[Pseudo Gods etc.,---Contd...]

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Dear Shree RR Swamy (eyetex),

 

I appreciate your mail. I would like to present my ideas regarding the points

that you have mentioned in your mail as follows.

>The most important aspect which should concern all of us are:

>i)how will we manage to take the teachings of Bhagawan Ramanuja, Sri

>Nigamantha Desika , Sri MAnavala Mamuni and their Successors who have >been

and are Great Acharyas in their own right to the common persons

>in a very simple manner and in a language they can understand and follow?

 

"Philosophy and practice" is a vast subject, which requires lot of levels of

study from basics step by step. Before one could consider teaching the

grantas of our poorva-aacharyas, what I suggest is a common man should be

taught regarding the greatness of our philosophy and practice. Then he should

be educated regarding Veda and logically explain to him that only Veda is the

authority in knowing God-Brahman who is Purushoththaman Shreeman Narayanan.

The beginner has to be first made to understand that

the pramaana for tatva-hita-purushaarthas is the apowrusheya Veda.

Only when the beginner understands this in various levels step by step in

terms of the first four Brahma Sutras - "Athaatho brahma jignyaasa",

"janmaadyasya yatha:", "saastra yonithvaath", "thaththu samanvayaath", he can

start understanding what philosophy and practice is all about. Then he should

be educated further using the saastras and logic that Visishtadvaita Shree

Vaishnavam is the philosophy and practice. Of course I agree with you that all

these things must be told in simple manner and in a language (preferably

English) - because it has world wide appeal. Without educating the basics and

that too specifically regarding Veda, I think, it will be difficult to teach

him directly the grantas of our poorva-aachaaryas. Book alone is not

sufficient in this regard. First and foremost thing is cultivating interest in

the minds of beginners. The

next is stressing the importance of pramaanam-Veda. After that is

teaching the philosophy and practice of the Veda which is Visishtadvaita

Shree Vaishnavam - the parama-vaidika-matham.

>ii)since we are supposed to learn the said essences of Visishtadvaitha

>thro' these Acharya Purushas, are we devising a system more suited to the

>fast changing world which looks for instant solutions to every problem in

>life OR are we going to take our usual systems forward which , to me,

>looks as if will admit fewer and fewer members into the inner learning

>circle?

This point is very interesting. It is a must that we need to learn the

siddhantam and anushtaanam only from the Acharya Purushas. The system of

imparting this knowledge which is in our ancient Shree Sampradayam is through

Veda Adyayanam, Puraana-ithihaasa-smruthi-saastra adyayanam, mimaamsa, Shree

Sampradaaya Grantha kaalakshepam, Guru-Upadesam of Mantra-trayam etc. There is

no need to create a new system. The ancient system may be enhanced only in

terms its spread in various parts of the world. For this, the modern media

like internet etc., can be used to certain extent. Ofcourse, mantropadesam

etc., can be had only in person.

It is always the best to learn the grantaas by kaalakshepam under the full

guidance of Shree Vaishnava Aacharya in person. The modern improvements like

tele-upanyaasams are helping a lot in this regard. Further mere book knowledge

will not be always beneficial. Direct Aachaarya-upadesam is the best in this

regard.

>iii)how do we impress upon and convey to the most common and the poorest

>sishya or abhimani the baic essence of our pilosophy and the teachings of

>our Acharyas?

For this, we need to make the most common and the poorest sishya or abhimani

to first understand the greatness of Veda which is the Pramaanam. Then our

poorva-aacharya's works must be taught to him step by step from basics. Also,

each concept has to be explained as the Brahma Sutra explains it in five

components namely vishayam, samsayam, poorva-paksham, siddhaantam and

prayojanam. This will not only impart the correct knowledge but also will make

the most common and the poorest

sishya or abhimani to realise that our Visishtadvaita Shree Vaishnavam is the

only philosophy and practice which is not only in strict accordance to the

apowrusheya Veda but also rational and has got answers for all questions. This

has to be done initially by simple presentations (in English preferably) of

the contents of our poorva-aacharya's works like Yatindra-matha deepika. Then

gradually using other grantams like para-matha-bhangam etc. Our

poorva-aacharya's grantams have all the answers for all sorts of questions.

But they are in Sanskrit, Mani-Pravaalam and Tamil. The standard of the

grantams are peerless. All that is to be done is, educate beginners regarding

Veda, basics of philosophy. Then we need to cultivate interest in him to learn

the poorva-aacharya grantams under the full guidance of Shree Vaishnava

Aacharyas.

>iv)do we accept that the system is now more structured to reach out to >and

to teach the affluent and if so,how do we ensure that all are made >equally

welcome in these places of learning?

This is a point, which is having great importance. It needs lot of efforts to

implement. But once the interest is cultivated in the minds of beginners, then

I think the system can be implemented easily & successfully.

>I have held and am holding a responsible position and am convinced that

>the time for action is now without resorting to flippant comments.Believe

>me i have been there for nearly 28 years and there are several ways we >can

broadbase our institutions without losing our sanctity or the glory >of our

Asramams or Mutts.

