Brahmin (caste)

Brahmins are those who make up the smallest, but most elite, varna, or social class, of the Hindu caste system. Traditionally, members of the Brahmin caste were seen as being of greater spiritual purity than people of the other castes. As a result, Brahmins alone were allowed to serve as priests, dispense spiritual knowledge, and carry out other important religious duties. Thanks to their elite status, Brahmins also traditionally played a key role in government, often acting as spiritual advisors to India's political leaders. Although many still work as priests, contemporary Brahmins are free to participate in a wide variety of possible occupations, including those previously reserved for people of other castes. As the caste system evolved over time, Brahmin increasingly came to be seen as a class of elitists who contributed significantly to social inequality. While government officials banned caste-based discrimination in the twentieth century, the caste system remains a deeply embedded part of Indian culture.

Background

The term Brahmin originated in the Purusha Sukta, a hymn in an ancient Hindu text known as the Rigveda. This text outlines the four major castes of Hindu society—the Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Sudra—and explains how each of these castes represent a different part of the body that makes up Hindu society as a whole. According to this explanation, the Brahmin, in particular, represented the head or mouth. This symbolized the Brahmins' role as intellectuals and teachers. Later, the Brahmins' role in Hindu society was further detailed by the Manusmriti, which is an anthology of customary Hindu laws. Among other things, the Manusmriti laid out the specific rights that members of each caste enjoyed. The Brahmin were given the broadest range of civil, cultural, and economic rights, many of which were denied to the lower classes to varying degrees. The Manusmriti also established that the Brahmins were responsible for learning, teaching, and carrying out ritual sacrifices. It was through this last responsibility that the early Brahmins initially distinguished themselves as they first began to take hold as a caste in ancient India.

At the outset of their development, the early Brahmins built a system of religious rituals around the animal sacrifices they were tasked with performing. As these rituals came to play an increasingly large part in Hindu spiritual and cultural life over the years, the Brahmin caste evolved into a powerful priesthood. Eventually, the Brahmins began to present themselves as intermediaries between God and humankind. In effect, this made the Brahmin caste more powerful than even kings and other rulers, although the Brahmins themselves never actually directly governed any lands. Instead, they simply acted as advisors to government officials and exerted their political influence in an indirect manner. Regardless, the Brahmin caste remained a powerful force in Hindu society and culture for centuries. It was not until the decades after India won its independence from British control in 1947 that Hindus' traditional beliefs about the superiority of the Brahmin caste began to give way in favor of more progressive philosophies that emphasized social equality and downplayed elitism.

Overview

At its heart, the Hindu caste system was designed to provide the structure for a society in which people are divided into different skill-based classes that together are capable of fulfilling all of the community's functional needs. As the uppermost members of that society, the Brahmins were responsible for providing spiritual and intellectual leadership. The other castes, meanwhile, had their own roles to fill. The Kshatriyas served both as political leaders and warriors. The Vaishyas were a sort of middle class that was responsible for overseeing trade and commerce. The Sudras, finally, were the working-class people who specialized in agriculture and were tasked with providing the community with proper nourishment. Together, these four classes made Hindu society work on a functional level and made civil life possible for everyone. Individually, the Brahmins benefitted most from their position at the top of the caste system. Because they held greater spiritual authority and boasted a much more extensive education than their peers in the other castes did, the Brahmins quickly became the most influential members of Hindu society.

Traditionally, the Brahmin caste is associated with a ritual purity that is closely tied to exacting social and dietary customs. Although the practice is not as common in modern times, most Brahmins were strictly vegetarian in the past. Further, while it was considered acceptable for a Brahmin to offer food to people of other castes, Brahmins who consumed food grown or prepared by someone of a lower caste were seen as polluted. Another important factor in Brahmin purity was marriage. In traditional Hindu society, it was forbidden for Brahmins to marry outside their own caste. To do so would be to invalidate their purity. A Brahmin's purity could also be tainted in traditional society if they took part in certain occupational activities outside the priesthood. Specifically, Brahmins were prohibited from participating in trades that involved working with allegedly impure materials like leather. Although Brahmins were allowed to do some types of agricultural work and even conduct commercial business, they were mainly expected to be concerned only with religious matters.

Over time, the Hindu caste system—and the Brahmins' role within it—gradually evolved due to the growing influence of non-Hindu outsiders. The first of these major outside influences were the Muslim rulers who held power over much of India starting in the twelfth century. Under Muslim governance, the strict separation of the different castes began to weaken. For their part, the Brahmins, who previously depended largely on special donations from the other castes, began to embrace agriculture as a way of making a living. The caste system underwent further changes after Great Britain assumed control of India in 1757.

During this period, the British formed an alliance of sorts with the Brahmins and returned to them some of the privileges they lost under Muslim governance. However, the British also enacted laws designed to reduce discrimination against the lower castes. This trend continued in the years following India's independence in 1947. Under the leadership of the Republic of India, additional laws and caste-based affirmative action policies were put in place to protect the lower castes from discrimination. As a result, traditional Hindu castes in the twenty-first century, including the Brahmin, have come to be seen more as political categories than as social classes. Political candidates have attempted to mobilize voters using caste identities. In general, society has been more open, and caste has no longer been the sole determinant of an individual’s social standing. However, in some parts of India, the caste system continued to heavily influence social interactions, resulting in discrimination and exclusion.

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