SriRengarajan's Mail fwd by Sri.Rangaswamy

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

This is in response to Sri.Rengarajan's post below:

>note : I saw the cautiously worded thread of Sri Sudarshan

>on mantra etc this morning. We are eager to learn from his

>inferences from his maanaseega guru. At the same time i also

>request him to cover the core topic which is "is a paramArthigan

>need to worship and chant mantras of nitua suris for seeking

>material releif". We all dealt this in our exchanges at length

>and more are to come from me on this. Sri Sudarshan's current thread

>is on if mantra chanting will yield results and how one can validate

>is not in serious question.

---

I must inform Sri.Rengarajan and everyone else that I am not picking up any

"thread". I am trying to explain two questions which I think are implied in

Sri.Mani's posts of last week on the Garuda-mantrA and the "pUrAni-c" lore

behind it. The questions described in my last post are as follows:

 

"a) "Why is so much of what is sublime in our ancient faith also accompanied

by as much that seems ridiculous and infantile to 20th-century sensibilities?"

 

(if this applies to "mantrA-s" on nitya-suri-s" too, so be it!)

 

b) "What is PROFOUND wisdom doing in the company of fantastic MYTHOLOGY in

our religious literature ?"

 

**************************************************

 

Thanks to Sri.Rengarajan's interjection I have now had the chance to be

doubly "cautious" ! He has forced me to clearly state what is the scope of

my views !!

 

Thank you very much, Sir, and I look forward to the continued posts on the

real "thread" you have promised will flow from your side.

 

Sri.Rengarajan further writes:

However it is welcome to see the

>inferences of our learned Sri Sudarshan in his own style of writing.

>I often enjoy it because it resembles the notable tamil writer

>Sujatha. In a private mail i once told him that he is sujatha of

>srivaishnavam.

 

I must respond again to this comment of Sri.Rengarajan.

 

I'm grateful to Sri.Rengarajan for the title he has bestowed on me as

"Srivaishnava Sujatha" !!

 

Only I must respectfully decline it since I'm not sure if it is meant as

compliment or "dig"?!!

 

I hasten to add I am not suspecting Sri.Rengarajan's intentions.

 

The reason for my reluctance to accept the "SujaAtha title" is that I have

never read a word of that Tamil author (of "AnandaVikatan and Kumudam" fame

I think !) in all my life (and I have no plans to do so in future either)

and have simply no idea of his capabilities or worth !! I vaguely remember

having met him once many years ago in Bharath Electronic Ltd. in Bangalore

when I myself was working in WIPRO ! We made no impression, whatsoever, on

each other, I think !

 

I am not aware I have any particular "style" of writing.

 

I write in any way I want to; and in the way I feel subjects dear to my

heart --- like Swami Desikan's poetry --- can be popularised to some extent

and made attractive to lay and young people who, like myself, are not

well-versed in Tamil/Sanskrit but still want to appreciate our ancient

religious-literature in an easy and contemporary sort of way, shorn of

religious jargon.

 

I am neither vedic nor Tamil scholar. I know my limitations of scholarship.

I don't even qualify to be called a true SriVaishnava. But I try very hard

to appreciate SriVaishnava subjects as a perennial student rather than as a

realized soul or a deep scholar.

 

I especially love to approach Swami Desikan's poems much like a child grasps

difficult rhymes --- with a sense of childish wonder, curiosity, fun, fancy

and exaggeration.... and with a child's ear for the sounds and rhythms of

that great "AchAryA's" poetry.

 

As for Desikan's philosophy, I confess, I sometimes find it too lofty for me

and it eludes my understanding. At such times I resort to one of 2 actions:

 

A) I learn from/consult with my guru Sri.U.Ve. Mukkur Swami II who is also

one of my best friends in the world. I like to believe he encourages me to

think on my own to arrive at my own conclusions of Faith after properly

grasping what our "pUrvAchAryA-s" have said and thought.

OR

B) I try and find parallels and analogies from the 'loukika' world around me

..... which is why, in this "thread", I have found it useful to refer to the

ideas of Dr.Bruno Bettleheim of the Unversity of Chicago -- who may not be a

SriVaishnava "achAryA" by any stretch of imagination but whose ideas too ,

nevertheless, have helped me, in a very small way, to understand myself ...

my faith and my religion ....

 

My mind does belong completely to the 20th-century and I cannot help it !

"Bruno Bettelheim" is okay with me if it helps me understand

'srisampradAyam' just the way Swami Desikan or Sri.Mukkur Swami II do !!

 

 

Lastly Sri.Rengarajan writes:

Sri Sudarshan, please also cover the core topic

>from your inferences from your manaseeka guru. look forward to

>your posts.

>adiyEn

>SR

 

I must inform Sri.Rengarajan the biggest inspiration in my life has been and

is Sri.U.Ve.Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachariar of Kakinada whose Grace and

Blessings I pray for daily.

 

Everything that is of any worth or substance in my world is due to my "guru"

alone ..... even that so-called "sujAtha" style of writing of mine if you

truly enjoy it the way you say you do !!

 

And lastly, Sri.Rengarajan, the day, a few more members on the list feel I'm

long on "style" and short on "stuff", is the day I will promptly take your cue !

 

sudarshan