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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00101 Jan 2006

 
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SrI:
SrimatE rAmAnujAya nama:
 
Dear Sri Ranjan Swamin and others,
                                   I humbly and gladly stand corrected. Again, I have the highest reverence for ISKCON for its high standards and vigor, and even my family has thick connections with the movement. I have always had been a bit uncomfortable with what had been discussed - perhaps because of the value systems I knew, and ofcourse, misunderstandings from my part. I am in total agreement that in the bigger picture, we are all Vaishnavas who relish in serving the Lord and his devotees. I also seek the pardon of any devotees attached to ISKCON if they are offended with what I wrote.
 
adiyEN dAsan,
Kidambi Soundararajan.
 
AzhwAr emperumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE Saranam.

Mohan Sagar <madhuriandmohan@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Sri Ranjan,

My sincere apologies for conveying the wrong message.  Please be rest
assured that I have utmost respect for ISKCON and have served as an
active member of our local temple's advisory board for several years.  I
also consider several devotees as close, personal friends.

I hope with this in mind, you can better understand the intent of my
concerns.   What I have been observing in the subsequent postings is the
misrepresentation that Sri sampradayam is mainly comprised of Brahmin
(Iyengars) and that the Gayatri mantra somehow plays some significant
role in becoming a Sri Vaishnava.   The varna system - whether we
believe is birth-based or not - is a state of the body.  One's being a
brahmana by birth or choice obligates that person to certain rules and
codes of conduct that exclude him from the society at large.  The
practice of Vaidika rituals and proper observation of sastra is also
important.  Whether or not the Iyengars of today follow this is another
story, but we all must agree that this what Vedas say - at least from
our understanding of it.

But, from the Sri Vaishnava perspective, which I would agree only
accepts the birth-based varna concept, caste is really a condition of
the body.  Being a Vaishnava, as our Acharyas say, is a condition of the
soul.  It involves the realization of "dasatvam" in ISKCON or
"seshatvam" in the Sri sampradayam, the feeling that one lives to serve
the Lord for His Pleasure.  Such a psychological/spiritual position is
expressed quite differently, through chanting the Holy Name, serving
fellow devotees, and so on.  Such activities have nothing to do with
varna or gender.  Even the role of Vaidika rituals change for those who
regard themselves to be Brahmin because they are done in His Service
without expectation of personal reward.  .  Therefore, I am of the
opinion that if one follows a Vaishnava school, the role of this
dastavam/seshatvam should be emphasized, keeping the Vaidika rituals in
proper context as being the svadharma of those who wish to engage in
rituals for the Lord's Service.  It is in keeping this mood of servitude
that I see ISKCON serving as a model to other Vaishnava schools of thought.

I hope this helps to clarify my position.

adiyen
Mohan






>     Sriman Mohan, as to why ISKCON has adopted use of the gaayatri
>mantra, I am sure anyone who asks them will know that they see
>themselves as a fully Vaidika sampradaayam.  Anyone who has closely
>observed an ISKCON worship service will notice that their poojaris
>(often non-Indians, who have been given yagnyopaveetam) do recite
>vedic mantras during worship including Purusha suukta, Vishnu suukta
>and others, and if you ask them about their practice you will find
>that they do in fact perform trikaala sandhyaavandanam.  This isn't
>just my guess, I happen to have discussed these issues in detail a
>couple of times with a prominent Gaudiya Vaishnava academic in the
>UK who also performs priestly duties for many Indian Hindu
>families. 
>
>   Any student of Gaudiya sampradaayam will also know that they
>don't subscribe to the 'birth' based view of varna prevalent in Sri
>sampradaayam - hence their giving of yagnyopaveetam to non-birth
>brahmins.  Your observation that the chanting of Vedas is restricted
>by birth may be the understanding of most Sri Vaishnava acharyas,
>but I think we should respect the strongly held conviction of the
>Gaudiyas on this.  They too will be able to quote vedic pramaaNam
>stating that 'individuals displaying the required characterists are
>eligible for gaayatri'.  Any further discussion of this would
>probably spiral into the caste-by-birth-or-qualities debate which
>has happened too many times on other lists.  My point is that
>recitation of Gaayatri and Vedas has a very secure, and sampradaayic
>position in ISCKON which we should respect.
>

>





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