tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38644027.post8431430105207433633..comments2023-06-19T23:55:27.189-04:00Comments on Arguing India: India Sans Rants, Stereotypes, Simplicities: Redefining "Brahmin" in the USAUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38644027.post-83388209255323360792013-01-03T20:34:56.779-05:002013-01-03T20:34:56.779-05:00For several centuries, "Brahmins" - the ...For several centuries, "Brahmins" - the "priestly caste" - were religious and spiritual figures, educators, thinkers and philosophers in India. Among Brahmins gotras are reckoned patrilineally and each gotra takes the name of a famous Rishi (or sage) who was the patrilineal forebearer of that clan.The Brahmins belonging to the same gotra are related to each other patrilineally, and there may be very little else in common between them. According to the Vedic system, a man and a woman belonging to the same gotra are considered to be a brother and sister, so a wedding between a man and a woman belonging to the same gotra (known as sa-gotra) is forbidden as it will cause anomalies in the progeny that come out of such a wedding.. A married woman takes up the gotra of her husband. Ambalavaasi people (living in (by) ambalam or temple - temple inmates) and vishwakarma (acharis) caste people also now claim that they are Brahmins.<br />The caste system is an evil introduced by the Brahmins, which have eaten every fabric of the Indian society. It has corroded and corrupted the Indian society to the extent that Non-Brahmins are equally caste conscious as the real Brahmins! <br />The Bhagwad Gita states that caste is not a birthright! A Brahmin is one who is educated and knowledgeable of the scriptures and leads a holy life and is not a birthright!. I understand an immigrant’s need to connect to his or her roots. But in western countries Brahmins have their sons go through the sacred thread ceremony and that child grows up to be a meat eater, drinker with no knowledge of the scriptures. What is wrong is that in the age of 'Kali Yuga' anyone is claiming Brahmin as a birthright even when they eat meat, indulge in alcohol and live arrogant materialistic lives. Most of the Bengali Brahmins never made any qualms about relishing various fish and chicken delicacies. Most of the Brahmins in North America to celebrate their teenage boys' sacred thread ceremony which is a coming-of-age ceremony held only for brainwashed impressionable Brahmin boys into thinking within the narrow walls of their caste. Sacred thread ceremony is a ritual for initiating a boy in to the spiritual life and as per vedas, all Hindus (except the shudras) have the right for sacred thread ceremony. For most of the Brahmins in North America caste is an important part of their identity as if it is the 24th pair of chromosomes and wear their Brahmin identity on their lapel. Indians keep on making pathetic efforts to tell the world that they belong to the "Brahmin" - upper caste. There is nothing to be proud about one’s so called upper caste. One contributes nothing to be born in a particular caste. It is a chance occurrence. No human being is born superior. In fact, there is nothing to be proud of a system, which is blatantly discriminatory. The caste system is a very backward culture. Indians not only embrace but also tout their upper caste while living in USA which has fought two civil wars against discrimination. It is a disgrace!<br /><br />Cheers! <br /> <br />Nalliah ThayabharanNalliahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07214871963050537496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38644027.post-5528959714530637832007-03-06T13:40:00.000-05:002007-03-06T13:40:00.000-05:00Senator Clinton's Presidential campaign is likely ...Senator Clinton's Presidential campaign is likely to bring the Indian American community as well as individuals centrestage.<BR/><BR/>An interesting development in UK is the official demand by Indians to be recognised separately as British Indians rather than be clubbed together as South Asians in Britain. This demand was officially put forward through powerful Indian associations last year. AN alarming trend in London is the rise of gangs of young people based on ethnic groups such as Punjabi, Tamil and Bangladeshi.ishanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17669766317584371233noreply@blogger.com