Dear members, praNAmams SrI Mani has helpfully listed the shastraic references to bathing and its importance in traditional Vaideeka lifestyle, particularly with reference to sandhyAvandanam. One thing that interests me during discussions regarding shastraic prescriptions is how much such injunctions have fallen into the realm of theoretical knowledge - and whether it is OK to leave them there, or whether it is actually incumbent upon us all to follow each letter of the shastra to the last degree. I should make it clear from the outset that I am nowhere near the second goal, and am not even sure I see the necessity. But I have this dilemma when considering different aspects of my daily religious practice. For example, in the discussion about bathing, the is it possible that the frequent bathing recommended by the shastras may be reflective of the warm climate in which vaideekas traditionally lived? Bathing twice in colder countries doesn't sound quite as sensible perhaps? It may also worsen dry skin conditions - and despite the venerable sutra-kArAs being luminaries of their time, did not forsee the geographical challenges that would face us in the 21st century. One may not find any difficulties with the general injunctions to maintain cleanliness, perform prayers at the right time, etc. But I am sure there are passages of 'shastra' that some would be embarrassed to admit actually exist. For example, I am sure all members are aware of some shastraic punishments prescribed for non- traivarnikas hearing the Veda, and would agree that there is no defense for such practices, then and certainly not now. But fortunately (in my opinion at least), we see most Vaadhyaars these days not limiting the attendance of any particular community at Vedic recitations today (let alone trying to enforce those punishments!). But at what point did it become OK to discard this bit of shaastra? Another issue with relation to following shaastras is what my catholic friends sometimes refer to as "good old catholic guilt". By setting ourselves up to an unrealistically high standard, could it not be argued that we are setting ourselves up for an emotional and psychologically worrying state that will do more harm than good? Should a gRhasta of today, for example, feel guilty that his job by which he supports his family makes him miss his midday snAnam? Or, in fact, is such guilt merely the Lord's vehicle to urge us to more fully conform to Bhagavaan's sankalpam and realise our sheshatvam through steadily more and more complete observance of his commands - and the only reason that we see such shastra demands as unreasonable is only because of our clouded perception and attachment to material things? My last question is specifically related to our sampradaayam - I remember reading on the Bhakti list archives (thanks again to SrI Mani!) about Ramanuja's final commands to his devotees, one of which went something along the lines of "Do not put your conviction on trivial shaastras, put your faith in those that deal with God" (I can't remember the reference) - which raises the question - where should our focus be when worrying about which bits of shaastra we are following and which bits we aren't? Is performance of snAnams as outlined in the smRti texts one of these 'trivial' ones, or is it in fact a God-related shaastra since it purifies us for His upAsana? Although I may be biased towards the more liberal (or lazy, depending on your viewpoint!) side of this argument, I would be very interested to hear people's thoughts on both sides of this issue, if they are interested. Sorry for the length. namO nArAyaNAya Ranjan PS I was taught some Saama Vedam recitation in a traditional paaTha shaala in Mysore where I saw some of the students performing morning sandhyA before bath as the member originally indicated. It would appear that even the traditional guardians of Vedic culture have a flexible attitude to shaastram these days... > > The lack of performance by nearly all gRhasthas today is only an indication > of our changing culture and circumstances and does not reflect the mandate > of the shastras. Azhvar EmberumAnAr JeeyAr ThiruvadigalE Saranam http://www.vedics.net Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ramanuja/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ramanuja-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia |
ramanuja-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the list |