[Advaita-l] 'End' not 'Means'

[Ramesh Krishnamurthy]

On 29/04/06, Aditya Varun Chadha <adichad at gmail.com> wrote:
> I guess the only "right" way to end this argument is to ask for the
> annotated Sruti quotes that categorically deny the recital of vedas to
> women and Sudras. Once such quotes are presented, I don't think an
> Astika can argue further. In that case I CAN make an argument still
> from a nAstika perspective (nAstika because admitting the possibility
> that the Srutis are wrong), but I don't think that is in the spirit of
> this list.
>


To my knowledge, there is no categorical denial in the Sruti.

The Satapatha Brahmana of the Yajurveda provides the procedure for
Upanayana for Brahmana-s, Kshatriya-s and Vaishya-s. As there is no
procedure mentioned for Sudra-s and as the language uses the male
gender, the traditional interpretation is that only male Brahmana-s,
Kshatriya-s and Vaishya-s can undergo Upanayana and recite the Veda.

For that matter, even the Deva-s are not supposed to recite the Veda
:)) If you read the archives, you'll see that Jaldhar makes this point
many times.

So "Aham Brahaasmi" and "women should not recite the Veda" are not on
the same level.

In practice however, all these things are dictated by tradition and
not what the shaastra-s say. People do or do not read the Veda because
of tradition and not because the shaastra-s say they should or should
not.

dhanyosmi
Ramesh

On 29/04/06, Aditya Varun Chadha <adichad at gmail.com> wrote:
> I guess the only "right" way to end this argument is to ask for the
> annotated Sruti quotes that categorically deny the recital of vedas to
> women and Sudras. Once such quotes are presented, I don't think an
> Astika can argue further. In that case I CAN make an argument still
> from a nAstika perspective (nAstika because admitting the possibility
> that the Srutis are wrong), but I don't think that is in the spirit of
> this list.
>
> --
> Aditya Varun Chadha | http://www.adichad.com | +91 9840076411 (M)
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