The Brahmans have a caste _panchayat_, but among the educated classes
the tendency is to drop the _panchayat_ procedure and to refer
matters of caste rules and etiquette to the informal decision of a
few of the most respected local members. In northern India there is
no supreme authority for the caste, but the five southern divisions
acknowledge the successor of the great reformer Shankar Acharya as
their spiritual head, and important caste questions are referred to
him. His headquarters are at the monastery of Sringeri on the Cauvery
river in Mysore. Mr. Joshi gives four offences as punishable with
permanent exclusion from caste: killing a Brahman, drinking prohibited
wine or spirits, committing incest with a mother or step-mother or
with the wife of one's spiritual preceptor, and stealing gold from a
priest. Some very important offences, therefore, such as murder of any
person other than a Brahman, adultery with a woman of impure caste and
taking food from her, and all offences against property, except those
mentioned, do not involve permanent expulsion. Temporary exclusion is
inflicted for a variety of offences, among which are teaching the Vedas
for hire, receiving gifts from a Sudra for performing fire-worship,
falsely accusing a spiritual preceptor, subsisting by the harlotry of a
wife, and defiling a damsel. It is possible that some of the offences
against morality are comparatively recent additions. Brahmans who
cross the sea to be educated in England are readmitted into caste
on going through various rites of purification; the principal of
these is to swallow the five products of the sacred cow, milk, _ghi_
or preserved butter, curds, dung and urine. But the small minority
who have introduced widow-marriage are still banned by the orthodox.