Guest guest Posted March 7, 2000 Report Share Posted March 7, 2000 vanakkam, I'm new to this group but a lot of names here do sound familiar from SCT. I'm read with great interest the thread regarding the lack of knowledge of sambradyam (tradition?!) and the writings/teachings of great acharyas. My feeling is that both must be treated separately. traditions change and evolve and thus surpass times but what is widely happening (IMO) is that sambradyams have lost their appeal because most people are not able to explain either the logic behind those traditions or their significance to the younger ones. I completely agree that we should find a way that these valuable teachings are not completely lost and I have a suggestion for it. How about making the life history of acharyas as amar chitra kathas? These still appeal a lot to kids and when I go to buy them for my nieces and nephews I've to search hard to find one which they haven't read! Even the teachings can be imparted to kids in the way of stories. On a tangential note, my cousin couldn't complete his 8 years in the vedic school at Madurantakam because of economic situations. I'm sure there are similar circumstances in which pupils drop out of this school. Among other things how about setting up a fund so that these people get some stipend atleast in their last two years? Its really hard to attract pupils to such schools (i know of only this one - may be there are others). hope members don't mind my casual language! Geetha. ____ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2000 Report Share Posted March 8, 2000 --- Geetha Ramaswami <githaar8 wrote: > vanakkam, what is widely happening (IMO) is that> sambradyams have> lost their appeal because most people are not able> to explain> either the logic behind those traditions or their> significance > to the younger ones. Very good point. The question to ask is why have we all lost the ability to appreciate and explain the "logic" of our religious tradition to younger ones. Because there are not enough good teachers/tutors around. When I was a very young boy back in my native town our community "vAdhyAr" himself was a fairly erudite man who besides carrying out his usual "vAdhyAr" duties was also perfectly competent to hold discourses on "purAna", "vedanta" and Srisookthis. He could explain some basics fairly well in a simple, arresting and effective way even if not with the eloquent aplomb of a regular "veda-vid". Today there is none within our immediate neighbourhoods who can offer us such sage counsel and education on matters of religion, tradition and philosophy. All our "vAdhyAr-s" are so heavily over-committed to duties of performing rituals, marriages, punyAvachanam, seemanthams and tarpaNams etc. that they hardly have time to sit and explain to young community members about the beauties and wonders of "sampradAyam". Thus we all are forced to either buy heavy books on the subject, or to listen to 'upanyAsam' lectures or tapes of famous scholars or go in search of some vedic scholar who lives somewhere else and is willing to individually spend some time with us in explaining what you call the "logic" of our religious traditions. Unfortunately, the situation (in India at least) today is that acquiring even primary understanding and awareness of our "sampradAyam" has become a scholarly pursuit in its own right. Having acquired the most basic knowledge and understanding of your relgious tradition today you become not so much a good SriVaishnavan as a "scholar in Vaishnavism"! > I completely agree that we should find a way that > these valuable teachings are not completely lost > and I have a suggestion for it. How about making > the life history of acharyas as amar chitra kathas? > These still appeal a lot to kids and when I go to > buy> them for my nieces and nephews I've to search hard> to find> one which they haven't read! Even the teachings can> be> imparted to kids in the way of stories. Good idea. Perhaps publishers of "Nrsimha-priya", "pAduka" and "hayagriva-priya" and other will take note of your idea and give it a try. But you know the problem is that there is not enough circulation going around for existing publications even.... but that's a different story... Secondly, not many people (adults and children alike) have patience for long-winded stories these days. They want you to get to the point immediately! And, alas, the best of "purAnic" stories are invariably long and long-winded. > On a tangential note, my cousin couldn't complete > his> 8 years in the vedic school at Madurantakam because> of economic situations. I'm sure there are similar> circumstances in which pupils drop out of this > school. The late Kanchi paramAchArya once told his disciples, "None of you needs to worry about funding and finance for my veda-patashAlA-s. I will somehow take care of it. But will you all ensure that at least one of your children or your immediate family will pursure his mission lifelong in Vedic pursuit? Can you all promise to send me one of your children? If you can do that, then let me tell you this: don't worry about the economics or management of this... leave it all to me and I will handle it all myself." The moral of the story is : funding for a Veda-pATashAla poses a problem only when you want other people's children going to it. If your own child happened to be going to one such school funding will take care of itself! The ParamachAryA always had an uncanny ability to get to the heart of a matter in a cold-blooded, clinical, no-nonsense sort of way! All disciples gathered there that day .... and there were many high-ranking IAS officers, doctors and lawyers there amongst the gathering.... all of them simply remained silent and shame-faced! > Among other things how about setting up a fund so > that> these people get some stipend atleast in their last> two years?