Formal note to the Bhakti list

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Bhakti mailing list,

 

There seems to be a lot of confusion in the past

two weeks as to what is appropriate and what is

inappropriate discussion on this mailing list.

Several people have indicated via email or phone

calls that they are concerned about the direction

of this group. I wish to address these issues

in this mail.

 

I started this mailing list about a year ago

so there could be a forum for informal discussion

of "bhakti", with particular reference to Azhvaars,

Upanishads, and Ramanuja.

 

I explicitly did not want to make it a Sri Vaishnava

"club", social group, or any such thing. The mailing

list was designed for people to ask and answer questions

related to bhakti, post shlokas and paasurams, ask

philosophical or practical questions about faith, practice

of bhakti in day-to-day life, devotionalism of our

spiritual forebears, scholarly questions about Sri

Vaishnava practice and history, etc.

 

There is good evidence that the Sri Vaishnava tradition was

once one of the most socially liberal and open-minded of Indian

religious traditions. With this background, it should be

obvious that I do not want this mailing list limited to brahmins,

non-brahmins, Sri Vaishnavas, Indians, or any particular

subgroup. It is for anyone who is interested in discussing

the above topics, and for people who are sincerely interested

in finding out more. If done in a true spirit of inquiry, no

question is inappropriate, no matter how simple or inane.

 

Anyone who considers themself a devotee of the Lord,

or is inclined in that direction, or has scholarly interest

in Sri Vaishnavism, is welcome.

 

I would prefer no one else start dictating what is an appropriate

comment and what is not. This tends to stifle discussion;

while some recent comments may have offended some, I would

rather have critical and open discussion than have rules

that would discourage people from airing their views.

 

Let us stop these meta-discussions about what is appropriate

and move onto real discussions of bhakti. If there are any

comments on what I have written, please reply to me instead

of the whole list.

 

Thanks,

Mani