Dr. Rai's reference to Shankara

[Guest guest]

Dear Fellow MAdhvas:

 

I believe Dr. Rai who made reference to Shankara hails from

the Bant community (the principal non-brahmin community of South

Kanara Distt). Hence the discrepancy. Unless efforts are made

by the current svAmIs to bring such people into the Greater

MAdhva community, such things are bound to happen. There will

be only DeshAbhimAna (i.e. the feeling Swamiji & myself are

from the same place) not matAbhimAna (i.e. the feeling the

swamiji & myself are from the SAME TRADITION). In fact, this

is happening to many younger generation TuLu-brahmin MAdhvas

themselves (many of whom don't even know that they are

MAdhvas!!!). Tragedy indeed. Unless, like VAdirAja TIrtharu who

converted the svarNakAra (goldsmith) community of coastal

Karnataka and who even to this day get mudrAdhAraNa done once

in three years (as they are Vaishyas) by the incumbent Sode

pIThAdhipati; and Vibudhapriya TIrtharu (27th Pontiff of AdamAr

MaTha) who converted the MogavIra (fisherman) community of SK

Distt. (from whose community former Karnatak minister Manorama

Madhwaraj comes from) there will no true fellow-feeling in

terms of religion. These gurus had the far-sightedness to

expand the MAdhva SampradAya and thus fortify it socially not

just theologically. Without the periodic missionary zeal and

revival, the community can just barely hold together given the

greater context of things like counter-missionary activities by

other sampradAyas, secularization in the modern world (where our

children know more about CD-ROM than " SItA-RAm " ) etc.

 

We must remember that there are many former MAdhva brahmins

who have lapsed back into the Advaita tradition due to lack

of contact with their guru-maThas. Some examples of these are:

some Bihari MAdhvas in GayA area, some Maharashtrian MAdhvas

and some NambUdiri and NAyar families in Cochin area who were

converted by VishvAdhIsha TIrtharu, 30th Pontiff of Sode MaTha

and his grand disciple Vishvapriya TIrtharu, 32nd Pontiff of

the Sode MaTha in the mid-1800s.

 

Further, modern movements like RK Mission, Chinmaya Mission and

even the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (which professes a secular

facade) are ALL committed to the Advaita way of thinking. So

this is another set of things which do NOT favor us.

 

Also, in many Inter-faith conferences that I have attended as

a professor of Religion, Jewish rabbis, Christian clergymen and

Islamic mullahs are stunned to learn about Madhva's system. As

far as they are concerned, it is the Advaita=Hinduism formula.

 

In this sense, HH SuguNendra TIrtharu of Puttige MaTha deserves

our co-operation and commendation. At least in the US, he has

done MUCH to revive the MAdhva SampradAya. How young and yet

how far-sighted. My salutations to you Holy Sire! May you not

only rekindle our zeal but light NEW lamps of Madhvaism

wherever you set foot.

 

Regards to all,

Hari-vAyu smaraNa

B.N.Hebbar