[t'vengadam] Service to Senior Srivaishnavites.- With reference to the Abhivad

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Jai Ramanuja,

I think we are over-stressing the sandhyavandanam.In sat yuga ,majority was

brahmanas,in treta it was kshatriyas,in dvapara it was vaishyas & in kali the

majority of people are reduced to shudras.The so called brahmanas do not study

vedas,do not have vaidika shika,kacham etc..They have become utterly

materialistic & hence varnashrama dharma is totally destroyed though one may

call himself to be a brahmin,kshatriya etc. for namesake.

Now to reach VAIKUNTAM, bhagvata dharma alone can help us.It can be followed by

all irrespective of caste,creed,sex etc.Sandhya can be performed only by

trivarnikas.When everybody is a shudra because of the influence of kali,only

bhagvata vaishnava dharma alone save the mankind.It includes sankeertan,visiting

temples,serving the saints etc.

CAN WE NOT STRESS ON SHUDDHA VAISHNAVA BHAGVATA DHARMA WHICH IS EASY TO FOLLOW

BY ANYBODY INSTEAD OF TALKING OF SANDHYA WHICH IS A PART OF VARNASHRAMA ORDER

WHICH NO LONGER EXISTS IN A REAL sense.

DASAN

 

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 s.ramachandran wrote :

>

>

>

>

>Respected members:

>

>

>There is a Kshetram indeed. However, it cannot be seen but can only be felt

>and experienced. We all harbor this

>deep desire for "kuzhu and the misai( desire for the tasty gruel but we do

>not want the gruel to spoil our proud moustache)"

>Pardon the reference, but no insult or injury intended to anyone. Please

>read this in the spirit in which this is

>written and not as a derision or criticism on any individual.

>

>If one is not wrong, the captioned subject started with a member posting

>deep grief over the state of affairs

>and condition of temples/places of worship etc. and wondering whether some

>sort of community based co-operative effort

>would solve this problem. Among the many responses, one is from Shri

>Thillaisthanan Krishnan

>

>We all love, cherish, have this deeply constant urge to be identified with

>a caste, group, sect, religion etc. The core

>of the subject with which we wish to be identified is a set of unique

>characteristics

>which affords permanent protection the person. For example, if A says that

>he is an Arab from Libya, then another

>Moslem from say Trivandrum may easily identify himself with this

>stranger-Arab in the common bond of their religion Islam.

>In case of a dispute, a problem or danger, both would join forces and

>irrespective of their individual

>characterstic / habits, tendencies, personal beliefs etc. they would try to

>tackle their common-community problem.

>We are all aware of how this subtle psychology works. While this may be in

>general acceptable to a limited extent as

>for example when a South Indian is posted to say SIBERIA the first thing

>he tries to is to ascertain whether there is

>any 'Indian' there, anyone remotely connected with his homeland. If he

>finds there are three families, one a Punjabi, another

>a South India and a third a Bengali, who do you think he will make friends

>with first ? The fellow-South Indian. Why ? Even

>though there is a Punjabi and a Bengali, both from his motherland, both

>having the common cultural heritage of strains

> from Hinduism, still he will 'strongly prefer' something closely to his

>'own' identity, what ever that be.

>He may make friends with the Punjabi and Bengali, but his main heart and

>basic primary affinity will be towards his 'own'

>

>If X says that he believes in Shiva, immediately his membership to a group

>which claims to follow Guru Nanak or Jesus

>is cancelled. He is excluded. He cannot even debate, present his views, or

>question. All doors are locked tightly

>shut. We all know how this psychology works. It is subtle yet very potent.

>

>The person who believes that his and his belief alone is supreme and

>everything else can be either ignored or

>disbelieved is nursing an illusion. The search is for something lasting,

>something permanent, something eternal and

>full of support and strength, undecaying through the ages. The English were

>masters in this. The common distinguishing

>factor being the colour of your skin - White or dark ?. If dark, then you

>were a native and if white, then you were

>one of "theirs"

>

>We therefore need to be a bit more focussed especially given our constant

>desire to keep our spirituality intact.

>Looking at things with wide-angle lens would be a better starting point.

>If you look at the pictures of this blessed earth

> from the Moon you see a colored ball. Individuals are not visible, nor are

>temples and images. What is visible though

>is a mysterious vastness, an extraordinary silence and the heavenly bodies

>including the earth. It must surely have

>been the most extraordinary sight to behold for those lucky astronauts when

>they looked at the outside from space.

>

>In a similar manner, if we can focus on the broader aspect and address the

>broad question we can reduce

>our entire concern as "why are the Vedas being systematically cut down,

>ignored and continually misinterpreted?"

>

>Say what you may, the central point which everyone is concerned is why is a

>place of worship, a place associated

>with peace, goodness, wholesomeness, harmony become degraded, ignored etc.

>why is there a decline of values,

>decline in perception and all round casual approach constantly surfacing in

>all our spiritual endeavors? We pray

>a lot, have lot of satsangs, associate ourselves with learned and sincere

>people, contribute a lot to the betterment

>of society and downtrodden, are socially active and yet, yet despite all

>these sincere efforts we do not see

>any improvement. We therefore, lament at the said state of affairs. We feel

>a wave of pity and thats it. We may share

>our concern with our brothers with these and other web-members, web-site,

>make a huge noise, raise slogans, drum

>up support groups etc. but in the end, the problem remains as it were

>without any solution in sight.

>

>Are we mistaking the trees for the woods ?

>

>The Patanjali Yoga Sutras are also called as "Raja Yoga". Subsequent Yoga

>teachers, commentators and sages have all commented,

>authored and introduced many types of Yoga i.e. Hatha Yoga (where the

>emphasis is on physical culture), Bhakti Yoga, Gyana Yoga,

>Karma Yoga,Laya Yoga, Mantra Yoga etc. but there is one and only Raja Yoga.

>I.e. Everyone of these authors, everyone of

>these saints, sages and great teachers have consistently agreed one thing

>namely that what Sage Patanjali is referring is to

>the highest form of Yoga and the real meaning, namely, where the mind is

>tackled. Since everything emanates from our

>thinking process itself, the why and how is addressed in a scientific and

>logically, rationale and practical manner.

>That is why it is called the King of Yogas i.e Raja Yoga. One of the

>greatest Raja Yogi was, incidentally our

>beloved Shri Piratti's extraordinary father the Sage-wise-King Janaka!!

>

>Suddenly some of you might wonder, what connection has Yoga to the above

>topic. It has a deeper relevance if one looks closely

>at what Yoga propose in general ? It explains why and how the mind works,

>why thoughts originate and how they act like a two

>edged sword and the role of devotion, karma, love, surrender, prayer etc.

>In short, the why and how of our basic make-up,

>function and role in this world is sought to be brought within the

>periphery of our perception.

>

>Now as part of the solution to the various woes of mankind, a path called

>the "Ashtanga" or 8-limbed path is advocated.

>Many lay men in general have misunderstood the concept of Yoga as being

>something to do with the health/physical body

>postures and meditation. But if you care to read the Yoga Sutras, the wise

>Sage Patanjali has placed physical and

>mental aspects, including the famous Pranayama routine as 3rd and 4th

>respectively and not given them the highest

>importance of the 1st and 2nd place. The first place or first principle is

>"Yama" i.e. social aspects. Remember it is

>not a personal thing. Society comes first. Then the second principle is

>"Niyama" or personal habits, observances which

> includes - Souchya, Santosha i.e. cleanliness and contentment. The Yama

>or foremost principle covers

>5 things. Ahimsa,Satya, Asteya, Bramacharyam and Aparigraha

>

>In short, what Patanjali is indicating is the 'pot cannot call the kettle

>black'. You cannot hope to advance ahead

>spiritually if you are full of himsa(violence), covet others' things, are

>untrue to your word or conduct etc. These are

>social norms eternally true. Even the famous Ten Commandments in the Old

>Testament endorse these principles which

>incidentally happen to the corner stone of both the Buddhist, Confucian,

>Tao, Jainism religions. Remember also,

>that all these religions are much after the Yoga Sutras.

>

>Personal cleanliness, personal satisfaction/contentment are given secondary

>importance. Then the third aspect is Asana

>which physical postures and fourth Pranayama.

>

>Even Iswarapranidhani or worship/surrender to God etc. is discussed much

>much after Yama. It is part of Niyama

>

>Meditation and its various meanings etc. follow from place 5 to 8.

>

>So You can easily conclude from these that one could not be selfish and

>hope to get away with it. Selflessness is the first step i.e.

>the Society comes first and then 'my'/'me', 'mine'.

