Dharma

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Wed, 10 Jun 1998, Ram Chandran wrote:

>  What happened in my family typically represents the
> changes that undergone in the Brahmin Society.  I don't know the exact
> answer to the question: Who is responsible for the degeneration of
> Brhamana Dharma?  I know that I have witnessed those changes and it was
> beyond me to stop them!
>

Well, could you at least try?  One would think an economist would have
many insights into why social changes like this occured.

We should also bear in mind the pendulum swings both ways.  Your
description of events definitely rings true for the state of affairs up to
the '60s but haven't things changed since then?  In those days an
"intellectual" could proclaim with confidence the imminent triumph of
socialism and the withering away of "backward obscurantism".  I know a man
whose father was an Agnihotri and Grandfather performed Soma Yagnas but
became an atheist because he didn't see any future in his heritage.  Now
no sane person takes those ideas seriously and our religion is still going
strong.

It will be some time before we can fully recover from the effect of such
upheavals but I'm optimistic we can.  But only if we can give up defeatist
nostalgia and clearly analyze the situation

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>