BRAHMIN, a term used to indicate the sacerdotal and, from an early period, the dom inant caste of the Hindu community. The origin and rise of the Brahmin is shrouded in the mists of obscurity. Long before any period known to history the Brahmin was a power in Hindustan. The Brahmins, from an early pe riod, left all wealth and temporal power in the hands of other castes. According to their Scrip tures, the Brahmin is not allowed to own prop erty, should not engage in trade or any other pursuit in life the object of which is to gain wealth; and the slightest infraction of the rules was visited with the direst of results. At one time, evidently, the Brahmins strictly followed the tenets as embodied in the Codes of Mann or the Grihya Sutras. The Brahmin's life is divided into four stages. At a tender age he becomes initiated by a ceremony known as Upanayatta, after which he is to be a Brahma charin or a student and seeker after knowl edge. Next he marries and becomes a Grihas tha. The third stage is called Vanaprastha, an intermediate stage between mixing in the world's affairs and complete renunciation. The fourth stage is one in which he becomes a Sanyasin and completely gives up the world and all mundane ties, devoting himself entirely to good deeds and contemplation of the divine.
The whirligig of time has brought about radi cal changes in the Brahminical ideal, which has become impossible under modern condi tions. The Brahmin, however, has remained the dominant caste for over 30 centuries. Even to-day, as Mr. Sherring says in his 'Hindu Castes and Tribes,' *Light of complexion, his forehead ample, his countenance of striking significance, his lips thin and mouth expressive, his eyes quick and sharp, his fingers long, his carriage noble and almost sublime, the true Brahmin, uncontaminated by European influ ence and manners, with his intense self-con sciousness, with the proud conviction of supe riority depicted in every muscle of his face, and manifest in every movement of his body. is a wonderful specimen of humanity walking on God's earth." Whether he has lived his day remains to be seen. To-day he is the life and soul of every important movement in India.