Fw: [RamanujaMission] Reply to the question "Aren't all deities the same"

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs:

 

This interesting discussion between two BhakthAs in a sister

list would be of interest to you .We come across such questions

often . All consecrated vigrahams of the Lord are worthy of

same reverence and yet it is human to provide additional

weight to Dhivya Desa ArchA Moorthys and to have

ishta dhaivams among them based on place of origin ,

extended MangaLAsaasanam by AzhwArs or links

to specific AchAryAs .

 

AzhwArs have debated about whether RaamA or KrishNa or

Nrusimha among avathArams are candidates for the First

place among Vibhava avathArams in their dhivya Prabahndhams.

 

AchAryAs themselves have singled out specific dhivya

Desams in their SrI Sookthis and have poured out their

Vaathsalyam to the EmperumAns of such dhivya dEsams.

 

Few Months back , there was a semi-serious discussion

about which among the 108 dhivya dEsams should be

given the First place . BhakthAs defended their choices like

Kaanchi , SrIrangam , Thiruppathi et al . Bhakthi list

archives houses htose discussions . That will provide

interesting source materials in this context .

 

V.Sadagopan

 

-

"Sriram Parthasarathy" <sriram_p

<>

Wednesday, November 26, 2003 12:07 AM

[RamanujaMission] Reply to the question "Aren't all deities the

same"

 

 

> Dear Sri Srinivasan ,

>

> Let us see a practical example. There are thousands of BEs and BTechs.

> Do we treat all the same? No. We consider the IITs the best, RECs the

> next, and all other categories in their respective order. The syllabus

may

> be more or less the same, but the way subjects are taught and who teaches

> makes the difference. Can we call it a discrimination against Education?

>

> Similarly, though the Supreme Lord resides in all the temples as the Archa

> murthy, some temples are special not only because of the mangalasasana

> status, but also because of their sheer age and devotee following. Also,

> some sthalas are different because of their specific powers, like the

great

> Sholingapuram which is known to give respite to mental illnesses and other

> terrible afflictions. Bhagwan Sri Ramanuja's idol can be installed

> anywhere, but don't we always consider Sriperumbudur special?

>

> I am a frequent visitor of the Mylapore Desikar Devasthanam Temple,

> which houses an excellent Hayagreevar sannidhi. But I will certainly

> consider the darshan of the Hayagreevar at Thiruvaheendrapuram

> special. Though > Swami Desikan's idol can be anywhere,

> his thAnugandha thirumeni at thiruvaheendrapuram is no doubt

> special. Though there is a well in almost every house, the well

> made by Swami Desikan there is certainly special. Can

> we call it a discrimination against wells?

>

> It is only human to differentiate. That way, we always have something

> special to look up to. Just like IIT is not the same as where I did my

BE,

> a temple that was built 10 years ago and has seen contemporary

> devotees and kainkaryaparals is certainly not the same as one which

> has stood for hundreds of years, and has seen gems among men .

> My educational institution is always special for me, and so is

> the temple .near my home. But I sure know that IIT is special for

> the world , and so is Tirupati.

>

> Though my reasoning is very plain, I am sure that the more learned

> bhagavathas of our group will explain the esoteric details regarding

>the speciality of the sthalas.

 

> When they do, it will be a delight to read.

>

> Thanks and Regards,

> Sriram.

>

> =====================================================

>> =====================================================

> -

> "Srinivasan Jagannathan" <jsrini

> <>

> Tuesday, November 25, 2003 7:21 AM

> [RamanujaMission] Question

>

>

> > Respected everyone,

> >

> > I have a novice question. When reading the website sent by Sriman

> > Lakshminarasimhan Sridhar, I came across this line:

> >

> > "According to our ancesstors,the principal deity was brought from

> > Thirumala and installed.And so he is equally powerful as Lord Srinivasa

of

> > Thirumala."

> >

> > Aren't all "Perumals" the same? Is there some hierarchy among the

> > different Perumals at different sthalams?

> >

> > Please note, I do not mean to pick on Sriman Sridhar's webpage. This

> > question has been on my mind regarding the general practice of

designating

> > temples based on which of our Acharyas and Alwars have performed

> > Mangalashasanam. While visting and seeking the blessings of Perumal

> > and Thayar at a sthalam where our Alwars have performed Mangalashasanam

is

> > certainly special, are we not "discriminating" against our Perumal by

> > giving special preference to a particular temple over others? So in

other

> > words, are not all Perumal temples "divya desams"?

> >

> > thanks,

> > -srinivasan

> >