Newly appointed Dalit priests ask: Who is a Brahmin actually?

A Dalit as temple priest. And recruited officially, by the Travancore Devaswom Board, under which come temples like Sabarimala and Sree Padmanabha Swamy. Eighty-one years after the Travancore king made the historic proclamation allowing all castes to enter Hindu temples, they have now gained entry to the sanctum sanctorum to do the pooja rituals. It was not without stiff resistance from sections of the public and several authoritative figures that the Devaswom Board finally threw open its doors to them, making history in the process.
The step, however, comes late, according to experts, who point out that nowhere has it ever been written that a Dalit can’t be a temple priest.“It’s only a convention, and not a written code, that only a Brahmin should conduct the pooja in a temple. All you need is the required knowledge,” says M G Sashibhooshan, historian, while Jeevan G, one of the Dalit priests, says, “Brahmajnana ithi Brahamana’ (the one who knows God is Brahmanan) is what we have been taught.”
Sivakaran Namboothiri, social commentator, goes a step ahead when he says that we should do away even with the custom of making the non-Brahmin priests go through the upanayanam ceremony and wear the sacred thread. “According to the Sanskrit text called Thantrasamuchayam, the book we refer to for everything related to temples, the one who does pooja should be ‘Kuleenanaya Vipran’. Vipran implied a Brahmin but in those days, a Brahmin was the only one expected to possess knowledge about rituals, so it is open to interpretation. There is no reference to Brahmin as a caste.
There is no rule that one should wear a poonool when doing pooja, expect for rituals like shraddham (death ritual). In my personal opinion, there is nothing wrong in non-Brahmins conducting pooja but why the need to dress up like Namboothiris? Deep inside, people of all castes still retain this concept of savarna and avarna and that is what we should do away with.”
A surprising fact is that the six Dalit priests who were appointed on October 5 did not face much of an opposition in their journey to a life or worship. The three priests we interviewed — Manoj PC, Pradeep Kumar and Jeevan G — reveal that their studies and career so far has been peaceful and free of casteist opposition. The point that has been driven into them by their teachers, mostly Brahmins themselves, has been that knowledge is more important than caste, they say.
‘There are a lot of non-Brahmin priests who are a lot more knowledgeable than Brahmins’: Manoj PC, from Cherai, who joined Pirakkat Mahadevi Kshetram, Arakkapady, on Oct 5
From Class 4 onwards, I used to assist shantis in temples near my home, as the bell-ringer, etc. But it was just a hobby for me then. It was during Class 7 that I got a chance to study formally under a shanthi in Thiruvananthapuram. I went for a two-month stint but ended up spending five years there under Sabu shanthi. I had full-time, formal tutelage under him, after offering dakshina. I became melshanthi in temples by the time I was 21 or 22. My livelihood has been always been wages from the temple and from doing ‘puram pooja’.
Being a shanthi doesn’t require you to be a Brahmin. All it needs is disciplined study. There are a lot of non-Brahmin priests who conduct rituals from utsavabali to elaborate homams, who are a lot more knowledgeable than Brahmins.

It was just that being a shanti was a monopoly of Brahmins earlier. Hindu scriptures do not insist on an upanayanam as a pre-requisite to become a shanti. Paravoor Sreedharan thanthri’s disciples were never asked to do an upanayanam to become a trainee shanti. It was required only for thanthris.
But in the Brahminical system, they have made it mandatory. Certain temples in Thiruvananthapuram ask for it, so I did my upanayanam. However, I have made sure that I follow the lifestyle of a shanti strictly. Earlier we used to buy non-vegetarian food for my children but we have decided to stop that for good.
The Brahmin priests I have interacted with have never shown a castiest attitude towards me. I have had the luck of studying under people like Devanarayana Potti and Ambalappuzha Madhusoodanan thanthri. All of these priests used to insist that I do pooja with them, not sit apart.
‘Change is inevitable with the passage of time’:Pradeep Kumar from Perumbalam, who joined Narayanamangalam Temple, N Paravoor, on Oct 7
My father had studied to become a shanti in a santhimadhom but he couldn’t complete it. Not because of any castiest opposition, but due to other reasons. So I was always interested in the profession, and after my Class 10, studied under a guru near my home, along with Plus Two in computer science.

