(Source: https://threader.app/thread/984054110239514625)
The intrinsic risk in attempting to divorce religious offices from hereditary contexts (by hereditary, it can be ANY group; so don’t come here & bark) & linking it purely with a system of “training” & “merit” is that it tends to result in the over-rationalization of traditions and non-abrahamic polytheisms in particular have this rich body of narratives & mythos linking the divine world with the human one as a defining characteristic.
A particular group has this origin tale, a special relationship with a god or goddess or priestly roles. Such stories/preserved memories (again, you can find such passed down memories among all jAti-s who cherish such stories) form the unique content of the overall Hindu tradition. Standardized training/tests need not be abolished but if they are allowed to eat into pre-existing spaces, we risk losing our unique content forever. While it is easier said than done, those who celebrate “reforms” need to keep an open mind, admit their limited expertise in economic/political affairs, attempt to study tradition for what it is & appreciate it for what it is, if they are going to identify as Hindus. “Reforming” the unique content of the dharma away is actually just deforming it.
Finally, the hereditary content/spaces of dharma provides historical continuity, a very powerful force and one that firmly roots the person in a hoary tradition. It is not the sole means of providing that continuity in identity but certainly a key & indispensable one. Attempting to cut off these hereditary roots, each of which may help keep a particular jAti rooted through powerful narratives, rituals & festivals, will result in the dharma gradually becoming empty of its content, leaving behind a void ready to be exploited by external forces.
To emphasize the first point again, “irrational” components are very very critical to religious faith, at least the way I see it. The feelings generated by visiting temples staffed by priests who serving there for generations, having learnt from their fathers by word of mouth or when a nAdasvaram player tells you proudly that he can trace his clan ancestry to a musician at the great temple built by rAjarAja chOzha; those sentiments are very different from visiting a place where priests may not have these roots. They may have attended a “course” and may be very sincere- but there is a certain, inexplicable “magical” component to hereditary traditions. We should not bear spite or resentment against them or reduce them to worldly, non-sacred concepts of “jobs”, “career pathways” and “trainings”/“courses”.
There can be a place for this, to reward the rightful aspirations of talented and sincere individuals but it should never ever hijack pre-existing spaces or trump a continuing tradition in an arrogant & malicious way. In case the 1st point is still unclear, the over-rationalization of the dharma as stated in opening tweet will result in a diminution of the “magic” referred to below, a critical component of the way we dhArmikas experience our dharma in real life.