Guest guest Posted April 13, 1997 Report Share Posted April 13, 1997 Dear friends, My casual account of experiences with muezzins' calls for prayers in Bahrain seems to have stirred quite a bit of interesting comment from members. Sri.Sadagopan has even kindly referred us to a very insightful Jewish angle. It would not be out of place to mention here that even today in Kanchipuram there is a big noisy mosque next-door to the "Sankara Mutt" premises. When that greatest Advaitic pontiff of this century, Chandrasekarendra Saraswati, beloved "peria-periyavA" to many millions, lived there, it is said, in the midst of his prayers or discourses he used to be interrupted daily by the calls for "maghreb" or "ishA" prayers from the neighbouring mosque ! The great "AchAryA", it is reported, used to advise his devotees not to get irked by it. In fact, they say, he used to pause in reverent silence, close his eyes in deep meditation as if he were inwardly "enjoying" the muezzin calls until it all ended. Then the "paramAchArya" proceeded to re-commence his discourses !! When the "achAryA" attained "samadhi" some years ago the rites were telecast over Doordarshan. Everyone was pleasantly surprised to see Muslim clerics from the neighbouring mosque streaming in to pay their last respects to the great soul!! It is all an example, I think, of the "universalism" of the Vedantic tradition unique to India --- where even today, in the post-Babri-Masjid period -- ordinary people in the countryside know that "being tolerant of each other" is vastly and essentially different from simply "tolerating each other"!! And, not for nothing was that great Advaitin of Kanchi known as "jagat-guru"! adiyEn, sudarshan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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