If a brahmin has qualities of sudra should he be prohibited from duties of a brahmin?

Question

EXPLANATION :

• A brahmin is considered to be of Purity(Sattva guna) and Sudra of Impurity(Tamas guna).
• Both Brahmin and Sudra position are given to a person who is Born in that varnas(Brahmin Varna , Sudra Varna) and also with Qualities(Sattva Guna , Tamas Guna) according to it .
• A Person can be born in a brahmin family cannot be accepted as a Brahmin if he posses sudra qualities.

QUESTION :

• If a Sudras touch is considered to be impure can the touch of the Brahmin possesing sudra quality can also be considered to be IMPURE ?

• If it is considered to be IMPURE should the Brahmin be prohibited from his duties( Right to perform Pooja in Temple, Various Yagna )

Answer 1

A Brahmin who does not have the qualities of an ideal Brahmin should have to be treated accordingly.There are many verses in Smritis which say so.

Manu Smriti 4.245. A Brahmana who always connects himself with the most excellent (ones), and shuns all inferior ones, (himself) becomes most distinguished; by an opposite conduct he becomes a Sudra.

Manu smriti 8.102. Brahmanas who tend cattle, who trade, who are mechanics, actors (or singers), menial servants or usurers, the (judge) shall treat like Sudras

The panegyrics, the flatterers, cheats, those who act harshly, and those who are avaricious, these five Brahmanas should never be adored, even if they are equal to Vrihaspati in learning.(Atri Smriti Chapter 1,Verse 273)

Similarly a Brahmin who does not know the Gayatri or who fails do his religious duties is also a Sudra by karmas.

24. A Brahman, ignorant of the Gayatri hymn, is more unclean than even a Sudra ; the Brahmans who know the nature and the sanctity of the Gayatri hymn, are honored and revered by all persons.(Parashara Smriti,Chapter 8,Verse 24)

And a Brahmin who is of unrighteous conduct is a Chandala.

He who sets his face against righteousness, is but a Chandala by his acts. He gains nothing by being a mendicant, or by worshipping the household fire.(Parashara Smriti,Chapter 8 )

But, i have not found any verses like the ones you are looking for.Which say that a bad Brahmin should be prohibited from participating in religious acts.On the contrary i found this:

25.Even a Brahman of a bad character deserves respect; but not so a Sudra, even though his passions may have been subdued by him. Who would quit a wicked cow, and try to milk a docile female ass?(Parashara Smriti,Chapter 8,Verse 25)

This is possibly because the Smritis give considerable importance to the sanctity of a Brahmin birth and also to the power of the purificatory Samskaras.

Answer 2

Yaksha asked Yudhishtir the following question-

राजन् कुलेन वृत्तेन स्वाध्यायेन शृतेन वा। ब्राह्मण्यं केन भवति? प्रब्रूह्मोतत्सुनिश्चितं Meaning: King, how does one become a Brahmin: by birth? By conduct? By study of Vedas? By education? Tell me precisely.

To which Yudhishtir replies:

शृणु यक्ष कुलं तात न स्वाध्यायो न च शृतं कारणं हि द्विजत्वे च वृतमेव न संशयः। Meaning: Listen, Yaksha, it is neither birth nor education, nor even the study of Vedas. Without doubt, it is conduct alone that marks the Brahmin.

Therefore, it is clearly seen a conduct only, tells whether someone is Brahmin. And conduct is manifestation of what has been accumulated in conscious, subconscious & unconscious mind. Given that someone is born Brahmin implies his unconscious & subconscious mind is Sattvik which can be downgraded to Tamsik or Rajsik or mixture based on present Karmas (happens if deluded into Māyā or poor upbringing) & at the same time one born into lower caste can upgrade his mind through Rigorous spiritual practices which can burn all his previous Tamsik or Rajsik Samskars imbedded in subconscious & unconscious mind ( through grace or good upbringing). Therefore conduct alone should be the criteria of one's purity or impurity.

Ref- Actually the Mahabharata episode/event

Answer 3

Here is statement of Lord Maheswara himself from the Anushashana Parva of Mahabharata:

Endued with knowledge and science, purified from all dross, and fully conversant with the Vedas, a pious Kshatriya, by his own acts, becomes a Brahmana. It is with the aid of these acts, O goddess, that a person who has sprung from a degraded order, viz., a Sudra, may become a Brahmana refined of all stains and possessed of Vedic lore, One that is a Brahmana, when he becomes wicked in conduct and observes no distinction in respect of food, falls away from the status of Brahmanahood and becomes a Sudra. Even a Sudra, O goddess, that has purified his soul by pure deeds and that has subjugated all his senses, deserves to be waited upon and served with reverence as a Brahmana. This has been said by the Self-born Brahmana himself. When a pious nature and pious deeds are noticeable in even a Sudra, he should, according to my opinion, be held superior to a person of the three regenerate classes. Neither birth, nor the purificatory rites, nor learning, nor offspring, can be regarded as grounds for conferring upon one the regenerate status. Verily, conduct is the only ground. All Brahmanas in this world are Brahmanas in consequence of conduct. A Sudra, if he is established on good conduct, is regarded as possessed of the status of a Brahmana. The status of Brahma, O auspicious lady, is equal wherever it exists. Even this is my opinion. He, indeed, is a Brahmana in whom the status of Brahma exists,--that condition which is bereft of attributes and which has no stain attached to it.

So, obviously Brahmana by birth can become Sudra by his conduct. Statement of Lord Shiva certainly has high authoritiy than any other Smritis or Acharyas. For instance, in this chapter of Atharvaveda whose Devata is Lord Rudra, Lord states:

My word is truth, what I deny is falsehood.

Answer 4

Manu Smriti II.168 says:

A twice-born man who, not having studied the Veda, applies himself to other (and worldly study), soon falls, even while living, to the condition of a Sudra and his descendents (after him).

Answer 5

A Brahmin is always remains a Brahmin.

Vanaparva:CLXLIX:-Whether the Brahmana be cognisant of the Vedas or ignorant of them, whether they be pure or impure, they should never be insulted, for Brahmanas are like fires.

Parasara Smriti 8.11 “Brahmanas, who are ignorant of the Vedas, and Gayatri and Sandhya, and those who do not cast any oblation in the sacrificial fire and live by agriculture, are only Brahmanas in name.

Chandogya Upanishad 6.1.1. Harih, Om. There lived once Svetaketu Aruneya (the grandson of Aruna). To him his father (Uddilaka, the son of Aruna) said: ‘Svetaketu, go to school; for there is none belonging to our race, darling, who, not having studied (the Veda), is, as it were, a Brahmana by birth only.’

Anushasan Parva:CLI :-Even the Brahmana that is destitute of knowledge is a god and is a high instrument for cleansing others. He amongst them, then, that is possessed of knowledge is a much higher god and like unto the ocean when full (to the brim). Learned or unlearned, Brahmana is always a high deity. Sanctified or unsanctified (with the aid of Mantras), Fire is ever a great deity. A blazing fire even when it burns on a crematorium, is not regarded as tainted in consequence of the character of the spot whereon it burns. Clarified butter looks beautiful whether kept on the sacrificial altar or in a chamber. So, if a Brahmana be always engaged in evil acts, he is still to be regarded as deserving of honour. Indeed, know that the Brahmana is always a high deity.'"

Manu Smriti 9.317. A Brahmana, be he ignorant or learned, is a great divinity, just as the fire, whether carried forth (for the performance of a burnt-oblation) or not carried forth, is a great divinity.