First, understand the contribution of Brahmins to Indian culture and society

The word, 'Brahmin' which once stood for knowledge, virtue, and truth, does not raise any praise and respect, much less. Brahmins, as a class, the souls of the Holy Spirit, out of integrity, perseverance, and prejudice, have existed for a long time. He was at one time an advisor to kings and people in matters of religion.

Religious gurus

The Brahmins acted as religious gurus, defined the obligations and responsibilities of the people within the family, community, or society, and had far more judicial rights, but at present, the state and its agencies largely extended their special powers and privileges are taken away. Constitutionally, they are equal to others and not superior.

The Brahmins of yore had the ability to influence a person's life - for their blessings (ashirvada) and their curses (shraapa). Many of them cultivated special powers with the help of which they could awaken a soul to its real, divine nature.

It would be worthwhile to examine the contribution of Brahmins to the growth and development of Indian society when caste is applied to them. To be blamed for social evils such as untouchability, gender inequality, superstition, ritualism, etc. what really goes into the name of Indian culture or Indian ethos is primarily the creation of enlightened saints and seers among Brahmins who have determined the superiority of righteous beings rooted in the concepts of Dharma and Rita.

The Brahmins gave their sacred literature to India which stood the test of time and also attracted foreign scholars. The Vedas adopted the core of knowledge; The Brahmins provided the guidelines for the sacrificial rites; Aranyakas or forest books to give the spiritual interpretation of rituals; the Upanishads revealing the deepest spiritual truths; The Smriti literature (in its ancient form) reflecting on social issues and concerns; the Puranas, or Veda of ordinary people; the Grand Epics - Ramayana and Mahabharata; the deep Chhaya-Darshan or the six systems of Indian philosophy (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, and Vedanta) and many other functions are attributed to Brahmins.

Three_saddhus_at_Kathmandu_Durbar_Square

All eleven disciples (Ganadhara) of Lord Mahavira were Brahmins. One of the most prominent disciples of the Buddha was Kashyapa, a Brahmin, also known as the founder of the meditation school (popular as Zen). So were early exponents of Buddhism like Ashwaghosha and Nagarjuna.

There is not a single field of human activity in which Brahmins have not been enriched by their extraordinary abilities and insights. His contributions range from philosophy, science, art, and literature to the fields of politics, morality, and war; from ecology, economics, and erotica to architecture, astronomy, and medicine.

The immortal works of Brahmins recognized around the world include Panini's Ashtadhyayi, Katyayana's Shlokas, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Vatsyayana's Kamasutra, Kautilya's Arthashastra, Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, Bharatamuni’s Natyashastra, Vishnu Sharma’s Panchatantra, Rajashekhar’s Kavyamimansa, Bhrigu Samhita, Narayana Pandit’s Hitopadesha, the plays of Bhasa, Shudraka, Bhavabhuti, and Kalidasa, and in the modern period, the writings of K.M. Munshi, Rahul Sankrityana, Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru, DR. S. Radhakrishnan and many, many more.

Special mention is made of the contribution of Brahman in science, mathematics, astronomy, and music. The Samhitas, Brahmanas, and Sutras explain these branches of knowledge. Aryabhatta, citing the decimal system, first discovered the rotation of the Earth around its axis scientifically described the occurrence of eclipses, calculating trigonometric tables, and astronomical calculations of 'sine' and 'cosine', described the values used in its four parts.

Aryabhatiya, its four parts - Gitikapada, Ganitapada, Kalakriyapada, and Golapadainspired Panduranga Swami, Lata Deva, Prabhakara, Nihshanku (a direct disciple of Aryabhata) and other astronomers like Bhutavishnu, Nilakantha, and Suryadeva, to make further contributions in the field.

Holy Vadas

Varahamihira's Panchasiddhantika (the Five Siddhantas being, Saura, Paulisha, Romaka, Brahma, and Paitamaha) and Brihatsamhita gave scientific status to astrology. Brahmagupta speculated on Newton's discovery of the law of gravity. His work, the Brahmasphuta theory, is said to have influenced Arabian astronomy. Bhaskaracharya wrote excellent texts on mathematics (algebra), astronomy (Siddhanta Shiromani), and algebra (Lilavati), which were praised.

