Guest guest Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 GuruMaa conferred Parvatyacharya title 01/13/2008 India Post New York [u.S.] [before we get too caught up in decrying the rigidity of Hinduism, please bear in mind that the following is ALSO a Hindu view.] MahaMandleshwar Maa Yoga Shakti of Haridwar, India conferred the title of Parvatyacharya to MahaMandleshwar GuruMaa Jyotishanand Saraswati, known to her devotees as GuruMaa of the Hanuman Mandir in Long Island, New York. The title was conferred upon her at the Conference of Scholars, Saints and Sages at Sri Ma Yogashakti Divyadham Trust at Haridwar in the State of Uttarakhand between Jan 11 and 15. The President of India Pratibha Patil attended this historic occasion. GuruMaa is the first woman in the entire history of India and Sanathana Dharma to be conferred this title, which is purported to be equal to that of Shankaracharya. The award of Parvatyacharya was declared in the 1998 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. However, there was widespread opposition in India. GuruMaa then said that she was not interested in the title anymore to stop to controversy. She accepted it now only because one more glass ceiling will be broken in India and the status of women in India will be elevated further. The Hindu Sanathana Dharma places women at a very high level - even higher than man. 'Maa' is highly respected in our scriptures. For every Shiva, there is Shakti, and Hindus worship Sita-Ram, Radha-Krishna, Laxmi-Narayana - where the Divine Mother's name always comes before the name of the Lord. GuruMaa's life has been a great example of a woman who pursued her spiritual goal despite being born in wealth and married into a conservative, wealthy family. She [MahaMandleshwar GuruMaa Jyotishanand Saraswati] arrived alone in [the] US almost 30 years ago with less than $30 and has single-handedly built a great ashram in Long Island, and centers all over US. She developed an even bigger dream for an Ashram in Lonavala and is in process of implementing her vision. She did not care for title or the hierarchical order in the organization of Sanathana Dharma. She even dropped the title of MahaMandleshwar after the controversy. She challenged all the leaders when she was selected for this great post, and then very easily, walked away from it a decade ago. She is the first individual in over three thousand years to write a Purana, and that to on Hanumanji. She was born in a Jain family, and become a Sanyasin in Sanathana Dharma. http://indiapost.com/article/communitypost/1815/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 , " msbauju " <msbauju wrote: > > GuruMaa conferred Parvatyacharya title > 01/13/2008 > > India Post > > New York [u.S.] > > [before we get too caught up in > decrying the rigidity of Hinduism, > please bear in mind that the following > is ALSO a Hindu view.] > > Please forgive me if I seemed to make a generalization of rigidity in Hinduism, I did not intend that at all. I have found the Sanatana Dharma to be a deep enough ocean to contain all the views in a few drops and I feel as if I am still swimming on the surface! Thanks for the article! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 No worries, Leela. I was just worried the conversation might head off in some problematic direction. For my part, I've done some googling. This is a complicated event/ Here's what Ma Yoga Shakti Saraswati has to say about her (now former?) title, Maha Mandaleshwar, her creation of the title Parvatyacharya, and about titles in general: " Some experiences are difficult. For example, when I was being honored as the first female Maha Mandaleshwar by the mahants [leaders] of Niranjani Akhara in 1974, all the male Maha Mandaleshwars protested by not showing up at the ceremony. The mahants consoled me by saying, " Nothing happens overnight. If you keep your contacts with us, in time to come all will accept it. " And that was true. Rome was not built in a day! In the last Kumbha Mela in 1998 in Haridwar, I announced that I would honor a woman saint by creating and awarding a new title, Parvatyacharya [ " Divine Mother teacher " ]. It became the hot news at the Mela. All the sadhus opposed it. They threatened even to burn my ashram. I had to withdraw and postpone the program. But this does not mean that it cannot or should not be done. To me it is already done. Thoughts are things for a real sadhu. And the path of enlightenment has to be pursued at any cost. Women have to learn to play the right role in the society for the enlightenment of the future children of the world. There are many women sadhus in India who are doing great work, but are scared of opposition by society. I know titles are not very important, yet it is a way to uplift the consciousness of the people by attracting their attention. " http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2000/11-12/2000-11-29.shtml or http://tinyurl.com/2k4wqv I have read both that (after creating the title Parvatyacharya) she sought it for herself, and that she sought it for her disciple. I don't know which is the case. And it seems (as I understand it) that the Akhara that gave her her title, (Maha Mandaleshwar) opposed her creation of the new title (Parvatyacharya) and have allegedly stripped her of the Maha Mandaleshwar title now, which she allegedly wasn't using anyway. Complicated. Maybe we should move on to a new topic :-) , " deviloka " <deviloka wrote: > > , " msbauju " <msbauju@> wrote: > > > > GuruMaa conferred Parvatyacharya title > > 01/13/2008 > > > > India Post > > > > New York [u.S.] > > > > [before we get too caught up in > > decrying the rigidity of Hinduism, > > please bear in mind that the following > > is ALSO a Hindu view.] > > > > Please forgive me if I seemed to make a generalization of rigidity in > Hinduism, I did not intend that at all. I have found the Sanatana > Dharma to be a deep enough ocean to contain all the views in a few > drops and I feel as if I am still swimming on the surface! Thanks for > the article! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 I hope I did not come across as too critical of the subject, myself. I was just speaking of my thoughts concerning how societal laws of a religion tend to evolve and that is what tends to make them survive. I understand it is a viewpoint in Hinduism of many viewpoints. And in some ways, I actually think it was neat that they tried to take time to work things out before resorting to something too drastic. It would make things worse in most cases if they were too abrupt in the process. Like I said in my last post, abrupt change can still lead to chaos. I hope this clears up my thoughts more. Jai Ma! Sincerely, Christina ---- msbauju <msbauju wrote: > No worries, Leela. I was just worried the > conversation might head off in some problematic > direction. > > For my part, I've done some googling. This is a > complicated event/ > > Here's what Ma Yoga Shakti Saraswati has to say about > her (now former?) title, Maha Mandaleshwar, her > creation of the title Parvatyacharya, and about titles in > general: > > " Some experiences are difficult. For example, when I was > being honored as the first female Maha Mandaleshwar by > the mahants [leaders] of Niranjani Akhara in 1974, all the > male Maha Mandaleshwars protested by not showing up at > the ceremony. The mahants consoled me by saying, > " Nothing happens overnight. If you keep your contacts with > us, in time to come all will accept it. " And that was true. > Rome was not built in a day! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 26, 2008 Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 , " msbauju " <msbauju wrote: > > No worries, Leela. I was just worried the > conversation might head off in some problematic > direction. > > For my part, I've done some googling. This is a > complicated event/ > Thanks for your googling! I have always taken joy from Ma Yoga Shakti's sheer guts to speak out on social issues and stand up for what she believes is right. A favorite story- years ago, she went with a large group of devotees to a movie theater to see " Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom " and they all walked out in mass protest. She spoke out very strongly against the depiction of Shakti worshippers in the movie. I am always thrilled when I hear the stories of strong and courageous women Gurus, Saints and Sadhus of both the present and the past. Perhaps for every Ma Yoga Shakti that we see in the public eye there are many unsung heroines of sadhana whose stories we may never hear! Perhaps some members have some stories to share.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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