>

>Today, sadly everything has turned topsy turvy. Physical well being is

>paramount. Meditation is the ‘in’ thing and without

>‘culturally’ pleasing aesthetic postures people feel they are not involved

>with Yoga and so on.

>

>Now the Sandhyavandanam, which is ritual prescribed by the Vedas much

>before the advent of the Patanjali Yoga Sutras,

>also enshrines the same principles. i.e. society comes before the

>individual self. That is why during Sandhya, the phases are :

>

>Act 1 : Achamanam and Argyam - no where the self, i.e.the person's name,

>gotra, star, lineage, famil background, are they referred.

>It is a straight Om Achutaya Namaha, Om Anantaya Namaha, Om Govindaya

>Namaha.

>

>Act 2: Gayathri chanting. Again it starts as above with the Achamanam and

>ends with the Gayathri

>

>Act 3 : Gayathri upasthanam i.e. sending HER Back to her original abode

> from our hearts

>

>Act 4: After restoring to her original glory, the man is eligible to now

>stand before the Gods, elements and nature and

>reveal his 'petty' self i.e. his identity. Hence the Abhivadyam is said

>wherein his name, family name, Guru's, gotra,etc.

>are revealed to the Vedas.

>

>Till Act 3 the man cannot reveal the identity given by this world, given by

>his parents. Even if his parents have

>given him the blessed name of "Narayana" he still has to do the 3 acts and

>at the 4th stage, do the Abhivadyam

>and declare to the Vedas that he is "Narayana sarma" and so on.

>

>

>To bring your attention back to where we began. What is the essence which

>this writer is trying to convey ? We need to

>temporarily forget what is 'our' own. We need to respect only the Vedas and

>its strictures. As the Vedas have often declared,

>if we can do the basic minimum of sustaining and propagating the Vedas then

>all other issues will take care of themselves naturally.

> The Vedas will take care literally. During the days when the barbaric

>tartars and Mughals from the wild Northern plains invaded

> this blessed country and tore down temples by the hundreds and threatened

>many religious places, many Sages suggested

> that for the sake of mankind the practice of Sandhya alone may be

>diligently continued so that in places where there

> was wholesale all round destruction and utter annihilation of physical

>structures, where worship of image and idols

>was punished with death, man could still stand firm inside with the

>eternally invisible support of Dharma.

>

>Today is no better. Only instead of ungainly and openly crude nomads, man

>has acquired and coating of the veneer of

>education and knowledge and this excess of knowledge has resulted in

>depletion of basics i.e. ignorance of Vedas,

>tradition, Sandhya and other aspects of spirituality. Values in general

>have eroded comparatively in this

>Kali Yuga or Iron age. This incidentally, was also predicted in the Vedas.

>

>And finally to come to original concern and query of this discussion. It

>is true that temples and worship is totally neglected

>and there is A desperate need for honorable, knowledgeable elders. If this

>is not a strong suggestion, maybe those ‘retired’

>people can Individually - if groups can be formed nothing like it- try to

>propagate the importance of Sandhya among the youth

> of today. Especially where parents are in India and the children abroad in

>good vocations or the other way, when both the parents

>And children are in the West and in good economic conditions and having

>physical, mental, material comforts and ease.

>They can propagate the importance of the Sandhya and ensure that this is

>not given up. They may use whatever

>Methods their strength and knowledge permits, but they should form a

>reliable and authoritative source for others

>to emulate. For example this writer came across a peculiar case when 4

>generations were in Australia and the

>Grandfather was quite reluctant to start the Sandhya - he was apparently

>not doing it regularly and was now 80 - as his

>Son who himself was 65 was getting an inferiority complex since his

>grandson who was 40 was being questioned by

>His great grandson who was 13 and who had done his Upanayanam as to why

>what “Kolu - tattha†was doing was not being

>Done by the father. The father did not have the time and inclination. He

>would not listen to his own father and his own

>Father who was 65 felt upset when he heard that his father of 80 was keen

>to start the Sandhya. Everyone except the

>80-year old man -who was keen to start - were casual. They simply grouped

>themselves under the omnibus excuse

>of ‘where is time ?, we tell the Gayathri ? ‘ as if they were doing the 80

>year old grandfather a favour. They even advised

>him to give up his new found religio-spiritual craze of Sandhya and

>derisively told him at times that what ought to have

>been done at 8 why can’t the man forget and wake up now and do, when God

>has anyway blessed him with wealth,

>materials, comforts, good job for his progeny, 4 generations of better

>life etc.