Among other astronomers, Veteshwar (born C.E. 880), Manjulacharya (C.E 932), Shripati (C.E 999), and Shatananda (11th century). Divakara, a Brahmin from Maharashtra, established a line of astronomers, whose activities continued for four generations. The 'Brahminical knowledge about the nature of the physical world, complex chemical processes, alchemy, electrochemistry, botany, pharmacognosy, surgery, rhinoplasty, sugar, and papermaking, etc. is proved by historical evidence in ancient and medieval times.

Hindu musical theory, which is present in Sama as the seed form in the Veda, was developed to a remarkable degree by the Brahmins. Dattila (C.E190), Kohala (c.C.E. 280), and Bharata (C.E.300), Sharangadeva (C.E. 1230), Purandardasa (fl.1555), Tansen (1550-1610), and Govind Dikshitar (1614-1640) are the most ancient times of the Indian period music. Exponent; From Vishnu Digambar Pulaskar (1872–1931) and Pandit Bhatkhande to composers such as Omkaranath Thakur and Ravi Shankar, the contribution of Brahmins has been immense in the field of music.

The Brahmins have been the torchbearers of leading spiritual knowledge and social reform. From Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Madhavacharya, Nimbarka, Ramananda, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to Ramana Maharishi, Satya Sai Baba, Sant Murari Bapu, and many others, Brahmins have enriched the Indian cultural heritage through their writings and discourses.

The sacred Guru Granth Sahib contains hymns from 23 Brahmins such as Surdas, Beni, Parmananda, Trilochan, Jayadeva, Ramananda, and seventeen Bhattas. ‘Vahiguru’, the Sikh name of God, appears in the Guru Granth Sahib through the Savayyas of Gayand, Bhatta Brahmin.

Yagya

In the cause of religion, the supreme sacrifices of Mati Das, Sati Das (Chhibber Brahmins), and Dayal Das (Maudgil Brahmin) have their place in Sikh history. He was martyred on November 11, 1675, at Chandni Chowk in Delhi with the Ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur.

Banda Bahadur, who also bravely protested from the Bharadwaja Gotra of Brahmins for a brief period of the Muslim attack on Hinduism. Banda Bahadur pasted coins in the name of Guru Nanak-Guru.

Brahmins have been pioneers of spiritual enlightenment and social reformers. From Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya, Nimbarka, Ramananda, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to Ramana Maharishi, Satya Sai Baba, Sant Murari Bapu, and many others, Brahmins have enriched the Indian cultural heritage through their writings and discourses.

Nehru, Sardar Patel, M. Gandhi, Sarojni Naidu, Laxmibai, Mangal Pandey, Dr.Rajendra Prashad, Dr.Ambedker

Gobind Singh his official seal and firmans (orders) bore an inscription which, in the coming years, became a model for the Khalsa state and was used by S. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and others.

Indian Renaissance of the 19th Century. The contribution of Brahmins in this was remarkable. Raja Rammohan Roy, called the father of modern India, was a Brahmin. He was the first Indian who advocated humanism to work rationally for social reform and to take the cause of freedom and democracy. Debendranath Tagore and Pratap Chandra Mozumdar were famous Brahmins for their reformist zeal. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, The principal of Sanskrit College, Calcutta (1851) who developed a distinct modern prose style in Bengali as well as worked for women's liberation, was a Brahmin.

In the 19th century, many Brahmins encouraged socio-religious reform movements - Swami Dayananda and Shiva Narayan Agnihotri, Chitapavan Brahmins in Maharashtra, and some members of Bhadralok in Bengal. Among the Brahmins who fought against the vulgarity, irrationality, and other evils of Indian society, R.G. Bhandarkar, M.G. Ranade, Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar, K.T. Telang, G.V. Joshi, G.G. Agarkar, Gopal Hari Deshmukh, and Vishnu Bhikaji Gokhale.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa who initiated Swami Vivekananda to do great work was also a Brahmin. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many Brahmins went overseas as college students or cultural ambassadors, defying orthodox taboos. The first Hindu spiritual teacher to visit the United States was a Brahmin named Mr. Joshi. He was followed by others like P.C. Mojumdar, B.B. Nagarkar, Narasimhacharya, Swami Ramatirtha, and S. Radhakrishnan. The first Indian to receive a doctorate in sociology was a Brahmin named Surinder Venkatesh Ketkar from an American university. Brahminical ideas influenced Western movements such as Christian Science, Theosophy, New Thought Society of Quimby, Unity School of Christianity, and Transcendentalism. The first two Indian Nobel laureates - Rabindranath Tagore and C.V. Raman was Brahmin. So is Amartya Sen who gained the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, among the first to criticize British colonial rule. M.G. Ranade, and Surenderanath Banerjee - all Brahmins. The first shot in the Great Rebellion of 1857 was fired by Mangal Pandey, a Brahmin soldier stationed at Barrackpur. Maharani Laxmi Bai and Tatya Tope, whose saga of courage and sacrifice belong to legendary, hailed from Brahmin families.

