Surprised!!!

[Guest guest]

Dear Shrimathi Gariyali

 

I have heard about you and your excellent service in the rank of an IAS

officer.

 

I am very much surprised to see few of the contents of your article

about iyengars in chennaionline web site.

 

http://www.chennaionline.com/columns/DownMemoryLane/index.asp

 

you mentioned

 

Andal songs dedicated to Durga are called Thiru Pavai and are sung

during the month of Marghazi.

 

>> The songs are not dedicted to Godess Durga..I dont want to get in to

any detail further about this.

I request that you read and get a good understanding about Shri

Vaishnavism and iyengar way of life.

 

you also mentioned..

 

The Vadagalai used more of Sanskrit and were mainly the followers of Sri

Vedanta Deshiker, whereas the Tengalai used more of Tamil and were the

followers of Saint Ramanujam, also known as the Tenth Acharya, who

propagated Vaishnavism in a big way in South India. It is said that he

admitted many non-Brahmins into Vaishnavism and made Vaishnavism a

devotional movement. In fact, it is very interesting that among the

twelve Vaishnavite Saints called Alwars only three are Brahmins.

 

>> It is also so sad that you havent noted that both vadagalai and

thengalai iyengars belong to Shri Ramanju's school of philosophy .Swami

Desika is a ardent follower of Shri Ramanuja (nor Ramanjuam as you would

put it)..Infact our school of thought is called Ramanuja Samprdhaya. or

Shri Ramnuja Sidhaantham..

 

Please go through the vadgalai and thengali lineage of gurus and you

yourself will see whether Shri Ramanjua belongs to Vadagali lineage of

gurus or not..

 

period

 

I want to ramble on with few more things that has come in My mind at

this juncture . please choose to read from the following.

 

1) Vedantha doesn't belong to Adi Shankara alone.. if one goes through

the history of vedantha and understand it they will know that shankara

is a closed chapter of learned error as Shri Sarvapalli RadhaKrishnan

would put it.

 

2) Iyer and iyengars strictly speaking differ only in few

pracitices(anushtanas) and vedantha understanding..

 

Infact iyers are also vaishnavas(not iyengars). as shri adhi shankara is

(and he is not an iyengar or sri vaishnava) .

 

It is only in the past say 150 or 200 years or so there has been a

greate divide between iyer and iyengars and iyers or betwen thengalai

and vadagali.

 

It is so funny that iyers are associted with shaivism as it is so

intresting to note that shaivism and vedantha has no connection at all.

and if one claims to be a vedanthi he must then be vaishnavite.Please

consult with their mutt pontiffs in person and request them for an honet

and straightforward answer about iyers and shaivism.. you will know it

all by yourself.

 

Vaishnavism dosent just belong to Barmhins alone or iyengars alone..

you can be a non barmhin or a non iyengar and still be a vaishnavite.

 

Ramanuja sampradhayam is called a shri vaishnavism and not just vaishnavism.

 

******************************************

There are many factual errors in the article you have written. I dont

wnat to get in to detail of each of them for brevity sake.

 

I request you to please verify the facts and the information you give

with some ardent sri vaishnavite before you make it available to a web

site which is being widely acecssed by people all over the world.

 

I also request you to consult with ardent srivaishnavas(iyengars) about

their life style and parcitces tradition and philosphy or mail me I

will take all efforts if you are intretsed ..to make you understand

about iyengars and srivaishnavism.

 

you may alternaivelivy vist the web site www.ramanuja.org for more

information.

 

thanking you

 

regards

K.S.Venkataraghavan