Respected Sow. Nappinnai Many thanks for sharing your experiences, which are an education in themselves. Regarding: (1) Sow. Nappinnai: " Right infront of my eyes, I see two guys(who are actually SVs,and were taught URM first in their childhood!)who follow advaita and worship shiva". There seems to be a mix-up of categories here. My 'defence' of deva worshipers was in the context of NON-SRIVAISNAVAS who worship devas; the gentlemen you speak of seem to be Srivaisnavas who have later adopted deva worship. That is an altogether different kettle of fish. Promiscuity before marriage is unfortunate; after marriage it is utterly indefensible. Regarding: (2) 'Now contrast these deva worshipers with someone who already knows Sriman Narayana is Supreme, yet who continues to serve himself - that incorrigible person is worse than a naive follower of one deva or the other' [S. Ramanujadasan's views]. Sow. Nappinnai's response: "I still feel the second category is better than the first category. As long as he worships Sriman NArAyaNa,he is saved". It depends on what we mean by "better". As i see it, what matters most post-Ramanuja sambhandhan is not our personal salvation (which is guaranteed), but whether or not we live in a way that gives happiness and glory to our Acarya. Having Ramanujasambhandhan, and still living in a selfish way, does no credit to my Acarya and hence i have more reason to feel ashamed than those who dont know any better. In this sense, though personally better off, am i not worse than a non- Srivaisnavite? Regarding: (3) Sow. Nappinnai: " There can not be a better sambandham(including bhagavad sambandham!)than Ramanuja sambandham in both worlds!" I wholeheartedly agree. But that makes us more blessed, not better, than non-Srivaisnavites. (Incidentally- pancasamskara may not be the be-all-and-end-all of Ramanujasambhandhan. Its hard to see how somebody as yourself could in any way be seen as not having Ramanuja sambhandhan, even though not yet having pancasamskara.) Regarding: (4) Sow. Nappinnai: "You have that great sambandham and Ramanuja will struggle for your spiritual welfare(like He struggling to get back His objects(us))and lead you to Him. Which non-SV has this bhAgyam,tell me?" As far as i am aware, every cetana has this bhagyam. Respected Sow. Nappinnai and others- i sincerely appreciate all the time you have taken to correct me. Its just that when i see a non- Srivaisnava, my overwhelming feeling is one of my being an incredibly privileged 'fluke'. And when i abuse that privilege, it is the worst thing i think anybody could ever do. Please forgive me if a dull mind and clumsy pen have led me to commit the slightest bhaagavad apachara. Your servant, S.Ramanujadasan.
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