For two years, I attended thantra classes by Vijayan thanthri, organised by Sree Narayana Sangham. I have also been learning astrology from Kottarakkara Gopinathan. During all these years, I have never come across any opposition from anyone, on account of me being a Dalit. It is only a tradition that only Brahmins should do the poojas in temples. Views on it differ in different texts. But change is inevitable with the passage of time.
I did upanayanam during my studies and I have only vegetarian food. Being a shanti, you automatically bring changes in your daily routine.
I consider this appointment as God’s grace, the result of the ‘punyam’ of my ancestors and parents and gurus’ blessings. My family is overjoyed that I am able to take up a profession for which I studied.
I hope our appointment becomes an inspiration for others too. Let whoever wants to study temple rituals study them, irrespective of caste and religion. It is something which can be done by anyone who is disciplined.
‘I don’t know why we are called Abrahmanan’:Jeevan G, from Vaikom, who joined Devardanom Mahavishnu Temple, on Oct 4
I used to make garlands in the temple near my home. Later I studied pooja under the melshanti of the Bhadrakali Kshethram near my home. I was also keezhshanti in a Krishna temple in Vaikom. My father died when I was in college and I was planning to stop my studies and become a coolie myself like my dad. It was my mother who encouraged me to complete my studies and follow my dream to become a shanti.
I have done pariharakarmam at Sabarimala and Guruvayoor but never have I come across casteism. People are used to seeing non-Brahmin priests for a while now so a Dalit priest is not something they can’t digest I think.
‘Brahmajnana ithi Brahamana’ they say. How many among Brahmins have this Brahmajnanam? I don’t know why we are called Abrahmanan. The one who knows God is Brahmanan, is what I studied in my classes. The upanayanam is just an indication to go ahead with a life serving God, like your ‘maala’ in Sabarimala. But the poonool is for life, to instil discipline in you. There are certain rituals you need to follow in the morning, afternoon, before food and before sleeping. All that is taught during upanayanam.
As priests, we will be doing the same rituals as any other priests and will be transferred to any temple under the Travancore Devaswom, except those which belong to particular illams. In such cases, the people of the illam possess the sole right to become the melshanti. The Vaikom Mahadeva Kshetram is an example.

Ishwara seva is what I always wanted to do in life. But now I do it as my job. My only wish is to do my job well. If we try, we can achieve anything, is what I feel. Everyone is entitled to a respectable job. Being shanti in a temple under the Devaswom is as respectable as any government job.
It is not true that Dalits have been singled out to be under watch by the authorities. There is a one-year probation period for trainees in all temples under the Devaswom, and it applies to everyone, whether you are a Namboodiri or Dalit. Any complaints in this period it will be recorded in your service book.
And yes, people often ask why I don’t harbour anger against priests for the injustice meted out to Dalits for centuries. But many of the Namboodiris I have worked under have been very loving and kind towards me. So why harbour anger because some promote casteism?
Caste is now changeable in the Hindu island of Bali: MG Sasibhooshan, historian
It is not an entirely new phenomenon in Kerala. Dalits have been priests in temples of adivasis and a priest from a Kuruva community presides over a temple in Kollam district. But this is the first time Dalit priests have been recruited in such a large number.
A temple is installed according to thanthrashashtram and only someone who knows the rules of the temple should do the pooja there. Nothing more has been written about this in Hindu scriptures. So it’s only a convention, and not a written code, that only a Brahmin should be a priest.
One should be a Brahmin by karma, not by birth, is what has been written. In the Hindu island of Bali, caste has now become changeable. If a sudra has been doing Brahmin karma for three generations, he can become a Brahmin, the same with all other professions. They follow the ideals of Markandeya muni in this regard. Such a revival will happen in India too, eventually.
I support the new move but only if the priests are trained well, under a thanthri. It should not be a publicity stunt.