Unfortunate kalai-based Incidents at SrIra~ngam

April 10, 2001

SrI:

SrI Lakshminrusimha ParabrahmaNE namaH

SrImatE rAmAnujAya namaH

SrImatE nigamAnta mahAdESikAya namaH

SrImatE nArAyaNa yateendra mahAdESikAya namaH

namO nArAyaNa!

Dear bhaktas,

Recently, SrI Dileepan mentioned about the unfortunate

happenings that took place at SrI-Ra~ngam. aDiyEn

would like to let you all know in short as to what happened,

after hearing from a Prapanna who was very much at

SrI-Ra~ngam and well aware of these things.

Everyone knows that the RAjagOpuram with 13 tiers (Or 12 ?)

was built by SrImad MukkUr Azhagiyasi~ngar (SMA), the

donation for which ranged from SrImad PaRavAkOttai

ANdavan to Sa~nkarAchArya to Music-Composer ILayarAja.

SMA with his broad mind let the gOpuram have a the~nkalai

thirumaN in the bottom-most tier and never insisted

that VaDakalai thirumaN be present in it. It was well agreed

upon by all to abide by that generous attitude of Azhagiasi~ngar.

The matter about RAjagOpuram was hence finalized and closed

as to how it should be in the future; and was implemented so.

Recently, a well-sized the~nkalai thirumaN in the middle tier

{6th Or 7th} was placed with all attractive Neon Lights etc, so

that the thirumaN would be visible to far-off places also. When

the current SrImad Azhagiyasi~ngar {camped at SrIra~ngam esp for

SrI PaRavAkOttai ANDavan's SatAbhishEkam} saw this recent addition

over the RAjagOpuram, Jeeyar asked the E.O. to make the RAjagOpuram

be maintained the way SMA {one who built it} wished and which

was agreed by all that time too and not introduce any new changes

in it by way of placing that another the~nkalai thirumaN.

When this was made known to the~nkalai authorities, it made a

beginning for huge protests by the the~nkalais. Four the~nkalai

JIyars viz.of SrIra~ngam,SrI-villiputtUr,SrI-PerumpudUr and

probably ThirukOvilUr {couldn't remember the last JIyar} headed

a grand protest walking through the streets of SrI-ra~ngam with lots

of the~nkalais behind them, together shouting many slogans {ofcourse

some unpalatable ones too}. The vaDakalai thirumaNs

on the forehead of two PerumAL statues on the vimAnam of

SwAmi DESikan sannidhi were changed to the~nkalai. A prominent

the~nkalai thirumaN has been put outside SwAmi DESikan

Sannidhi {Earlier such a thirumaN was there it seems}. Some

the~nkalais participated in SA(t)RRumuRai at SwAmi DESikan

Sannidhi and recited SrI ManavALa-MAmuni's UpadEsa

Ratna-mAlai with the vaDakalais out there simply watching them.

SrI ThirukkOshtiyUr MAdhavan has been reported to

be involved in a high-level {ie.headed} for such incidents esp at

SwAmi DESikan Sannidhi. He is a staunch the~nkalai and has

been in the good books of Azhagiyasi~ngar and was entrusted

with the samprOkshanam of SwAmi DESikan sannidhi opp to

ThAyAr Sannidhi, belonging to SrI Ahobila Muth.

Not leaving at these things, during the mid-night many the~nkalais

as a gang made the board(s) of SrI PounDarikapuram ANDavan

Ashramam be painted with the~nkalai thirumaN {which came to the

notice next morning when the aashramam devotees saw it} and

damaged the vehicles etc belonging to those had come for

SrImad ANDavan's SatAbhishEkam / stay at SrI-Abhobila Muth

etc.

This has caused a big stir .....Life at SrI-ra~ngam is no

more the way it was. This would have planted deep-rooted

bitter feelings in the heart of vaDakalais - from children to the

elderly and the the~nkalai families too would have magnified

their feelings against the vaDakalais through the slogans etc

of the street protests.

By the way, some of the~nkalai JIyars who headed such outright

street protests were part of the Yati-SammElam which has been

widely talked about.

The write-up from SrI AnantanarasimhAchArya SwAmi on the

celebrations including these incidents will be sent soon to

Singapore as aDiyEn heard. We can know much more dimensions

of the incidents from that write-up.

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

anantapadmanAbhan.

April 10, 2001

namO nArAyaNa. It is often said that indifference is worse than

hatred, but obviously in this case the former would be better. One

wonders whether such incidents (and innumerable undocumented

ones in past years) could qualify the followers of swami desikar

sampradayam as a persecuted minority (no joke). The only defence

against chavunism and brute force of numbers is Governmental

intervention. Of course in India (particularly in Tamil Nadu) one can

only dream of such a thing - since the entire Srivaishnava population

(let alone one single kalai) wouldn't make for any vote bank. While

India's constitution assures every religious group the freedom of

worship and protection from brute domination - even that cannot

resolve this matter since Srivaishnavas, smarthas, brahmins and

everyone else that is not moslem or christian are lumped under the

broad definition of hinduism. Litigation too, has proved futile (as

in the unfortunate kanchi elephant and other such cases).

