Wearing that thread means the person upholds certain rituals and dietary restrictions. They fast on certain days and have to offer prayers to their ancestors. They change it once a year. It is religiously required to change it with other men of your faith and sub-sect(like a Jewish minyan). All Hindus and even women wore sacred thread at one time because it was necessary for rituals and for performing death austerities. But Brahmins had more duties towards it. They have to pray thrice a day touching it. They have to fast and follow ritual purity because the thread is what connects them and their families to their ancestors. If you see it..it will be knotted sometimes or have stuff tied to it. It is code for whether one is married or not. How many children they have..if their parents are deceased or not etc.

And that’s why there is so much secrecy and protectiveness around who has ownership and scholarship over which books. Don’t you see? Vedic Hinduism was the woke liberal version and an experiment of an ancient people who wanted to bring the immigrants and the invaders and the local population, but membership means adherence to a closed group. The rituals were perimeter security. There are four main books of faith for Hindu Brahmins. They are called Vedas. Three of which are commonly followed. Parts of the fourth one is lost.

Vedas are canon. It doesn’t change. A Brahmin belongs to a group that follows one of the three books. You can’t follow more than one and the belief is that all those who follow that particular book share the same pool ancestral souls.

Even prayers differ between them. Their way of life too. If you read the vedas, it’s about the way of life. There is no mention of god. But there are some puranas(stories derived from commentaries based on the vedas), you would find stuff like tax codes. How to eat, how you farm, how to create weapons..where the borders are ..when will the eclipses occur etc. these are not for public consumption and to share. This had to stay within the insiders only. It was memorized by the Brahmin priests and they knew how to decide the ciphers because their duty was towards the kingly caste. In the olden days, if anyone can read it..it’s like allowing anyone to read classified files.

Ancient India was super codified. There was a place for everyone in terms of what dharma or job they have to do. It’s rigidity also gave it stability. But also made it brittle. Anything that influences from the outside thus structure would weaken it. That was the reason behind the closed looo socio economic system.

Clearly it lost its usefulness. With the British abolishing princely states, an entire class of Kshatriyas disappeared. It’s like a table standing on three legs. Brahmins who were supposed to be in service of Kshatriyas became redundant too.

The balance used to be that Brahmin priests had knowledge but must take a vow of poverty..Kshatriya Kings must rule the country and be ready to die for their people..Vaishyas were wealthy but must fund the kingdom by paying taxes and bearing all the costs while the labourer Shudra class did manual work and contributed nothing else. Dalits were outside this system. They were the outsiders who didn’t subscribe to this social order.

The Vedas say that a Brahmin ceases to be a Brahmin when he crosses the oceans. Everything we do here as immigrants are either religious or nostalgia. The mathematician Srinivasan Ramanujam refused to set sail to England because he was a Brahmin and crossing the oceans meant that he has abandoned the religion of his forefathers. SV Brahmins still consider themselves Brahmins...but when they step away from their practices (a lot of it defined by the sacred thread), they are Mlecchas themselves within each other. A Brahmin not wearing the thread won’t be invited to the annual thread changing ceremonies. Why? It has nothing to do with him. Just like a Dalit or a white person has nothing to do with a brahmin’s religious activities.

Women have identifying jewelery too. At least in the south, look at the marriage chain they wear (because we don’t have wedding rings), you can find out what kind of family she is married to and even within Brahmins, you can figure out which region they hail from and which broad subsect they belong to.

Why? Because women had rules too. For example, there is a Brahmin sub sect where they have marks on their shoulders. Like a quick branding of a religious symbol. If a woman has these ritual marks on her body, she will not eat in anyone’s house. She will not allow anyone into her kitchen..her domain. Except other women who have that branding too. Because now only those who follow the kitchen code have access to it.

I am a Brahmin but I was not allowed kitchen access into many of my friends home kitchens after a certain age.(children are exempt from these rules) I had my own set of utensils when the mom of the house invited me to join me for family lunches. It was beautiful sterling silver and expensive, but it was meant for guests. We just laughed about it because we knew why. Even my mother was given the special ‘separate tableware’ treatment despite being a Brahmin who also followed religious and ritual purity. Because she was not from that family.

I can tell within 30 minutes where another indian is from ..language, food, clothes, jewelery. Even the dot we wear between our brows. Men have less distinguishers in their western office wear. And yes, it’s important for me to connect to people just like me. Why? Because I am human. I seek comfort with my kin. Doesn’t mean I am a casteist.

There is meta to this too...for example, there are many subjects I won’t speak to men that I would with other women easily. Why? Because as opposite gendered individuals, we don’t have shared experiences and sometimes one just wants to feel comfortable with someone who understands. I don’t have the time and energy or money to seek a $250/hour therapist to ‘talk about things’. I want community. If I want to talk about my mom, I will call my cousin. Not my co worker.