once more on "cleanliness" in temples/dd/mutts

[Guest guest]

Dear members,

 

To adiyen's pleasant surprise some members are writing

privately to me giving comments about adiyen's

thoughts on "cleanliness in temples/dd/mutts" and

about CITTA-SHUDDHI project. Many members are writing

to me really many interesting things.

 

Some member's thoughts which adiyen is thinking is

relevant adiyen is continuing to share with you and

hope it will be of interest to you all. Please read

and also kindly give your constructive suggestions and

ideas to develop this matter further as adiyen is

slowly beginning to think that, if all bhagavathas

take it seriously and if our acharyAs and pontiffs are

slowly persuaded to give wholehearted blessings to it,

CITTA-SHUDDHI project (CITTA : "Cleanliness in Temples

and Temple-Areas" project) one day has potential of

becoming reality and not just some madman's dream like

adiyen's.

 

One member writes:

 

"Dear Sampathkumar, While commending your concern for

cleanliness in temples, let me also caution you that

your ideas may not receive anything more than lukewarm

response from influential quarters because anything

warmer will mean admitting that our temples etc. are

actually in various states of uncleanliness and hence

badly in need of something like your "CITTA-SHUDDHI"

project. Such an admission nobody in the present

Vaishnavite Order or Establishment will ever accept.

Thus your ideas at the most will be received with

polite endorsement and then quietly dismissed as one

man's fervour for a cliche masquerading as a great

cause."

 

Another members writes:

 

"Dear Sampath, Your thoughts on "cleanliness in DD

etc" are very good but don't you think you are

over=stressing the obvious? After all what are you

really stating? That temples etc. must be kept clean?

So be it. What is there to debate about it? All our

acharyas and pontiffs would welcome it and encourage

it no doubt. But do you seriously expect them to make

a great movement or revolution out of it? "Shuddhi" is

important yes but how do you expect any of our

acharyas to make it out to be a great canon of our

religiont? You are trying to make a great 'siddhAntam"

out of "shuddhi" in temples etc! You may next give

brushing one's teeth in the morning the status of holy

gospel...." (adiyen really enjoyed this one!).

 

Another member wrote to adiyen very nicely:

 

"Sri.Sampathkumar, I have been reading your thoughts

on "cleanliness in temples etc." and appreciate your

concern for the subject. Please tell me at a time when

people feel powerless and are unable to bring

cleanliness to their own streets and neighbourhood in

Madras how they can be empowered or "incentivised" to

bring cleanliness to temples, dd etc.? So what are you

really saying? When you say our temples are unclean

you are being no different from someone saying that

our cities and towns and villages are unclean, that

our streets are filthy, and that our roads are bad.

You are being just one more of the millions who go on

complaining about this state of civic affairs or that

and yet are powerless or too lazy to do anything ...

Sri.Sampath, you also wrote the following :

"Write about the progress of CITTA-SHUDDHi work in

"nrisimha-priya", "paduka", Bhakti-archives, i-net

groups etc. and popularize the concept of "shuddhi" in

temples as one of cardinal principles of Srivaishnava

ethos.

"(13) Pontiff should show extra kindness and give

extra-blessings to those who have done outstanding

work in bringing cleanliness to even one temple or

temple-area in a year.

"(!4) Create a "sat-sangham" of CITTA-SHUDDHI workers

who will not only perfrom kainkaryam by reciting

pasurams and vedas during temple utsavams but also

show they have brought cleanliness to the temple. Give

them separate identity and "maryAdhai" such as given

to "veda-parayanam goshti" and "prbhandam-goshti". "

 

Sri.Sampath, all the above ideas sound good but do you

seriously believe they are practical? Do you think

they fit into the scheme of our age-old "sampradAyam"?

Do you think it will all be acceptable? You are sadly

mistaken.

 

You have good intentions, Sri.Sampath, but you are not

being realistic. You must understand that

"cleanliness" is a "given" in the scheme of things..

like what Sri.Anbil wrote on the list in response to

you.. it is like saying "satyam vada, dharmam chara"

(speak the truth, do the right thing). You don;t need

the inspiration of great philosophy to drive home such

basic points. It would be belabouring the obvious and

exaggerating the commonplace. People are generally

inspired by lofty doctrines of "mOksham", "prappatti",

by stories of "bhakti", by ideals of spiritual

achievement etc. ... it would be naive to expect them

to be similarly inspired by an idea such as yours ...

which as far as I can see is some kind of clarion call

for "shuddhi" but has as much significance as a

roadside public-notice put up by the muncipality and

which reads: "DO NOT LITTER".

--\

--

Dear members, adiyEn really liked all the above

messages. Adiyen also responded to them which will be

shared in another post.

 

dAsan,

Sampathkumar

 

 

 

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