>

>This writer recently learnt that Stephen Pinker and other contemporary

>psycho-philosophers have recently floated a new

>Philosophy called the “Systems philosophy†where they briefly try to

>explain consciousness and how this world/universe

>evolved etc. The admit the Big Bang theory and say that after the Big bang,

>with the Sun acting as a catalyst the earth

>Started forming and life happened and so on. Remember, these people are

>total atheists and utterly rationale and highly

>Educated men of Science who are steeped in research. They have postulated

>this theory where the importance of

>Our beloved Surya/Sun is highlighted. And what is the Sandhyavandanam if

>not worship of the Sun ?

>

>If each of you can make at least one member do the Sandhya perennially,

>then you have taken care of the main divya Desam

>Of Vaikuntham !!

>

>Om Tat Sat

>Tat Tvam Asi

>

>

>

>

> Sadagopan

> <sgopan@computer

Oppiliappan,

> .net> Tiruvengadam,

saranagathi,

> Srirangasri,

srivenugopala,

> 07/21/03 08:20 Parakalamatham,

> AM

desikasampradaya,

> Please respond

> to tiruvengadam cc:

tamarapusampath, tatacharya,

> sudha

> [t'vengadam] Service

to Senior Srivaishnavites.

>

>

>

>

>

>Dear Sriman Narasimhachari Swamy:

>

>Thank you very much for your wonderful

>and welcome suggestion . I agree with

>you that any amount of Funds thrown

>at revitalizing Dhivya dEsams would not

>succeed by itself unless there is a dedicated

>ownership of responsibilities to offer

>shrama dhAnam , personal participation in

>GhOshtis , provide the outside link ,

>"propagandize the dhivya desam " to

>the world of aasthikAs and motivate

>the Bhattars and assure the well being

>of their families.

>

>There will not be one strategy. Our AchAryAs

>have "adopted" some of these dhivya dEsams

>and provide support. Cases in point are:

>Thirukkudanthai , Naathan Koil et al.

>Rest are supported by aasthikAs from Overseas

>coordinating with their retired parnets , who

>do not necessarily live at these dhivya dEsams.

>ShrimAn Venkat of Bahrain is setting an example

>for such kaimkaryams in coordination with his

>retired father and a group of aasthikAs .

>Thalaicchanka NaaNNmathiyam temple is a case

>in pint.

>

>SrIman Pattangi has described the efforts of

>another group , who are actively involved

>in addressing the problems thru shrama dhAnam

>and dedicated funds .

>

>Then there are financially sound dhivya desams

>like Oppiliappan Koil, where retirees after

>a full life in the outside world carry on

>with Kaimkaryam to the Lord ( NithyAnusandhAnam

>at the evening ) since their elders have performed

>such kaimakryams for generations. I am thinking of my

>classmate , SrI V.N.Gopala Desikan , who was

>an executive in the Indian Railway Services

>and after his retirement returned to Oppiliappan

>Sannidhi and takes part in the Kaimkaryams.

>

>There are aasthikAs like SrIman SatakOpa

>TatachAryAr , who has "adopted " the dhvya

>Desam of DhIpa PrakAsar Temple and ThUppul

>Swamy Desikan Sannidhi Nithya AarAdhanam.

>He is tireless in his efforts to raise core funds

>to support the nithyArAdhanam at these two sannidhis,

>pay for the Bhattars and Saamagriya.

>

>Establishments of PaatasAlais at abhimAna Sthalams like

>Vaduvoor is accomplishing these goals of the presence

>of VaidhikAs and protecting the traditons .

>

>In all these matters , the pilfering by mean minded

>Temple Executives and the benign neglect by

>the Trustees, the Hindu Religious Endowment Board

>( The Government Body for supervision and fair

>distribution of revenues genrated at rich temples )

>has to stop.

>

>The problems are huge but can be addressed steadily

>with the help of dedicated , who have the comfort

>level to return to these dhivya dEsams and

>wean themselves from the dependence on

>the "pleasures " of urban lives .

>

>A hybrid life of part time residence at ancestral

>villages , where the dhivya desams are and

>the city , where the children are for jobs

>might be the solution.

