Social and filial reservations about Vedadhyayanam today
There are three kinds of responses from the Brahmanas who have a duty to learn and preserve the Veda. The first is the Myth; second is the Stigma: the third Practical Difficulties.
The Myth:
The first category fall the apologists of the Veda who are the victims of some of the prevailing myths about Veda Adhyayanam like that:
- Vedadhyayanam is good as a concept, but, it is not for me, my son or grandson;
- what is use of repeating the Veda without understanding its inner meaning;
- it is suitable for those who are not bright and who cannot pursue normal career namely it is for those failed in secular schools, the poor and the destitute;
- Adhyayanam is very long and tough;
- it is of no practical use, And so on......
The Stigma
In the next category fall those who have respect for the Veda,but shy away from learning the Veda as, in their view, being a scholar in the Veda is no social recognition but actually a social stigma.
Their apprehensions are:
- The Vedadhyayanam isolates our son from the mainstream society
- Even our family will be alienated and lose respect among the friends and relatives
- The society does not respect the Veda scholar
- I cannot imagine my son being a Sastrigal
- My girl is getting highly educated; how could my boy be given to Vedadhyayanam And so on.....
Practical Difficulties
The third category consists of those, who have a desire to learn the Veda, but point to the practical difficulties in learning the Veda, such as:
- I want my child to do Vedadhyayanam; but what will be his future – just Purohitam?”
- Where will he get a girl to marry? Which family or girl will accept him”
- How will get a respectable living ? And so on....