[Advaita-l] Re: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 28, Issue 5

[Subrahmanian, Sundararaman V [FI]]

> Can someone say where in the Vedas, Upanishads, Samkhyas, UpaVedas, 
> Puranas, Mahabharatha, Ramayana, Yoga-Vasistha, Tripura Rahasya, is it 
> said the following ">have to cast away their yagnopaveethas even if they 
> were brahmins by
>> birth.Caste of a person went by his birth."

In the Mahabharata[*], Karna was not allowed to compete with Arjuna in the "convocation" ceremony after the completion of the studies since he was not a Kshatriya by birth, even though he had acquired the necessary skill.

Please read the book "Hindu Dharma" by the former Shankaracharya of Kanchi.  There is an elaborate discussion on this topic.  The opinion of several members of this list matches the contents of the book.  Please don't read the book with the reformist zeal that varna dharma was a historical mistake as it has been made to look like even by well intentioned people.  Please read with patience and an open mind.  Try reading the full book, if you have time.  It will give you a good perspective.  That perspective will improve your ability to appreciate the section on varna dharma.

Regards,
SVS

[*] the yakSha sambhAshaNam and the above mentioned incident are both in Mahabharata!