[Guruvayur/Guruvayoor] Is it Hindu Dharma? - Sanatana Dharma cannot be stopped :-)

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Very well said KVG ji. Actually in Orissa (the state of Lord Jagannath of Puri), there is a place called Bhadrak where a foreign devotee of Krishna (Jahnva Nitai Prabhu) has opened a Jagannatha temple in which everyone can have the darshan of the Lord, irrespective of their birth and other factors. This temple was opened by the pujaris of Jagannath Puri temple (Pandas, as they are called) and was done according to the traditional rules. You can see the link here which descirbes the ceremony in detail: http://www.bvashram.org/articles/124/1/Installation-of-Sri-Jagannatha-at-Bhaktivedanta-Ashram And there is a CNN news clip which gives more details. Please find it here: http://www.indiadivine.org/support/index.php?_m=downloads & _a=viewdownload & downloaditemid=16 As we know time and again Krishna has made it clear that His preference is not the caste and creed of the individual but only how much Bhakti and Love that individual has for Krishna. And you have very beautifully stated it by giving the example of Topmost devotee of Shree Krishna, Shreemati Radharani. There is a beautiful prayer for Radharani as well, which says: Tapta Kaanchana Gauraangi, Raadhe Vrindaavaneshwari, Vrshabhaanu Sute Devi, Pranamaami Hari Priye. Hare Krishna! Sarvam Shree Krishnaarpanamastu! This is one of the instances "K.V Gopalakrishna"

<gopalakrishna.kv wrote: Dear all,The so-called caste hindus should know that they have to move with the times. One has to move along with the current, otherwise will face destruction. I remember the days when the first Temple Entry Proclamation was declared in the state of Travancore, how much opposition was there, but people realised that it was wrong to curtail .the dalits (Harijans as they were called, in those days) from entering temples. The only thing is that to those who are not used to going to temples all

these days, do not know what are the rules to be observed, and what extent of cleanliness should be maintained in the temples, should be properly tutored to maintain that discipline. By going against the tide, we are doing harm to ourselves, I mean the Hindu society in particular.I was earlier thinking that it was the Brahmins who were opposing the dalits, but later understood that the perpetrators of crimes against dalits are the so-called caste-hindus other than brahmins.I hope wiser counsel will prevail and such feuds will come to an end and people will regard Krishna as the Supreme Lord and keep their minds focused on Him.Radha was not a married wife of Krishna and her name is not mentioned anywhere in the Bhagavatam. She was a Gopika very much loved by Krishna, but later on, given the knowledge of the Supreme godhead and Atma-tattvam and given salvation, as the story goes. But so far as Bhakti is concerned, none can beat Radha as portrayed by

Bhagavatam (without mentioning her name), and other hymns like Narayaneeyam, Geetha Govindam, etc. As she is not perpetually present with Krishna, on account of already being given salvation, probably she is not pictured with Krishna in Poojas and all. Only the names of Rukmini and Satya-bhama occur in poojas. (Rukmini-satyabhama sametha Gopalakrishna Swamine namah.) . This is my conjecture.RegardsKrishna Prasad wrote: Hari OM!  Dear Nairji,  Seeing the newspaper reports alone we cannot conclude that things are in a certain way.  And this is totally politically motivated issue and there is a hidden agenda behind it too  With Love & OM!  Hare Guruvayurappa Â

Krishna Prasad On 12/21/06, nbnair2000 <nbnair2000 > wrote: Swami Saranam:My respected fellow devotees,First of all let me express my gratitude to my fellow devotees fortheir spending some valuable time to explain things frankly, in simpleterms. I had been carefully studying these letters on the topic, viz. of Shri Krishna Prasad (3 letters), Shri KB Gopalakrisha (2 letters), Shri Premkumar, Shri PS Vinod and Shri Rajaram Venkataramani. Though I can't agree with some points expressed in some of these letters, in general, I was immensely benefited from them all. I amsure the case may be the same with at least a few

more devotees, likeme, who are not well versed in our mythology and culture, though theyare yet to express it in our forum. I am sure most of you would have read the news reports that followedin the case of Orissa Temple Disputes with Dalits. However, I amcopying below the latest news item on the same. I think we failed tolearn any positive lesson in the past 75 years, since the most damaging step that Dr Ambedkar was forced to take.I humbly request all the fellow devotees to come forward and raisetheir voice/ express their opinion. Friends, let me repeat what Krishna Prasadji is exhorting through a quotation in his signature: (As Poojya Gurudev said it) "Open youreyes. Burst your shell. Spread your wings and fly!"With Regards, NB Nair, nbnair2000 PS. The TOI News Item is copied below for your ready ref.

