I will digress for a moment to drive home my point that every society/state has a class of people who are most suited for a kind of occupation. Take warfare and state administration for an instance.
The State — any state — for its survival depends upon its capacity to make its Will executed and its sovereignty felt. Political philosopher Harold J Laski in his The State in Theory and Practice is more explicit in this regard.
“I think, therefore……in the last analysis, the state is built upon the ability of its government to operate successfully its supreme coercive power.” As if this is not clear enough, he clarifies in another paragraph: “Those, therefore, who control the use of the armed forces of the State are in fact the masters of its sovereignty”.
England which had no standing army till 1644 created a New Model Army, England’s first standing army, on January 6, 1645 during the English Civil War to maintain law and order in the state. Later the East India Company developed its army in India on the lines of England’s standing army. After 1857 the British government took over the East India Company’s army and expanded it to suit their needs. Post Independence, the Indian army inherited the British army’s legacy organisational structure, which is still maintained today.
Study the names of the Regiments of the Indian Army and you will know what I am trying to drive at. Rajputana Regiment, Gorkha Regiment, Jat Regiment, Dogra Regiment — et al. The prime objective was to include only the martial races (call them Plato’s Auxiliaries) into the army that would win wars.
Neither the English ever had a Brahamin regiment nor did the present Army bosses ever thought to add a Brahmin regiment. And what about Vaish or Bania regiment? Ever heard of them? No. That’s because there are a class or category of people in the society — any society — who are best suited for a kind of job.
As my objective in this article is to defend Esotericism, I would restrict my comments to Brahamins, their way of life, their profession and their struggle for survival in today’s world.
The Brahamins
All societies have a class of people who are most suited for a kind of occupation — and that particular occupation demands a particular kind of life-style. This life-style, in turn develops it own ethical and religious value-system which, in due course, is adapted by the said community. In Sanskrit the term for this kind of adaption is varan, evolved from the root word var.
The Brahamins profess priesthood, teaching, learning et al, akin to Plato’s Philosopher-Kings; the Kshatriyas (or the Auxillaries) prefer valour, defence, administration, executive functions; the Vaishyas (aka Producers) like business, merchandise and commerce while the Shudras take up the rest of the miscellaneous professions. Over the years their profession became traditional and hereditary, developing into what some prefer to call the Indian caste system. But this has not always been the case.
The earliest definition of the word Brahamin is attributed to sage Aitareya:
जन्मना जायते शुद्र:| संस्कारात् द्विज् उच्यते|
वेद–पाठात् भवेत् विप्रः ब्रह्म जानाति ब्राह्मणः
जन्मना जायते शुद्र:|
By birth, a person is a shudra
संस्कारात् द्विज् उच्यते
After sanskar, that is initiation, he is called “dwija” meaning one who gets a ‘second birth’ or ‘is reborn’. (like a bird, for example)
वेद-पाठात् भवेत् विप्रः
Having learnt the Vedas he becomes vipra (विप्रः) or the learned one,
ब्रह्म–जानाति ब्राह्मणः
And the one who knows the Brahma is called Brahmin.
According to sage Sayana, a 14th century commentator, the great sage Mahidasa Aitareya takes his name from his mother “Itaraa” (इतरा), a matronymic nomenclature. In Sanskrit the word “Itaraa” is derived from the Sanskrit word “itara“, meaning ‘the other’ or the ‘rejected’).
Itaraa, a shudra, was a wife of a sage (identified by Dr. Radha Kumud Mookerji) Visala who had many wives. The sage preferred sons from his other wives over Mahidasa and this irked Itaraa who had named Mahidasa after her chosen deity Goddess Mahi, the Mother Earth. A dejected mother Itaraa prayed to Goddess Mahi to bless her son with infinite wisdom. Thus the child Mahidasa Aitareya grew up to bless us with the works that he is known for.
Son of a dasa/shudra mother, Aitareya became a Brahmin of the highest order and wrote Aitareya Brahman (ऐतरेय ब्राह्मण) and Aitareyopanishad. Aitareya Brahman is considered critical to the understanding of Rigveda.
In a nutshell, a Brahamin had to earn the required reputation to be called a Brahamin.
Take another well-known example. Maharshi Valamiki, the author of the epic, Ramayana, was the 10th issue of a Brahmin couple, sage Prachetasa (father) and Charashani (mother). According to a legend, he was kidnapped or lifted by a childless tribal (Bheel) couple and was brought up in a shudra environment. He is known to have become a dacoit and was, one day, finally enlightened and emancipated by sage Narada whom Valamiki had captured for ransom.
An enlightened Valamiki then grew up to author the great Hindu epic Ramayana and two other works, Yogvashistha and Akshara-Lakshya. A genius, they say, cannot guarantee a masterpiece but a masterpiece guarantees a genius. Valamiki is now revered as Maharshi Valamiki.
Take another example, that of sage Kavasha Ailusha who was son of a daasi/shudra. However he researched on Rigveda, authored several hymns of the 10th book of Rigveda. Not only was he invited by Rishis but also made an Acharya. (Aitareya Brahman 2.19).
Satyakaam Jaabaal was the son of a daasi/prostitute but became a Brahamin by his learning. He was adopted by the great sage Gautama who gave him lessons in vedic studies.
Sons of sage Vishwamitra became Shudra. Vishwamitra himself was a Kshatriya who later became a Brahmin.
Vidur was son of a maid servant, a dasi, but became a Brahamin and a minister of Hastinapur empire.
Sage Vatsa became a Rishi though born to a Shudra (Aitareya Brahman 2.19)
There are numerous examples of such kind. Some born to Kshatriyas parents became Brahamin while some born to Brahamin parents became Vaishya or Kshatriyas.
Social mobility was the order of the vedic and post vedic era.