Brahmin is considered as a member of the priestly caste of the country. In Hinduism, there is the concept of ‘Varna’ system where the society is stratified into four ‘Varnas’ or castes - Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Sudras. The Brahmin occupies the highest level in the ‘Varna’ system and is considered to be the priest class in the Varna system of ancient India. The word ‘Brahmin’ has been derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Brahmana’. Besides Hinduism, Brahmins are also found in Buddhism. Dhammapada has a list on the Buddhist Brahmin section. Brahmin Bhikshus were quite common with this religious sect. Other sects like Jainism, Islam and Sikhism also bear testimony to the existence of Brahmins within their religious sects.
Brahman, highest ranking of the four varnas, or social classes, in Hindu India. The elevated position of the Brahmans goes back to the late Vedic period, when the Indo-European-speaking settlers in northern India were already divided into Brahmans (or priests), warriors (of the Kshatriya class), traders (of the Vaishya class), and labourers (of the Shudra class). Since then there has been no fundamental change in their relative position, and the Brahmans still enjoy great prestige and many advantages, though their claim to tangible privileges is no longer officially admitted. The basis of the age-old veneration of Brahmans is the belief that they are inherently of greater ritual purity than members of other castes and that they alone are capable of performing certain vital religious tasks. The study and recitation of the sacred scriptures was traditionally reserved for this spiritual elite, and for centuries all Indian scholarship was in their hands.
The ritual purity of the Brahmans is maintained through the observance of numerous taboos, many of which relate to diet and contact with lower castes. Most Brahman castes are strictly vegetarian, and their members must abstain from certain occupations. They may not plow or handle any impure material, such as leather or hides, but they may farm and do such agricultural work as does not violate these specific restrictions. They may also accept employment as domestic servants; many well-to-do Hindus have Brahman cooks, who are valued because members of all castes may eat the food that they prepare.
This by no means justifies the practice of Sati, but it also does not mean that only Indian culture had stupid traditions, all cultures have some bad practices.
In fact Mughal emperors Akbar, Jehangir and Aurangzeb took actions to ban Sati practice.
If you look at Ramayana and Mahabharata you can see many pious women who lost their husbands and did not perform Sati.
There was never an institutional system in place to enforce the practice of sati; it was mostly a cultural practice that gained prominence by itself.
Also we must understand that the practice was not generalized all across India, instead it was confined to just few specific regions in the country and isolated to specific groups of people.
In the old times people were not just concerned with their affairs in this world, but also the next and therefore people were always worried about their actions and its consequence in the next world
