Devoir de Philosophie

brahmin

Publié le 22/02/2012

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Also spelled brahman; in HINDUISM, a member of the highest of the four varnas or RITUAL classes. According to tradition, the ideal occupation for brahmins is that of the priest (see CASTE IN HINDUISM). Brahmins descend from the priests who performed the sacrifi ces described in the sacred books known as the VEDA. Some scholars have identifi ed their ancestors as priests among the Indo-Europeans. The Indo-Europeans were supposedly ancestors of the people who inhabit north India today, as well as of European peoples such as the English, the French, and the Germans. About 2,000 years ago Hindu lawbooks known as Dharmasastras carefully listed the duties and privileges of brahmins. They also assigned brahmins the highest position in Hindu society, but not everyone has agreed. Many records from roughly 2,000 years ago tell about disputes between brahmins and sramanas. Sramanas were wandering ascetics who practiced religions such as BUDDHISM and JAINISM. (Ascetics are people who give up pleasures and sometimes even the necessities of life for religious purposes.) A thousand years later brahmins were often the butt of jokes in classical Indian drama. The lawbooks focus specifi cally on the roles of boys and men. Brahmin men often have other occupations, but according to the lawbooks it is best for them to be priests and to teach the Veda. Public SACRIFICES described in the Veda still occur in India, but they are relatively rare. It is much more common for brahmins to serve as spiritual teachers for boys, a relationship that the boys are supposed to remember throughout their lives. Some brahmins serve as priests in temples. In addition, all brahmins are supposed to observe household rituals taught by the Veda. Good examples are the sandhya or twilight rituals addressed mornings and evenings to the god Surya, the sun. In theory the lives of women are limited: They are supposed to obey in turn their fathers, husbands, and sons. In practice some Hindu women have been strong and self-assertive. Although all brahmins belong to the highest varna, it should be stressed that varnas are ritual classes, not economic ones. Brahmins may be the most ritually pure members of Indian society, but some brahmins are extremely poor. At the same time, brahmins have played an enormous role in the government of India. Only 3.5 percent of Indians are brahmins, but at the end of the 20th century brahmins held almost 70 percent of all government jobs. Strict brahmins have traditionally observed a number of rules. These rules were designed to maintain the brahmins' purity. For example, if brahmins came into physical contact with persons considered impure in ritual terms, especially Dalits ("untouchables"), they had to perform a series of rituals to wash away what they saw as defi lement. During the 20th century, however, traditional concerns with maintaining purity often gave way to the pressures of modern urban life.