Reg: Funding of Srivaishnava Causes

[Guest guest]

> If the Bhakthas would permit me I would like to place the following for

> their consideration:

> I am in the business of corporate promotions. I feel that there are a few

> products which could be of use to members personally, viz:

> 1) Leather Wallets, 2) Leather Executive Bags, 3) Leather Laptop Bags, 4)

> Leather Business Planners, ...

 

Though your ideas are well-intentioned, we should try at all costs

to avoid trading in leather and other products which come at the cost

of the merciless slaughter of cows and other animals. As we are all

aware, the end does not justify the means.

 

"gO-brAhmaNEbhyaH Subham astu nityam"

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

Mani

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhakthas,

 

At the outset let me appologise to you all for coming back to you on the

same subject. All of us must have seen the appeals of Smt.Nagu Satyan for

Vilakkoli Perumal Koil and Sri. Vishnu for the Tiruninravur temple.To be

very honest with you all, I do not know what kind of response these two

causes would evoke! But with every passing day I have a feeling of

helplessness overcoming me - that there will be just sporadic responses to

such appeals and we will learn to wallow in this state of helplessness for

all times to come. I definitely want to be proved wrong.

 

If the Bhakthas would permit me I would like to place the following for

their consideration:

I am in the business of corporate promotions. I feel that there are a few

products which could be of use to members personally, viz:

1) Leather Wallets, 2) Leather Executive Bags, 3) Leather Laptop Bags, 4)

Leather Business Planners, 5) T-shirts, 6) Rexine Conference Bags,7) Acrylic

Promotional items ... the list goes on! I AM WILLING TO DONATE A CERTAIN

PORTION OF THE ORDER VALUE TO SVSS (IN INDIA ONLY-SINCE RBI WOULD NOT PERMIT

EXTERNAL REMITTANCES)SO THAT SVSS CAN POOL SUCH FUNDS AND ADDRESS THE

SRIVAISHANVA CAUSE A BIT MORE EFFECTIVELY. My only precondition would be

that I would need a minimum volume of 250 pcs per product/design. If any

members/groups of members/their own enterprises/ or their employers have a

requirement for any of the products mentioned above, do please contact

me.Incase the members have requirements for any products that has not been

listed above please do contact me - since the above list is not conclusive.

 

I am planning to source some books on our darshanam, besides CDS and audio

cassettes.I shall keep members posted on the details at a later date.

Members who may be interested in them could also contact me.I once again

re-iterate that this is only an honest attempt to help the darshanam.

Alternatively if members are aware of individuals or organisations in India,

who may be interested in the above, please give me their reference, so that

I can contact them.

 

Pranamams

Adiyen

 

K.Lakshminarayan

 

______________________

Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

[Guest guest]

Dear Members,

 

Sri. Mani wrote,

>Though your ideas are well-intentioned, we should try at all costs

>to avoid trading in leather and other products which come at the cost

>of the merciless slaughter of cows and other animals. As we are all

>aware, the end does not justify the means.

 

I respect the above opinion and similar views. However, this does raise more

troubling questions, at least in my mind. Most of us do wear leather

footwear and belts, carry leather bags and briefcases, and covet leather

jackets. We all work for organizations that are engaged in such trade and

practices, that directly or indirectly, go against "ethics". We all use

products manufactured through questionable practices, at some point in the

assembly line.

 

Let us face it, every private organization is out there to make money and a

few million bovines butchered or families destroyed through alcohol or

radiation doesn't matter much. In fact, save for a few socially

conscientious, majority of the corporations turn a blind-eye to such acts,

when it comes to the bottom-line. The end does not justify the means here.

And yet, we all continue to work for them - day in and day out.

 

The general argument is as long as we do not commit the 'sin' ourselves or

'promote' the same, it is okay. We manage to practice the former part, but

for the latter I doubt it, except maybe in a few instances. The point I am

trying to drive home here is, we all walk a tight rope in matters such as

these and therefore it may not be incorrect, if the outcome overwhelmingly

results in a good cause.

 

In that case, it may be more analogous to up-rooting some thousand families

and destroying the habitat of dozen animals to build a dam, that could save

disproportionately large numbers from being flooded or killed in drought,

year after year! Here, the end may (?!) justify the means, or maybe not

really.....

