Re : Interesting read - Srivaishnavism is an interesting tradition, philosophically and theologically

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Thanks to Shri Ramji who opened my eyes about the so called comparison between Swami Desikan and the other Rakhshasa as he rightly called him. It was really shocking to read about the Goa Inquisition. Its true that The Hindu is misleading us into believing such wrong things. Our sampradaya has no comparison as it is a 'samaadhiga dharidhran' just like our Almighty Sriman Narayanan !AdiyenshanthiDe : Ramji Govindarajan

<ramji_iyengarÀ : ; ; acharya ; nama-singapore ; oppiliappan ; parakalamatham ; ; desikasampradaya ; bakthi-indonesia ; andavan ; Srisathyanarayanaperumal Cc : srivaishnavanEnvoyé le : Vendredi, 14 Août 2009, 14h04mn 16sObjet : Interesting read - Srivaishnavism is an interesting tradition, philosophically and theologically

 

 

Dear Swamy

 

Adiyen Dasan

 

We do seem to live in testing times. Being the eternal optimist, every living day I spend in the hope that the whole world will be made to realise the universality of Shri Vaishanavam religion and philosophy.

 

But that the principles expounded by our great Acharyas and established eternally in the Vedas, should fall in the hand of unworthy people scares me a lot. A fine example is this article forwarded by you. No other magazine but 'The Hindu' is so intellectually bankrupt that it'd stoop to depths beyond imagination to propogate this idea.

 

Any comparison between 'Rev' Francis Xavier and Swamy Desika is like comparing Ravana and Lord Shri Ram. It is like saying, Ravana performed a lot of penance and was expert in Shastras and Dharmas (that is just in knowing them and not practising them). Lord Shri Ram was aslo an expert on Dharma Shastras - so both of them advocated similar religion? what kind of a joker would a person be if he/she truly believed in this statement.

 

For comparing two idelogies/philosoph ical thought/religious ways two BASIC areas need to be compared: (a) Knowledge/Gnanam and (b) Practice of that Knowledge - that is having acquired that knowledge how one seeks to incorporate in their life style

 

Swamy Desika's Anushtanam are very well known. Let's look at this 'Rev' Francis Xavier's way of implementing the 'loving surrender to the lord'. Pls follow this link which tells you how this Rakshasa ordered killing of untold nos. of Hindus in Portugese occupied Goa.

 

http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Goa_Inquisition

 

Now low quality journals like The Hindu publish just to fill pages. For all you might know foreign institutions with vested interest to spread their religion might have paid this newspaper to publish these articles.

 

Make no mistake. The Christian missionaries are dangerous than the moghul invasions we faced in the 11-14th century. Atleast during those invasions, the invaders made themselves visible and told us of their agenda - namely to sack all of us if we don't convert. This was lot easier to handle - either stand up or convert. But the Christian missionaries are lot intelligent. Moghuls used violence to scale up their relgion. Christian missionaries are infact the messengers of Kali Purushan - they know how to make an individual dance to their tunes - not by physical force (that is so medeival). Money is the new means - use the money to occupy the mind space, journal space, real estate space - I do not want to write more negative thoughts in these forums

 

But seriously, my blood boils when I see adulteration of our sampradayam by elements that pretend to be loving to our sampradayam. This article is nothing but another step towards making Christianity look like Sanatana Dharmama and convert the gullible

 

That we all choose to look aside and be occupied by other material priorities in life is very shameful indeed.

