Abstract
This paper describes the inner journey undertaken by people such as Siddhartha, the main character of the novel, in their quest for knowledge and inner peace. The writer shows how, in chronicling this inner journey in "The Brahmin's Son," Hesse presents a subversive challenge to devout followers of Hinduism by suggesting that the Divine Understanding is not located out in the world, but within every person.

From the Paper
"As the reader progresses, it becomes apparent that Siddhartha's dissatisfaction stems from Brahmanism's failure to achieve Nirvana. Siddhartha is an excellent student, one who soaks up the knowledge offered by his own father and his other Brahmin teachers. This knowledge is supposed to lead to Enlightenment, the core goal of any good Hindu. However, the more he learns, the more Siddhartha's dissatisfaction grows. The inner tension increases as Siddhartha struggles between being "thirsty for knowledge" (4) and his desire for inner peace."

Tags:hindu, nirvana, inner, peace, self, spirit

Abstract
This paper explores, on many levels, Voltaire's "Story of a Good Brahmin". The paper addresses some of the questions that arise while reading the story and explores some of their possible answers.

From the Paper
"It has become clear that in order for his static cycle of torment to end, he cannot be a Brahmin any longer. There has to be a healthy medium somewhere in the system. Maybe it is not normal to desire a step backward within the caste. Maybe it cannot be done. Still in order to end his misery, he must assume some level of ignorance. Let's face it; even in his high status of enlightenment, he still does not have the answers. He is stuck pursuing life questions that have too many possibilities. This change will provide him with the unquestioned faith he is missing currently. By moving to the center of the caste system, the good Brahmin can achieve some level of happiness and maybe not even be aware of it."

Tags:hindu, highest, caste, priesthood, level, enlightenment, social, system, happiness, peace

Abstract
This paper discusses the cosmogonic myth of 'Purusa' upon which the traditional caste system in India is based. The paper explains that this system places the Brahmin (the most pure) at the top, the Ksatriya below them, the Vaisya below the Ksatriya, and, at the bottom, the Sudra, and that this placement is supposed to be symbiotic rather than oppressive. The paper then puts forth the argument that purity was not intended as selective attribute, but is an idea that arose from the Vedic Brahmins, those who thought themselves as the most esteemed piece of Puru a; therefore, purity is a man-made conception - one that should have no bearing on one's capabilities or aspirations in this life or in one's pursuit to reach m k a.

From the Paper
"Yet Hinduism is more than an amalgamation of a purity-centric caste institution developed under the steady hands of Vedic Brahmins. Especially in the past century, much has been done to raise "social awareness about the evils of institutionalized discrimination, especially against untouchables and women" (Lipner 123). As India develops further and becomes increasingly inter-connected with the rest of the world, the socially positive and aspiring aspects of Hinduism ought to take more precedent over the out-dated traditions of caste restriction and oppression. The cosmogonic Puru a myth is not a divinely ordained blank check to the highest caste or those who hold the most esteemed positions, as the Vedic Brahmins happily promulgated, but rather it is a myth that espouses the interconnectedness of all things in one body or universe; so that if one part is damaged, all parts are affected adversely. This is the message of the Puru a myth. From this egalitarian message it can be said that it is through action not birth that one's cosmic endeavor is furthered."

Tags:untouchables, Brahmins, caste

Abstract
This paper examines the classification, or caste, system that exists in Hindu societies and the purposes. The author discusses the Brahmins, who are priests and scholars; the Kshatrias, warriors and rulers; the Vaishyas, who pursue commerce and trades; and the Shudras, serfs who serve and support the three higher groups.

From the Paper:

"The Western idea of knowledge and wisdom almost always, it seems, has a material purpose, to master physical problems in physical ways. The Hindu idea is to master what is physical to be liberated from physical concern altogether. Thus it seems true that in general all cultures, human development can be described as the process from childhood to youth to adulthood to old age. It also seems true that all cultures can be said to desire wisdom and knowledge. But the real importance of the whole process is judged by each culture?s priorities, which are not the same in Hinduism, in Buddhism, and in the West."

Tags:hindu, buddha, brahmin, caste, varna, shudra, india, samsara, dharma

Abstract
The paper describes how Siddhartha's long path began with the traditional lifestyle of the Brahmins which he inherited as his birthright, a life full of ritual and sacred obligations which form an important part of the early friction between himself and his father. The paper relates that dissatisfied with this seemingly endless round of ceremony and textual study which he felt would not lead to liberation, he was forced to break from this life with only the grudging permission of his father. The paper outlines how Siddhartha then set out on his own unique journey which began with some extreme efforts of asceticism, the product of his initially excess enthusiasm and impatience.

From the Paper
"The Buddha taught that the key to life was to find "The Middle Way." Explain how Siddhartha found this middle path to life. Describe in detail the events that led him to this path. Siddhartha's long path began with the traditional lifestyle of the Brahmins which he inherited as his birthright, a life full of ritual and sacred obligations which form an important part of the early friction between himself and his father (see Question 3 below.) Dissatisfied with this seemingly endless round of ceremony and textual study which he felt would not lead to liberation, he was forced to break from this life with..."

