India Post: Don’t destroy our history and heritage: Chinna Jeeyar Swamy

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India Post: Don't destroy our history and heritage: Chinna Jeeyar

Swamy

 

http://www.indiapost.com/members/story.php?story_id=3265

 

 

Don't destroy our history and heritage: Chinna Jeeyar

Swamy

JAGDISH SETH

 

India Post News Service

 

FREMONT, CA: While huge sums are being spent to

preserve the human history and heritage in various

parts of the world, Andhra Pradesh government and

Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD) are destroying

the ancient history and heritage of Tirumala and thus

hurting the sentiments of millions of devotees the

world over, said Sri Sri Sri Tridandi Srimannarayana

Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyar Swamy in an exclusive interview

with India Post on July 8 here.

 

Sri Sri Sri concluded his 10-day tour of California on

July 9. Spiritual Day Camp was organized from July 2

to July 6 at Stanford University. He gave discourses

on Essence of Mundaka Upanishad and Bhagavad Gita

besides interactive multimedia presentations

Bearing dignified and shining red and white tilak on

his forehead,

 

youthful Swami, with a glow on his face, was critical

of the present Congress government of Andhra Pradesh,

which is bent upon violating the tenets of Silpasastra

under the garb of "Master Plan." The blasting of

nearly the thousand-pillar mandapam violated the

sanctity of the Venkatadri hill. The mandapam has

historical and religious significance. It was

constructed by Saluva Mallaya Deva, had a great

history and was not an ornamental structure. The TTD

was "interfering in the religious affairs and

sentiments of devotees" and that it lacked "inherent

jurisdiction" to deal with such issues. The act of the

authorities is worse than the Mughals, said Sri Sri

Sri. "We should protect the purity and sanctity of the

original tradition, in the restoring the marks of the

ancient glory of our ancient history," he said.

 

Talking of the purpose of his current visit to the US,

Sri Sri Sri said, "I have been to many places besides

the US. I have recently visited Australia, Dubai, and

Muscat and went on pilgrimage to Kailash-Manasarovar

in Tibet. The serenity of the lake is unparalleled. My

sole objective is to meet children of God who are

everywhere in the world. I have a twin message - man

and man should live together and man should live in

harmony with nature. The root cause of the current

problems facing the world is ego and intention to

dominate others," said Sri Sri Sri.

 

The youth who are born and brought up here in the US

are very inquisitive to know their roots. "They ask

right questions, we never thought of, " he said. He

cited the examples of some teenagers present in the

congregation who had a profound impact after attending

a weeklong camp.

 

Sri Sri Sri cleared many doubts about the tradition of

guru. "A right guru never puts a stop on the

inquisitiveness of his student. He rather encourages

and prompts the disciple to question and tries to

remove his apprehensions. A true guru shows the right

path. He is not God. We require a guru in our lives to

proceed and progress rapidly along the spiritual

path," he remarked.

 

He gave brief account of the social activities of

Jeeyar Educational Trust (JET) for uplifting the lives

in the tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand,

running a school for the blind, construction of 86

houses in earthquake affected villages in Gujarat, and

cyclone hit areas in Andhra Pradesh.