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The Vedic texts of three periods, the Vedas, the Itihasa
and the Puranas, are all written in the Sanskrit language, so therefore,
only the Brahmins could perform the religious ceremonies, due to
their language capability. However, in later periods, that problem
was solved by having the Vedas and the hymns written in the
indigeneous languages allowing for more local understanding.One
of the written vedic texts is the story of Ramayana because it was
about Vishnu, the God of the Vaisanapa denomination. The text was
written in Awadhi. In southern India, people who worship Brahmin-
Hinduism belong to one of two Sects, one that worships Vishnu as
the supreme God and another one that believes the Lord Shiva is
the most powerful Deity. Both have their hymns recited and written
in the Tamil local language.
In principle, the religion of Brahmin-Hinduism
cites the Sanatana Dharma and enumerates the vedic texts as:4
Vedas, 4 Upavedas, 6 Shastras, 38 Upanishads, 18 Puranas,
18 Upapuranas and many thousands of various intertwoven
Vedic texts. Two very influential epic stories are narrated in Vedic
literature. They are the epic stories of the Mahabharata in which
the part of the Bhagavad Gita is the most important, and the popular
th
Ramayana which recounts the story of the 7 reincarnation in the
life of the god Vishnu when he comes to earth as the good King
Rama. Today, it is fair to say that every Indian family in Thailand
and worldwide is in possesion of these Vedic Texts. TheVedas are
not only praised as important literature in and of itself, but also While Brahmin-Hinduism places emphasis on ritual
because the manuscript contains much wise knowledge on philosophy, ceremonies to pray to the Brahman, the Supreme Entity, and also
religion and ethics. It is a great work of humanity, and therefore has focuses on the practice for liberation, called moksha, or God-
been translated into many languages. The essence of the doctrine Realization. There are 3 main elements of the practice to reach
is that: ‘Every living being is a spiritual being, it is immortal and moksha whose aim is to release humankind from the cycle of birth
everlasting. Spiritual development occurs through the closely related and death. The pathway is through Yoga which means “to be in union
processes of karma and the cycle of repeated birth and death. with the Brahman.” These three stages of ‘Yoga’ are: the Karma
Yoga,the path of right action, the Jnana Yoga, the path of wisdom
As mentioned before, the Brahmin caste are the mediators
and the Bhakti Yoga, the path of love and devotion.
between man and God. The Brahmins are believed to be created
from the mouth of Brahman. Brahmins are educated by studying The practice of this doctrine through yoga will lead one
the Vedas about the truth of life, which is the core doctrine of the to the attainment of liberation from suffering and desire and to be
religion. Therefore, the Brahmins are the deserving ones to perform united with Paramatman (the Supreme Soul or Spirit) and so to be
ritual ceremonies in Brahmin-Hinduism. By their role, they transfer released from samsara, the cycle of life and death. In order to attain
the messages of prayer from humans to God, and likewise, through this stage, one needs to achieve an understanding of the Vedas, of
their success, God returns blessings to his worshippers. which can be taught and guided by the Brahmins.
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