please.Times of Inida Delhi; Dec 21, 2006; Front PageOrissa Dalits to convert to Buddhism TIMES NEWS NETWORK Bhubaneswar: Disillusioned by protests of upper-caste residents of acoastal Orissa village over their entry to a 300-year-old Jagannathtemple, nearly 3,000 Dalits in Orissa's Kendrapada district havedecided to embrace Buddhism shortly. ``We will file affidavits en masse before the district collectoron January 3, 2007, seeking to embrace Buddhism. We need to do thisaccording to the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act. We will formallyconvert to Buddhism a month after filing the affidavits,'' Republican Youth and Students' Front president Ashok Mallick said. TEMPLE ROW Dalit leaders slam saffron brigade for Kendrapada fiasco (page 11)Bhubaneswar: 3,000 Dalits Kendrapada have decided to embrace Buddhism because of the high-handedness of the upper castes and priests. Priests

struck work last week and upper caste residents of theseaside hamlet of Keradagada chanted slogans seeking purification ofthe temple after Dalits entered the temple with police protection on December 14. Next day, angry priests had shut down the shrine and upper casteresidents of the village of 1,400 families observed a bandh. Theprotests were in violation of a Orissa High Court order allowing all Hindus to enter the temple. District collector Kashinath Sahoo said, "I am not aware of theDalits' plan to embrace Buddhism. We have been protecting their rightto enter the temple as per the court order." Orissa Mukti Morcha (Kendrapada) president Bhajamana Behera saidthe community would not ``confront orthodox upper caste people who areopposing Dalits's entry into the temple''. ``The administration's decision to replace the nine holes with an iron grill is an insult to Dalits and violates the court

order. It isa shame that Dalits are allowed to have darshan only through the nineholes,'' said Behera. Earlier, Dalits were allowed darshan only through nine peepholes on the outer wall of the shrine built by the rulers of Kanika. Beheraalso criticised the state government for not taking any action againstthose opposing Dalit entry in the temple. He recalled how the head priest of the historic Kala Ram Temple in Nashik (Maharashtra) apologised to Dalits last year for hisgrandfather's decision not to allow B R Ambedkar and his 15,000supporters to visit the shrine on March 3, 1930. Ambedkar and his followers converted to Buddhism in 1956. "But the priests and upper caste people from Keradagada have not learnt anylesson from this incident," said Mallick. Dalit leaders also criticised Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal,RSS and other Hindu organisations for their "silence" over the Keredagada

issue.Swami Saranam! guruvayur , "Krishna Prasad" <rkrishp99 wrote: >> Hari OM!> > Hello Vinodji,> > I understand your views. and that is 100 % true too.> > See all these rituals are because of ignorance alone the only way out is> study our scriptures properly.. I am sure you might be aware like weshould> learn Bhagavatham and other puranas only after learning Upanishads and> Geetha> The Prasthanatrayam. Puranas are written for the lay man to understand > things> but now every one seems to be aware of things so we will under stand the> puranas> more when we learn the Prasthanathrayam first and then the puranas(the> stories with> moral values!) > > See the flute, and

the Radha Krishna and stuff are made by our great> Grandfathers> to make aware of the new generation about our culture at leastbecause of> fear> people will follow the religion! at that time. > > But in this age of technology and space... for everything the muchdeveloped> intellect> questions only thing we should be able to answer our new generationwith the> correct knowledge. > > seeing your mail I am remembering a story which Swami DayanadaSaraswathi of> Arsha vidya gurukulam> narrated in one of his lectures.> > There was a great saint. who does all the yagnas and tapas and poojas > everyday. so he is naturally having> lot of Disciples... there was a cat which disturbs the rituals everyday. so> the saint use to tie the cat before> the rituals so that it won't disturb the poojas and yagnas. this continued..>

