T-shirts (was Jumping to conclusions)

[Guest guest]

Sri:

Sri Lakshmi nrisimha parabrahmaNE nama:

Sri Lakshmi nrisimha divya paduka sevaka srivan satakopa

Sri Narayana yatindra mahadesikaya nama:

 

This is in response to questions raised by Sri Mani Varadarajan as to the

appropriateness of selling T-shirts bearing the images of PerumAl. We,

Malathi Dileepan and Vimala Rajaji, originally came up with the idea to raise

funds, in a very small way, for the construction of Sri Ranganatha Temple by

creating and selling gift items of a religious nature. As one normally does,

before starting a kainkaryam such as this, we both discussed our idea with

our AchAryA, His Holiness Srimad Azhagiyasingar. His Holiness was, in fact,

shown a copy of all the gift items including the T-shirt, calendar, magnets

and greeting cards, all bearing images of PerumAl. Only after securing his

blessing did we start this project. All of the cost incurred for the

materials are at our expense and 100% of the gross sale proceeds are remitted

to Sri Ranganatha Temple.

 

We checked once again with our AchAryA about the appropriateness of the

T-shirts, asking very specifically about similar concerns raised by Sri Mani

Varadarajan. His Holiness, once again, advised us not to lose sight of the

main objectives of the cause and instructed us to continue with the

production and sale of the T-shirts. His Holiness, in fact, talked of the

example of vEshtis worn by people with the images of thiruman, shanku and

chakram and said that it is unavoidable that the vEshtis are trampled by ones

feet many times during the day. But that person is very proud to wear such a

vEshti and feels closer to Perumal wearing that vEshti. In addition, His

Holiness said that it was more appropriate to wear a T-shirt with the image

of PerumAl, since the image of PerumAl is closer to ones heart.

 

As Sri Murlidhar Rangaswamy rightly pointed out, this kainkaryam was started

only with the approval and blessings of His Holiness Srimad Azhagiyasingar.

We hope this puts to rest the question of the appropriateness of the

T-shirts. However, as Sri Mani Varadarajan has pointed out, we hope those who

buy the T-shirts treat the same with respect.

 

We hope this encourages more people now to come forward and order the

T-shirts and thus contribute to a very holy cause, the completion of the

construction of our Sri Ranganatha Temple at Pomona.

 

srimad azhagiya singar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

 

Malathy Dileepan and Vimala Rajaji

[Guest guest]

> If one is not careful, he/she can easily jump to the

> wrong conclusion that this story gives permission to

> commit any apacaram as long as we propitiate

> afterwards with singing a few verses from Thiruvaymozhi.

 

Thanks Dileepan for a nice story. Velukkudi Varadacharyar

Swami used to regularly retell this episode in his upanyaasams.

 

This brings up the issue of apachaaram. I recently saw on

a Web site that some devotees are selling t-shirts with

images of Perumaal on them! If I am not mistaken, those

involved are using this as a fundraiser for Sri Ranganatha's

Tirukkovil in Pomona. These images include Ranganatha,

Maalola Narasimha, etc. Is this an appropriate use of the

holy images of the Lord?

 

Imagine the following situations which are bound to happen.

 

(a) Someone eats while wearing the t-shirt and spills

their " yeccil " unconsciously on the image of the Lord.

 

(b) People wear the t-shirt while bodily unclean (theettu)

 

© The Lord gets washed along with all other kinds of dirty

clothes (underwear, socks, etc.) in the washing machine

 

(d) The Lord gets stepped on inadvertently when the t-shirt

gets thrown on the ground

 

These are just some of the kinds of unfortunate happenings

that will be undoubtedly fostered by the sale of the Lord on

a t-shirt.

 

Furthermore, in my opinion, it is markedly disrespectful to

place these holy representations on a place such as a t-shirt.

It is common nowadays to see Hollywood stars carelessly sporting

t-shirts of Lord Krishna or Siva Perumaan as a fashion statement.

We, as believing Sri Vaishnavas, should be more conscious about

the treatment of such divine images.

 

The place for the Lord's countenance (which, according to the

concept of archAvatara, is a manifestation of the Lord *Himself*)

should be carefully treated, as if dealing with the physical

Lord Himself.

 

I am sure the proponents of the t-shirts only mean well.

