Jaati

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--- ram mohan anantha pai <pairamblr wrote:

 

> very nice. Would some learned person kindly give

> meaning of ' " JATI' " in Sanskrit, the root of the

> word, and explanations as envisaged by Sanskrit

> language ...please???

>

 

 

Shree Ram Mohan Ananta pai - praNAms.

 

Jaati is considered as a one of the categories in the

Indian tarka shaastra or logic.

 

Jaati stands for genus or family in biological

classification.

 

Sajaati - is referring to same family members. Jaati

can exist if there are many constituting a family.

 

Let us take an example of a cow. When a child sees

for the first time a white cow on the street and

mother says 'that is a cow'. He cognizes the form and

the color and all other attributes that he perceives

and stores in his memory.

 

Next time, when his mother shows another cow, but is

black, and says that is also a cow; he now picks up

some common qualities for cow to be a cow and some

special qualities that distinguish from one cow from

the other. Thus he learns there are some general

qualities that makes a cow a cow and not a horse or

makes a cow belonging to its jaati, while there are

individual differences among the cows (individuals in

the species are referred to as vyakti).

 

Brahman is one of a kind so there cannot be jaati

since jaati requires many for them to be called a

family. There is no family of Brahmans - ekam eva

advitiiyam - hence he is free from vijaati, sajaati

bhedaas - that is jaati bhedaas or vyakti bhedaas -

differences at family level or differences at

individual level. Swagata bhedaas come from internal

differences with in one - like hands are different

from legs etc for even in a given cow.

 

Hence Shankara says

 

'jaati neeti kula gotra duuragam

naama ruupa guNa dhosha varjitam

desha kaala vishayaati varti yat

brahma tatvam miti bhaava yaatmani "

 

I am of the nature of brahman - free from jaati (free

from all classification belonging to this family or

that), moral, immoral, or all value systems; free from

castes; beyond all limitations associated with names,

forms, attributes; beyond any limitations of space,

time and objects; that eternal immutable that I am " -

this has to be realized through contemplation with the

mind " .

 

 

Hari Om!

Sadananda