Fwd: Sri Soundara rajan's mail (silk)

[Guest guest]

ramanuja, "Jayasree Saranathan"

<jayasree.saranathan wrote:

 

SRIMATHE RAMANUJAYA NAMAHA.

 

Dear Sri Soundarrajan,

 

> SrI:

>

> Smt. Saranathan,

> Adding to your query, I would like to see if there are any

sastric conditions that Silk MUST be used to adorn the Lord, or should

be worn by all of us in funcitons/rituals.

>

> dasan,

> Kidambi Soundararajan.

----------------

Shastras say about using 'noothana vasthu' for Perumal, but nowhere it

has been said that 'rEshme' vasthram (silk vasthram) is a noothana

vasthram or to be used for adorning Perumal.

 

We can see in a number of slokas too, pIthambharam as the vasthram of

Perumal. It means it is a vasthram of "peetha sahitham", with yellow

in colour. The yellow dye is made from turmeric powder which will

stick to cotton vasthram effectively and not to silk vasthram.

 

Again the yellow is symbolic of Lakshmi (pl read my mail in

Tiruvankatam group sent long ago on why Sita desired the golden deer).

 

Gold is also yellow in colour and is again symbolic Lakshmi (refer Sri

sookhtham)

The sapeetha vasthram is therefore defined as golden vasthram, because

it is samyatha peetham. It is yellow in colour, and the yellow is of

the gold.

 

By adorning the Lord in peetha vasthram and sapeetha vasthram, we are

seeing Him with the inseparable Lakshmi!

 

No such rationale can be drawn for silk, except that it is costly,

something not suitable to our climate and culture, but of something

which is made out of himsa.

 

There are no two opinions about where Himsa is allowed by shastras.

Chandoghya is the pramana.

 

Shastras also say, "vaidee himsa, na himsa" If the Himsa is done for

vaideeka (vedic) purpose, it is not himsa.

That silk is meant for vaideeka purpose is not to be found in

scriptures. The only type of himsa found is animal sacrifice, which is

invalid in kali yuga. Pramana exits for this too.

 

Again it is said " dhukkaadika sukha janakathwam". If from some

Dhukkam, arises sukham for the people, then that act is allowed.

 

"Dhukkaadika Dhukkam janakathwam" If from some dhukkam, arises dhukkam

only for the people, such an act should not be followed. This is what

I heard from Sri Chakravarthy Ramachandran, teaching Purva mimamsa at

the Mysore Veda paata shaala.

 

Since scriptures do not talk about silk and himsa in making silk, I

leave it to individual's conscience to decide whether it gives sukham

or dhukkam while wearing silk. If it gives sukham, let them wear it.

But will it give sukham to Perumal is a question we have to ask

ourselves.

 

But I am also of the opinion our wishes and paradigms should not be

extended to perumal. For instance we have the habit of doing what we

wish and imposing on perumal moorthys, like wishing to have sandana

kaapu for perumal whose moorthy is made of wood! This was done in one

of the divya desas for many years leading to decline of the community

around. Such practices will mar the sanctity, leading to the untold

misery to the place and people. The temple protects the community

around, as in the saying "koil illa vooril kudiyirukka vEndaam".

Sandana kaapu or thirunmanjanam are meant for shilas made of stones

only.

 

Another issue is mindless barricading of the premises in the temple,

particularly in the most important region between bali peetam and

moolavar sanndhi. Crossing of the circuit in between these two is not

correct.

 

When I and my daughter tried to bring issues such as these to

discussion a few years ago, we were effectively shut. If we don't know

the basics, we will be committing more blunders un-knowingly, is my

contention. Such discussions did not take place in the past, in the

distant past, because people then had known the rules and shastras and

meticulously followed them. Now the knowledge is declining.

 

One such area where we go against the established practices is in

vasthram. When we repeatedly sing about peetha ambharam and speetha

vasthram in the slokams, let us see him in such vasthrams.

 

 

As quoted in one of the previous mails, Dr Devaki considers the use of

'kausheya vaasam' in Ramayana times to be seen along with other

aspects which are serious issues in today's condition, like

non-vegetarianism. That it had existed in those days, is no

justification for following them, particularly for those going in

moksha maarga.

 

I wonder whether the silk that was used in those days was 'naar

pattu' drawn from banana tree. Please read the mail below sent to me

by my friend and guide, Sri Mandayam Kumar Krishnawamy on naar pattu.

 

"Srutis and Puranas have come down to us after passing through many

generations with additions and alterations by many thinkers. When the

late Srinivasa Iyengar gave his erudite lectures on the Ramayana, he

was himself apprehensive of adverse comments from the conservatives

because of his critical appraisals. Rajaji boldly questioned some

incidents in Ramayana and attributed them to interpolations - such as

Sita's agni-pariksha and her banishment to the forest when she was

pregnant. We need many scholars to conduct research studies in many

areas of our social life through the centuries and

publish their findings in some prestigious journals which should be

established. Your thinking on the subject of silk, koora-p-podavai and

on other customs etc., in some of your earlier writings are some

examples for conducting such studies. We need greater funding and

encouragement for these activities.. We need also to shift emphasis

from purely Brahmanical traditions to others..

 

About silk, I remember that my father used to wear only naar-pattu

during puja; it was made of fibre from the banana plant, dyed a light

brown to look like raw-silk. Some ladies (widows) also used to wear

saris made of this fibre. I do not see this any more in shops

now-a-days. But ladies (my mother) used to wear only Dharmavaram

silk-saris and never a cotton sari!

 

Intelligent studies generally prefer to opt for engineering, medicine,

finance/accounting and MBA/IT fields since these are the most

rewarding ones in terms of earning-potential. I am sure that in about

10-20 years when India becomes a truly affluent country, many such

students will consider careers in art/history/social studies. Viewed

in this back-ground, I welcome study groups like the

Mahabharata-Study-Group in .

 

Krishnaswamy"

 

 

(end quote)

 

I request fellow bhagavathas to pardon me for any

adhika-prasangi-th-thanam on my part.

 

With humble pranams to everyone,

 

Jayasree saranathan.

 

--- End forwarded message ---