New Pandit Brahman Status

New Pandit Brahman Status

The word Brahmin translates to “Supreme Self” or the first of the gods. Brahmin is the highest Varna in Vedic Hinduism. The population of India that is considered a member of the Brahmin caste according to the article “The Joshua project” is about 60,481,000 people. That’s approximately 4.3 percent of the total Indian population. The Brahmin Varna consists of priests, and individuals of this specific Varna are separated into sub-castes called gotras. Because of the religious and cultural diversity Brahmins are divided into these sub-castes. Only some members are priests, other members have held professions as educators, lawmakers, scholars, doctors, writers, poets, landowners, and politicians. According to Nancy Auerbach in her book Living Hinduism, the Brahmin is associated with Sanatana Dharma which was in early Hinduism and is a code of ethics, or a way of living in order to achieve “moksha” a sense of liberation and enlightenment. As the developments of the caste system continue, Brahmins became an influential Varna in India and discriminated against the other lower castes.