Indian-women

The first president of the Indian National Congress was Vyomesh Chander Bonnerjee, a Western-educated Brahmin. Liberal and extremist groups in the Congress were led by two Chitapavan Brahmins - Gokhale and Tilak. The Brahmins also figure prominently in revolutionary movements against the British Raj. These included Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, Chapekar Brothers, Savarkar Brothers, Vishnu Ganesh Pingle, Bhai Parmananda, Birendranath Chattopadhyay, Bhagwati Charan Bohra, Durga Bhabhi, and Chandra Shekhar Azad.

The tune of slogans like ‘Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna ab hamare dil me hai’, ‘Vande Mataram’, ‘Swaraj is my birthright’, was composed by Brahmins, Bankim, Tilak, and Ram Prasad Bismil respectively.

Many Ghadarites came from Brahmin families. In fact, the first meeting of the Ghadar Party was held at the house of Pandit Kanshi Ram, who donated $ 200 towards his fund and became its first treasurer.

The role of Brahmin women in India's freedom struggle is equally notable.

Prominent revolutionary women who went through untold privations at the hands of the British were Bala Devi, Vimal Pratibha Devi, Kalpana Dutt, Suhasini Ganguly, Mukherjee Sisters, Usha and Parul, and Preeti Lata Wadekar. There were other women like Sarojini Naidu, Kamala Nehru, Vijayalakshmi Pandit who participated in Gandhian movements participated in Swadeshi, picketed liquor or foreign clothing shops, demonstrated against the excesses of the police, made nationalist speeches supported their male counterparts and sentenced to imprisonment.

The Brahmin is the first to his credit. Satyendranath Tagore was the 1st I.C.S. Officer (1842–1923); Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the first Nobel Prize (1913); Sarojini Naidu, the first Indian woman president of the Indian National Congress (1925); and the first female governor (U.P. 1947); Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, the first and only Indian Governor-General of India (1948–50); and the first Bharat Ratna Award winner (1954); Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister (1947–64); Vijayalakshmi Pandit, the first female ambassador to the U.S.R.R (1947–49); And the first woman Minister of State (U.P. 1937); C.D. Deshmukh, the first Finance Minister to present the General Budget (1952); Ganesh Vasudeo Mavalankar, the first Speaker of Lok Sabha (1952-57); S. Mukherjee, first Chief of the Indian Air Force (1954–60); Vinoba Bhave, first Roman Magsaysay Award winner (1958); S. Radhakrishnan, first elected president (1962–67); Sucheta Kripalani, the First Woman Chief Minister (U.P. 1963–67); G. Shankar Kurup, first Jnanpith Award winner (1965); Durba Banerjee, the first female pilot of Indian Airlines (1966–88); Mihir Sen, the first person to swim in the English Channel (1966); Uday Shankar; The first dancer to perform abroad; Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the first speaker in Hindi in the United Nations (1977), Indira Gandhi, first female Prime Minister (1966–77, 1980–84); Rakesh Sharma, First Cosmonaut (1984); Morarji Desai, first Nishan-i-Pakistan Award winner (1991); Sushmita Sen, the first Miss Universe, 1994; Sourav Ganguly is the first cricketer in the world to win four consecutive ’Man of the Match’ One Day Internationals in a row and many more.

Brahmins should have got respect in independent India. However, some of them have reached a supreme political status in their states, and the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, or Chief Election Commissioner at the Center (in TN Seshan's case) has won literary or military awards and others excelled in it exhibited. The fields, the status of Brahmins as a community, have come under a cloud.

Besides, his image is tarnished to reestablish his positive contribution to society, media and history books, and background on stage. There are political and religious steps to do.

The decline in the status of Brahmins due to the changing social and political environment is due to the rise of heterosexual creeds or sects and anti-Brahmin movements during the last century due to internal conflicts in the community. The ignorance of the majority of Brahmins in their ancient heritage and inability to face disinfection works against them.

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