Aryan and Non-Aryan

[Chris Beetle]

At 04:02 PM 12/4/98 -0500, you wrote:
>
>
>On Thu, 3 Dec 1998, Ashish Chandra wrote:
>> N. Ganesan wrote :
>>
>> Social reformers in the South have been calling for reforms within
>> Hinduism. That is, Priesthood and Sankaracharyaship should become available
>> for any Hindu, not for a particular group determined just by birth. For
>> Hinduism to become modern, the only qualifications  to be a priest or a
>> Sankaracharya, must be 1) be a Hindu
>
>Hindu is taken as a synonym for Aryan nowadays.
>
>> and 2) be proficient in Samskrit and
>> few more Indian languages.
>
>> I could not agree more. In fact, one should take process a step further and
>> base the interpretation of caste purely as our scriptures define them, i.e.
>> not by birth but intellectual/physical inclinations.
>
> Show me one person who has changed his caste. The fact is, it is racial
>in basis.

According to KRSNa in Bhagavad-gItA 4.13:

cAtur-varNyaM mayA sRSTaM
guNa-karma-vibhAgaZaH

The four castes (cAtur-varNyaM) were created by Me, according to
quality (guNa) and activity (karma).

Race and birth are not mentioned.

Furthermore, the sage, NArada, states in the BhAgavata PurANa 7.11.35:

yasya yal lakSaNaM proktaM
puMso varNAbhivyanjakam
yad anyatrApi dRSyeta
tat tenaiva vinirdiZet

"If one shows the symptoms of being a brAhmaNa, kSatriya, vaiZya or
ZUdra [varNa]. . . even if he has appeared in a different class [anyatra],
he should be accepted according to those symptoms of classification."

I hope these references shed some light on the discussion.

Chris Beetle