 

I admire your 28 years of kainkaryams. I am very much interested in knowing

your ideas regarding the same.

 

Thanks & Regards

M.S.HARI Ramanuja Daasan.

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear bhAgavathas,

 

What I am about to share may appear to be slightly radical. But,

please know that it is not at all my intent to challenge some of

the traditionally held views of how to properly foster proper

traditional practices among our community.

 

But, before we jump forward with further discussion on teaching

sAstra pramAnam and vaidikam, or enforcing dress codes within our

muthams and temples, I thought that I would share a deeply

personal incident in my life that may help in shedding a slightly

different view on the subject.

 

My parents are wonderful and devout people. But, like many

SriVaishnava immigrants to the US of their day, they have very

little formal background or interest in the nuances of our

satsampradAyam. All they could teach my sister and myself about

SriVaishnavam could best be summed up in three statements:

 

--It was founded by a saint named Ramanuja

--He taught that Vishnu and Lakshmi are the Supreme Truth

--We hail from families who are his followers

 

Needless to say, such a limited understanding of SriVaishnavam

did little to prevent a hodge-podge of religious ideas to become

part of our family's life. From childhood to early adult years,

I was exposed to every aspect of mainstream "Hindu" thought, from

temple worship to Baba bhajans, Avani Avittam to Amritanandamayi,

ISKCON to Chinmaya Mission. But, behind it all was a simple and

sincere faith, as my parents joined other Indians of the day in

seeking out answers to help them live in what is undoubtedly one

of the most complex and least understood societies of the present

day, the US.

 

To those of you living outside of this country, and even for many

of you who live here, it appears that the USA has very little to

offer other than material comforts. It is a place of high

stress, low moral values, and little if any spiritual

significance. But, those like myself who grew up here can tell

you, there is much more to the US than that. It is also a place

of deep emotions, a full tapestry of ideas that range from the

ridiculous to the sublime, and all the spaces in between. The

person who is engaging in all sorts of hedonistic delights one

evening can be providing one with profound wisdom the next.

Observers of this strange array of hedonism and lofty idealism

can only liken US life to the descriptions of Lanka found in the

Sundara khAndam.

 

And, it is against the backdrop of this leela vibhuti of our Lord

that a young college student who now calls himself Mohan Raghavan

sat weeping one late night, lost in the meaningless of his own

self-created purgatory. His friends had deserted him, his

parents could not understand him, and the so called "Iyengars" of

the day were too busy diversifying their portfolios to provide

him with any spiritual solace. All that he -- I -- could turn

to was the hodge-podge of spiritual ideas that my parents had

exposed me to.

 

I recall myself having spent many days prior to this time sifting

through so many ideas like a search engine, struggling and

fighting through the futility of advaitam, becoming disillusioned

by the magic tricks of the pseudo gods, on and on, until that

night when, for some inexplicable reason, my thoughts centered on

one person: Ramanuja! This great soul with all his magnanimity,

philosophical brilliance, and deep empathy for the human

condition would capture my heart that night, and would guide me

on a journey that would lead to my dear wife, my now dear

friends, and to this forum.

 

It could have been very easy for me to choose some other faith or

the follow the prevailing trends towards the latest pseudo-deity.

But, when I recalled what I read about Ramanuja's life and

teachings, all I felt was that nothing else could even come close

to what he said or how he lived. Committing to him that night

was the only thing that I could think of doing at the time. But,

frankly what was I really doing other than accepting simply

accepting Perumal's katAksham.

 

And now, over a dozen years later, on another sleepless night,

and another set of circumstances to contend with, there are tears

in my eyes again. But this time, they are tears of joy, for in

my heart of hearts, Sri Ramanuja is still there, stronger than

ever.

 

You must forgive the sentiment in my words, but this my friends,

this unconditional love for Sri Ramanuja, is something that I

truly believe we must foster in ourselves and in our families

before even beginning to talk about the more formal aspects of

SriVaishnava life. Every other sect proclaims the greatness of

their guru. We only talk about the greatness of our sampradAyam.

While we must not downplay the merits of vaidika life, let us

first keep in mind that love and faith are very very powerful

emotions, and it these very emotions that these pseudo gods are

using to spread their own message. But, it is also these same

emotions that can also lead people back onto the proper path.

 

Let us go forth first in spreading Ramanuja's Vaibhavam in every

nook and cranny of this world, let us foster the same love that

he felt for every human soul in our hearts and let us seek to

provide others with the same solace and meaning that he has

provided to all of us. Let us chant his name so loudly that it

pales to insignificance the name of any other so-called guru or

baba, and let us spread his universal message to each and every

person who is interested in hearing it, irrespective of race,

caste, or gender. All other things will naturally proceed .

 

I seek forgiveness if my sentimental ramblings have offended

anyone in any way.

 

emperumAnAr thiruvadigalE saranam

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

Mohan Raghavan