for years. so his disciples are aware> of this.. and no one asked questions to the sage. One day the sagebecome> Brahmaleen. (Samadhi).> > So the next close disciple of the saint took over as the head of the > spiritual organisation. So the first thing> he did was he remembered like the Guru used to tie a cat. He boughta big> fat cat for this purpose and before> the rituals it was tied with lot of flower garlands in its neck and made the> cat as a diety too!> > The above was exactly happened in the Krishna and the flute.. andthe Radha> and Krishna case as you stated in your email Hindu dharma is not at all> complex .. people make it complex... without studying.. everyone want > to become pandit, nowhere in our puranas it is said about Krishnaand the> flute right side left side etc..and the Durga pooja stuff.> > And I highly adore and

respect Swami Vivekanada..... and we should be aware> in what context Swamiji said> the we should not be frogs in well. and where he said this. He also said> that "Kerala is a Branthalayam" mental asylum seeing this kind of caste> discrimination and the blind belief!> > No one is criticising other religions here Vinodji.. we are only making> aware of our own community of other religion's agenda the CONVERSIONwhich> is the highest violence that is all.> > With Love & OM!> > Krishna Prasad> > > > On 12/19/06, PS, Vinod K (GE Infra, Energy) <vinod.ps wrote:> >> > !! Sri Rama Jayam !!> >> > Dear Krishnaprasad ji,> >> > The topic looks higly focussed but the roots

are hard to find. InIndia, a> > huge portion of temple customs are usually driven by theregional-specific> > culture (not finding a big time-line in history) & not from the actuals of> > Vedic theory. Frequently, one may find Vedic principles evident at the> > surface levels only. The way the deity is worshipped in a templegives the> > best idea of the thinking-tendency of the mass people. Let us start with an> > example from our home - Believe me, there is a good percentage ofdevotees> > who consider inauspicious to worship Radha with Krishna(especially the> > followers of idol-based worshipping) & I have met some of them personally.> > They fear about the possibility of family sufferings down the line(which is> > reasonably based on the understanding about the pains taken byRadha for> > Krishna). Hopefully, they

have not exactly understood the true message from> > 'Bhagavattam'. The same goes with 'Murali' at the hands ofKrishna. These> > practices have become very personal to the faith of a devotee & gets> > passed-on to the newer generations. Nobody can challenge these practices -> > irrespective of the fact they appear correct or incorrect !!> >> > Another example would be 'Durga pooja' as celebrated by natives ofBengal> > and of Kerala. Surprisingly, even today cattle offerings are made to > > Durga/Kali during Navaratri which strictly deviates from thebelief of a> > hindu keralite. But they form a part of the same 'Hindu Dharma'.This could> > puzzle our minds about the correctness of belief in Hindu Dharma and > > ofcourse no body has a clear-cut answer.> >> > The whole point behind quoting these examples is to help

othersunderstand> > the complexity of existing hindu beliefs which cannot be traced to it's> > origin. If that is possible, only then we could reconstruct our temple> > beliefs to its correct purpose. But is there a way out ? I wouldsay 'yes'> > and it comes from the message of Vivekananda during the "World Religious> > conference" at Chicago. "Let's stop criticising other religionsand find a> > way to attain religious harmony". Let us not be a "Frog in the well".> > > > Welcome your suggestions and comments.> >> > Hare Krishna> > Hare Rama> >> >> > ------------------------------> > ** guruvayur [guruvayur ]

*On> > Behalf Of *Krishna Prasad > > *Sent:* Monday, December 18, 2006 8:57 PM> > *To:* guruvayur > > *Subject:* Re: [Guruvayur/Guruvayoor] Is it Hindu Dharma?> >> >> >> > Hari OM!> >> > Dear Nairji,> >> > Some of the temples in India have this rules of castewisediscrimination.> > we cannot say> > anything about it. It is a religious issue totally. Dalits cannot> > forcefully enter any temple > > which is traditionally following the rules strictly.. there aresome rules> > in Tantric tradition> > like people who have Tamasic habits or taking non-veg food, smoking,> > drinking etc should > > not enter certain places, during

