Parā Vidyā: A Rising Phoenix

Fading wisdom that must not

We are living in times where the choice of profession is getting more and more diversified. Compared to what was the educational culture of our previous generation and the generation before that had, where engineering and medicine were seen as the only two respectable and lucrative fields, we are now living in times where we are more open to different fields. Yes, a majority still chose medicine or engineering but there are also fields that pay well such as law or hotel management or anything of that nature. These professions are now placed on a high pedestal as well.

On the other hand, there are also certain professions that do not get the privileges of these so-called degree-enhanced professions. One such profession is that of being a pujari. A pujari is basically a designation given to a Hindu temple priest.

In contemporary times, everyone is blindly leaning towards the west. I might be a hypocrite if I say I myself did not lean towards the west disregarding the cultures of my home country. But I am, or more appropriately, are we, the deciding youth factor, the right ones to blame for this?

I would argue that pursuing the profession of a pujari is definitely not a viable option in contemporary times. The reason for this is definitely because there are high chances of remaining unmarried. Literally, a majority of the population in the Indian community pursue degrees and put themselves through so many academic sufferings to land a decent job and to earn a good amount of money just so that they can be an eligible bridegroom.

As I have said before, people nowadays are leaning towards the west. People in villages are shifting to towns or cities and people in cities are leaving the country. As a result of this, there has been a disconnection between the present generation and the cultures of the Hindu Community.

Let us think practically for a moment here, we all want our sons and daughters to get married, we all want them to buy a house and have a house warming ceremony, also called Gruhapravesam. We all have to perform Hindu rituals at one point or the other but do we have the knowledge or the slogan reciting ability to perform them independently? The answer is no. People hire pujaris or pandits to do it for them, on their behalf of them. But is this hiring done on a fair amount of pay? And since the pay is low and demand is very high, the standard of being a pujari has further reduced.

During the Varna system, it was the duty of a Brahmin to learn slogans and perform rituals. As a result of this, the Brahmins were the highest respected community in society during those times. What changed then? Brahmins started to be hated for their dominance in society and with the struggle for equality came the rise of the abolishment of untouchability and reservations. The lower castes started prospering with the decline of the dominance of Brahmins. Yes, the welfare of the lower castes has been a significant achievement to the country and it's an excellent step in achieving Mahatma Gandhi's dream that everyone should be treated as equals. But at the cost of what? The decline of such a valuable way of life. Choosing the western culture over the Hindu ways is, if I put it bluntly, a disrespect to Hinduism.

I am not saying that the profession should be back and exclusive only to the Brahmins. In August 2021, the Tamil Nadu government under the leadership of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had decided that persons of all castes are to be appointed as temple priests. This action has been brought in light of the dream of Stalin’s predecessor and father M. Karunanidhi who wanted people of all castes to be able to pursue the profession of a temple priest. This is definitely a commendable initiative as it is breaking social stigmas and stereotypes. With this article, I am primarily pointing out the flaws in society which have led to such a miserable state.

Let us take another example. Suppose a well-off father (assuming him to be from a Brahmin family, for simplicity's sake) wants to marry off his daughter to another Brahmin, would he even be ready to at least consider a poojari as a suitable bridegroom? Would he not look for a bridegroom who is, just like him, well off and respected in society?

Yes, I'm implying that poojaris are not getting the respect they deserve and that is because the profession they chose to pursue is not valued in modern-day society. As a direct result of this, future generations are less likely to show interest in this particular field, and gradually whatever thin string we have connected to our ancestral culture will cut off. An indirect result of this is that we will lose our identity as Hindus.

A workable solution for this problem would be to qualify this course as a degree course. Classifying it as a degree in itself would help revive this profession to a great extent. In modern days, degrees are all that matter and if this would be a degree, people who are interested in this field would actually want to join and put a serious effort into learning.

Another solution is that this course must be popularized among the parents and the youth as well. Parents and friends have an incredible influence on a person. Popularizing this course would tap the interest of the person.

The third solution to this is that, as the Tamil Nadu government has already done in the Tamil state, being a pujari must be open for each and every person who is able to pass the certification course. Limiting it to just Brahmins because that has been the tradition till now is not a viable option and it just promotes casteism which is not in the good intention of the government of India. Everyone deserves to have an equal opportunity at it. With this, more and more people would like to enroll in the course since it is not only exclusive to Brahmins.

Along with all these, the profession must be guaranteed a decent amount of pay as well. The government of Kerala has sanctioned that it would grant an amount of Rs. 5000 as a stipend for those who are not able to fend for themselves. This move will bring a sense of security in the minds of young lawyers and their parents as well as the risk of not earning is lessened. A similar Act should be brought in the case of the profession of a pujari. This will guarantee a minimum amount of salary for the pujari and help him become a suitable bridegroom in the future which will, in turn, help him settle down.

I noticed that I have used the pronoun ‘him’ when I was referring to a priest of the temple. This struck a thought in my mind, why are not women allowed to be a priest? A reason for this is that, in matters like this, we are still stuck in the past. We are still catching up to modern society in terms of equalism. Women have recently got the right to enter the temple in the case of the Indian Young Lawyers Association & Ors. v. State of Kerala & Ors. or otherwise popularly known as the Sabrimala Case.

When I mentioned before that everyone deserves an equal opportunity at it, I include women and the whole LGBTQ+ community as well. Although my wish is probably far from reality, I am very sure there will be people to break the social stigmas in the near future.