View source for So-called brahmanas

{{terms|"so-called members of the brahmana"|"so-called brahmanas"|"so-called brahmana" }}

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{{compiler|Labangalatika}}

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[[Category:So called]]

[[Category:Intellectual Class (Brahmana)]]

== Srimad-Bhagavatam ==

=== SB Canto 1 ===

<span class="q_heading">'''The twice-born men, namely the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas, are expected to undergo a cultural purificatory process known as saṁskāras, but because of the bad influence of the present age the so-called members of the brāhmaṇa and other high-order families are no longer highly cultured.'''</span>

<span class="SB-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:SB 1.3.21|SB 1.3.21, Purport]]:''' Originally the Veda is one. But Śrīla Vyāsadeva divided the original Veda into four, namely Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg, Atharva, and then again they were explained in different branches like the Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata. Vedic language and the subject matter are very difficult for ordinary men. They are understood by the highly intelligent and self-realized brāhmaṇas. But the present age of Kali is full of ignorant men. Even those who are born by a brāhmaṇa father are, in the present age, no better than the śūdras or the women. The twice-born men, namely the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas, are expected to undergo a cultural purificatory process known as saṁskāras, but because of the bad influence of the present age the so-called members of the brāhmaṇa and other high-order families are no longer highly cultured. They are called the dvija-bandhus, or the friends and family members of the twice-born. But these dvija-bandhus are classified amongst the śūdras and the women. Śrīla Vyāsadeva divided the Vedas into various branches and subbranches for the sake of the less intelligent classes like the dvija-bandhus, śūdras and women.</span>

<span class="q_heading">'''Because the so-called brāhmaṇa acted like a butcher, he was taken as such, and there was no question of sin in killing such a brāhmaṇa's son who proved to be a villain.'''</span>

<span class="SB-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:SB 1.7.16|SB 1.7.16, Purport]]:''' An enemy who sets fire to the house, administers poison, attacks all of a sudden with deadly weapons, plunders wealth or usurps agricultural fields, or entices one's wife is called an aggressor. Such an aggressor, though he be a brāhmaṇa or a so-called son of a brāhmaṇa, has to be punished in all circumstances. When Arjuna promised to behead the aggressor named Aśvatthāmā, he knew well that Aśvatthāmā was the son of a brāhmaṇa, but because the so-called brāhmaṇa acted like a butcher, he was taken as such, and there was no question of sin in killing such a brāhmaṇa's son who proved to be a villain.</span>

<span class="q_heading">'''In this age, all kinds of sacrifice are forbidden because there is no learned priest amongst the so-called brāhmaṇas.'''</span>

<span class="SB-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:SB 1.12.33|SB 1.12.33, Purport]]:''' The success of a particular type of sacrifice completely depends on the priest in charge. In this age, all kinds of sacrifice are forbidden because there is no learned priest amongst the so-called brāhmaṇas, who go by the false notion of becoming sons of brāhmaṇas without brahminical qualifications. In this age of Kali, therefore, only one kind of sacrifice is recommended, saṅkīrtana-yajña, as inaugurated by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.</span>

<span class="q_heading">'''There is no possibility of such methodical chanting of the Vedic hymns by the so-called brāhmaṇas or priests of the present age.'''</span>

<span class="SB-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:SB 1.12.34|SB 1.12.34, Purport]]:''' There is no possibility of such methodical chanting of the Vedic hymns by the so-called brāhmaṇas or priests of the present age. The untrained descendants of the twice-born families are no more like their forefathers, and thus they are counted amongst the śūdras, or once-born men. The once-born man is unfit to chant the Vedic hymns, and therefore there is no practical utility of chanting the original hymns.
And to save them all, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu propounded the saṅkīrtana movement or yajña for all practical purposes, and the people of the present age are strongly recommended to follow this sure and recognized path.</span>