Category:Acceptance of a Brahmana
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the brāhmaṇas are born from the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead specifically to accept charity—not for sense gratification, but for the worship of Lord Viṣṇu and the dissemination of Vedic knowledge. He emphasizes that a true brāhmaṇa maintains absolute independence, strictly refusing professional service (paricaryā), which is condemned as the "business of a dog". While scriptural allowances exist for emergency situations (āpad-dharma), where a brāhmaṇa may adopt kṣatriya or vaiśya duties, Prabhupāda warns that descending to the status of a śūdra is perpetually forbidden. He clarifies that the acceptance of charity is contingent upon purity; only a qualified brāhmaṇa is authorized to receive gifts, and any excess must be utilized for the service of the Lord.
- Divine Authorization for Charity: This category elucidates that brāhmaṇas are born from the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead specifically to accept charity, not for personal aggrandizement, but to facilitate the worship of Lord Viṣṇu and the dissemination of Vedic knowledge.
- Prohibition of Servitude: A dominant theme is the strict prohibition against a brāhmaṇa accepting professional service or employment (paricaryā), which is described as the business of a dog; a true brāhmaṇa maintains absolute independence, even in poverty.
- Emergency Occupations (Āpad-dharma): The analysis highlights scriptural allowances where a brāhmaṇa in difficult circumstances may accept the duties of a kṣatriya or vaiśya, but is perpetually forbidden from descending to the status of a śūdra.
- Qualifications for Acceptance: The instructions clarify that the acceptance of charity is contingent upon purity; only a qualified, vaiṣṇava-brāhmaṇa is truly authorized to receive gifts, and any excess must be returned to the service of the Lord.
- Historical Precedents: The category contains numerous historical examples, such as the rigid standards of the caste brāhmaṇas in Lord Caitanya's time, the ostracism of Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmī for accepting government service, and the exemplary detachment of Sudāmā Vipra.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Principles Governing the Acceptance of a Brāhmaṇa.
Pages in category "Acceptance of a Brahmana"
The following 69 pages are in this category, out of 69 total.
A
- A brahmana may renounce his family and accept sannyasa. Others - ksatriyas and vaisyas - may also give up their families and take to Krsna consciousness. Such renunciation is called karma-tyaga. By such renunciation, the SP of Godhead is satisfied
- A brahmana should do this (adhyayana, adhyapana, yajana and yajana) without remuneration, but he is allowed to accept charity from a person whom he teaches how to be a human being
- A first-class brahmana does not accept any rewards from his disciples or yajamanas. Practicing austerities and penances, he instead goes to the agricultural field and collects food grains left by the agriculturalists to be collected by brahmanas
- A ksatriya's duty is to give charity, & a brahmana's duty is to accept charity, but not more than needed to maintain body & soul together. Therefore, when the brahmanas were given so much land by Lord Ramacandra, they returned it to Him & were not greedy
- A learned brahmana should become a teacher, a priest and a recipient of charity. A bona fide brahmana is authorized to accept such professions
- A pure brahmana voluntarily accepts a life of poverty and lives in complete dependence on the mercy of the Lord
- A very respectable brahmana in Calcutta never took a doctor's medicine. Even though he sometimes felt sick, he would not accept medicine from the physician but would simply drink Ganges water, and he was always cured within a very short time
- According to his (Romaharsana's) position by birth he should not even have accepted the higher sitting position, because many learned brahmanas and sages were present (at Naimisaranya)
- According to our Vedic principle a brahmana is supposed to accept the four asramas, namely brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha, and sannyasa
- According to our vedic principle, a person, especially a Brahmana, should leave home after the 50th year and accept the order of Vanaprastha
- According to the smrti-sastra, which gives directions for the management of the varnasrama institution, a brahmana cannot accept a disciple from the lower castes
- According to Vedic principle, without becoming a brahmana he cannot be accepted as disciple
- Actually a sannyasi or a brahmana will not accept an invitation extended by a person born in a lower family. However, there are many devotees who are raised to the platform of brahmana by their initiation. These people are called sudra-mahajana
