parakalamutt incident

[Guest guest]

Sri. Suresh: It goes without saying that the incident described by

you is unacceptable. But you must bear in mind (like Sri. Rajeev

Karamchedu pointed out) that the misguided actions of certain

kainkaryapArALs don't necessarily represent the official position

of the mutt or AchAryan - in this case I can confidently tell you

that the present jeeyar Srimad Abhinava vAgeesha parakalam

swami (with whom my parents have interacted very closely in

the recent past, and found jeer to be of a very gentle disposition)

would never condone such extreme behavior.

 

The second thing we should remember is that every kovil, divya

desam and madapaLLi has more than its share of overcrowding

to deal with (like the "jargundi, jargundi" in thirupati, and the

"vazhi, vazhi" that we hear in thiruvallikEni, for example where

people are literally pushed away) - at times of utsavams and

tadiyAradhanais tempers tend to reach ignition point (not to

mention the mostly hot weather). Add to this the background

of the parichArakars, raised in poor brAhmin agrahArams and

subject to "reverse" caste discrimination by the Government, plus

the strict stipulations of madi etc. in the mutt - you have all the

ingredients for an explosive outburst.

 

The correct approach (or reproach, rather) would have been to

go to the mutt at a later time with your friend and enquired of the

authorities, even perhaps jeer, about this matter and sought a

resolution. I'm only making a constructive suggestion which would

help your friend retain interest in srivaishnavism, and also the mutt

to possibly address any of its controversial practices. You may

not meet with success necessarily, but you won't know until you try.

The biggest problem facing many orthodox hindu denominations

today is the lack of two-way communication which results in the

giving up of their faith by many young people. I hope you will be

able to contact your friend and try to seek clarification from the

mutt itself regarding this incident - you may also want to explain

your disenchantment using the very same words (as below)!!

 

Regards,

-Srinath C.

> Actually Parakala matam has a lot of Non-brahmin followers and during

> special occassions one can see so many of them comming over filled

> with great bhakti.They usally make large donations but will be

> treated like animals by the pseudo brahmanas.