> Its really hard to attract pupils to such schools (i> know of only > this one - may be there are others). > As the Kanchi-AchAryA pointed out, again, funding is not really the major problem here! Our value-system is! > hope members don't mind my casual language! > Geetha. Not all, Madam, I rather like your style! I wish more members like you on the list would switch to normal conversational style of writing! dAsan, Sampathkumaran Talk to your friends online with Messenger. http://im. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2000 Report Share Posted March 8, 2000 I apologize in advance if the following is offensive in any way, but here is my unqualified but well meaning thoughts on this issue: During my recent visit to India, I had the good fortune to meet with several SriVaishnava scholars and ardent followers of the tradition, and with some, had the opportunity to discuss this very topic of why interest in SriVaishnavam has been sparse at best. All of the ones I spoke with came back with a very similar reply, what seems to be lacking among both SVs and non-SVs alike is the "rucchi" for Perumal, that simple inclination and love towards the Divine that inspires us to want to serve Him. Now, we in Bhakti and its offshoot activities spend a great deal of time and effort discussing difficult vedAntic concepts and sampradAyic nuances, and among ourselves recognize the value and importance of these. And, when we stop to think about it, we are clearly aware that the very reason for such interests is because of this simple love for Him that inspires us to want to serve Him, talk about Him, and share in the wonders of the sampradAyam that centers itself around Him. It is this same ruchhi that glowed in the eyes and smiles of every SriVaishnava I met during my travels. But, for some reason, newcomers and outsiders to the tradition are unable to pick up this rucchi and instead see only the external, the high level philosophy, the elaborate rituals, the orthodox principles, and as a result, feel somewhat overwhelmed or taken aback to want to support this cause. Such a rucchi, however, is clearly visible among followers of less traditional schools of thought. When one speaks to a Sai Baba devotee, for example, one is almost immediately brought into the wonder of Baba, the greatness of his teachings, the aura that surrounds him, and of course, the inexplicable miracles that he is said to be able to perform. There is almost a child-like excitement about the way this devotee speaks to you that seems to touch one's heart, pulling people hailingfrom good SriVaishnava families into the fold. Now, I am not suggesting that we go out as marketing agents, turning our Perumal into the next miracle provider or quick fix nirvana agent. But, what I am suggesting is that when speaking with others, and perhaps even among ourselves, we make a little stronger effort to share that simple heartfelt faith, that faith that has been planted only by Him out of His anugraham, the faith that has done miracles in our hearts and lives. I picked up on such heartfelt faith in Sri Sadagopan's postings on his recent visit to India. One quote from AlavandAr's outpourings to Sri Varadaraja stands out in my mind: yasya prasAdha kalayA Bhadira; sruNOthi panghu: pradhAvathi javanEcha vakthi mooka: I andha: prapasyathi sutham labhathE cha vandhyA thamm dEvamEva Varadham saraNam gathOsmi II (meaning ): By whose slightest grace ,the deaf one hears, the lame one runs , the dumb one speaks , the blind person sees perfectly , the infertile lady gives birth to a son , adiyEn seeks that VaradarAjan of Hasthigiri as my sole refuge . I feel that if such an optimistic and heartfelt sense of joyous faith, mahAviswAsam, could be cultivated and shared with our children and all others to whom we come in contact with, then the other aspects of our sampradAyam, the sacred texts, the rich traditions, the profound philosophies, would naturally gain strong support. dAsan Mohan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2000 Report Share Posted March 8, 2000 >--- sampath kumar <sampathkumar_2000 wrote: >>--- Geetha Ramaswami <githaar8 wrote: >** deleted** > > > and I have a suggestion for it. How about making > > the life history of acharyas as amar chitra kathas? > >Good idea. Perhaps publishers of "Nrsimha-priya", >"pAduka" and "hayagriva-priya" and other will take >note of your idea and give it a try. But you know the >problem is that there is not enough circulation going >around for