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Re: outburst of a angry vaishnavite

From the Bhakti List Archives

Does it matter? • February 18, 2003 


Shrimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

Dear Shri Swamis,
My pranams to all. I apologize in the beginning itself, if, even by 
mistake, my post offends anyone.

I have similar thoughts as that of Shri Keshav.

"Cleanliness is next to godliness" - self explanatory.

"Yathaa Raja tathaa praja" - The way the king is, so are the people.

Thirukkural-
"Puranthooimai neeran amayum aganthooimai 
Vaimayaal Kaanap padum" (External cleansing is done by water while 
the internal cleansing is done by truthfulness). This is what we do 
as we start the Sandhyavandhanam('Apohishta mayo bhuva').

"Solluthal Yaarkkum Eliya! Ariyavam
Solliya Vannam Seyal" (Everybody can tell everything very easily. 
But, it is exactly opposite when it comes to standing by the same i.e 
it is the most difficult part to implement what we say.)

I guess, if my understanding is right, the question posed by the 
writer Shri Balaji was that - aren't we supposed to set an example 
for our next generation. I feel that, he was angry and he has every 
right to be so. And if it were a meagre outburst, it is the job of 
moderator to review and reject the message. If the moderator has 
approved it, I feel that, there is some reason why it has been. I 
feel that (at least I take it that way), the message has been 
approved only because, everyone would see one point or the other in 
what Shri Balaji has said, instead of analysing his emotions.

I feel that the following are the post's main points:
- Whether we should really set an example for our next generation or 
not
- Whether we should not give any excuse, rather try to follow our 
anushtanams at our best or not
- More than those who preach, it is those who stand by the same  are 
the ones who contributes more to maintaining and saving the 
tradition. When one asks a question like "How could I do 
sandhyavandhanam even when I am working 18 hours a day", it is very 
difficult for a person who just preaches about it. But, when a person 
who works for 18 hours and still follows the anushtanam is present, 
the meagre presence will convincs 1000s of people that it is possible 
to do so and that they can't give any lame excuses. I think, the idea 
behind this post, not being bothered about whether it was intentional 
or not, is a good one. It kept me thinking for couple of days in 
fact! 

These are open questions. I myself was shocked by these. I am one of 
those who gives lots of excuses for not following anushtanams. But 
the post, really made me think. I am a software engineer and I work 
at a client's place. If I don't go in the formal dress, I would not 
be paid my salary nor my respect. Whether I can do my job or not, is 
secondary. If in lowkeeka life this is so, am I not supposed to 
follow what my purvacharya's did. Or atleast, shouldn't I be thinking 
about that all the time rather than trying to convince myself with 
excuses. I ended up deciding that the tradition gives so much 
flexibility that I tend to give lame excuses whilst my jobs won't 
give me my daily bread(that is what I had been thinking as the truth, 
while it is not so) if I don't follow the professional tradition. 
There was an iyengar boy whom I know, who has some bad habits. Couple 
of his friends tease me when they hear from me that I don't have any 
of those habits. What they tease me about is that every iyengar guy 
is no different from that boy it seems. People tend to generalize 
very easily. "Oru paanai sotrukku oru soru padam"(To check if the 
entire rice in the vessel has boiled well or not, it is enough to 
check one single grain). So, even if we don't follow the anushtanams, 
it is a better idea not to expose our anti-traditional habits amidst 
the society that would easily brand the traditional people based on 
this single exposure.

As I mentioned before, these are open questions and I feel these kind 
of questions should come out in some way or other to give me an 
oppurtunity to think. I feel, we(sorry to generalize, but...) should 
keep wondering or atleast think pretty well regarding, why we don't 
follow the traditions, at least to the smallest extent possible (only 
for those who don't follow at all).

I have no comments on anyone else's comments. I just wanted to share 
only what I thought/think. And all that I have mentioned above holds 
for me. If it holds for the reader, it is meagrely coincidental.

As I mentioned in my first statement, if anyone is offended by any 
means, kindly accept my sincere apologies.

Sarva Aparadhaan Kshamasva

Yatheendra Pravanam Vandhe RAMYA Jaamaataram Munim

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan,
Lakshmi Narasimhan


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