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SrImad ANdavan's views on some Issues.

From the Bhakti List Archives

Krishnamachari, N. • February 17, 1998 


		Some views of the 40th Andavan of PeriyASramam,
SrIrangam.



Many of us have heard of the 40th Andavan of PeriyASramam,
SrI vedAnta rAmAnuja mahAdeSikan, fondly known as SrI kaNNan svAmigal.
A couple of days back when I was browsing through some of the books I
had, I accidentally came across a souvenir published to commemorate his
visit Pondicheri in 1984.  I found the summary of an interview that the
press had with him on 22nd Sept. 1982,  from which I have presented a
few of his  thoughts below.  I am sharing this item because I saw some
discussion about arcanA in tamizh in our temples recently, and I found
SrImad ANdavan's views on this topic in this interview.   The topic,
followed by SrImad ANdavan's views, are listed on some other issues as
well.



Dowry-  

There is no mention of dowry in the Sastra-s anywhere.
This should be eliminated.  Because of this evil habit many girls are
not married.  This leads to further deterioration of the social
structure.  No dowry should be accepted in any form.



jAnvAsa - 

(the
habit of taking the bridegroom in a procession in a chariot on the day
prior to the marriage (?):  I could not find this word in the
dictionary, and so I have given my own description, which I hope is
correct).  Srimad Andavan's view is that this should not be a practice,
since this wastes a lot of resources, and seems to only serve the
display of wealth etc.  This can be handled by the brdiegroom's people
visiting the bride's home with their relatives, and the reverse as
well.



Conversion to other religions-  

People convert to other
religions from the Hindu religion because they get enamored by the heavy
propaganda by other religions, the monetary or other help that they
offer etc.  It is necessary for us to have to do self-advertisement in
order to convey to our people the greatness of our faith and to protect
our Hindu dharma.



arcanA in tamizh in our temples-  

The people in
tamizh nAdu wants arcanA in tamizh.  What should we do if a telugu
speaking person, a malayALi, a gujarAti, or marAthi speaking person,
come to tamizh nAdu and wanr arcanA done in their mother tongue?
samskr*t is a world language.  Samskr*t is common to everyone all over
the world.  Is there any territory in the world which is based purely on
samskr*t as these other languages have?  Samskr*t is the language that
is common to all.  It is in this language that arcanA-s should be done.




His pAda-yAtra-  

By traveling all over India on foot, I got to see a
lot of people all over and know how they live, what their issues and
cultural values are, etc.  They also get to know our religion and way of
life.



General comments-

I notice that people's faith and interest in
religion is growing.  All of us should continue to advance in our bhakti
mArga, and worship the arcA forms in our temples on a regular basis.
Worship of the Lord is  most important for development of our selves.



I
beg your forgiveness for any incorrect translations of the tamizh
article - dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan