As none of the parameters tried, have lived up to reasonable classification, it was decided t go into the causes of Behavior, because it is behavior that determines the Life of an Individual and has an impact on the Society.
Behavior is mostly determined by the Genes,expressed in the form of dispositions.though the Hindus were aware of the environment playing a vital part.
Karna also says the same to him when he was appointed the Chief of the Army after Bhishmacharya.
Aswathama, after the death of his father Drona’s death, seeking to avenge his death and thinking that he would please Duryodhana, kills all the offspring of the Pandavas, save Parikshit, informs Duryodhana of his deed.
Duryodhana , bleeding to death, says to him,
‘You, in your anger have killed my sons, for Pandavas are my brothers,it is a different issue that I had to fight them.
That does not mean that their children are my enemies.
As a Brahmin, you should have thought of this.
At least , as a Kshatriya, you should have compassion ,Kshama,
You did neither.
You are now neither a Brahmin by disposition or a Kshatriya by duties”
Karna, though a Kshatriya by birth , was not recognized as such, because he was brought up by a Charioteer,
Viswamitra was a Kshatriya by birth, became a Brahmin by disposition and gave the world the Gayathri mantra, the sacred mantra of the Hindus.
Parasurama, a Brahmin by birth is not revered as such for killed his mother at the bidding of his father and he avenged the Kshatriyas for having killed his father Jamadagni for 21 Generatiosn till he was vanquished by Lord Rama.
Nor his Father Jamadagni’s name is among the Gothras of Brahmins for he bade his son to kill his wife.
His wife Renuka Devi, though of Brahmin lineage by Birth and Marriage, after resurrection was made a Minor Deity, called Mariamman.
Now we come across an interesting concept,
That of assigning Caste to God!
Vishnu is a Kshatriya.
Brahma is a Kshatriya.
These two perform the functions of Protecting, Creating respectively.
As these two activities lead to Births and Deaths, Samsara,- these activities are of a Kshatriya.
Siva is called a Brahmin for He dispenses Knowledge, not to be confused with Rudra, the Annihilator.
The term Siva means ‘Auspicious’
He is the embodiment of Sat, Chit, and Anandam(Being,Consciousness and Bliss).
His mouth formed the Brahmin (teacher or Priest), his two arms were made the Rajaanya (Kshathriya or warrior), his two thighs the Vaisyaa (traders or Agriculturist) and from his feet the Soodhra (worker or servant) was born.(Purusha Sooktham)
Another seeming contradiction is that while The Vishnu Purana is categorized as a Sathva(Noble,Pure,Diligent,Calmness) Purana while Siva Purana as Tamasa Purana( Indifference)
Probable that these are so named as to indicate the qualities of the Reader , Vishnu Purana for Karma,Bhakti Yogins while Siva Purana for karma Yogins(Non action , action with detachment)!
Ravana was a Brahmin by birth but by duties he was a Kshatriya.
He was respected for his knowledge and compassion .
His fatal flaw was to lust after other’s wife.
His status as Kshatriya did not affect his status as a Brahmin as Lord Rama performed Tharpana for him for Brahmahathi Dosha(the sin of slaying a Brahmin) at Rameswaram; normally Tharpana is not performed by the Victors if the slain were to be Kshatriyas unless they happen to be relatives, for example by the Pandavas for the Kauravas.-Pandavas performed the Tharpna for the slain Kauravas..
It may be noted that Birth alone does not determine the Caste, though it is also a factor.
Disposition, performance of duties, the way one is brought up determines the Caste.
An interesting fact is that while Kshatriyas can become Brahmins, Brahmins can never become Kshatriyas in its full connotation
Ravana was an exception who could balance both the functions, that of remaining a Brahmin by Wisdom and Knowledge and a Kshatriya by the performance of his duties.
As shown in the case of Aswathama, a Brahmin becomes neither, in fact without a Caste, if he vacillates between Kshatriya Dharma and Brahmana Dharma.
Therefore, the Classification of Caste is determined by , mainly Four factors.
1. Realizing Brahman, Reality
“O Arjuna, the duties of sudras, kshatriyas, Vaishyas and brahmanas are attributed according to the qualities determined by their own deeds.” image credit:.mallstuffs.com
2.tendencies.
3.Dispositions.
4.How one is brought up and whom he marries.
Now let us see how the word Caste has come into our Lexicon.
There is no word to denote ‘Caste’ as we understand it now in Hindu Thought.
“The English word “caste” derives from the Spanish and Portuguese casta, which the Oxford English Dictionary quotes John Minsheu‘s Spanish dictionary (1599) to mean, “race, lineage, or breed.”[5] When the Spanish colonized the New World, they used the word to mean a “clan or lineage.” However, it was the Portuguese who employed casta in the primary modern sense when they applied it to the many in-marrying hereditary Hindu social groups they encountered upon their arrival in India in 1498.[5][6] The use of the spelling “caste,” with this latter meaning, is first attested to in English in 1613.[5](wiki)
This is totally alien to Hindu Concept.
Caste is called as Varna , indicates disposition, disposition.
After I finished posting the blog ‘ When Rama Realized he Was Brahman’. I recalled another one from the Puranas.
This incident explains the law of Karma(Please read my posts on this under Hinduism)
Lord Krishna spent a long time on the Earth during the Dwapara Yuga and the Devas were concerned about his absence from the Vaikunta, the Abode of Lord Vishnu.
They consulted the Great Dhurvasa Rishi and he consoled them saying the time for Krishna was fast approaching.
The Devas asked him,
‘No body can kill Krishna and we dare not ask him for Dehavyhoam (leaving the Body)
Dhurvasa smiled and told them to watch.