- Actually, a qualified brahmana always sticks to his own duties and never accepts those of a sudra or of one less than a sudra
- Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted the then-existing order of sannyasa (namely eka-danda), He still recited a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam about the tridanda-sannyasa accepted by the brahmana of Avantipura
- Although the brahmana was fasting, he had faith in the words of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and accepted food. In this way his life was saved
- Another point for Jagai and Madhai was that, as members of a brahmana family, they did not accept service under anyone. The sastras strictly forbid a brahmana to accept service under anyone
- Anyone can see how the bona fide spiritual master accepts disciples from all over the world. The guru is a qualified brahmana; therefore he knows Brahman and Parabrahman. He thus devotes his life for the service of Parabrahman
- As ksatriyas, the proper livelihood of the Pandavas was only to rule, and not to accept any other occupation. A brahmana, ksatriya or vaisya will not accept employment for his livelihood under any circumstances
- At that time, five hundred years ago, the Hindu society was very rigid, and if a member of the brahmana caste accepted the service of a Muhammadan ruler he was at once rejected from brahmana society
B
- Because he (sudra) cannot even live without having a master. He must have a master to provide him. But the Vedic culture is that brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, they will not accept any service
- Brahmanas accept poverty... Not accept poverty. They are not very much interested. Either lie down on the ground or lie down on the sofa - they don't find any difference, because they are not interested with these bodily comforts
- Brahmanas and Vaisnavas do not accept any foodstuff which is not first offered to the Personality of Godhead
- Brahmanas have six occupational duties, of which three are compulsory - namely, studying the Vedas, worshiping the Deity and giving charity. By teaching, by inducing others to worship the Deity and by accepting gifts, they receive the necessities of life
H
- He (Ballal Sena) tried to induce the brahmanas not to accept the suvarna-vaniks as followers of the instructions of the Vedas under the brahminical directions
- He (the young brahmana) believed that the Supreme Personality of Godhead was the topmost authority, he accepted the words of Lord Krsna without hesitation, and he had firm faith in the Lord’s consistency
I
- If one gives up Krsna consciousness, even though he is born in a brahmana family or even though he has practiced brahmanism, still, on account of his not accepting KC, he is accepted as muci and if one is KC, then he is suci
- In due time, the brahmana took his bath, accepted his meals & lay down to rest on a bedstead completely bedecked with soft silk. As he was resting, Krsna silently approached, with great respect, put the brahmana's legs on His lap & began to massage them
- In Srimad-Bhagavatam Narada Muni states that even if a brahmana is in a difficult position, he should not accept the occupation of a sudra. This means that he should not be engaged in service for another, for this is the business of dogs
- In the formation of a body, the head is the principal factor. The brahmanas are born from the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order to accept charity for worship of Visnu and to spread Vedic knowledge
- In the sastra it is said that a brahmana, if he's in difficulty, he may accept the profession of a ksatriya or up to vaisya, but never accept the occupation of a sudra. These are described in the sastras
- In their prophecies the learned sages and brahmanas accepted Prthu Maharaja as a plenary partial expansion of the Lord. During the presence of Lord Krsna a king declared himself Vasudeva, and Lord Krsna killed him
- In those days (of Lord Caitanya) also, the caste brahmanas were very proud. They were not prepared to accept chastisement even from a teacher or spiritual master
- It is advised in the authorized scriptures that a brahmana may, under awkward circumstances, accept the profession of a ksatriya or even a vaisya, but never is he to accept the profession of a sudra
- It is not the duty of rigid brahmanas and Vaisnavas to accept invitations everywhere. There is, of course, no objection to taking part in feasts in which prasada is distributed
- It is simply illusion for one to think that Krsna begged food from the brahmanas. It was actually a trick to show them mercy by teaching them that they should accept Him in pure devotional service instead of engaging in ritualistic ceremonies
O
- O exalted governors of various planets, the true brahmana, who has no material possessions, maintains himself by the profession of accepting silonchana. In other words, he picks up grains left in the field and on the ground in the wholesale marketplace
