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BHARATA
153
(3) they, should practise charity;
(4) they must apply themselves to study (the scriptures);
(5) they should practise equanimity and self-control, protecting the different kinds of lives; and
(6) they should practise tapaścharaṇa (austerities) in some form.
It was thus not forbidden to a Brāhmaṇa to carry on a trade, or to enter on a military career, or to take to literature or even to plough the land. He was only required to refrain from pursuing those occupations which though not a disgrace in themselves were nevertheless not adopted by the higher classes. His self-respect was thus assured to him, if he did not wish to accept gifts from others. Today all this is changed, and the modern Brāhmaṇa is very near satisfying Akbar's description of a pēr (saint), a bāvarchi (cook), a bhishti (water-carrier). and a khar (donkey), all rolled into a single being!
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Another point in respect of which the modern Brāhmaṇa differs from his ancestor of the past is about the sacred thread which was not to be worn unless one attained at least the first pratima, but which is now worn by not only all Brāhmaṇas but also by all the members of the