So as one member pointed out - only PerumaL can redeem the

situation through the birth of another Srivaishnava mahAn who will

enjoy the collective loyalty of the entire community, and be able to

consolidate the teachings of all poorvacharyas under the banner

of Sri Ramanuja siddhantam.... alongwith of course, a commonly

accepted oordhva pundram!!

Until that happens (whether it is during my lifetime or later), adiyEn

will do his best to support the remaining institutions and kovils that

follow swami desikar sampradayam. I would rather be biased - than

be " broad-minded " in catering to the so-called " common interests " of

those who commit vandalism and violence in the name of ramanujar.

-Srinath C.

Anand K Karalapakkam wrote:

> JIyars viz.of SrIra~ngam,SrI-villiputtUr,SrI-PerumpudUr and

> probably ThirukOvilUr {couldn't remember the last JIyar} headed

> a grand protest walking through the streets of SrI-ra~ngam with lots

> of the~nkalais behind them, together shouting many slogans {ofcourse

> some unpalatable ones too}. The vaDakalai thirumaNs

> on the forehead of two PerumAL statues on the vimAnam of

> SwAmi DESikan sannidhi were changed to the~nkalai. A prominent

> the~nkalai thirumaN has been put outside SwAmi DESikan

> Sannidhi {Earlier such a thirumaN was there it seems}. Some

> the~nkalais participated in SA(t)RRumuRai at SwAmi DESikan

> Sannidhi and recited SrI ManavALa-MAmuni's UpadEsa

> Ratna-mAlai with the vaDakalais out there simply watching them.

> Not leaving at these things, during the mid-night many the~nkalais

> as a gang made the board(s) of SrI PounDarikapuram ANDavan

> Ashramam be painted with the~nkalai thirumaN {which came to the

> notice next morning when the aashramam devotees saw it} and

> damaged the vehicles etc belonging to those had come for

> SrImad ANDavan's SatAbhishEkam / stay at SrI-Abhobila Muth.

April 10, 2001

Dear Srinath and Others:

In Adiyen's opinion, the situation is not as hopeless as it seems. My

experience in temple matters (limited as they are) shows that to make

progress - inner progress - things like Gayatri Japam, Bhaghavat Aradhanam

at home, AhAra Niyamanam etc., are more important than worrying about what

goes on in the temples. To be involved in temple affairs requires a

different kind of personality and I have seen Thenkalais are more suited for

that.

Having said that, how does the current situation with regard to temples look

like. Our Divya Desams may not accord due respects to Vedanta Desika's

contributions. They may not recognize that both Desika Sampradayam and

Manavala Mamunigal sampradayam are like two eyes of Ramanujacharya's

siddhantam. But look at the internet. Look at the Websites. They are all

flooded with Vedanta Desika literature. Talk to smarthas. Talk to scholars

of other schools. There is no doubt in my mind that Vedanta Desika is a

highly reverred achAryA outside of His own Vadakalai circles. He strode the

philosophical scene like a colossus and that impression still carries.

Now with regard to temples built in recent years, the developments are very

encouraging. Vaishnava temples coming up in metropolitan towns in India

have a strong Desika presence. Temples in America have Desika Sattrumurai

almost universally accepted. Temples in America have gone one step further,

as they try to unite the two kalais. This unity is important for several

reasons. (1) the small number of people in each town (2) to counter smArtA

influence that goes to dilute Sri Vaishnava standards (like bringing

Ganapati worship etc.,) (3) basically we are educated enough to understand

and appreciate the 95% of common things that we share and (4) A great

increase in the number of inter-kalai marriages.

However, I am only worried about one thing. Our magnanimity and openness to

accommodate both kalais should be cautiously guarded with vigilance. The

priests (who still carry the old baggage) have greatly damaged the balance

between the two kalais in the Pittsburgh temple. People there are hesitant

to correct it as they do not want to get into kalai fights. Having heard

its history, it appears that the Pittsburgh temple very much started like

the Sri Ranganatha temple and it has indeed deviated from its original

Charter. I think we should not let these thing happen in other temples.

Finally, our focus should be the future. For every divya desam, let there

be one parallel Divya Desam in America and other major towns of India that

is dedicated to Desika and with an all inclusive spirit. Let us work

towards that goal. EmperumAn will leave the original Divya desams and come

to places where there is love and a spirit of accommodation.

Thanks.

Thirumalai Nallan Chakravarthy family

S. Vijayaraghavan

Buffalo, NY

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April 10, 2001