Manu Quotes


A twice-born man who has intentionally drunk, through delusion of mind, the spirituous liquor called Sura shall drink that liquor boiling-hot; when his body has been completely scalded by that, he is freed from his guilt; Or he may drink cow's urine, water, milk, clarified butter or liquid cow dung boiling-hot, until he dies; When the Brahman [the highest caste] the Veda which dwells in his body is even once deluged with spirituous liquor, his Brahmanhood forsakes him and he becomes a Sudra [the lowest caste.]


Context

Manava Dharma Shastra. Drinking alcohol was a very serious sin for the upper three castes. The lowest caste, the untouchables, were permitted to drink however. The theory was that alcohol pollutes the individual soul. Since the lowest caste man is already polluted, it makes no difference. This text is a part of the Hindu Holy Texts. Hindus believe that Manu was a prophet whose text is revealed or inspired.


Citations

Manu, ~ 500 BC, Hindu Teacher from India, Laws of Manu

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

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Manava Dharma Shastra. In the Hindu caste system, the highest caste was allowed to vigilante justice while the other castes had to go through the king and his magistrates. This text is a part of the Hindu Holy Texts. Hindus believe that Manu was a prophet whose text is revealed or inspired.


Manava Dharma Shastra. The caste system in action. Note however that the highest caste aristocrats could not abuse even lower caste women with impunity the way that was common in early Christian Europe. However, the punishment was not death as required by Muslim law—see {590409}. This text is a part of the Hindu Holy Texts. Hindus believe that Manu was a prophet whose text is revealed or inspired.


Manava Dharma Shastra. The Brahmana or Bramin is a member of the highest caste. Even in European Aristocratic societies, Aristocrats never had the degree of privilege that Indian religion, law and custom provided. Some of this socially exists today. This text is a part of the Hindu Holy Texts. Hindus believe that Manu was a prophet whose text is revealed or inspired.


Manava Dharma Shastra. The Hindus believe in reincarnation and that the souls of animals move up the ladder and if they are good are eventually born as humans (Sudras). These are the lowest caste in this terribly discriminatory system—the “untouchables.” But if a Sudra lives a pious life and accepts his lot, he is reincarnated as a higher cast human (twice born). This law illustrates the incredible discrimination that the cast system produced. In modern India, the caste system is illegal and there is no discrimination in law or by government. However it is still terribly evident in social life, marriage, employment and most phases of Indian society. This text is a part of the Hindu Holy Texts. Hindus believe that Manu was a prophet whose text is revealed or inspired.


Manava Dharma Shastra. The Hindu religion is one of the few that religiously institutionalizes inequality amongst people—even in modern times. This “caste system” places people in classes—castes—into which they are born. No matter what their behavior they cannot move to a different caste. The Indian government has outlawed the caste system, but none-the-less it is still observed by most Indians. It is the total opposite to a meritocracy. There can be no social mobility in this life. The Hindus believe in reincarnation, where when a person dies, the soul is reborn in another body—another human or an animal. If a person has led a good life within his caste, he will come back as a higher caste; if not, a lower cast or an animal. This text is a part of the Hindu Holy Texts. Hindus believe that Manu was a prophet whose text is revealed or inspired.


In August of 1572 Catholics in Paris led by the Marshall and his soldiers attacked the homes of all known Huguenots, murdering the inhabitants. Tavannes rode through the streets of Paris on his horse shouting the first quotation to his troops who would murder the helpless Protestants. The frenzy spread to the countryside. When it was over 50,000 innocent, unsuspecting Protestants had been murdered. When asked how he, a military marshal felt about such a one sided action against unarmed civilians he responded with the second quotation. The event came to be known as the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew as it commenced on that Saint’s day.


The traditional Hindu social structure established castes – levels of society with Brahmins at the top and untouchables at the bottom. When India gained independence, the caste system was made illegal. Nonetheless, it is still followed by hundreds of millions of Indians. Religiously the Buddhists and the Hindus have had different philosophies. Ilaiah is a Buddhist who opposes the traditional Brahmin social structure and is a supporter of “Dalitization” – a change in the Indian culture to make the Dalits (untouchables) equal de juro and de facto.


Manava Dharma Shastra. This text is a part of the Hindu Holy Texts. Hindus believe that Manu was a prophet whose text is revealed or inspired.


Manu
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Manu (Sanskrit: मनु) is a term found with various meanings in Hinduism. In early texts, it refers to the archetypal man, or to the first man (progenitor of humanity). The Sanskrit term for 'human', मानव (IAST: mānava) means 'of Manu' or 'children of Manu'. In later texts, Manu is the title or name of fourteen mystical Kshatriya rulers of earth, or alternatively as the head of mythical dynasties that begin with each cyclic kalpa (aeon) when the universe is born anew. The title of the text Manusmriti uses this term as a prefix, but refers to the first Manu – Svayambhuva, the spiritual son of Brahma.