However, I hope we can discourage them from selling them

after presenting the above problems with the idea.

 

daasan

Mani

[Guest guest]

Sri:

 

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

 

Dear Bhaktas,

 

Adiyen normally does not get involved in controversies. However, he is

compelled to write the following to clear any unintended

misrepresentations caused by the above post. It is Adiyen's

understanding that practices

followed at Sri Ranganatha Temple, Pomona, NY are in strict conformance

with the AruL Mozhigal of the 44th and 45th Jeeyars of Ahobila Matham.

Adiyen is quite sure that the sale of T-shirts with images of Lord

Ranganatha and Lord Narasimha is being planned with the approval of

H.H.

the Prakritam Jeeyar Swami. Hence, it is extremely dangerous to make

extrapolations on the basis of hear-say without doing one's homework

thoroughly. Adiyen does not wish to start a flame-war on the net.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan

 

mani varadarajan <man- wrote:

original article:/?start=811

> > If one is not careful, he/she can easily jump to the

> > wrong conclusion that this story gives permission to

> > commit any apacaram as long as we propitiate

> > afterwards with singing a few verses from Thiruvaymozhi.

>

> Thanks Dileepan for a nice story. Velukkudi Varadacharyar

> Swami used to regularly retell this episode in his upanyaasams.

>

> This brings up the issue of apachaaram. I recently saw on

> a Web site that some devotees are selling t-shirts with

> images of Perumaal on them! If I am not mistaken, those

> involved are using this as a fundraiser for Sri Ranganatha's

> Tirukkovi

l in Pomona. These images include Ranganatha,

> Maalola Narasimha, etc. Is this an appropriate use of the

> holy images of the Lord?

>

> Imagine the following situations which are bound to happen.

>

> (a) Someone eats while wearing the t-shirt and spills

> their " yeccil " unconsciously on the image of the Lord.

>

> (b) People wear the t-shirt while bodily unclean (theettu)

>

> © The Lord gets washed along with all other kinds of dirty

> clothes (underwear, socks, etc.) in the washing machine

>

> (d) The Lord gets stepped on inadvertently when the t-shirt

> gets thrown on the ground

>

> These are just some of the kinds of unfortunate happenings

> that will be undoubtedly fostered by the sale of the Lord on

> a t-shirt.

>

> Furthermore, in my opinion, it is markedly disrespectful to

> place these holy representations on a place such as a t-shirt.

> It is common nowadays to see Hollywood stars carelessly sporting

> t-shirts of Lord Krishna or Siva Perumaan as a fashion statement.

> We, as believing Sri Vaishnavas, should be more conscious about

> the treatment of such divine images.

>

> The place for the Lord's countenance (which, according to the

> concept of archAvatara, is a manifestation of the Lord *Himself*)

> should be carefully treated, as if dealing with the physical

> Lord Himself.

>

> I am sure the proponents of the t-shirts only mean well.

> However, I hope we can discourage them from selling them

> after presenting the above problems with the idea.

>

> daasan

> Mani

>

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhaktas,

 

My sincere apologies if my post has caused unneeded

consternation among some members here. I really had

no intention of doing anything other than bringing

what I thought were some important points to the

forefront.

 

Let me give you some background behind why I wrote.

Recently, over the Thanksgiving weekend, I was touring

a small town in Northern California. As is typical in

such towns, there was a row of gift shops where one can

browse the offerings of each place of business. In

one of these places, my wife and I were shocked to

see a lunchbox with Bala Krishna painted on the front,

and Lakshmi on the other side. There were also lunchboxes

with Kali Devi, Siva Perumaan, etc., sold as curiosities,

and certainly with no religious interests in mind. It struck us

that people could use these things to house meat sandwiches

(or indeed, eccil of any sort), without any concern for

the divinity portrayed on the outside. In the recent

past I have also seen buxom young Hollywood actresses

sporting tight t-shirts with the likenesses of Krishna and Siva

on the front; clearly these young women have no knowledge

or concern for showing respect to these deities.

 

Coming from my family, seeing all this was very insulting and

hurtful. I suppose it is a very personal issue. In both sides of my

family, all pictures of Perumaal and parivaaras are lovingly

and carefully framed and placed on a wall or Perumaal sannidhi,

or at least put in a drawer away from ordinary items. Even

pictures of Ganapati or Siva that we receive in calendars

or fliers are carefully cut out, given to a devotee of that

god, or placed in a drawer. We would much rather keep any

of these pictures of divinity than throw them out.

