Guest guest Posted October 29, 1996 Report Share Posted October 29, 1996 Sri Mohan Sagar recently pointed out as follows: ">>>However, from what I have seen from my brief visits to temples in Pittsburgh, Chicago, LA, etc. (Denver does not yet have a temple), the Priests, while readily serving the Hindu Community at large, do not seem to be taking an active role in the preservation of SriVaishnavism. I was wondering whether others in the group could shed some light as to why this is so, or correct me if I am wrong. "<<< THIS CERTAINLY IS A VALID CONCERN, BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL SYSTEM BY ANY STANDARDS, WHY NOT PRESERVE IT AS WELL AS SHARE IT WITH OTHERS. SRI Vijayaraghavan Rationalized as follows: >>It is a very good concern expressed by Mohan but in my opinion the priests will not be able to do this job. We have to realize that Sri-Vaishnavas are but a minority among the South Indians (which itself is a minority group among the Indian community). Therefore the priests who are here have to cater to the community interests, so much so, that they even neglect the Vaishnavite cause (?). For example in the sankalpams they don't even say Narayana Preethyartham lest they should offend the sentiments of Non Sri Vaishnavites. Other example is Vishvaksena Aradhanam is slowly giving way to Vinayakar-pooja even in a vaishnavite pooja.<<< SRI VIJAYARAGHAVAN HAS ADDRESSED NICELY WHY SRIVAISHNAVA CUSTOMS ARE SIDE LINED. I THINK ALL HIS POINTS ARE WELL TAKEN. My observations with the Cincinnati Temple are as follows: We have a Srivaishnava priest from Bangalore, Sri Srinivasa Bhattar. During Sankalpams he says: Sriman Narayana Preetyrartam as well as Sri Parameswara Preetyrtam. Sarvebhyo Srivaishnavebhyo Namah, as well as Mahajanebhyo namah. Vishvaksenam Aavahayaami etc for Vishvaksena Puja. He also does Ganapathi Puja. Sudarshana Puja and other Srivaishnava specific pujas. Sri Shatari. Perumal Theertham (authentic Srivaishnava flavor) He uses Thiruppavai verses (last two) and/or last two verses of Amalanaadi Piraan plus Thiru Pallandu verses for Shattumorai. Mantrapushpam: Rigvedam: AgnihimeLe purohitam ...... Yajurvedam: Ishetvorjetva....... Samavedam:Agnaayahivvetaye.... Atharvanavedam:Shannodevi...... Upanishad: Om iti Agre vyahareth........ Apasthamba sutram: Athakarmanyachara... Ramayanam, Bhagavatham, Vishnu puranam, Gita verses Alavandar Stotrratnam: Kadapunah..... SriBhashyam: Akhila Bhuvana.... At times also uses Yoapam pushpam veda from Aruna Prasna. He als does Rudram and Chamakam, abhishekam to Shiva Lingam, Durga Puja etc, which are strictly non Srivaishnavite. He performs Dhanurmasam Puja with one verse of Thiruppavai each day. Many Srivaishnava specific festivals were also conducted: Deshikar thirunakshatram, Narasimha Jayanthi, Andal thiruvadipuram Vaikunta Ekadasi(The Vaikunta dwaram opens to three abodes Vaikuntam, Brahma Lokam and Kailasam). This year our temple news letter(magazine) Aradhana has carried articles on: Andal, Perialwar, Ramanujacharya, Madhurakavi Alwar, and Thiruppanalvar(due for November). All this with approximately 12 Srivaishnava families (of whom most are indifferent to Temple activities at best) plus 2 or 3 very dedicated students. I think the record of Srivaishnavism in Cincinnati is pretty good. SO I CONCLUDE THAT IT IS CERTAINLY POSSIBLE TO RETAIN, CELEBRATE AND SHARE SRIVAISHNAVA CUSTOMS, ATLEAST IN PLACES SUCH AS CINCINNATI WHERE THERE IS MORE NORTH INDIAN PARTICIPATION, AS IN THE CINCINNATI SITUATION. But I do recognize that the scenario presented by Sri Vijayaraghavan is more the rule. I am afraid, Cincinnati scenarion may be more an exception. But, the exception as it may be, it also shows that it is certainly possible. The secret is a dedicated and well trained Srivaishnava priest plus one or two families (afterall it is difficult to clap with one hand). MY APPEAL TO SRIVAISHNAVAS OUT THERE IN VARIOUS COMMUNITIES IS TO TAKE MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN THE LOCAL TEMPLE (WHATEVER TYPE TEMPLE) AND DO THE BEST YOU CAN. YOU HAVE BETTER CHANCE OF SUCCESS IF YOU ARE SINCERE. Sincerely, Tatachar (K. Sreekrishna) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 29, 1996 Report Share Posted October 29, 1996 I think it would be better if priests in NA stick to their respective sampradAyams in the sankalpams etc. After all, in India, the general population attends the pUjA at SrI vaishNava temples, and the priests there do not change their traditions to suit smArta or other sensibilities. For that matter, there is a large section of smArtas whose sankalpam for sandhyA-vandanam has SrIman-nArAyaNa prItyartham instead of SrI parameSvara prItyartham. And it is important to remember that in most Siva and Devi temples in south India, the worship is done according to Saiva Agamas, by Adisaiva priests, not by smArtas. Most of the general temple-going population would not even know if SrIman-nArAyaNa prItyartham is different from SrI parameSvara prItyartham or not. They would continue coming to the temple in either case. The smArta population that would notice such a thing would anyway support the temples, whether dedicated to Siva or to Vishnu. I thought that temples in this country tend to have different sannidhis, with one main sannidhi dedicated to a particular God. Why not follow the respective sampradAyams at each sannidhi? Is there pressure from people on the temple governing committees to change? Regards, S. Vidyasankar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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