Guest guest Posted March 3, 1996 Report Share Posted March 3, 1996 Dear Friends, The juxtaposition of Sri Jaganath Bhardwaj's (draft) letter regarding the incident at the Thiruchchanoor temple and Sri Ramaswamy's preface to his " Oh My God" series is interesting indeed. The former takes strong exception to the violation of a specific practice, and the latter highlights the universality of our collective faith. I have not been to the Padmavathi temple at Thiruchanoor, but if it is not far from the Venkatesha Temple, I presume that a large number of worshippers there would be non-Vaishnavas. It is possible that Devi Padmavati was decorated as Durga or Annapurna as a tribute to these "other" worshippers. Even if it were due to mischief, are the Agamas so strict as to forbid any other AlankAram to the image of Devi Mahalakshmi ? My question (one of ignorance) is : Is it a violation of a SumpradAya in Vaishnavism or a violation of the very tenet of Vaishnavism to "make up" Devi Mahalakshmi in any other image ? To equate the (alleged unethical nature of) the incident at Thiruchanoor to the reading of the Koran in a church, I think, is wide of the mark. (Perhaps it is intended merely as a dramatic statement). Islam and Christianity claim different prophets. Vaishnavism is contained in the BhagawadgIta, as stated by Sri Jaganath Bhardwaj himself. Perhaps one can say the Hinduism as a whole is paraphrased in the GIta. The GIta emanates from Krishna, who displays his VishwarUpa in the process. Surely, then, the analogy with the reciting of the Koran in a church is inapt. Respectfully.................///Shivashankar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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