Tantric Prathividhis. So most of the> > ancient temples are> > followed by cetain rules.based on this traditions. After sometimewe may> > say also we need > > to change Srimad Bhagawad Geetha as per to suite the modern times!..> >> > Still we cannot say other caste people should enter Guruvayur because> > certain rules written by Sri Adi Shankaracharya and the Tantris of temple so> > we cannot change that part as we are changing the rules ofGovernment. This> > is not a political issue at all.> >> > Even at Guruvayur after "Kshetra Pravesana Vilambaram" only Dalits and > > other so called "lower castes"> > among Hindus could enter the Temple.> >> > We need to stop Conversion activities of Christians in India instead> > first. We need all the religions > > all the cultures equally important to

co-exist. We should notallow any> > particular religion> > to wipe out our ancient cultures. this only my opinion. neveragainst any> > caste or religion. > > Why can't we start a movemnet for a strong Anti-Conversion Bill inIndia?> >> > With Love & OM!> >> > Krishna Prasad> >> > > > On 12/17/06, nbnair2000 <nbnair2000 wrote:> > >> > > I wish to bring to the kind attention of all my fellow devotees of> > > Shri Guruvayur Appan the following news item for your immediate > > > positive response.> > > ******> > > Ref. Times of India Mumbai; Dec 16, 2006; Section: Times Nation;page> > > 12.> > >> > > Bhubaneswar: A day after Dalits entered a Jagannath temple at

> > > Keredagada breaking a 300-year-old ban, angry upper caste people on> > > Friday hit back by calling a bandh in the village located inOrissa's> > > Kendrapada district.> > >> > > As an easy calm prevailed in the village, temple priests expressed> > > their displeasure over the Dalits' entry into the shrine builtby the> > > rulers of Kanika. They shut the temple doors, stopped performing > > > rituals and sought to "purify" the shrine. �> > >> > > Some of the priests and upper caste people reportedly wanted to> > > perform `mahasnana', a ritual bath of the deities at the temple. > > >> > > Keeping all this in mind, the government sent an additional> > > platoon of armed police personnel to Keredagada. �> > >> > > "The Dalits chose to stay at home,

fearing violence,'' said > > > Sangram Mallick, leader of the Ambedkar Lohia Vichar Manch that led> > > the Dalits' campaign for the right to enter the temple.> > > *******> > > How could we remain mute spectators to these atrocities being > > > perpetuated to these Hindus, on the basis of castediscrimination, by> > > the (responsible) Hindus in the name of God and `the 300 year old> > > practice"?> > > Change is a sign of life. People or Institutions not prepared to > > > welcome timely, desirable changes will simply decay. The very fact> > > that the tradition is "300 year old" itself calls for a review to> > > assess its current social and religious validity. > > >> > > Before expressing my opinion on other platforms and media Iwould like> > > to seek the opinion of my esteemed

fellow `Guruvayur Appan Devotees'> > > in this matter. > > > With warm regards,> > > NB Nair, nbnair2000 <nbnair2000%40 > > > >> > >> >> >> > --> > dotcompals: www.dotcompals.in> > .Org domain Names for just 2.5 USD> >> >> > Krishna Prasad> >> > Dare to give up the comfort of the 'known' and venture into the'unknown'> > The more we know, the more we will come to realize what we do not know.> > If we want to achieve our true potential and live life to the fullest.> >> > As Poojya Gurudev said it,> >> > "Open your eyes. Burst your shell.> > Spread your wings and

fly!" > >> > Swami Chinmayananda> > Hate not the sinner - hate the sin; and always hate the sin evenwith an> > excess of hatred."> >> > > >> > > > -- > dotcompals: www.dotcompals.in> .Org domain Names for just 2.5 USD> > > Krishna Prasad> > Dare to give up the comfort of the 'known' and venture into the 'unknown'> The more we know, the more we will come to realize what we do not know.> If we want to achieve our true potential and live life to the fullest.> > As Poojya Gurudev said it, > > "Open your eyes. Burst your shell.> Spread your wings and fly!"> > Swami Chinmayananda> Hate not the sinner - hate the sin; and always hate the sin even with an> excess of hatred."

>-- dotcompals: www.dotcompals.in .Org domain Names for just 2.5 USDKrishna PrasadDare to give up the comfort of the 'known' and venture into the 'unknown' The more we know, the more we will come to realize what we do not know. If we want to achieve our true potential and live life to the fullest. As Poojya Gurudev said it, "Open your eyes. Burst your shell. Spread your wings and fly!"Swami ChinmayanandaHate not the sinner - hate the sin; and always hate the sin even with an excess of hatred." Tired of spam? Mail has the

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