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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00117 Sep 2005

 
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Dear "sarva-sri" Sadagopan Iyengar, V.Sadagopan and
other friends,

As I had warned in my very first mail on this subject
of discussion, this is such a emotive issue it will be
impossible to hold a debate on it without the danger
of easily descending to some level of acrimony. 

It is easy to attack and rubbish the writer of the TOI
article, Sri.Srinivasa Raghvan, especially when he is
not around to defend himself. But the article itself
(call it "re-hash" or whatever you want), and some of
the stark facts/realities it places before the public
view, simply cannot be brushed away. Facts are facts.

I hold no brief for all of the TOI article but only
some parts of it. I regard myself as a faithful and
grateful member of the Ahobila Mutt. Hence, I would
like to bring discussions on this sensitive subject to
an immediate close because it will serve no further
useful purpose to debate it further. I'm quite sure
that if allowed further, it will invaribaly lead (as
it usually always does in all these SriVaishnava
cyber-forums) to hot-tempered accusations and
counter-accusations between members on grounds of
"AchArya-apachAram", "BhAgavatha-apachAram", this,
that and much more.

However, I will take the liberty to leave just a few 
thoughts for all of you to ponder over:

(1) Sankara and Ramanuja were spiritual dynamos. They
were "AchAryAs" who did not limit themselves to a
religious mission alone but to strong social, popular
causes too. Their imprint on society at large was
deep, wide and enduring. "AchAryAs" who came after
them were different. They kept distancing themselves
from common humanity until finally by the beginning of
the 20th-century AD, their spiritual sway extended
little beyond cloistered "mutts", "ashram-s" and
communities seeking exclusive identity. In other
words, while Sankara and Ramanuja sought to be
"inclusive" and "expanding", succeeding "AchAryAs"
went into reverse gear -- they became more and more
"insular" and "exclusive". 

(2) "AchAryAs" like Sri Ramanuja and Sankara had  what
might be called "spiritual charisma". They wielded
enormous personal influence and appeal amidst mass
following from all walks of life, not just a
particular community. Succeeding "AchAryAs", although
many of them were good and tall leaders, did not have
such charisma.

(3) "AchAryAs" like Sri Ramanuja and Sankara, wherever
they went, somehow always succeeded in bridging social
divides like caste, class, education and income.
(Ramanuja's appeal to tribals even in the Melkote
region where he was in exile for 12 long years is a
fact of recorded history.) Succeeding "AchAryAs"
failed to close the gap. Instead, the gap became only
more accentuated over the centuries.  

(4) To use a phrase from the TOI article of Sri
Srinivasa Raghvan, "non-brahmin "mutts" or godmen"
today command ever growing following. It has never
ceased to amaze me. They have virtually no tradition,
no "parampara", no "sampradAya", no Veda, no
philosophy, no theology, no religious literature
really worth speaking of.... And yet millions of
common people in India and abroad seek and find solace
in them. We should pause and ask why? There is no
point in saying "It is all kali-yuga at work". Is it
really only because of "the politics of money-power"
and the "money-power of politics"? If that is the only
argument we have to put forward, then aren't we
casting a grievous moral slur on thousands of people
who flock to such spiritual leaders? Are we not being
arrogant and self-righteous when we make such
statements? Are the millions of people (some being
Brahmin and SriVaishnava too amongst them!) who
embrace ("hug"?!) these  "non-brahmin godmen or
god-women" such moral idiots and spiritual philistines
that they would sell their souls for a few pieces of
the proverbial silver?

(5) "AchAryAs" like Sankara and Ramanuja became the
beloved of the masses not so much for their scriptural
erudition, religious piety or intellectual
accomplishments as for their real human compassion.
They were compassionate men and they made doubly sure
that they reached out in many different ways to the
outside world. The world felt their compassion
palpably and received it too in as many ways.
Succeeding "AchAryAs", although perhaps not lacking in
compassion, somehow never seemed to be able to convey
it in any positive or concrete way, to the rest of the
world. Ramanuja and Sankara were great communicators
in every sense of the word. Succeeding "achAryAs" were
not quite such consummate communicators. Although at
heart most of them were compassionate men, still it
was chiefly for their intellectual or literary
accomplishments, or for their personal piety or
"AchAra-anushtAna" that they came to be remembered and
venerated by their limited following.

(6) It is a very common adage in the political field
that some leaders are born, others are made and yet
many more have leadership thrust upon them. That
adage, I opine, holds equally true in the spiritual
world too, whether you like it or not, and whether
palatable to you or not. Once again, fact is fact.
"AchAryAs" like Sri Ramanuja and Sankara were born
spiritual leaders. Succeeding "AchAryAs", well, you
could say, some became spiritual leaders while many,
sadly, had leadership only thrust upon them.

(7) I can sympathize why some of us become so vehement
in condemning the TOI article. It is testimony to our
professed loyalty and devotion to our respective
"mutt-s", "AchAryAs" and "sampradAya". I too would
take serious umbrage if somebody were to say less than
nice things about my "mutt" or "AchArya". But we
should appreciate that Truth has no sympathy for
sentimentalism. To stick our heads in the mud and
refuse to see fact and reality is to imitate the
ostrich-bird. To keep saying that everything is fine
with us, our community and our spiritual institutions
and that we are Brahmins and therefore can do no
wrong, and it is all the "brahmin-bashers" around us
who are to blame for everything....etc. well, that to
me sounds more "rubbish" than the TOI article itself.

Regards,
dAsan,
Sudarshan 






                
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