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From the desk of Veeraswamy KrishnarajExcerpt from Book: Ramanuja's Teachings in His Own Words by Y. Yamunacharya

Ramanuja invites Kanchipurna, a Sudra and a Great accomplished spiritual

soul for a meal. His wife frustrates his egalitarian outlook.

Page 11.

Ramanuja requested Kanchipurna to teach him Bharadvaja Samhita which stated,

"Yogis are born among all castes and so caste odium shall not hold in

their cases, for they have seen their soul's Lord." Ramanuja in his

magnanimous gesture invited Kanchipurna to his house for a meal, since he felt

that Kanchipurna's caste has no bearing in the context of the high status of

his soul. Ramanuja felt that caste ought to be disregarded in the case of such

spiritually advanced souls as Kanchipurna. ------------

jaldhar writes:

I can't address any of the others but Shankaracharya upholds the the

anadhikara of Shudras and other non-dvija to learn the Vedas. See the

bhashya on brahmasutra 1.3.34-38. 1.3.34:

Åšugasya ta-anÄdara-SravaṇÄt

tad ÄdravaṇÄt sÅ«ctate hi

The grief which he (jÄnaÅ›ruti) felt on

hearing the disrespectful words about

himself made him run toward Raikva for that alone is indicated. (A flamingo taunts Janasruti for lack of Brahman-knowledge. Janasruti runs to Raikva who had Brahma-vidya. Raikva addresses Janasruti as Sudra, meaning Grief. Members: When was the last time you saw or heard of a talking and taunting Flamingo? O yea, the flamingo stands on one leg like a Sadhu or Yogi with downcast eyes to catch a fish. Another point here: this is a reference to Brahmavidya or God realization and not to any Vedas. Knowledge of Brahman is open to all. (Now you see how perverse one can get when misquotations and arguments are used.)

Sudras like Vidura

are spoken of possessing Brahman-knowledge. What is more important : God realization/BrahmaVidya or something else? They who want to pour molten lead in Sudra's ears for even listening to Vedas are consigned to hell. Janasruti was a king and was mistaken for a Sudra, meaning Grief written all over his face. Sudra means grief, a medallion that he does not deserve and yet forced on him by those who should know better. -------------------------------

jaldhar writes:

I can't address any of the others but Shankaracharya upholds the the

anadhikara of Shudras and other non-dvija to learn the Vedas. See the

bhashya on brahmasutra 1.3.34-38. From the desk of Veeraswamy KrishnarajHTML clipboardSankara asked the Chandala to keep some distance from him. The Chandala spoke his mind:

What is it that you want to keep away from, my Self or my body? Our body is made of food; if you desire, I could keep my physical body away from your physical body. The Self, that is pure awareness, is (shared by) you and me; thus we are one, and one with One. How is it possible for the Omnipresent Pure Awareness go away from Itself? Sankara fell at his feet like a stick with all his eight angas at prostration. (Eight Angas / Sashtanga Namaskaram:

Prostration with eight limbs touching the floor: two hands, two knees, two shoulders, chest, and forehead.) Sankara thought that Lord Siva himself in the form of Chandala was there to teach him a lesson. He composed 5 slokas, named Manisha Panchaka (Five Convictions).

The slokas ended with a refrain, 'manÄ«ÅŸÄ mama--This is my Conviction." that essentially said that anyone, be a Chandala or Brahmana, who was learned enough to look at phenomena in the light of Advaita (Monism), was his guru. The great Indian tradition doesn't exclude anybody from acquiring knowledge. He can rise to any height according to his ability and depth of devotion. According to Chandogya Upanishad 5.24.4, if any one offers the sacrificial remnant of his food to a Chandala, it is offered to the Universal Self. Here the caste, the race, and all other discriminatory pettiness are given the short shrift.Click the link and read the hymns.

 

http://www.bhagavadgitausa.com/HYMNS%20OF%20SANKARA.htmMy advice to the members at large is to ignore voice of division, self-imposed superiority, unproven possession of plethora of cerebral mantle, exclusive right of access to God on behalf of the supposedly lower castes, most of all perverse Viparita arguments and statements. Just beg off from perverse situations. Veeraswamy Krishnaraj