SMS Chari's visit to Dallas TX

[Guest guest]

Dear members:

 

During the last two days I had the bhAgyam of participating in lecture

sessions conducted by Sri. SaragUr mAdabUsi SrInivAsAchAri (SMS), a well

known SriVaishnavite scholar. Although Dr. SMS Chari needs no introduction,

I would like to quote from a message sent by Smt. Vimala Rajaji of the

Dallas NAMA chapter:

 

"Dr. S.M. Srinivasa Chari is nearly 80 years old. He has a Ph. D in Philosophy

from the University of Madras. He is a learned Sanskrit scholar having been

tutored by eminent traditional scholars. He has traveled extensively all over

the world and has worked in the United States and United Kingdom for the

Ministry of Education of India. He is the author of seven books including

'Philosophy and Theistic Mysticism of the Azhvars', 'Vaishnavism' and

'Fundamentals of Visistadvaita Vedanta'. Dr. Chari currently resides in

Bangalore and visits his children in the United States every year."

 

The lecture sessions were informal discussions, with Sri. SMS Chari

taking the lead in talking about a desired topic at length for about an

hour, followed by another hour of questions from participants. The

sessions were held in Mr. and Mrs. Rajaji's residence on Wednesday and

Thursday evenings after 8 pm.

 

Personally, I was spellbound by the amazing clarity with with Dr. Chari

expounded the difficult and little known concepts of Srivaishnavism,

VishistAdvaita and Ubhaya Vedanta. The first evening's chosen topic was

about fundamentals of VishistAdvaita, and the second evening's discussion

concerned the AzhwArs and their philosophy. All discussions were held in

English, except for the times when Dr. Chari had quotations in Sanskrit or

Tamil which he would immediately translate and explain.

 

On the first night Dr. Chari first discussed the theology of different

religions, and explained how the ancient Indian religions were closely tied

to philosophy and metaphysics in sharp contrast to the dogma that shapes

other faiths. He then briefly described some of the oldest Hindu faiths,

such as SAktAism, Saivism, and finally, Vaishnavism. Dr. Chari cited sruti

in support of Vishnu as the true representation of Brahman, and described how

rudra, not Siva was the god of Rg Veda. He then talked about the differences

in schools of vedAnta, and in particular, about the SarIra-Atma-bhAva

sambandha, which distinguishes VishistAdvaita from the other two. He clearly

explained the states of the jIva, about mokSa and the means for it, such as

bhakti-yoga and prapatti. He described the Srivaishnava godhead in detail,

including the ontological nature of pirAtti. During the question-answer

session, he clarifed that the vedic religion was NOT polytheistic, and also

explained the apparent anthropromorphism in the Hindu religion.

 

I really enjoyed the second evening's discussion about ubhaya vedAnta and the

AzhwArs. Every time Dr. Chari quoted NammAzhwAr's pAsurams I almost wept

with joy. His English translations of them were no less moving. My wife

who accompanied me for both the lecture sessions, also agreed that the

discussion on AzhwArs was the best part of those two days. "Vedam Tamizh

cheydha mAran Sadagopan" and "ThirukkaNdEn, un thirumEni kaNdEn" still

continue to ring in my ears, not to mention the numerous others that I can't

seem to remember right now! I was captivated by NammAzhwAr's first pAsuram,

where he, inspired by divine vision, resolves an age-old controversy about

the nature of Brahman. Truly it is the blessing of God that AzhwArs have

taken birth in bhUlOkam, thereby expounding and independently verifying the

vedic truths. Dr. Chari then compared the references made by AzhwArs to

prapatti/SaraNAgati with their analogues in other purAnas. He concluded with

a description of the many avatAras of Sriman nArAyaNa and their purpose, i.e.

to show human beings the path of moksha. The question-answer session on the

second night centered on how to practice Srivaishnava sampradAyam in today's

age, especially in countries far away from India.

 

Dr. Chari stated that he wasn't a doomsayer, but that religion, learning,

and tradition in his opinion, go through their own cycles just like life which

is subject to death and rebirth. His point was, that we should do our utmost

to retain our tradition, subject to individual ability. We should not shirk

our sAmpradAyic duties, and should take every opportunity to live as examples

for others to follow. Ultimately, we are limited by our imperfections and by

the yugam that we live in. But we should practice our nitya-karmas, and follow

the footsteps of our AchAryas. Perhaps that is all we can do, at this time.

Perhaps Sriman nArAyaNa will incarnate again. Or, perhaps kaliyugam will take

its due course, followed by praLaya, and the cycle of yugams will begin all

over again...

 

This morning my wife and I had the opportunity to drive Mr. and Mrs. SMS Chari

to the Dallas temple, and later on spend some time with them in the afternoon

before they left for Houston. Dr. Chari spoke with nostalgia about his earlier

years spent in the tutelage of vidwAns like Sri. UttamUr VIrarAghavAchAriar,

Sri. MadhurAnthakam SwAmi, and the jeers of the ParakAla and Ahobila Matams.

I felt truly fortunate that I was able to have this anubhavam. We also learnt

that Dr. SMS Chari is related to my father, and I couldn't find words to

express my happiness. I hope to be able to drive down to Houston this weekend

and attend another of his lectures.

 

Excuse me for this long message; I just wanted to describe to you all my

brief interaction with a famous scholar from our community. Thanks for

your patience.

 

Truly,

-Srinath Chakravarty

email: xsrinath