Had an interesting conversation with a priest last night. I always knew that priests who preside over death related rituals are pushed down in the caste hierarchy. And I thought the reasons for that were pretty obvious. Similarly, the priests in pilgrimage centres are also looked down upon as they partake into gods offerings. The priest I was talking to has been presiding over Durga Pujas since last 57 years. In an introspective mood, he quoted from Vashishtha Samhita where the priestly work was expressly said to be generating sin. He told me that the shastras also mention ways of obviating the sin, but people dont practise it due to greed and paucity of time. At 75, his brooding introspection seemed rather Hamletian to me. Is my wait for Haider colouring my perception?:-))
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 03:59:16 +0000
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