So I read today that the Maharashtra government's Social Justice Minister Shivajirao Moghe has resorted to the oldest bogey in the Indian political book: religion, to defend the government's raising the age limit for alcohol consumption to 25, from 21. I have had a few discussions on this with friends, but even deeper than that is my quest as a late-adolescent/ young adult at understanding the reason behind Hindu -more specifically Brahmin - teetotaling attitude. I am raised in an Iyengar Brahmin family where meat and alcohol are strict taboos. While I had no curiosity to sample either (don't ask me why) I did want to know why they were forbidden. As with numerous other life-dilemmas, the Mahabharata answered this too. Here's a gist.
The tale goes back to the time when the Hindu gods and demons were constantly trying to go one-up on each other. The demons, thanks to their guru Shukracharya, had the ultimate upper hand - Shukra alone knew the science called Sanjivani, or how to bring the dead back to life- not to zombie-hood, but to full fledged life (again, don't ask me how). Naturally the demons wanted to keep this a closely guarded secret and naturally the gods wanted to get their hands on it. So they sent the son of their guru, a lad named Kacha, to become Shukra's disciple and learn the science from him. As luck would have it, Shukra had a young daughter - Devyani by name - who's all in awe of this celestial chap and soon the two are in a daring dalliance. This the demons don't like - naturally. So they plot to get rid of Kacha. First time they kill him and throw his corpse somewhere, Devyani runs to her father and needless to say, he brings Kacha back to life. The demons go "damn!" and kill him again and this time chop up his body and bury the pieces in different places. Not evil enough. Shukra again manages to revive Kacha. Now the demons go "hmmm" and knowing Shukra's fondness for a peg or two - they go full evil mode: they kill Kacha, burn him, mix the ashes in Shukra's drink and make him drink it all. On regaining sobriety, Shukra is made aware of this. His dilemma now is incredible: he can still revive the guy - but that would mean killing himself! So he goes double-hmm, and decides that life is bigger than science. So he revives Kacha (inside him) and makes him promise that he will revive the guru when he comes out. Kacha promises, and is taught the science of revival (MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! flashes in neon here as also NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!) Shukra then rips his abdomen to let Kacha out, and Kacha, dutifully revives him. He also manages to convince Shukra to let him return now - but stumps Devyani by telling her that since is now born of her father, he is a brother to her. (no comments, seriously)
And oh, the relation of this to our topic? Shukra, realizing that being drunk is what led him to "consuming" Kacha, pronounces a ban on drinking for Brahmins equating it with the sin of killing a person and thus ruining one's karmic equation for not just this life but also the next. In modern terminology that's like two life sentences plus additional indictment for murder. Apparently no one wanted that kind of punishment. Aside from this one story, there's hardly anything that comes close to addressing the issue head on. And as regards religion extolling intoxicants, I need only point to the various Rig Vedic verses about the Soma Rasa.This latest statement from the minister is only one more example of mouthing-off without substance.
On a personal note, I firmly put alcohol consumption in what I call the Family section of social issues. States mandating age-limits is, in one way passing the buck. What the State should instead increase is the severity of punishments of crimes under intoxication - drunken driving, harassment etc. Intoxication, unlike insanity, cannot be an excuse since it is within the control of the person. An intoxicated criminal must therefore be given the maximum allowable punishment - maybe even something along the lines of Shukracharya. Drunken driving = one life sentence anyone?
The tale goes back to the time when the Hindu gods and demons were constantly trying to go one-up on each other. The demons, thanks to their guru Shukracharya, had the ultimate upper hand - Shukra alone knew the science called Sanjivani, or how to bring the dead back to life- not to zombie-hood, but to full fledged life (again, don't ask me how). Naturally the demons wanted to keep this a closely guarded secret and naturally the gods wanted to get their hands on it. So they sent the son of their guru, a lad named Kacha, to become Shukra's disciple and learn the science from him. As luck would have it, Shukra had a young daughter - Devyani by name - who's all in awe of this celestial chap and soon the two are in a daring dalliance. This the demons don't like - naturally. So they plot to get rid of Kacha. First time they kill him and throw his corpse somewhere, Devyani runs to her father and needless to say, he brings Kacha back to life. The demons go "damn!" and kill him again and this time chop up his body and bury the pieces in different places. Not evil enough. Shukra again manages to revive Kacha. Now the demons go "hmmm" and knowing Shukra's fondness for a peg or two - they go full evil mode: they kill Kacha, burn him, mix the ashes in Shukra's drink and make him drink it all. On regaining sobriety, Shukra is made aware of this. His dilemma now is incredible: he can still revive the guy - but that would mean killing himself! So he goes double-hmm, and decides that life is bigger than science. So he revives Kacha (inside him) and makes him promise that he will revive the guru when he comes out. Kacha promises, and is taught the science of revival (MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! flashes in neon here as also NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!) Shukra then rips his abdomen to let Kacha out, and Kacha, dutifully revives him. He also manages to convince Shukra to let him return now - but stumps Devyani by telling her that since is now born of her father, he is a brother to her. (no comments, seriously)
And oh, the relation of this to our topic? Shukra, realizing that being drunk is what led him to "consuming" Kacha, pronounces a ban on drinking for Brahmins equating it with the sin of killing a person and thus ruining one's karmic equation for not just this life but also the next. In modern terminology that's like two life sentences plus additional indictment for murder. Apparently no one wanted that kind of punishment. Aside from this one story, there's hardly anything that comes close to addressing the issue head on. And as regards religion extolling intoxicants, I need only point to the various Rig Vedic verses about the Soma Rasa.This latest statement from the minister is only one more example of mouthing-off without substance.
On a personal note, I firmly put alcohol consumption in what I call the Family section of social issues. States mandating age-limits is, in one way passing the buck. What the State should instead increase is the severity of punishments of crimes under intoxication - drunken driving, harassment etc. Intoxication, unlike insanity, cannot be an excuse since it is within the control of the person. An intoxicated criminal must therefore be given the maximum allowable punishment - maybe even something along the lines of Shukracharya. Drunken driving = one life sentence anyone?
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