[Y-Indology] Sanketis

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INDOLOGY, "vpcnk <vpcnk@H...>" <vpcnk@H...>

wrote:

 

 

> 2. Advaita Vedaanta as per the orthodoxy is not open to everybody

but

> only male braahmanas and hence the philosophical alleigence is

> not "on the display".

>

 

Are you implying that among the Smarta's, the female of the species

is more philosophical than the male?

 

 

 

> The smaartha

> grouping according to legend was formed by Adi Shankara himself

 

What legend would that be? The dictionary seems to give many more

meanings to the word Smarta in addition to the one you mention. Even

today, the word Smarta in the term 'Smarta vicharam' is used by the

Nambuthiris in the sense of an inquiry according to the SmRti's.

 

> all smaarthaas in TN owe alleigence to either the Kanchi Matha or

the

> Shringeri matha.

 

This may be partially true in recent decades of the urban brahmanas

alone. But I don't see any reason to believe this was the case in the

centuries before the 20th. I may be wrong but the need for an acharya

does not seem essential to a traditional Smartha brahmana, as it is

for a Srivaishnava or a Saiva. (Even the more Smartha-like

Srivaishnavas claimed themselves to be swayamacharyas). The Sankarite

acharya, for example, has no salvific role. There is no formal rite

of passage enjoined for a Smarta which involves taking refuge under

an acharya either.

 

One can therefore see that, in history, Sankaracharya matha's, as

acharyic establishment for Smartas, have been peripheral to the

Smarta community. It is also quite obvious from the writings of the

many modern Sankarite acharyas. In a long chapter titled 'Guru' in

the transcribed discourses of the Kanchi acharya, there is a

discussion of Sankara and the Kanchi Matha in relation to the

community. (cf Deivattin Kural, Vol 6, pp. 177-220). But even here

you don't find the claim that all Smarta's had acharyas' nor even

that all Smarta's in Tamilnadu owed their allegiance to either

Kanchi or Sringeri.

 

Thanks and Regards,

 

Lakshmi Srinivas