 

Adiyen Dasan

Ramji

 

 

--- On Fri, 8/14/09, Madhavakkannan V <srivaishnavan@ > wrote:

Madhavakkannan V <srivaishnavan@ >[sriParakalaMatham] Interesting read - Srivaishnavism is an interesting tradition, philosophically and theologically, , acharya@ .com, nama-singapore, oppiliappan, parakalamatham, , desikasampradaya, bakthi-indonesia, andavan@ .com, Srisathyanarayanape rumal@ s.comFriday, August 14, 2009, 8:51 AM

http://www.hindu. com/fr/2009/ 08/14/stories/ 2009081450950100 .htm What does Vaishnavite scholar Vedanta Desika have in common with Catholic priest St. Francis? Prof. Francis X. Clooney discusses the link in his latest book. ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -Srivaishnavism is an interesting tradition, philosophically and theologically. ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -THEOLOGICAL APPROACH: Prof. Francis X. Clooney. The coming together of any two religions for most of us could mean raised voices and bloodshed… quite paradoxical to what all religions preach. But Prof. Francis X. Clooney, S.J., Harvard University, and author of several books, has a different perspective. Prof. Clooney spoke about his book ‘Beyond Compare: St. Francis

and

Sri Vedanta Desika on Loving Surrender to God’, during a talk organised by Prakriti Foundation at Madras Terrace House recently. In his work, he compares the two preceptors who were from different times and countries, and practised different religions, but who were united in their approached the concept of surrender to God. Prof. Clooney pointed out that since his work was like the interpretative work of a dancer or a musician, there was a great deal of practice and hard work that went into it right from the choice of subject. “It took me several years to narrow down on whom to compareâ€, he said. He added that “the minute you compare to celebrate one over the other, or compare to just get common quotes, it is not comparison in the real term.â€So what does Vedanta Desika, the 13/14th century preceptor for Vaishnavites, have in common with St. Francis, a 17th century Catholic priest from Geneva? Both valued writing and in their

written work, they hoped to pursue the devotee to perform a religious act itself. Both sought to transform the reader and used older texts to reinforce their message. Most important, both urged the reader to introspect and find out what it takes for him to surrender unconditionally to God. The book has several interesting passage on these topics. The audience was treated to a few enthralling readings. Catching up with Prof. Clooney after the session for a short interview, helped put the book in a greater context. Excerpts:Tell us a little about your research. I work in certain traditions of classical Hinduism, including Mimamsa Vedanta and Srivaishnavism. Of course, my work as a professor leads me to write on other topics and themes at times, but these are my areas of focus in the study of Hinduism. Beyond these, I am also a comparative theologian, and so, I reflect on what I learn from Indian traditions alongside my understanding of my

Christian bearings. And, to understand comparative study, I am also a bit of a historian, studying how Western Jesuits over the centuries have understood Hinduism.What got you interested in Srivaishnavism? It is a very interesting tradition, philosophically and theologically, and it shows us a complete religious way of life. The fact that Srivaishnavism flourishes in both Tamil and Sanskrit makes it all the more beautiful. The poetry of Divya Prabandham in particular is very lovely. I also appreciate the Vaishnava temples, their architecture, imagery, and the worship that takes place there. In many ways, I have found Srivaishnavism to be parallel to Roman Catholicism, with a similar depth, breadth, and wholeness.What is your mission on comparative religious studies and what forces do you see helping/hindering it? I am a professor at one of the oldest and best universities in the U.S., and also a Catholic priest and

Jesuit. So my mission is academic — scholarly writing on topics of religious importance, and doing comparative study. It is also spiritual, in the sense that I believe that inter-religious truths and understanding are valuable to one and all. If my work helps people appreciate and learn from other religions, then I think I would have succeeded and will be very happy. If people become more convinced of the truth of their own tradition, with deep faith, that too is very good. Since there is a lot of religious misunderstanding and intolerance today, my hope is that my work will probably show a way for people to relate to other religions more constructively and positively. Your future plans and interests… I have several book projects in mind, including more work on the Srivaishnava Bhagavatha Visaya, certain songs and commentaries compared with medieval Christian commentary on the Biblical Song of Songs. I have also been doing research

on the Jesuit tradition of inter-religious learning in India, and may soon have something more to write on that.Written word Some of the books written by Prof. Clooney are: • Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps to Break Down the Boundaries between Religions (2001), • Divine Mother, Blessed Mother: Hindu Goddesses and the Virgin Mary (2005), • Beyond Compare: St Francis de Sales and Sri Vedanta Desika on Loving Surrender to God (2008).