peshva Baji Rao: Leader of Maratha Expansion
  • Nana Phadnvees
  • Tantya Tope
  • Mangal Pandey
  • Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
  • Chander shekhar Azad
  • Ramprasad Bismil
  • Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya: Founder of Banaras Hindu University
  • Ravindranath Tagore
  • Gopal Krishna Gokhle
  • Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
  • Birbal and Tansen
  • P.V. Narsimha Rao
  • Shankar Dayal Sharma
  • V.V. Giri
  • Atal Bihari Vajpayee: A Prime Minister of India
  • Dr. Jayant Narlikar: has made important contributions to theoretical physics, astrophysics and cosmology.
  • Morarji Desai: A Prime Minister of India
  • Somnath Sharma 'The frist recipeint of "Param Veer Chakra"'
  • Raja Ram mohan Rai 'founder of Brahamo samaj'
  • Keshav Chandra sen
  • Ishwari Chandra Vidhyasagar 'Famous social Reformer'
  • Surendra Nath Banerjee 'congress President'
  • Adi Guru Shankaracharya 'The great sage India has ever seen'
  • Indira Nehru Gandhi 'Iron lady and first lady Primeminister of india'
  • Ram krishna Paramhans
  • Swamin Dyanand Sarswati 'Founder of Arya Samaj'
  • Rahul Sankratyayan 'The Maha Pandit'
  • Sarojni Chattopadya Nayadu 'freedom fighter and Congress President'
  • Bankim Chandra Chaterjee 'Writer of vande Matram'
  • Vishnu Gupt "Chankya": Great politician
  • Vishnu Sharma: writer of Panchtanra
  • Pt. Ravishanker "Bharat Ratna"
  • Purushottam Das Tandon "Barat Ratna"

See also

Vepachedu: Brahmin Sages and Branches (Gotras and Subcastes)

References

See also

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