Sankara Jayanth- CASTE MARK OR MARK OF DISTINCTION!

[Guest guest]

Shri Bhattathiri comments

 

"All old dharmic traditions must be protected and kept alive. Sri

Sankara Bhagavatpada has commanded us to do so. I bear his name. So

it is my duty to remind you of his injunction. Whether or not you

will heed it, I should impress upon you that the sastric customs have

the purpose of ensuring the good of all mankind. "

 

We are not just talking of Dharmic traditions when we are discussing

the Caste System alone - WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A HIGHER SUBJECT -that

of upholding Dharma is the Higher Truth.

 

Nobdy objects to anyone wearing Poonal ( the sacred thread) , or the

caste mark ! these are outer symbols ! what one objects to is

the 'oppression' of one class of people by another caste in the name

of so called 'dharmic' traditions .

 

In the olden days, pariahs were not allowed to enter the temples. You

know about Nandanaar charitam - where nandanaar , a low caste

untouchable was not allowed to enter a temple . Lord shiva himself

granted a vision to NanDAnar by moving the statue of Nandi blocking

Nandanar's way!

 

we also know the story of Kannappa Nayanar., hunter , who was even

willing to offer one of his eyes to Lord shiva as offering as part of

his devotional worship! Lord shiva was so pleased with his devotion

that he called him "kannappa" (apple of my eye.)

 

just few posts ago, i had presented the verses of Adi shankara's

Manicka Panchakam.'

 

Honoring traditions and customs are matters of individual choices .

But, in the name of Varanashrama dharma , denying other human beings

(beacause they are born in a lower caste ) the right to a dignified

way of living, is the most backward way of thinking in this 21st

century!

 

Have you been to Tamilnadu recently ! NOW, THE SHOE IS ON THE OTHER

FOOT ! brahmins are fleeing south in large numbers and seeking

emploment in Delhi and other areas. Some of them are even going

abroad. Their children are also seeking educational opportunities

abroad. Why is this so? Beacuse now it is harder for brahmins to get

jobs in Jaya lalitha's government. Their children are denied access

to good schools ! i have first hand knowledge of this as my own

brahmin relatives in madras told me !

 

When i was in kanchipuram recently, i saw near the Kanchi mutt , a

mosque !!! and i smiled and told my brother "what a peaceful co-

existence."

 

BHAKTA KABIR SINGS THUS ...

 

It is needless to ask of a saint the caste to which he belongs ;

 

For the priest, the warrior, the tradesman,

and all the thirty-six castes, alike are seeking for God.

 

It is but folly to ask what the caste of a saint may be ;

The barber has sought God, the washerwoman,

and the carpenter -

 

Even Raidas was a seeker after God.

The Rishi Swapacha was a tanner by caste.

 

Hindus and Moslems alike have achieved that End,

where remains no mark of distinction.

 

LORD KRISHNA ALSO SAYS IN THE SRIMAD BHAGWAT GITA

 

Coming back to the caste system, varna was so conferred on an

individual NOT on the basis of his parentage. As stated:

 

In the Bhagavad Gita, Ch.4, Verse 13:

 

The Lotus-Eyed God. Keshava, One Who Has Long, Black Matted Locks.

Krishna, Dark-Complexioned Lord says:

 

guna karma vibhagashah

 

"The fourfold caste has been created by Me according to the

differentiation of Guna (attributes) and Karma;" Bhagavad Gita Ch.

18, V.41:

 

A most forceful of all is Sri Krishna's statement:

 

"The devotees of the Lord are not Shudras; Shudras are they who have

no faith in the Lord whichever be their caste. A wise man should not

slight even an outcaste if he is devoted to the Lord; he who looks

down on him will fall into hell." - Mahabharata

 

(source: The World's Religions - By Huston Smith p. 80).

 

"

Says the Mahabharata, in the famous dialogue between Yudhishthira and

the Yaksha:

 

"A man does not become a Brahman by the mere fact of his birth, not

even by the acquisition of Vedic scholarship; it is good character

alone that can make one a Brahman. He will be worse than a Shudra if

his conduct is not in conformity with the rules of good behavior."

 

also,

 

Atmavat sarva bhuteshu" (Consider all living creatures like your own

self) and the statement of Vaishampayan in Shrimad Bhagwat

that "Shudropi sheel sampanno gunwan brahmano bhavet" (By birth a

shudra, if a man is moral, and of good character, he is a Brahmin)

 

SO, TO COCLUDE, therefore , it is not simply a matter of wearing a

caste mark or following traditions ! but if that caste mark sends a

different message " oh ! i am a brahmin , i belong to a superior

caste" then it is no longer just a symbol it becomes a mark

of 'arrogance' or 'pride' in one's birth !

 

"Vasudaiva Kutumbhakam" (the world is one family)

 

regards