Sri Bharatamata

                              ASHTOTTARAM 54                                 

 

 

54) OṀ BRĀHMAṆA PŪJANA BHŨMYAINAMAH:

            OṀ (AUM) - BRAAH-MAṆA- POO-JA-NA- BHOO- MYAI- NA-- MA- HA

 

(Brāhmaṇa: means-'one who knows Brahman or the Vedās; Pūjana: means-worship)

 

 

 

 

 

 Vedas say that 'Janmaṇā Jāyate Sūdrah, Brahma Jnānāt Eva Iti Brāhmaṇah' meaning-'Everyone borns as ignorant and the one who knows Brahma Vidya is considered as Brāhmin'. The one who studies śāstrās' and lives his life accordingly is considered as Braahmin. In Hindu dharma and Veda sāstrās, the restrictions and duties that are imposed on Brāhmin varṇam are not present in any other varṇam. For example: sandhyāvandanam, vegetarianism, reading Vedas on a daily basis and to live a virtuous life and so on...In the life journey of every Hindu, there are sixteen saṃskārās (sacraments) to be full filled starting from birth to death, we need a brāhmin to conduct the pūja and the rituals. Indians are not satisfied unless their marriage is performed by Brāhmin priests. Even those who do not follow Hindu traditions and festivals, when it comes to the last rites of their parents, they want a Brāhmin to perform the rites. When we visit the temples, who do ashtottarams, and sahasranāmams, who does homams and vigraha pratisṭāpanās?

 

To be a bāhmin is not that easy, we are here talking about a sat-brāhmaṇa who adheres to strict vegetarianism, daily vedādhayanam, sandhyāvandanam, Gāyatri japam, agnihotram, and so on, so many daily duties enjoined by the Vedas. Memorizing very difficult Vedic mantras is not an easy task, and they start at a very early age and practice correct pronunciations for many years under the guidance of a guru. Brāhmins used to advice the kings how to rule the country and they used to care about the welfare of the community. They used to hold minister positions in kingdoms. They used to be experts in the literature and kings used to grant them acres of fertile land and gold. Later on, there was gradual moral and ethical decline in the sat-brāhminism.

 

Nowa days, very few are sat-brāhmins, and in the current generations, the modern brāhmins do not follow any enjoined duties, and some of them even eat meat, but first thing they boast about themselves is their brāhmin caste! So, it's just serving the purpose of boosting their egos and prejudice against fellow Indians. May be it's the effect of kaliyuga and western civilization, whatever it may be, we may find only a handful of authentic brāhmin varṇam, but many brāhmins as swamiis, gurus, preceptors are getting honored by the Indians here in India and abroad. The brāhmin caste continues, but we find only hand full of sat-brāhmins who follow Vedic life and enjoined duties. But still we honor them and respect them and made them part of our life for the fulfillment of prescribed sacraments in life.

 

So, our mother land is 'Brāhmaṇa Pūjana Bhūmi'.