HH Sri Tridandi Jeear's Net Chat

[Guest guest]

The following is my rough attempt to summarize HH

Sri Tridandi SrimanNarayana Ramanuja Jeear Swamy's

net based upanyAsam, which took place on Sunday,

October 10. Any mistakes are my own, and all that

is correct is due to Sri Tridandi Jeear's

mangalAsAsanas.

 

Sri Jeear Swamy began his discourse by describing

how during these 10 days prior to Vijaya Dasami,

SriVaishnava scholars from all over the state of

Andhra Pradesh are gathering at his Ashram to

discuss issues from both Sanskrit and Tamil vEdam,

as well as to test and award the religious

students in his vEda pAthasala. The gathering is

being called the ubhaya vEdanta pandita sabha, and

includes 16 renowned scholars in Sanskrit vEdam

and 14 in nAlAyira divya prabhandam. A grand

sahasra kalasa thirumanjanam to Sri Ramar, the

presiding Deity of Sri Tridandi Jeear's Ashram,

will be taking place on Vijaya Dasami.

 

Addressing the primarily Telugu speaking group of

devotees in this net chat, HH utilized the above

mentioned gathering to stress the importance of

the tamizh vEdam in our sampradAyam. HH told the

story of a very great and respected king who

strictly adhered to the dharma in accordance with

sAstra. But, his respect for Sanskrit Vedam

biased him towards Sanskrit alone as the medium of

communication with the Divine. One day while

visiting a temple, the king noticed a poet singing

to the god of the temple in Tamil. Fearing that

the gods would be insulted by the use of a

language other than Sanskrit, the king, in his

rage, banished this poet from his kingdom. The

pious and humble poet merely followed the king's

orders and left the kingdom for a nearby forest.

 

The king had always thought of himself as a good

and virtuous man. But, much to his surprise, he

found himself in narakam after leaving his mortal

coils. The king approached and pleaded with Yama

to explain the reason for such punishment. How is

that a good and noble king, one who worshipped the

gods, cared for the Brahmins, and who performed

all actions in strict adherence to vEdic

priniciples should wind up in hell?

 

Yama reminded the king of his only sin. The king

had banished a bhAgavatha from his kingdom, and as

a result reaped a sin that would far outweigh all

his virtues. The King replied in defense that the

man was merely reciting in Tamil, not the sacred

language of the gods, Sanskrit. Yama replied that

it was what was being recited, not the language,

that was of importance. The person was singing

verses in Tamil that were praising Sriman

Narayana, whose praise is sacred in whatever

language it is being recited.

 

HH went on to point out that our Acharyans have

shown that even Sanskrit texts are irrelevant if

they do not promote and praise the Supreme Lord

Sriman Narayana. There are many Boudha and Jain

texts that are written in Sanskrit, but our

Acharyans have rejected them.

 

The world did not know about the tamizh vEdam for

centuries, consequently many people see it as

being a relatively new concept compared to the

antiquity of the 4 Sanskrit books. But, HH

stated, the tamizh vEda is just as eternal as the

Sanskrit vEda, and indeed contains the

quintessence of all vEdic knowledge. By the grace

and effort of emperumAnAr Sri Ramanuja, the

nAlAyiram has spread throughout all of South

India. It is only for all of us to put aside our

linguistic and cultural biases, learn the Divya

Prabhandam, and share the profound wisdom of the

Dravida Saints with everyone. Sadly, a few Tamil

speaking people have put up a protective wall

around the tamizh vEdam, claiming it to be only

for the own. It is up to all bhAgavathas to tear

down this wall by recognizing that the universal

messages of our azhwArs belong to everyone. Not

only should transliterations of nAlAyiram be

provided to all SriVaishnavas, but each and every

devotee must make an effort to learn the deeper

meanings of at least a few of the more important

pAsurams in the Divya Prabhandam, such that the

beauty and profound wisdom of AzhwArs can be

known. A little bee goes to several different

flowers to collect the nectar from each.

Similarly, we should go to each other's cultures,

languages and AchAryans to receive the nectar of

instruction that leads us to His Lotus Feet.

 

As per the divine orders of HH, a group of

devotees of Telugu origin will be attempting to

translate one beautiful pAsuram from

ThiruvAymozhi, "Pattudai Adiavarku," for the next

net chat, which will be taking place on October 17

beginning at 8:30 PM IST (11:00 AM Eastern). In

addition to providing his profound insights on

ThiruvAymozhi, HH will also be addressing the the

importance of AzhwArs and AchAryans.

 

Information on how to join Sri Tridandi Jeear

Swamy's net chat can be found in his web page:

www.chinnajeeyar.org

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

 

Mohan