Difference between a Brahmin and a Pandit?

To many people the word brahmin and pandit means the same. I wanted my 2 brahmin friends accompanying me to a recent Jaipur trip, to visit the Amer fort temple. They wanted to leave fast and rest. I insisted..In the heat of Amer and the afternoon, my friend retorted "There is a difference between brahmins and Pandits", i stuck to my guns, "Whatever but i want you visiting the temple". A bystander (sharmaji) could not stop himself from asking the difference between brahmins and pandit (in his lovely heavily accented khadi boli) with my friend OM, and OM gave a very straight and accurate reply...Sharmaji was dumb struck,,,I don't remember the reply as i was enjoying the expression on sharmajis face after the reply from OM..

Answer - 
Pandits usually charge a fees for things that they do... like karm kand etc...

Brahmins are the ones who are also priests, gurus etc but live on dakshina and not fees...

Comments

~ ॐ ~ said…
Pandits usually charge a fees for things that they do... like karm kand etc...

Brahmins are the ones who are also priests, gurus etc but live on dakshina and not fees...
5:44 PM
Reeta Skeeter said…
Ah interesting insight that...
11:31 AM
Anonymous said…
In the begning there are only four cast name BARHAMAN,SHTRIYE,VASHEV and SHUDR.BARHAMAN is the cast who taught the SHTRIYE to gain book study and fighting study ,so BARHAMAN is the TEACHER (GURU in HINDI) of SHTRIYE .now I want to explain that who is PANDIT ,as u know the opposite of KING is bagger(runk in HINDI) and opposite of PANDIT is IDIOT(MURKH in HINDI),so PANDIT means who is INTELLIGENT(BUDHIMAN in HINDI) and PANDIT is PROFESION ... ,it means any cast be the PANDIT but have the INTELLIGENCE and PURITY , only because of PURITY(PAVITRTA in HINDI) and INTLLIGENCY some the BARHAMAN be the PANDIT ....LASTLY I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT BARHAMAN IS THE CAST AND PANDIT IS PROFESION ....THIS IS THE MAIN DIFFERENCE I LISTEND. :-)
12:13 AM
Anonymous said…
Brahman is a caste and pandits are those related to the karma kaand etc,it may say that is like a occupation.
4:32 PM
Sourabh Mishra said…
Pandit means vidvaan- a scholar. A learned man is known as Pandit. Brahman are the people who left the world for knowledge and research. Though both are scholars, both may be teachers. However, later in the history, Pandits (Originally Purohit) were those people who did Karm Kaand but Brahmans did not indulge themselves into worldly matters. They focused on spiritual life, teaching and gaining knowledge. They, though having knowledge of Pooja paath, generally do not do it.
One more thing there are four types- Brahman, Pandit, Purohit, Bhaabhan and Panda.. They all have their own role.
Brahman- For research, study and teaching
Pandit- For advice to Kings and were scholars of particular subjects
Purohit- Involved in Karm Kaand
Bhaabhan- A scholar but living a life of beggar or born in a good family but begs or attends ceremonies for food (like- Bhij, Chhati, Terhavi)
Panda- Sitting on the banks of rivers and involved in rituals related to death.
(None of them is birth based, anyone could be Brahman, Purohit, Pandit, Bhaabhan or PAnda according to their Karma). Like Valmiki turned into Brahman by attaining knowledge. Vishvamitra, being a king, turned into Brahman after attaining knowledge.
3:37 PM
kushagr said…
thanks bhai
9:03 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Difference between role and designation

This is a follow up post based on a comment on my old post . Here are dictionary definitions of Role and designation Role - Prescribed or expected behavior associated with a particular position or status in a group or organization . Designation - nomination, appointment, or election to an office, position, etc. In many IT companies I have seen designations and roles as totally mismatch. So someone being called as an Architect does no different work from a developer. And sometimes Leads act as managers, and managers just act as project coordinators. This often leads to confusions among what is expected from people, and what are their goals. It's also important to understand that ROLE PRECEDES DESIGNATION. So if you are a lead aspiring to become a manager, in addition to your responsibilities, you need to get into the role of your manager. Start doing and understanding the nuances of being a manager. Any questions?
Read more

Role and Designation

There is lot of difference between role and designation, but v few people in IT industry actually understand it. Many a times role and designation are aligned, but many times it is not. Whenever it is not aligned it leads to lot of frustrations, and confusion for the person on what he should be doing. To make the matters worse, in your annual appraisal cycle you are judged on basis of the designation, and as you were in an unaligned role, you fare badly. The only way i see around is to press management and HR functions to constantly review this and correct this. However as this is a long run exercise it gets overshadowed by many other things. Many people blame attrition on salary, however one can have happy employees even at slightly lower salaries if you can provide them a challenging work environment and role. Also there is big lack of planning future for your employees. Most organizations do not have a growth plan for their people. few who have do not stick to the plan, or make a pl
Read more