Jain Journal 2000 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 17

SEKHAR: "GIVE AWAY VIOLENCE, PRESERVE LIFE"
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says that there are five sins or folly of those who have lost their intelligence belief in the validity of the Vedas, belief in a creator, expecting ethical merit from ablutions, pride of caste and engaging in violence to be rid of sin.56 All these five elements are linked to the Brāhmaṇical system of life and society.
The social system was such that the Brahmanas as priestly community occupied the prime place of honour, were propitiated and consulted not merely in religious matters but also on every aspect of social and political life. Their authority was the authority of the Vedas. Their sanctity was the sanctity of the various gods. Their honour was the propitiation of these gods by way of gifts and sacrifices. Until postVedic period, Sannyasa was not considered as the last stage of life and everyone who wanted to renounce this world had to go through the other stages of life. Gṛhastha dharma or the householder's life was considered meritorious and significant. Only certain types of people were admitted to Holy Orders of priesthood and women could not have access to it. Similarly, recitation of the Vedic texts was restricted only to the Brahmaņas and no outcast was accepted to the learning and life of a Brahmacārin.
It is during the post-Vedic time (the time of the Upanisads and the great Epics) we see a drastic change in the thinking pattern. The Śramaņas must have made a significant influence on the Brahmanic society and its traditional ideals. For instance, there is a reversal in the traditional understanding of a Brāhmaṇa. In the new definition, there are five requisities for being regarded as a Brāhmaṇa: Varṇa (ubhato sujato hoti), Jāti (avikkitto anupakutto jātivādena), Mantra (ajjhayako hoti mantradharo), sila and panditya. But what really makes a person Brāhmaṇa is conduct and learning. 57
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The Vajrasuci Upanisad 8 traces the source of Brāhmaṇhood to the purity of heart. In the Mahābhārata59, king Yudhisthira is asked, 'who, O king, is a Brāhmaṇa?' The answer is 'a Brāhmaṇa is one who evinces the truth, liberality, forbearance, virtue, mildness, austerity and pity. Anyone who possesses these qualities should be called a Brahmana; anyone bereft of these should be called a Śūdra.' It is no
56. Dharmakirti's Verse.
57.
58.
59.
Dhammapada, 396-423, ibid., p. 91ff.
Vajrasuci Upanisad, 9, Vasudev Laxman Shastri Pansikar, One Hundred and Eight Upanisads, Pub. Pandurang Jawaji, Bombay, 1925; T.R. Ayyangar Srinivasa, The Samanya Vedanta Upanisad, p. 422-425. Mahabharata, Ajāgaraparvan in Vanaparvan.