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Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

Respected Devotees

Though I am not qualified to write about "Sandya", born woman, why cann't men 
who are qualified just do it, because all our Purvacharyas did it, both as a 
kainkaryam and ritual. It is not like everybody is doing some kainkaryam all 
the time, other than work,and that time cann't be spared. One of the reasons 
some rituals are still being advocated is to give us a focus and discipline.
Adiyen apologises for the errors in the mail.

nsp <aazhwar@xxxx> wrote:
Dear Devotees, 

This is regarding Sri Kasturi Rangan swAmi's letter to sri TCA Venkatesan.
The Life incident of bhattar is quoted not for injuntion but for the fact that 
nithya-karmangaL should not come in the way of bhagwadh anubhavam or God's 
kainkaryam.

The fact is that for prabhannan-srEvaishNavites,emphasis is more on kainkaryam 
and nearness to the Lord rather than getting bogged down by rituals. However, 
as you said -there is no injunction or waiver. 

1. For the souls who surrender --sarva-dharmAn paridhajya -- including 
nithya-karmangaL these have to be relinquished .
2. The sandhyavandhanam which is a duty to a brahmin becomes a kainkaryam 
-service to the Lord for a srEvaishNavite. Hence, when some other service to 
the Lord is being done, this service is temporarilty relegated to 
background.(only relegated -not completely forgotten)

3. That is why it is mentioned that --karmam -kainkaryathil pugum- The duty 
evolves as service to the Lord.

4. There is no point in just merely doing rituals without thinking of the Lord 
Almighty . please refer "peyarinaiyEa pundhiyAl sindhiyAdhOdhi vuruvennum, 
andhiyAl Am payan angu en?"-mudhal thiru vandhAdhi 
There is no point in just reciting vedhAs or performing rituals unless these 
are accompanied by thinking of the Lord. Empty chanting or rituals have no 
value. Thinking of the Lord is the emphasis here.
5. The thiruppAvai vyAkyAnam --kaNaithiLam kaRReRumai kaNRukku irang-- amply 
confirms this point. How?
The cow milks off itself .The duty of milking the cow is not done by a person . 
Then he should be blamed. Instead he is termed as "naR chelvan" as he is a 
person who is always with Lord krishNA. Hence, The point reiterated here is 
that for everything Lord Almighty is the primary one. All other things are 
secondary which should not come in priority to the Lord or His guNAnubhavam or 
service to Him.

I think that is why thiru-voi-mozh is called bhagwad-vishayam -where only 
devotion, God's deeds, God's qualities, AzhwArs experience with the Lord all 
such numerous related activities are glorified. 

It is not to denounce the rituals. However, rituals cannot substitute or become 
a forerunnner when it comes to the Lord is concerned. 
AzhwAr's have praised these rituals in several pAsuram-s but have glorified the 
Lord and His mercy over and above this.

As sri sadagopan swAmi mentioned, each school of thought has its own principles 
and justifications and this can go on endlessly. 

Following ones own principles is by and large the ideal situation.


rAmAnuja dhAsan 
vanamamalai padmanabhan





----- Original Message ----- 
From: amshuman_k 
To: ramanuja@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2004 1:25 PM
Subject: [ramanuja] Re: Sandhya/Gayathri related


Dear Sri Venkatesan,
Kindly clarify whether the life incident of bhattar is quoted as an 
injunction to TK VaishNavas for the non-performance of sandhya?
Regular performance of nityakarmas are typically ordained by dharma 
sUtras of one's vedic affiliation (it may appear in grhya sutras in 
some cases; smrti digests elaborate the dharma sUtras).

>From my limited understanding rAmAnujAchArya never attempted to 
tamper the dharma sUtras, veda pramANas and the associated 
paraphernalia (and even sanctions sacrifice of goat in the context 
of yAgas in his gIta bhAshya).

If I am right, the ashtAdasha bheda nirNaya discusses about 
nithyakarmas - "whether an evolved sould will go to hell if he 
doesn't perform them": yes -> vadakalai; no -> thenkalai, however 
the evolved soul should continue to do them as an example for others.
This is a non question for unevolved souls!

Accept my apologies if I've commited any mistakes or was offensive.

Regards,
Kasturi Rangan 

--- In ramanuja@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, TCA Venkatesan wrote:
> Sri:
> Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:
> 
> Dear Sri Ramachandran,
> 
> While it is good to see your enthusiasm for performing
> sandhyavandanam, the following lines are puzzling.
> 
> > It is therefore, extremely critical and mandatory 
> > for the Sandhya to be performed without fail. It 
> > is quite surprising that Shri Vishnu has
> > questioned the efficacy of Sandhya and perhaps 
> > thinks of replacing the Sandhya with 'namaa' 
> > chanting. Come what may, the Sandhya is a nitya 
> > karma ordained by the Vedas and no one is excused. 
> > Dilution of Sandhya requirements are therefore out 
> > of question. One may dilute all other rituals, 
> > worship etc. but not the Sandhya.
> 
> Is it your stand or our pUrvAchAryas stand that
> other rituals and even worship can be 'diluted'
> but not the sandhyavandanam. Is there any pramANam
> for this stance? 
> 
> Of course, the sastras themselves excuse many from 
> performing the sandhya. So, how is that you say that
> no one is excused? Or do you mean only those that
> are eligible for it.
> 
> Certainly our acharyas did not give up their nithya
> karmas, but only so as to not set the wrong example 
> for those who are at the first steps. However, there
> are two things here. I don't think they saw it as a
> mandatory act which is an unforgivable sin when 
> missed, as you are stating ; and they only saw
> it as a kainkaryam to the Lord and not for their
> personal benefits. And again, I believe their stress
> was on all nithya karmas and not just the sandhya
> alone.
> 
> Guru Paramapara records that Bhattar refused to
> stop his fan service to the Lord for the sake
> of doing sandhyavandanam.
> 
> Pillai Lokacharyar includes the performance of all
> nithya karmas as one of the sins that the Lord
> wipes out in the "sarva pApEbhyO" of the Charama
> shloka.
> 
> Kindly clarify.
> 
> adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __________________________________
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azhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyAr thiruvadigalE saranam




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azhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyAr thiruvadigalE saranam

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