Reverently,

Sriram Ranganathan

[Guest guest]

dear bhAgavathAs,

regarding the point made by sri sriram ranganathan

adiyEn would like to add the following:

yes, we all do such acts in the course of our work,

'in the assembly line at some point or other' as he

has put it. In such a situation follow what Bahgawan

says in the GitA: "do your duty in a steadfast manner

WITHOUT thinking of the fruits thereof. Dedicate

these

acts to Me. Then like the droplets of water on a

lotus

leaf, no sin will adhere to you."

Think of the job of an executioner. He has to perform

his duty which involves hanging a criminal.

Certainly,

no sin will adhere to him, if he does that act in the

above manner. After all, somebody has to be the

executioner as well. And remember, both the

executioner and the executed are Him. The very act of

execution is Him. The secret lies in not thinking

even

for a moment that you are the doer. Do what your

instinct tells you to.Rest you leave it to Him.

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan narasimhan

> --- Sriram Ranganathan <srirangan

> wrote:

We all use

> > products manufactured through questionable

> > practices, at some point in the

> > assembly line.

> >

> > The general argument is as long as we do not

commit

> > the 'sin' ourselves or

> > 'promote' the same, it is okay. We manage to

> > practice the former part, but

> > for the latter I doubt it, except maybe in a few

> > instances.

 

 

 

Kick off your party with Invites.

http://invites./

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri. Narasimhan:

 

Thanks for writing to me. I fully agree and understand. But there is a

hidden caveat and I am sure you are very much aware when you pointed to

Bhagavad Gita. My apologies to list members up front if this creates a

digressing thread.

 

Please correct me if I am wrong in the following opinion:

Sri. Narasimhan wrote:

>>regarding the point made by sri sriram ranganathan adiyEn would like to

add the following:

>>yes, we all do such acts in the course of our work, 'in the assembly

line at some point or other' as he

>> has put it. In such a situation follow what Bahgawan says in the GitA:

"do your duty in a steadfast manner

>>WITHOUT thinking of the fruits thereof. Dedicate these acts to Me. Then

like the droplets of water on a

>>lotus leaf, no sin will adhere to you. Think of the job of an

executioner"....

 

Perumal's advice on detached performance of one's duties to overcome the

trials and tribulations of daily life is applicable "as is", to those

engaged in activities performed with NO basic violation of righteousness.

Now, what is right or wrong may vary a little bit here and there, but there

are some generally accepted accounting principles, on the lines of "Thou

shall not kill".

 

Your executioner example is perfect. The executioner (in the true sense of

the word) works for the justice department, and performs his duty per

court's order. Therefore, when he is troubled by the nature of the job, he

can seek solace in Lord's advice and derive strength to carry-on.

 

On the other hand, if I am a highway robber, I cannot go around merrily

killing and looting unwary travelers, deriving comfort and justification

from Sri.Krishna ParamAthmA's words, whenever irked. Can I?

Yama Dharma Raajan will be hell-bent on giving me appropriate treatment, at

the earliest.

 

In the same token, I feel, the executioner should use his 'judgment' to seek

another job if he is convinced about being specifically ordered to terminate

innocents in the name of law or duty! Even under human laws, carrying out

orders from higher-ups (in spite of being aware that it is against law) does

not necessarily provide one any immunity from the consequent punishment for

the crime.

 

And the highway robber, despite his different skill set based on poor

ethics, can and should find other morally acceptable jobs - unless he

performs his 'duty' in the name of some higher common good, say, robbing

ONLY bigger robbers (not from good folks, mind you) and promptly donating

the spoils to some charitable cause. In that case, it becomes debatable and

he has some right to seek comfort in the words of Bhagavad Gita!

 

Just thought of adding my two cents worth and improving my understanding of

Perumal's upadEsam (advice).

 

There may not be anything new said here other than good spin on 12th century

Robin Hood story, but I guess somewhere down the line, I managed to draw a

weak reference to my original posting - i.e. in some rare and exceptional

cases, an act of lesser good as a means maybe acceptable if there is a

higher common good toward the end. At all other times (which is for the most

part), the end does not justify the means. The bonus point on 'detached

duty' is well served by Bhagavad Gita. Thanks to Sri. Narasimhan.

 

On the lighter side, leather bags or otherwise, there are people with novel

ways to attract funds for a good cause. As always, PerumAl's will, will

prevail.

 

Thanks,

Sriram