- Only brahmanas may engage in Deity worship, and they may accept as prasada whatever people offer the Deity. Although a brahmana may sometimes accept charity, it is not for his personal maintenance but for the worship of the Deity
- Only the brahmanas and sannyasis are authorized to accept charity from the householders
P
- People thought, "What is the use of calling a brahmana for puja part? There is no necessity. Stop it." So naturally the brahmanas were obliged to accept to the business or occupational duties of the ksatriyas or the vaisyas or even sudras
- Priesthood is not accepted by learned brahmanas. Nevertheless, the greatly learned brahmana Visvarupa became the priest of the demigods because of his profound respect for them
S
- Still a child who is born in a family of a brahmana depends for his further reformation upon initiation into acceptance of a sacred thread and many other reformatory processes
- Sukracarya accepted the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full respect. Along with the best brahmanas, he began to compensate for the discrepancies in the sacrifices performed by Bali Maharaja
T
- That was the position of the two brothers, Dabira Khasa and Sakara Mallika. They belonged to the highly situated sarasvata-brahmana community, but they were ostracized due to their acceptance of ministerial posts in the government of Hussain Shah
- The brahmana (Sudama) accepted his newly acquired opulence, but he did so in a spirit of renunciation, remaining unattached to sense gratification, & thus he lived very peacefully with his wife
- The brahmana accepts all kinds of contributions (pratigraha) from his followers - namely, the ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras. But he does not keep all the money. He keeps only as much as required and gives the balance to others in charity - dana
- The brahmana is always engaged in the worship of Lord Visnu. Therefore the brahmanas are eligible to accept all kinds of charity. But if the brahmanas receive excess charity, they are to distribute it for the service of Visnu
- The brahmana knew Krsna to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and still he accepted the respectful service of the Lord on the grounds of Vedic social convention
- The brahmanas are specifically restricted from accepting such service (which denies all the moral codes of the sastras). But in this age they will not only accept service, but they will do so even if it is of the meanest quality
- The brahmanas did not refuse Lord Ramacandra's gift, after accepting it they returned it to the King. The brahmanas were so pleased with Lord Ramacandra's affection toward them that their hearts melted
- The grhastha cannot accept charity. But a grhastha-brahmana, he can accept charity, but he will not, I mean to say, accumulate money by taking charity. Whatever he gets, he must spend
- The higher-caste men, namely the brahmanas and ksatriyas, could accept a woman of the vaisya or the sudra community, but a man from the lower castes could not contact a woman of the higher caste
- The intelligent class of men are called brahmanas, and those who have realized the Absolute Truth in His supreme personal feature are called Vaisnavas. But both of them accept foodstuffs which are the remnants of sacrifice
- There must be brahmanas who are independent. Canakya Pandita, whose name is still, still celebrated, he was prime minister of Maharaja Candragupta, but he was not accepting a single paisa as salary
- Therefore please accept her, O chief of the brahmanas, for I offer her with faith and she is in every respect fit to be your wife and take charge of your household duties
- These cows (given by Nanda Maharaja), fully qualified to give ample milk, were given to the brahmanas in charity, and the brahmanas accepted them and bestowed blessings upon the whole family, and especially upon Krsna - SB 10.7.16
- This instruction by Krsna to the brahmana is very significant. The purport is that a true brahmana should not be disturbed in any situation. In this modern age, Kali-yuga, the so-called brahmanas have accepted the abominable position of sudras
V
- Visvamitra and Vasistha were always inimical. Formerly, Visvamitra was a ksatriya, and by undergoing severe austerities he wanted to become a brahmana, but Vasistha would not agree to accept him. In this way there was always disagreement between the two
- Visvamitra was a ksatriya, and by undergoing severe austerities he wanted to become a brahmana, but Vasistha would not agree to accept him. In this way there was always disagreement between the two
- Visvarupa, who was a most learned brahmana, not only accepted the request of the demigods, but took their request seriously and performed the activities of priesthood with an undiverted mind