>

>With prayers for addiitonal positive developments

>in this area of vital interst to all of us,

>

>V.Sadagopan

>

>

>

>

>

>

> >> --- "R Narasimhachariar" <rnchariar_2311

> >>wrote: > Fri, 18 Jul 2003 12:20:14 +0530

> >>"R Narasimhachariar"

> >><rnchariar_2311

> >>Re:To the cause of Senior Srivaishavites

> >>T Sampath Kumaran <tamarapusampath

> >>

> >>Dear Sampath Kumaran swamin,

> >>I appreciate the interest you have been taking to the

> >>cause of senior Srivaishanvites. In this connection I

> >>would like to post the following for the kind

> >>attention of srivashnavites of our groups.

> >>It is a pity that most of our Divya Desam temples are

> >>deserted, and at times you find one archakar

> >>conducting kainkaryam in a group of temples located

> >>close by. There is paucity of elderly srivaishnavites

> >>even for ghosti, and participation in Nitya Aradhana.

> >>Financial support alone will not suffice the worship

> >>in these temples but active participation by elderly

> >>Srivaishnavites is much needed. Many Srivaishavites,

> >>after retirement from service still cling on to city

> >>life. They often clamour that our Divya Desams are

> >>neglected. Instead they can settle themselves in one

> >>of the Divya Desams, once they complete their

> >>commitments to their families. TV, Telephone and

> >>e-mail facilities are available even in remote

> >>shetrams. Myself and some of my friends after service

> >>in Central Govt. at Delhi have shifted to towns

> >closer

> >>to Shetrams and contribute our service in some of

> >>these shetrams. Fortunately we can still command

> >>services in India for a price and can lead a

> >>comfortable life. I would appeal that seniors instead

> >>of planning to join their children abroad or look for

> >>Homes, can think of forming groups and re-settle in

> >>Shetrams where they can have mental peace and

> >continue

> >>to carry on their nityanustanams and render service

> >to

> >>Sriman Narayana in these shetrams. This will motivate

> >>archakas, and other bhakthas to continue to live in

> >>these shetrams.

> >>Let us take a vow to rebuild our Shetrams, and

> >>continue to retain their glory for the younger

> >>generation.

> >>Dasan

> >>Naraimhachariar

> >>

>

>

>

>Namo VenkateshAya namah:

>

>

>To Post a message, send it to: tiruvengadam (AT) eGroups (DOT) com

>

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>

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>

>

>

>

>

>Srirangasri-

>

>

>

>Your use of is subject to

>

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Bhagavathas

 

Adiyean fully understand the writer's point of view

vis-a-vis the time in which we live but one

understands from the holy scriptures that one has to

follow one's swadharma atleast to the extent possible

and is not Sandhya a basic duty ordained on

tri-varnikas?. Thro' the fora like this, the spirit of

bhagavath and bhagavatha bhakthi must be spread to

appeal to younger minds not excluding one's own duty

like Sandhya and service to society. Praying to be

excused if adiyean has hurt anyone's feelings.

 

Dasan

Dorairajan Ranganathan

 

--- Vasan Sriranga Chari

<vasan_chari_hk wrote:

> Jai Ramanuja,

> I think we are over-stressing the sandhyavandanam.In

> sat yuga ,majority was brahmanas,in treta it was

> kshatriyas,in dvapara it was vaishyas & in kali the

> majority of people are reduced to shudras.The so

> called brahmanas do not study vedas,do not have

> vaidika shika,kacham etc..They have become utterly

> materialistic & hence varnashrama dharma is totally

> destroyed though one may call himself to be a

> brahmin,kshatriya etc. for namesake.

> Now to reach VAIKUNTAM, bhagvata dharma alone can

> help us.It can be followed by all irrespective of

> caste,creed,sex etc.Sandhya can be performed only by

> trivarnikas.When everybody is a shudra because of

> the influence of kali,only bhagvata vaishnava dharma

> alone save the mankind.It includes

> sankeertan,visiting temples,serving the saints etc.

> CAN WE NOT STRESS ON SHUDDHA VAISHNAVA BHAGVATA

> DHARMA WHICH IS EASY TO FOLLOW BY ANYBODY INSTEAD OF

> TALKING OF SANDHYA WHICH IS A PART OF VARNASHRAMA

> ORDER WHICH NO LONGER EXISTS IN A REAL sense.

> DASAN