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Kainkarya Tilakam

From the Bhakti List Archives

VVijay236 • May 28, 1998 


Anbil Ramaswamy
President
Swami Desika Darsana Satsangam
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Dear Bhagavatas,

I have great pleasure in placing on record that Sriman Sadagopan, who is the
Senior Vice-President of our "Swami Desika Darsana Satsangam"(SDDS) acted as
the Chairman of the just concluded "Venkateswara Mahima" Conference held under
the aegis of Sri Venkateswara Temple, Pittsburgh during 23-24 May 1998. 

You know that he has been making monumental efforts to translate Stotras and
Mantras, for the benefit of us,  who have no means to reach for the
traditional Vyakhyanams of Poorva and Prakritam Acharyas. It was in
recognition of this, We conferred on him, in the first ever Srivaishnava
Conference held by SDDS at Buffalo in December 1996, the title " Bhagavad
Ramanuja Darsana Taatparya Saardhulam" (Tiger in translation of the works
relating to Bhagavad Ramanuja Darsanam).

Even in the Internet, we are puzzled at the bewildering rapidity with which he
comes up with his explanations to any query by anyone -  revealing at once his
depth of erudition and anxiety to share with us all that he knows.

As Chairman of the Conference, he had to introduce each one of the speakers /
artists and end up with a word of thanks before summoning the next one. Though
this is a routine affair, he sublimated a mere ritual into something enjoyable
and unforgettable what with his choice phrases employed with consummate
effect.

In view of the already existing title, this one may be very little.

HOWEVER, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY WELCOME THE PROPOSAL TO CONFER ON HIM THE TITLE OF
"KAINKARYA TILAKAM" AS WELL.

However, I wish to point out another dimension.

When Nikita Kruschev visited India, he was taken to see the Taj Mahal. He was
not amazed at its grandeur. Instead, his heart went out to offer a glowing
tribute to the sweat, toil and trouble of the unwept, unhonored, unsung
artists and artisans who labored to make the Taj one of the Seven Wonders of
the World. And, the famous writer, Kalki once wrote about the Government
servants as the very foundation of Government, without which the structure of
Government would collapse. 

Similarly, we will be failing in our duty, if we do not record our gratitude
to -

1) the participants who came from far and wide (literally performing a Cross-
country travel from San Diego on the West Coast to New York on the east Coast)
incurring enormous expense.
2) Each one of the speakers / artists who invested valuable time and energy
for nearly two months in preparing their presentations with such meticulous
care to be in tune with the theme of the Conference.
3) Those who voluntarily took up on themselves the various chores (big or
small) to make the event such a grand success.
4) Those who volunteered to provide food and accommodation to the
participants.

Each one of these Bhagavatas did all this work with single-minded devotion and
dedication, purely as "Bhagavad Samarpanam". I honestly feel that each one of
them deserves to be individually recognized as " KAINKARYA TILAKAM".

In organizing a Conference like this, the Organizer is like the "father of the
bride" in an Indian wedding. He has to consider all the guests as if they were
his "Sambandhis", arrange beforehand for receiving them, for transport,
accommodation and food besides looking after their other comforts (especially,
those attending with ladies and kids) to make their sojourn as comfortable as
possible. He should be all eyes and all ears on all that is happening not only
on the stage but everywhere, lest anything amiss should mar the function. For
this, he should have a band of trusted volunteers whom he should constantly
consult (not as subordinates in charge of micro-management but as peers) and
keep a watchful eye on their requirements and promptly arrange to provide the
same. This was done ably and adequately by volunteers like Sriman Sampath
Rengarajan (who was seen always on his toes).

In  view of these, it would be most appropriate to confer on Sriman Sampath
Rengarajan the title of "KAINKARYA TILAKAM". 

It is understood that only the 1st  half of the first day's proceedings were
videotaped. It is unfortunate that the brilliant expositions contained in the
presentations of  5 speakers in the 2nd half were not taped. This is the best
part of the whole conference in many ways. (It may be recalled that there were
only about 10 speakers in the whole conference).  I hope that  the Conference
Chairman would take steps to retrieve the missing portions by using his good
offices with the temple authorities, which were also taping the events.

I am not venturing to post a summary of events because, I am sure, that the
Conference Chairman will be posting the same very soon.

Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy