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srImathE rAmAnujAya namaha

Dear Sri Kiran:

Manu's words in general have been much maligned in recent times for a 
couple of reasons:

1. A poor understanding of the context of manu dharama shAstra
2. A potentially poor translation of the original as the source 
material.

If one needs to comprehend ideas expounded in manu dharma shAstra, it 
is important to have some grounding in shAstras in general (read some 
formal vEdic / upanishadic training) and a good understanding of the 
sanskrit language. Manu Smriti has 2684 shlokas (or aphorisms) that 
capture the entire gamut of the rights and wrongs of human behavior 
within the context of vEdic dharma.

I do not know what specific shlOkas you have a problem with (or is it 
all of manu smrithi?), but if you can provide specific references, I 
will attempt to translate the actual shlOka and may be then we can 
try to reflect on the meanings.

In general, manu smrithi is extremely severe on any one who is a 
charlatan. A brahmin who adopts practices or dharma in contradiction 
to his ordained dharma is more severely punished than someone who is 
a shudra by varNa for the same offence. A King who steals is to be 
punished with a 1000 fold severity for an offence of an ordinary 
subject. 

The logical question one may ask is the relevance of manu dharma 
neethi in times like ours where it is hard to find human beings who 
live a dharmic life as ordained by the shAstras, within the 
parameters of their varNa. Most people who call themselves as 
brahmins these days, per manu, will have to suffer severe 
punishment / dis-membering, given the absence of ordained 
anushTAnam. 

All vEdic acharyas, including Swamy Ramanuja, held manu dharma neethi 
in high esteem. And there is very good reason. It ties all of 
manifestation, sentient and prakrithi, to the same supreme source. 
Manu smrithi begins with a description of the manifest universe, as 
undertaken by parabrahman srimannArAyaNa (I-10), on the basis of guNa 
and karma. 

Let me provide a simple illustration from chapter I:

lOkAnAm tu vivrudyartham mukha bAhoorupAdathaha
brahmaNam kshatriyam vaishyam shoodram cha niravartayat (I-31)

for the worlds to function effectively, the body is classified as 
follows: brAhmaNa as the face, kshatriya as the shoulders/arms, vysya 
by the thighs (Ooru) and shoodra by the feet (pAda). Clearly, every 
organ system in the human body is equally important. And they all 
have complementary roles. 

The manifest swaroopam of mankind, stemming from the paramAtma 
(reference to purusha sooktam here: brAhmoNOsya mukhamAseet bAhoo 
rAjanyah kruthaha etc) also implies the complimentary functionality 
of different components emanating from the ultimate divinity. It 
does not discriminate, nor does it dictate that it is possible to 
function in the absence of any specific unit.

Manu neethi is no different from legal codes we have for different 
societies these days. We do hang our murderers, incarcerate the 
rapists and put away those that pillage. It provides a comprehensive 
guide book for the do's and dont's of life, with reason. However, it 
is important to recognize that none of this is cast in stone, nor is 
it meant to be. It also invests authority in the hands of the 
intellectuals and kings to implement the laws consistent with the 
requirements of a given situation. Manu smrithi is a guide book, it 
gives you the freedom to interpret the rules consistent with the 
context. Much as we may not put to death all murderers, manu neethi 
ordains the ruler, guided by the intellectual (gnyAni) to implement 
the code of conduct fairly. And ordains severe punishment for the 
king or the brahmin who transgress on the basis of inadequate or 
improper interpretation.

It is important to understand that, much as we realize that of every 
human being is connected to the ultimate divinity, we will not accept 
transgressions from people when they hurt the innocent. A rapist 
needs to suffer the kArmic consequences of his (or her) cruelty. A 
thief needs to be punished for him to not puruse the same activity 
again. We do not let people who have not gone through formal 
schooling get into our colleges (examples of how rigid our system is, 
just that we accept or do not reflect on these).

A lot of manu neethi, especially when read as a translation, will 
sound very harsh. However, if one has the wherewithal to peruse the 
whole tome (over 12 chapters and 2700 aphorisms), one will understand 
the tie-in to fairness, humanity and divinity.

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

sridhar

--- In ramanuja@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "indkirru <indkirru@xxxx>" 
<indkirru@xxxx> wrote:
> Namaskarams!!
> Dear Sir,
> Thanks a lot for the clarification!! I still have one more 
> question which was uncleared. 
> 
> Why did Manu talk of innaccessibility of Vedas(Scriptures) to 
certain 
> classes of people? What is your opinion about Manu's words? 
> 
> When I read Manu's words, I immediately rejected his words.I felt
> (still feel) that his words do not deserve to be quoted or 
followed. 
> I wanted to see if my point of View is right or not. 
> 
> My approach to Spritualism is that "We begin to be spiritual only 
if 
> we start seeing everyone as part of that Supreme. So a natural 
> implication of that would be , as you said "There can be NO Caste, 
> Community, Language barriers in this area." So Can Manu be right?
> 
> Thanks again,
> Kiran
> 





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