 

This concern over the presence of the Divine goes to the

extent of never placing Perumaal pictures on a table where

people eat (we call it " eccil table " ), or where people keep

feet or shoes. We also do not keep any books of knowledge,

religious or otherwise, in such areas, out of concern for

the living God embodied within the pictures and books.

This is how I have been taught by all my elders uniformly.

 

I have always assumed that the ideas behind such treatment

were universal among Sri Vaishnavas. This should now explain

the shock I felt at learning that t-shirts of the Lord were

being sold, and why I listed my concerns in my previous email.

Though the intentions were undoubtedly noble, in my mind I

felt there was room for unintentional mistreatment of these

holy images when placed on such a place.

 

I had no intention of " misrepresenting " anyone or

" causing a flame-war " or " controversy " , as one Netter

has stated. I also was careful to say that I was sure

the proponents (I did not know who they were) of this

idea had only good intentions in mind. From their reply,

I now know that Smts. Malathy Dileepan and Vimala Rajaji

conceived of this idea. Smt. Malathy is one of the most

pleasant and charming people I have ever met, and in many

ways reminds me of my own mother. Smt. Vimala also seems

like a very nice person, from my interaction with her.

I only mention this to set it straight, for the record,

that none of this is personal, as is implied in a couple

of the defensive responses seen so far.

 

I now also know that Srimad Azhagiya Singar himself has blessed

this endeavor. While I am bewildered by this and still and

quite uncomfortable with the concept for the very reasons

of respect stated earlier, I withdraw my objections and will

refrain from discussing this matter here further. My apologies

to those who have been offended by any of my statements in

this discussions.

 

adiyen raamaanuja daasan,

Mani

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrI Lakshminrusimha ParabrahmaNE namaha

SrI Lakshminrusimha divya pAdukA sEvaka SrIvaN-

SatakOpa SrI nArAyaNa yateendra mahAdESikAya namaha

 

Dear devotees,

namO nArAyaNA.

 

SrI Mani Varadarajan wrote:

> The place for the Lord's countenance (which, according to the

> concept of archAvatara, is a manifestation of the Lord *Himself*)

> should be carefully treated, as if dealing with the physical

> Lord Himself.

 

There is lot of difference between arcA avatAram of

PerumAL and His photos. While the former is verily

PerumAL Himself with suddha sattva thirumEni, the latter is

only a photo of His (ie. it is not an arcA avatAram with

suddha sattva thirumEni). The arcA avatAram is taken by

PerumAL after the pratishta being done in accordance

with the aagama sAstrAs, to fulfil the desire of His

devotees. Ofcourse, sometimes, He Himself takes an arcA

avatAram on His own accord (Svayam vyaktam) like all

sAlagrAma mUrtIs.

 

The significance of photos is due to the rememberance

it gives about PerumAL and hence respected.

 

The photos (which is not an arcA avatAram) can't be

worshipped the way we worship sAlagrAma PerumAL (which

is verily PerumAL Himself in an arcA avatAram). adiyEn

has earlier verified this with SrImad Azhagiyasingar and

from vidvAns like SrI KarunAkaran swAmni. But, the worship

of photos (by offering food etc) is not discouraged

because, it gives one good mind frame to pour out one's

love towards PerumAL. Atleast, that makes a devotee pray

etc to PerumAL and makes him engaged in bhagavad anubhavam,

which is reciprocated by PerumAL also inturn.

----------

 

The presence of the photos of PerumAL in a T-shirt, makes

one acquire more sense of belonging to PerumAL/sampradAyam

etc and acquire more bhagavad anubhavam, because of such

rememberance. Also, it makes one very cautious of what

he/she is doing, while wearing that shirt. Also, others

(esp. non SrI Vaishnavas) will have the fortune of seeing

PerumAL's photo and may also start enquiring more about

PerumAL,sampradAyam etc and get engaged in discussing

bhagavad vishayam. This also makes way for the propagation

of the sampradAyam. There are many such very good important

benifits.

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

ananthapadmanAbha dAsan

krishNArpaNam