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Re: a request

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Sara • March 6, 2003 


Dear Sri Malolan Cadambi,

as you underlined, both earlier and late saMhitA of pANcarAtra witness the
typical tantric attitude to make any class distinction disappear among
devotees.

> The Pancharatra Agama places NO RESTRICTION on a person. EVERYONE
> from EVERY
> CASTE is eligible to undergo initiation according to the
> Pancharatra Agama.

Yet, pAdma saMhitA seems to offer a quite different and atypical
perspective, giving a certain importance to traditional caste system. Let me
give you some examples.

In jNAnapAda 1.63-64, brAhmaNa are mentioned as being superior to any other
varna (brAhmaNaH sarvavarNeSu (...) praShasyate);
in jNAnapAda 5.5, SrI BhagavAn tells BrahmA that His grace is for those
devotees who respect the caste system He created (varNAnAm AShramANAM ca
maryAdA yA mayA kRtA tAM ye samanuvartante prasAdas teSu me mahAn);
in jNAnapAda 5.34, SrI BhagavAn clearly says that VAsudeva cannot be
worshipped by an out-caste (hInavarNaiH asaMsevyaM);
in yogapAda 3.1-3, only the three upper classes are eligible to be initiated
to the secrets of yoga practices;
and finally, in caryApAda 1 (the whole chapter is a discussion on caste),
SrI BhagavAn teaches that members from every caste may worship God, but
among them only some groups may perform certain rites, such as parArthapUjA.

Do you know if any other pANcarAtra saMhitA holds the same attention towards
class distinctions?

Kind regards,

        Sara Compagnone











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