Saints’ rule-breaking never licensed common people to break caste

Evidence

The second reason why the teachings of the saints proved ineffective was because the masses have been taught that a saint might break caste, but the common man must not. A saint therefore never became an example to follow. He always remained a pious man to be honoured. That the masses have remained staunch believers in caste and untouchability shows that the pious lives and noble sermons of the saints have had no effect on their life and conduct, as against the teachings of the shastras. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1235

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth testing whether a comparable ‘holy exception’ structure appears in other religious reform traditions — the saint whose transgression merely confirms the rule for everyone else.