1346 T.N.Govt policy announcement - Important wake up call.

May 19, 2006

I suggest the Moderator be more strict and start editing more on the messages which are going to pour in on the announcement made by Govt of T.Nadu.

Let us maintain certain "rules of the game "while talking about caste etc.One last mail was not in good taste.

The Great Lokacharyan Sri Ramanujar, has been mentioning and talking about SriVaishnavan.

No where he has talked about caste or its system.

"Sri Vaishnava Lakshanam" is not based on caste/sub caste.

It is a shame and sad that we dont proudly mention a non brahmin

srivaishanavan as srivaishnavan but call him as bhagavatha as if

only a brahmin can be a srivaishnavan. A brahmin without knowing any

thing on the arulicheyal can be part of a ghosti in a temple but a

non brahmin {i am sorry I have to use this only for this mail) even if

he knows all the four thousand verses and in srivaishnavaswaroopam

cannot open his mouth even if he is standing with others.

Why go that far, will a thengalai sect allow a knowledgeable desika sapradhaya person to join the ghosti or desika sampradhaya followers allow a thengalai person.

Nachiar ghosti every where have the same grievance. Same thing while

receiving prasadam. Over a period these srivaishnavas have been slowly segregated by the so called upper caste srivashnavan. Mind you they

are 95% of the srivaishnava population and the brahmin population is

less than 5%. Add to this the so called Preists.

In a number of temples including the Periakoil, reports have appeared

now and then of the non adhereance to the laid down ritual methods by

the priests. All of us are silent spectators.

STILL THE QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED IS

"CAN THESE ILLS JUSTIFY FOR OPENING THE GATES FOR PERSONS OTHER THAN BRAHMINS TO BE PRIESTS"

Please examine the whole issue dispassionately and from the ground level and you are sure to arrive at a conclusion.

I can give a clue. Have we and how many of us have taken food prepared by persons other than brahmins at any point of time in our life. Why?, because we want to survive and we dont consider that as

anything bad. Confusing, read few times over.

I am wondering what Udayavar would have said after seeing the present

position.

Ramanuja Dasan

Sri Mudaliyandan Swami Sishya Sampath

Azhvar EmberumAnAr JeeyAr ThiruvadigalE Saranam

Terms of Service.

May 19, 2006

Jai Sri Krishna

Varada i find what you describe about being Brahmin and non-brahmin and being part of the SriVaishnava Goshti quite interesting. I havn't been to a Srivaishnava temple or fuction so i dont have experience of any of this. But as an aspirant i have found it quite difficult (with exception to Sri Chinna jeeyar Swami) to get information on the net which is directed at outsiders who want to become Srivaishnavs. As a Westernised, vaishya, north indian i find that a lot of the info on the web is aimed at South indian brahmins.

Its such a shame that things like caste appear to dominate the Pure and beautiful sect of Sri Ramanuja. I hope that any Vaishnav who holds caste dominated views remembers that one of the greatest Acharayas in the Sampradaya; Sri Shatakopa was born in a sudra family; that Bhagavath Ramanuja learned about Bhagavath Dharma from Sri Kanchipurna who was also sudra. Let us remember that our Bhagavan Sri Krishna, even though born in a royal family, decided to display his most sweetest lilas with Gopas and Gopis of Vraja who were not Brahmins but Vaishyas. We should remember that when BalaKrishna, Balaram and the Gopas approached the Brahmins for Food, they were too busy chanting Ved-mantras in their Yagna and failed to feed Krishna-Balaram. It was their wives who full of Bhakthi fed the Lord, and these women unlike their husbands did not know the Vedas.

I hope in the future that all Srivaishnavs, be they Brahmins, non-Brahmins, Men, women, Vadakalai and Tenkalai, unite as one and teach us fallen souls all over the world about Sriman Narayan.

Jai Sri krishna

varadha <gmpial (AT) md3 (DOT) vsnl.net.in> wrote: