Brahmins are a privileged caste in Hinduism, known as a "forward" caste. They are the highest of the four caste groups. The English word brahmin is an anglicized form of the Sanskrit word Brahmana. Brahman refers to the 'Supreme Self' in Hinduism or the first of the gods.
The history of the Brahmins is associated with the Vedic religion of early India, usually referred to as Sanatana Dharma. Brahmins first come to be noticed historically in the Vedic period. How the modern caste system developed is a highly contested topic due to lack of clear data. Brahmins and kings became the dominant social and religious forces in many of the kingdoms that developed over pre-modern India. Discrimination became a feature of the caste system with Brahmins often being assigned blame for the system. Over time, Brahmins became a powerful and influential group in India, and many discriminated against lower castes. However, in modern India some Brahmins claim reverse discrimination due to affirmative action policies of the central and state governments in India that favor lower caste groups.
There are many Brahmin subgroups, and even subgroups of subgroups. The Gaur Brahmins are one of these. They live mainly in northern India, but one can find them throughout the nation.
Brahmins are generally among the well-to-do in India and place a high value on education. Modern Brahmin parents aspire for their sons to become computer programmers and engineers. Thus, an inordinate percentage of Brahmins are among the Hindus who have migrated to the West. The religious training of Brahmins prepares them well for advanced mathematics. In today's world, the top positions in such areas as computer programming, business, teaching, and politics are often filled by Brahmins. They have excelled as educators, law makers, scholars, doctors, warriors, writers, poets, landowners, and politicians.
Only a subset of Brahmins are involved in priestly duties including teaching and preaching. These people are often poor. Some go on spiritual pilgrimages where they depend on donations by devout Hindus.
The growing forces of secularization and globalization in India are strongest among the Brahmins. Most remain vegetarian but some groups eat some meat, particularly fish, and many individuals even from vegetarian Brahmin groups are now eating meat (rarely beef, and often meat eating is surreptitious). Discerning opinions and heart attitudes is difficult, but it seems that only a small minority of today's Brahmins would uphold what was once considered Brahmin orthodoxy: that Brahmins are better by birth than all other peoples.
Most modern Gaur Brahmins do not espouse a doctrine of their superiority by birth above other peoples. Many are now secularists. But most Brahmins respect the ancient (and many not-so-ancient) traditions of their forefathers. Some work to synthesize modern science and Hindu beliefs and practices. There are hundreds of "denominations" of Hinduism and Brahmins have a presence in many; so it is not easy to generalize on what Brahmins believe. Some would be devotees of Vishnu or his avatars of Krishna or Ram, some would be devotees of Shiva, and some would be devotees of the goddess in one of her manifestations. Others are followers of modern gurus. Few today have seriously studied, let along memorized, the ancient Vedas; but one is more likely to find a person knowledgeable about the Vedas and other Hindu texts and teachings among Brahmins than among any non-Brahmin caste group.
Like people everywhere, the Gaur Brahmins need people to tell them about the centrality of Jesus Christ. They will need ambassadors for Christ who have a high educational level and excellent people skills. They will need to serve the King of kings no matter what the cost.
Pray for Christ to reveal himself to Gaur Brahmins in such a way they will experience his unfathomable holiness.
Gaur Brahmins are seen as knowledgeable and enlightened; pray for the light of the gospel to bring the knowledge of Christ to them.
Pray for love, discernment and wisdom for disciples of Jesus who befriend and share faith with Gaur Brahmins.
Pray for a movement to Christ within the Gaur Brahmin community.
Scripture Prayers for the Brahmin Gaur in India.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaur_Brahmins
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
Brahmin of India profile for Children and Family Missions Activities |
Global Prayer Digest: 2017-09-15 |
Global Prayer Digest: 2020-04-03 |
People Name General | Brahmin Gaur |
People Name in Country | Brahmin Gaur |
Natural Name | Gaur Brahmin |
Pronunciation | gore BRAH-min |
Alternate Names | Adh; Adi Gaud; Adi Gaur; Ard Pop; Bahun; Bajey; Bhojki; Brahman Terai; Brahmin Terai; Chanyati; Chanyati Brahman; Chanyati Brahmin; Gaud; Gauda; Gaudiya; Gaur; Gaur Brahman; Gaur Brahmin; Krishna; Maulik; Mulick; Mullick; Parasrami; Sukla; ब्रह्मन, ग़ौर |
Population this Country | 3,675,000 |
Population all Countries | 3,713,000 |
Total Countries | 4 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 73 |
People ID | 19943 |
ROP3 Code | 115717 |
Country | India | |||||||||||||||
Region | Asia, South | |||||||||||||||
Continent | Asia | |||||||||||||||
10/40 Window | Yes | |||||||||||||||
National Bible Society | Website | |||||||||||||||
Persecution Rank | 11 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | |||||||||||||||
Total States on file | 31 | |||||||||||||||
Largest States (only 15 largest shown) |
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Districts | Interactive map, listing and data download | |||||||||||||||
Specialized Website | South Asia Peoples |
Country | India |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 11 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 31 (only 20 largest shown) |
Uttar Pradesh 1,157,000 | |
Rajasthan 676,000 | |
Bihar 443,000 | |
West Bengal 256,000 | |
Maharashtra 213,000 | |
Madhya Pradesh 134,000 | |
Uttarakhand 105,000 | |
Karnataka 103,000 | |
Andhra Pradesh 79,000 | |
Tamil Nadu 65,000 | |
Jharkhand 60,000 | |
Assam 59,000 | |
Gujarat 55,000 | |
Himachal Pradesh 36,000 | |
Jammu and Kashmir 34,000 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
100.00 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Hindi (1,878,000 speakers) | |||||||||||||||
Language Code | hin Ethnologue Listing | |||||||||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | |||||||||||||||
Total Languages | 49 | |||||||||||||||
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown) |
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Primary Language | Hindi (1,878,000 speakers) |
Language Code | hin Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 49 |
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown) | |
Marathi 153,000 | |
Marwari 137,000 | |
Bengali 133,000 | |
Dhundari 78,000 | |
Telugu 75,000 | |
Bhojpuri 70,000 | |
Kannada 65,000 | |
Maithili 64,000 | |
Shekhawati 55,000 | |
Tamil 51,000 | |
Garhwali 48,000 | |
Gujarati 48,000 | |
Konkani 24,000 | |
Awadhi 24,000 | |
Assamese 22,000 | |
People Groups | Speaking Hindi |
Primary Language: Hindi
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1806-1962) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1811-1998) |
Bible-Complete | Yes (1835-2022) |
Bible-NT Audio | Online |
Bible-NT Text | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
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Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Photo Source | Anonymous |
Map Source | People Group Location: Omid. Other geography / data: GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project |
Profile Source | Joshua Project |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more. |