Tags:hesse, siddhartha, buddha

Abstract
This paper explores the Hindu traditional belief in reincarnation which, like all Hindu beliefs, is supported by stories of traditions of their people that have been handed down since ancient times. The paper explains that the stories of the Hindu God Vishnu and others, and of reincarnation, as well as the rituals of Brahmin, arise from a past so distant as to remain obscure as to their origins. The paper discusses the tenets of reincarnation in detail, including the goals of achieving higher levels of awareness. The paper notes overall that, while there are many faiths that go by different names, as we examine them, we find that each of these faiths have commonalities, especially the element of reincarnation, which resemble the Hindu beliefs very closely. The paper concludes that this is an amazing and interesting aspect of cultural differences and similarities that can be revealing not just about another culture, but about ourselves too.

From the Paper
"All of these stories about reincarnation are consistent throughout the Hindu tradition, but there is also what might be considered proofs of reincarnation in Hindu society. Dr. Ian Stevenson, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia, believes that he has revealed evidence in his evidence to support that there are physical signs of past lives, like birthmarks on a person's body. In a book review of Stevenson's book, David Pratt says that birth marks on the human body are often indicative of where that individual has suffered a physical trauma in a past life, often leading to death. For more than thirty years, Pratt says, Stevenson and his colleagues collected research, mostly from Hindus and Buddhists, that supported his findings about birth marks and the significance of those marks to past life experiences. Stevenson also said that if people paid closer attention to the things that children say, they would be able to perhaps begin to see that young children sometimes retain memories of past lives, and that what many adults simply cast aside as childish jibber-jabber, is actually the child's recollections of a past life."

Tags:past, lives, Brahmin, awareness

Abstract
The paper discusses how V. S. Naipaul's novel "Half a Life" defies the role that Willie Chandra must play within his own upbringing as a person that was raised by a Brahmin and an "untouchable." The paper explains that the social construct of the caste system in India is what defines Willie's own unconscious acceptance of the values of the upper caste system, which he comes to hate.

Tags:banville, naipaul, swift

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses classical dance from Northern India, Kathak. The writer traces how Kathak began as expressive storytelling by Brahmin priests and developed into a sophisticated form of art and entertainment under the patronage of Mughal rulers during the Mughal Empire.

From the Paper
"Kathak also Khattak is a major classical dance form that originated among that Kathak tribe in Northern India. The name Kathak derives from the Sanskrit words for story and making and indeed the original Kathak were storytellers who traveled the country entertaining and educating people with sacred legend folklore and mythology. Batish Kathak storytellers recited stories from Hindu epics and mythology through the use of mime and body movement. This old form of storytelling later incorporated music dance mime and comedy ..."

Tags:costume, Hindu mythology, whirling dervish, Islam, Arab, tribes, temples, storytelling, Mughal

Abstract
This book review describes "The Master" as the 2004 New York Times Book Review award-winning novel. It describes it as an historical examination of the middle-aged life of monumental author Henry James, whose descriptive infatuation with the English language gives insight into the life of the ex-patriot Boston Brahmin. The review describes how the author, Toibin gives closure to the person Henry James.

From the Paper
"Toibin weaves history through the middle-age of James, now on the very doorstep of his success. Tracing through his youth, his time at Harvard, and the historicity of the family that raised him to be the recluse into which he grew comfortably with his own character, Toibin attempts to make observed sense of all the things that created such a tormented writer and, perhaps, kept him from early success. Unlike his brothers Wilky and Bob, he does not sacrifice himself to the cause of the war. He does not share the raved free-thoughts of his father, whose ultimate suicide seems almost inevitable in Toibin's painting of the man. He is not as clever as his sister, Alice, who was the social opposite of closed-off James. Even in his family, he was on the outside."

Tags:literature, American, Henry, James, author

Abstract
This essay compares the struggle of Tolstoy's Ilych and Hesse's Siddhartha. The essay concludes that both characters needed to learn something similar: Knowledge is not always something that one should seek; rather it begins in a kind of listening to oneself, a turning inward and a clear-minded acceptance of one's wounds. Both stories portray that only through struggle and strife do we gain clear insight into our innermost natures. In fact, the real crisis of our lives may not be in the struggle itself, but in the fact that we may refuse to look (or delay looking) at that part of ourselves where such struggles arises.

From the Paper
"Ilych finally became conscious and only then "the screaming began" (1318). He finally understood how he had come to treat others, his wife and children, and himself. In a sense, perhaps he recognized that our lives are all about choices choices about who we associate with, how we live, how we work, how we think, how we respond to adversity, how we treat others, and how we feel about ourselves. The real tragedy in the life of Ilych is that right up to the moment of his death, he believed he had no other choice but to live as he had, and die as he would. Cruel fate demanded it. And he had always believed himself to be deprived of choice or free will in terms of his life but in reality, at each step, Ilych held the reigns of control."

Tags:fate, choice, free, will, death, soul, self, acceptance, Buddha, Brahmins, Samanas, desire, Vasudeva, Samsara