Mrs. Sriram's questions

[Guest guest]

There have been a few postings this past week in response to Manjula

Sriram's questions on the social aspects of our sampradayam. Here's my

attempt to answer these interesting questions on the basis of what I have

read on the subjects.

>1) What is the purpose of life? I ask this because, when I was growing

>up and even

> now I read that hinduism is not for converting people. This is the

> only religion that does not go around converting people. Is this

>correct?

 

Many of the world's older religions, including Judaism, Confucianism,

Taoism, and of course, the plethora of traditions that make up Hinduism do

not believe in the direct propagation of their beliefs for the purposes of

gaining converts. This is probably because most of these traditions were

originally territorial theologies, identifying one specific land and its

people as its followers, the people of India as Hindus, the children of

Israel as Jews, the follower of the Emperor as being knowers of the

Confucian True Way, etc. As a result, the values of each religion were as

ingrained in these cultures as the Bill of Rights and Consumerism are a part

of American Society.

 

This does not mean, however, that these religions did not grow or propogate.

As a result of ancient trading patterns, the influence of Hinduism can be

seen as far east as Indonesia, and as far west as Iraq. In fact, one of the

largest temples to Lord Ranganatha in ancient times was not in India, it was

in Cambodia. So, while direct conversion is not part of a Hindu's

responsibilities, I think that we should certainly be willing to share the

riches of our traditions with anyone who may be interested.

>2) What is Nari Dharm? Tulsidas Ramayana states that a woman's duty is

>towards

> the family. But then if women read the bhagvad gita, are we to follow

> krishna and his teachings?

 

(I am indebted to Dr. Vasudha Narayanan for providing me with these

insights) Vedic Religion can oftentimes be very paradoxical. For in as much

as it emphasizes moksha as the ultimate end, and encourages renunciation and

detachment, it also seeks to foster family and community harmony. So, while

portions of the Geetha stress detached action and meditation as a means, I

do not know of any verse that specifically states that one should renounce

family to practice these (I could be wrong on this, it has been several

years since I have read the Geetha in its entirety). Arjuna was a married

man, and from what I have read, he continued to remain married even after

being imparted with the knowledge of the Geetha. We should also recognize

the value of Dharma Sastras and the Puranic stories of our rishis, that

stress the social and spiritual value of married life and its associated

responsibilities.

 

So, reading the Bhagavad Geetha, and following its teachings should not in

any way interfere with a woman's - or a man's - duty towards the family and

community.

>3) How would non Sri Vaishnava's convert to Vaishnavism? We don't have

>baptism..

> When we don't convert people, then how can we say that this religion

>willl

> be extremely popular? Only the people born as Sri Vaishnava's will

> know about it, unlike other Western religions.

 

Present day views of SriVaishnavism can be very misleading, one is born as

an Iyengar therefore he/she must be a SriVaishnava. But, we must recognize

that SriVaishnavism, like VeeraSaivism, Saktism, and Sikhism, is a religion,

not a caste. So, obviously there is room for people to convert into this

faith, or not follow this faith, if they choose to do so.

 

Inclination towards Sriman Narayana and the recognition of His Krpa, in my

opinion, does not require any formal ritual. However, according to Sri

Tridandi Jeear, to really call oneself a SriVaishnava one must receive

formal initiation through Samasrayanam, in which an acharya or elder

formally initiates a devotee into the practices and precepts of the

tradition. Conversion to SriVaishnavism by this method is not at all

restricted by caste, gender, or race. In fact, from what I understand,

there have been even a few westerners who have gone through this ritual in

their acceptance of our faith.

 

The performance of this ritual is a very important and poignant part of our

sampradayam. However, many modern day Srivaishnavas have chosen not to

receive this, because of the dietary and ritualistic obligations involved.

 

Daasanu Daasan,

 

Mohan