I am a Brahman!

I am a Brahman – (an abridged and altered version of “Untouchable”)

“There is none superior, hence, do not venerate and certainly there is none inferior; thus, do not desecrate” 

- Tamil poet kaniyan (circa, 2500BC).

You all know that, I was an untouchable at birth; a casteless, so called Hindu outcaste. Afterbirth, I became a Sutra, as my parents said so, and currently am a Brahman, as I said to myself.I was full of filth and had to be cleansed and washed by a midwife and few others too, sufficiently baptized, in the name of Father, Son and Holy spirit, before my parents could even attempt to cling on me; deprecatingly , though I am currently a Brahman, am still full of filth, guilt, angst, sins, hypocrisy, jealousy etc. etc. I am always in need of a wishful, joyful, Soulful and soulless, mental, and physical cleansing with a regular, detox ever since my birth and am acutely and chronically aware of it. Here you go, I was born untouchable and physically nowhere, 50 years ago and now I am everywhere.

(Also, I may be an ox of a humped breed originally domesticated in India, which is tolerant of heat and drought and is now kept widely in tropical and warm temperate countries-Google.)

Just a recap:

Homo sapiens first migrated to the subcontinent 60,000 years ago from Africa; second migration to the sub-continent happened around 10,000 years ago, with the advent of Agriculture, from Sumerian region, who on mixing with the already established locals ( migrated 50,000 years prior), created Indus valley civilisation in the North western terrains of the sub-continent, ( 5000 BC), a Proto-Dravidian , non –Vedic , speaking a Proto-Dravidian language, akin to Tamil, and the third of the game changing migration, now, stepped in from Steppes, around 3500 years ago, ( Indus civilisation came to an end by this time, (1500 years BC ) bringing in Chariots and Horses, Old Sanskrit and Varna-Sana dharma.

Sanskrit, never a commoner’s language ( Pali and Prakrit were the lingua franca during Vedic and subsequent period, whilst Sanskrit remained elitist, made in- roads to most of Dravidian languages, except for most of Tamil) and the other, Varna theory or dharma, has metamorphosed to become a necessary in-erasable imaginary hierarchy of every Indian psyche.

What began as a system to give a structure to the then Vedic society based on Individual qualities and not based on one’s birth right, by the time epics were construed was already well entrenched (remember the great Karna, a sutra and his struggle for hierarchy against all Acharyas in Mahabharatam) and subsequently developed into, much to the chagrin of non- power wielders! It is so powerful in Indian psyche that caste and casteism shamefully have not even spared Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity in India. The country is full of so many progressive thinkers, hypocrites moving around unashamedly with their caste name as a birthright tag and as their id!

Thus the Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sutras came into existence with the introduction of Vedic culture; the “ untouchables” or modern day Dalits, who were not mentioned nor lest recognised as human beings, during Vedic times, were created, off records concurrently mainly for menial ends, and may belong to no Varna divisions ; hence, remain casteless! Most of them still remain casteless (!), nameless, right- less; defenseless, clueless, view-less, and also the developed and advanced amongst those, continue to remain toothless , barring a notable few, which, may be a mindset, offshoot of 3000 years of rigorous oppression and suppression, with an agenda of survival, largely at play.

Well, as an untouchable born to Sutras (ranting again) would I remain an untouchable or a Sutra, and couldn’t I progress higher up in the most imagined hierarchy of Hindu order and become a Brahman and eventually attain my self-fulfillment, self-realization as a so called Hindu? One of the answer is, Yes you can; like the sage Vishwamitra (born Kshatriya), who went up (?) after a prolonged struggle against patriarchy and hierarchy, aided by creation and chanting of a Gayathri mandram instead of Vedic hymns; a rebel with a cause. I, who didn’t exist prior (? obvious), a newborn untouchable, however, now, a self-proclaimed Brahman, (without the help of Gayathri or her Mandram, but certainly with rational thinking!) can boast, am everywhere, ubiquitous and also well within!

Gods, created by humans, have already hitched back to human psyche; nonetheless, the sapiens are yet searching for them, everywhere, except just within!

“Aham Brahamasmi”. 

Damn it.

(In response to Death of merit: How suicide of an Adivasi woman doctor shook Mumbai)