Dalls NAMA Conference

[Guest guest]

Sri:

Srimate Sri Lakshminrusimha Parabrahmane namaha

 

Dear devotees,

namo nArAyaNA.

 

This is a short report by Sri Venkat Rajaji on the recent NAMA

conference held at Dallas. Sorry if this has already been posted

to the list.

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

ananthapadmanAbha dAsan

krishNArpanam

----------

 

I would like to give my feedback on this year's conference. I think the

conference was done very well, and I enjoyed everything about it. I was

glad to witness the Thirumanjanams performed for Sri Rama on two days

and listen to the Veda Parayanam and Prabhandam Ghosti. It sounded

electrifying.

 

The conference started off with Sri Dileepan's speech on the history/age

 

of Sri Vaishnavism and Bhagavath Seshathvam. He complimented his

speech with a nice PowerPoint presentation. He made the point that Sri

Vaishnavism is timeless dating back to the beginning of time, since it

is

mentioned in the Vedas. He also talked about the importance of serving

other Bhagavathas, which is more pleasing to God than serving Him. He

used quotations from Naalaayira Divya Prabhandams to make his point.

 

Sri Krishna Kalale did a great job discussing the Life and Works of Sri

Ramanuja. Since I helped my mother with the Ramanuja Poster

Presentation, Sri Krishna Kalale's speech made it easier for me to

realize

the greatness of Sri Ramanuja and what he has done for us.

 

The next day's speeches began with Sri Nadadur Mathavan discussing the

Principles and Practices of Sri Vaishnavism. I have heard Sri Nadadur

Mathavan speak before, but both times he had to stop in the middle of

his

speech for lack of time. Well, it was well worth the wait to hear an

entire

speech of his. He concisely captured the essence of the ocean we call

Sri

Vaishnavism. He concluded with a beautiful recitation of a Desika

Prabhandam. It was absolutely magnificent.

 

The next speech was given by Sri Anand about Pancha Samskaaram.

This particular topic is a very important topic that needs to be

discussed in

forums like these. Sri Anand discussed the significance of Pancha

Samskaaram in a very clear and simple manner. It was a good speech,

and I hope that people were inspired by Sri Anand's speech to go get

Pancha Samskaaram done.

 

The next thing was a panel discussion on the Role of Women in Sri

Vaishnavism conducted by Srimathy Nagu Satyan, Sri Krishnaswamy,

and Sri Krishna Kalale. I really enjoyed Srimathy Nagu Satyan's speech.

She did a great job and gave a rather fascinating and in my opinion

logical

interpretation as to why Shastras and Manu Smruthi are the way they are

and give the rules that they do. Sri Krishnaswamy also gave a nice

speech

with a very complimentary computer projection that was also interesting.

 

I also liked Sri Krishna Kalale's slant. He did a good job of quoting

Bhagavad Gita and Manu Smruthi to give a very substantiated and

convincing speech. I was impressed to learn how our Sampradaayam

gives prime importance to the married woman.

 

Sri Venkat Kanumalla gave the final speech of the day on the subject of

Mahavishwasam. I absolutely and thoroughly enjoyed his speech. First, it

 

does not matter what he says or even if you agree or disagree with what

he says, he is a riveting speaker. He just absolutely captivates the

audience,

and you as the audience are just begging to hear more of what he has to

say. The actual content of his speech was very important for all Sri

Vaishnavas. He spoke on Mahavishwasam or absolute surrender to

Sriman Narayana, which is one of the most important aspects of Sri

Vaishnavism. His speech was so good that someone who had not

previously done Prapatti, would have immediately stopped what they

were doing and gone to India to get Prapatti done after hearing his

speech. His speech was so simple and so convincing with simple

illustrations like, why do you not get insurance for your soul by

getting

Prapatti done when you have insurance for your car and house, which are

merely temporary objects? I just cannot say enough good things about his

 

speech.

 

The next day Sri Krishna Kalale spoke on Bhagavaan Naama Prabhaavam.

He gave an excellent speech with, according to him, very little

preparation.

He gave a talk every day of the conference. What that tells me is that

he is

very knowledgeable in Sri Vaishnavism even though it is a vast subject.

It

is impossible for someone like me to ever learn or have as much

knowledge

about Sri Vaishnavism as Sri Krishna Kalale has.

 

The final forum during this conference was a debate on Divya Desams.

Even though it was light hearted and fun for us to listen to, all the

participants made compelling arguments for the Divya Desam they were

defending. It was a debate as to which Perumal was the greatest, but as

we

all know, anywhere there is Perumal, that place is the greatest place.

So it

was a debate that really could not be debated, but regardless of that I

still

think there was a winner. I think Sri Anand made the best arguments in

his

defense of Kanchipuram Varadaraja Perumal. He refuted all the other

Divya

Desams and gave clear and convincing arguments that supported his case

as

to why Kanchipuram is the greatest Divya Desam of the 106 on earth that

people can see.

 

I think both the entertainment programs on Friday and Saturday night

were done very well. I know that Srimathy Revathi Srinath and Srimathy

Vijaya Chakravarty worked very hard to provide entertainment for the

audience. Srimathy Revathi Srinath did a great job of directing the

Friday

night's play. I know first hand because I was in it, and she did a great

job

of keeping her composure and being patient with all of the kids who were

 

at times tough to deal with (not me!). Srimathy Vijaya Chakravarty

assisted

by Srimathy Nagu Satyan also did a good job with Saturday night's

program

coordinating entertainment with people from all over the United States,

which I am sure is tough to handle especially when you only have two

hours

to rehearse all of this together in one big group.

 

I think this NAMA conference was a great success. All the speeches were

easy to understand and were given by very qualified speakers. The

speakers

made some of the more complex topics so easy that even someone with no

knowledge of Sri Vaishnavism like myself could easily understand them.

 

This, the previous NAMA conference held in Denver, and Sri Ahobila Mutt

conference held in New Jersey earlier this year have all been great for

me to make new friends. There was enough time during the breaks for us

young adults to sit down and get to know each other well. On the free

day

we as a group of 12 people spent a few hours together just hanging out

at

the mall. After the end of the conference a group of 6 of us spent all

night

hanging out watching videos. I am sure we will keep in touch with each

other

for many years to come.

 

Ultimately, I think this concept of NAMA is a great idea. Without it, I

am not sure that I would have learnt that much about Sri Vaishnavism. I

have also met so many new people and made so many new friends that I am

not sure I would have met without these NAMA conferences. I think this

conference and the past conferences that I have attended have all been

successful. I really see Sri Vaishnavism headed in the right direction

for the

21st Century in America. I really enjoyed this conference, and I am

really

looking forward to the next one.

 

Venkat Rajaji

 

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