After the Mahabharata War was over, the Pandavas and what remained of the Kauravas , along with the Yadavas (Krishna’s Clan) , were sitting together and fooling around the banks of the River Yamuna.
All of them were drunk.
Lord Krishna’s son, Sambhavan, playful by nature, dressed himself as a pregnant woman and with his cronies approached a group of Seers(Rishis) and prostrated before them and requested,
‘Please Bless Me for Safe delivery’
The Rishis said,
‘We know, you are the son of Lord Krishna, yet, we Bless you with Safe Delivery of a Wooden ladle(உலக்கை ) and your Clan will be destroyed by it’
உலக்கை,Ulakkai
When Lord Krishna was told of it, he shrugged and said he could do nothing about it!
They had a Wooden ladle delivered after nine months, and to ensure that it was destroyed, they broke it into pieces and immersed it in the river.
The bottom portion ,made of iron was swallowed by a Shark and it was caught by a Fisherman.
While seasoning the Fish, the fisherman found the iron piece and sold it to a Hunter.
The Hunter , his fixed it to the tip of his Arrow.
After some time, the same group was engaged in a drinking bout at the same place.
Salliya, the Man who drove and deserted Karna in the Battle field at a crucial juncture was there.
Salliya was the Father in Law of Karna.
Lord Krishna.
One among the gathering remarked,
‘Look,here is a fellow who deserted his king and relative at a critical time, who was on the losing side ,eating and drinking with us, the Victors’
Salliya retorted saying , ‘A bunch of Herdsman need not talk about a Kshatriya’
And a Battle of words soon became a full-fledged fight among all.
They went on attacking each other.
As they had no Arms,they plucked the ‘கோரைப்புல்’-Nut Grass around them and attacked each other with the Nut Grass,
As soon as they plucked them they became the Wooden Ladles and killed those attacked with them.
Barring Krishna, the Yadava Clan was wiped out.
(The Immersed wooden pieces , on reaching the shores , grew into Nut Grass and became weapons; that is the reason why Nut Grass is not used in Religious Ceremonies but Kusa Grass is used).
Some time later when Lord Krishna was roaming the Forests , he became tired and rested under a Tree, lying in a Fetal Position.
The Hunter saw, what looked like a Deer from a distance’ sent an Arrow.
It struck Krishna at the Center of His Foot and He lay dying.
The Hunter , on reaching Krishna begged for Mercy and felt remorse.
Krishna said to him,
” Don’t worry, it is not your fault.
During Ramavataras Rama,, I killed Vaali, hiding behind a Tree.
Now I am repaying it.
I fulfilled my duty of serving Lakshmana who served me as a younger brother during Ramavatar, as Bala rama as my elder brother in this Avatar as Krishna and breathed his last.
Even God can not escape the Law of Karma, once born!
We have many treatises in all Religions,Languages on virtue,On what is Good,Bad,and what makes one Happy and contented.
I am yet to find some thing which is simple,appealing to follow or at least understand.
,And the one that makes me interested at least, in attempting to follow.
These are theLyrics of one of The Great Lyricists of Tamil Movies,Mr.Kannadasan, a Legend, who could capture the essence of Life in ordinary words in Tamil which we use every day, from a delectable Tamil Film, Sivaji Starrer ‘Aanadavan Kattalai
As translations do not seem to be available I have tried to capture the spirit of the message and I can assure you that it is not in any way near to the original, such is my incompetence.
I am posting this deliberately in English so that people who do not know Tamil may have a chance to read and enjoy noble thoughts.
I would like readers of other Indian Languages to forward me Noble and simple thoughts say like Jana Padagalu in Kannada .
I am interested in posting that in my way.
What is the Ultimate aim of man?
Money,Power,Wealth,Popularity,Fame,Wine, Women?
It all boils down to one thing.
It is happiness.
And I have found that Contentment is the key to happiness.
I would go as far as to say that Contentment is Happiness.
In six simple day-to-day Tamil Kannadasan captures the essence.
This is it.
Words ,Deed Thy be One ,
Peace Forever be Thine,
Pain, Gain woven betwixt,
Six,The Ways Hath He set,
“aaru maname aaru, andha andavan kattalai aaru
aaru maname aaru, andha andavan kattalai aaru
s”eirndhu manidhan vazhum vagaiku
deivathin kattalai aaru
deivathin kattalai aaru”
Put it simply,a liar needs good memory.
You need not think twice before saying some thing ‘have I said this to this person before ?
Am I contradicting myself??
Then people evaluate you , not on the basis of what you are capable of or your potential, but what you have done.
One may have good thoughts, I Believe that every one has.
The problem is we don’t act on them.
I recall an instance from The Mahabharata.
The Mahabharata War was nearing and Indra, father of Arjuna, was worried
.
He knew if some one can match and even kill Arjuna , it was Karna who was arrayed against him.
He consults Lord Krishna.
In his inimitable style Lord Krishna advises Indra,
You disguise yourself as a Brahmin and ask Karna his Body Armour( Kavacha and Kundala) that is a part of his body, granted by his Father Surya, The Sun God.
He will give them to you immediately”
Indra asks Krishna ‘What if he takes time or consults with others?
Krishna adds ,
‘ Karna will never do that.
He has a taken a vow that he will give anything which he has, immediately; he is of the conviction that human mind is subject to chang e and that if he delays a minute even, he might not give to those who seek!
Hindu Religious texts declare that one has to do Good things the moment he thinks of them and delay the bad ones.
………………….. continues..
Kaviarasu Kannadasan
Playback: T.M.Soundararajan
Cast: Sivaji Ganesan, Devika
Movie: AANDAVAN KATTALAI
Music: Viswanathan-Ramamurthy . Lyrics: Kannadasan
Year of Release: 1964
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