existing publications even.... but that's a >different story... > Two points I wish to Contradict: 1. yes, if Narasimhapriya or someone new goes to print these items, yes there may not be enough circulation. What I am suggetsing is that even the life/writings of great acharyas etc can be written in forms of stories and could be asked to print by the publishers of amar chitra kathas. I'm sure none of the acharyas stories is as long as mahabharatam and even if it is it can be split and printed as short stories with illustrations. Believe me Kids do read them however long that may be !! what could be done by Narasimhapriya is to introduce a kids section with illustrations - It could be teachings in the way of moral section or stories. >Secondly, not many people (adults and children alike) >have patience for long-winded stories these days. They >want you to get to the point immediately! And, alas, >the best of "purAnic" stories are invariably long and >long-winded. > 2. Again I've to disagree that people don't read long winding stories. Has John Grisham's latest novel only 3 pages long? Look at the bestseller (any magazines/countries) and please look at the number of their pages! Stories if written properly and appealingly can attract big audiences irrespective of the size? How many people didn't read "The suitable boy" just because it was 700 pages long? *deleted*** > >*story of kanchia charya deleted* > >The moral of the story is : funding for a >Veda-pATashAla poses a problem only when you want >other people's children going to it. If your own child >happened to be going to one such school funding will >take care of itself! > >The ParamachAryA always had an uncanny ability to get >to the heart of a matter in a cold-blooded, clinical, >no-nonsense sort of way! > >All disciples gathered there that day .... and there >were many high-ranking IAS officers, doctors and >lawyers there amongst the gathering.... all of them >simply remained silent and shame-faced! > >dAsan, >Sampathkumaran The audience of Kanchi acharya was top civil servants, executives - and basically richer or upper middle class. What about the lower spectrum? (BTW which is where I come from) Money is a *BIG* issue here! It might be difficult to believe sitting in front of a computer but in reality the upper middle class consists of only 20% (the estimation is ofcourse approximate) of the population and the rest are all on the race of "the fittest" to survive! And economy plays a bigger role in the choices they make in their lives ! Geetha. ____ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2000 Report Share Posted March 8, 2000 Dear Bhagavatas, Sri. Mohan Sagar wrote: >what seems to be lacking among both SVs and non-SVs alike is the "rucchi" for Perumal, that simple inclination and love towards the Divine that inspires us to want to serve Him. Response: I think it is fair to say that the "rucchi" is usually not the first thing to be developed. "rucchi" comes with maturity. The fact that most of us do not posses the degree of humility required to accept what our acharyas say unconditionally( let alone what non-acharyas say) lends credence to this claim. True "rucchi" is a result of a strong rational conviction about the nature of the ultimate reality. Some individuals may posses the strong rational conviction right at birth, due to the merits contained in their prArabdha karma. For others the strong rational conviction may come about as a result of actions in the current janma. Is it fair of us to expect the younger generation to develop "ruchhi" right at the outset? Is it not essential for us to spend time to explain to them the profundity of the vedic paradigm( at least to a minimal extent), prior to forming expectations? Out of our free will, we choose to live in a non-vedic environment (be it North America or India.) As a result of this, we voluntarily subject ourselves and also our siblings and children to difficulty. We all have to face the onslaught from the "logical positivist" paradigm, underlying western science, which dogmatically declares anything that cannot be verified empirically, is unreal. This naturally makes it more difficult to accept things based on faith in others. As for spreading the Vedic paridigm: Personally I do not feel that spreading the Vedic paradigm indiscriminately (to the masses) is prudent. I do not think such a policy would be sanctioned by orthodox Vedantins, like our acharyas. The vedic paradigm is idealistic and will not appeal to all. Furthermore, I also don't think money is the key. -It is easy to give money, but much more difficult to dedicate your time and life! ramanuja dasan, Venkat ------ - aazhvaar, emberumaanaar, desikan, jeeyar tiruvadigale saranam - To Post a message, send it to: bhakti-list (AT) eGroups (DOT) com Visit http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/ for more information ------ You have a voice mail message waiting for you at iHello.com: http://click./1/2130/2/_/716111/_/952536469/ -- Talk to your group with your own voice! -- /VoiceChatPage?listName=bhakti-list&m=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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