[ramanuja] Tilakam or Urdhva Pundram - Sampradaya Differences & Reasons

["Jai Simman R. Rangasamy" <rjsimman@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hare Krishna.

Please accept my humble obeisances.

I found an article that briefly explains the
differences in urdhva pundra shapes amongst the
various Vaishnava Sampradayas. Since this has some
relevance to the earlier postings in this regard, I am
placing excerpts of it below.

dasan
r. jai simman
jakarta

------------------------------------------------------

Tilakam or Urdhva Pundram 
? Sampradaya Differences & Reasons
(H.G. Jahnava Nitai das)

In the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya the tilak is made out
of the white mud found in anthills. The scriptures
tell us that the mud from the base of a Tulasi plant
and the white mud from within the ant hill are both
pure and best for making tilak. The Sri Vaishnavas
will draw two lines representing the feet of Sri
Narayana, and in the middle they will put a red line
to represent Lakshmi Devi. The red line was originally
made from a red stone found within the ant hill. The
ants would usually make their ant hill on top of these
red stones. When you rub the stone in water, a red
color paint is formed. The category of Thayar is
generally represented with the color red in all lines,
both Vedic and Tantrik. Because the Sri Vaishnava
sampradaya begins with Sri Lakshmi Devi, and because
they approach Narayana only through Lakshmi, their
tilak reflects this process of surrender. The tilaks
of each sampradaya actually depict the siddhanta of
the sampradaya.

In the Vallabha sampradaya the tilak worn is generally
a single vertical red line. This line represents Sri
Yamuna Devi. The form of Krishna worshipped in the
Vallabha line is Sri Nathji or Govardhana. The consort
of the Govardhana hill is the river Yamuna. Their
process of surrender goes through Sri Yamuna Devi.

In the Madhva sampradaya the tilak is made out of
Gopichandana mud from Dwaraka. Two vertical lines are
made out of Gopichandana to represent the feet of Lord
Krishna. This gopichandana tilak is nearly identical
to that used in the Gaudiya sampradaya. In between a
vertical black line is made from the daily coal of the
yajna-kunda. In their sampradaya, the process of
worship involved nitya-homa, or daily fire sacrifices
to the Lord. The remnant coal of the puja was taken
each day to mark the forehead. Underneath the black
line, a yellow or red dot was put to indicate Lakshmi.
Those who did not perform daily fire sacrifice would
only put the simple gopichandana tilak.

In the Gaudiya sampradaya the tilak is usually made
out of the Gopichandana mud. Some lineages prefer to
use the mud from Vrindavana. The main tilak is
basically identical to the Madhva tilak. The slight
difference arises due to the emphasis on
nama-sankirtana, or the chanting of the Lord's names.
In Sri Chaitanya's line, nama-sankirtana is the yajna
to be performed in kali yuga, and not the daily fire
sacrifice performed in the Madhva sampradaya. As such,
the black line made from the ash of the fire sacrifice
is not applied in the Gaudiya sampradaya. The second
difference arises due to Sri Chaitanya's process of
approaching the Lord. In the Gaudiya line one does not
approach Srimati Radharani directly, but always
indirectly through the servant. To indicate this, the
red dot representing Radha is replaced with a tulasi
leaf offered at the base of the Lord's feet. Only with
the mercy of Tulasi Devi can we develop pure devotion
to Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.

In the scriptures there are very general descriptions
of the procedure for applying tilak. For example it is
mentioned that the tilak should be urdhva-pundra, or
vertical lines; the body should be marked in twelve
locations, etc. But these instructions are very
general and leave a lot of the details to the
acharyas. Even in a simple point, such as the location
of the tilak, one person may interpret the 'shoulder'
to start from the arm, where as another may interpret
it to start higher up near the neck. This is actually
the case in the two branches of the Sri Vaishna
sampradaya.

The actual design of the tilak will manifest either
through divine revelation or through scientific study.
An example of divine revelation is the Gaudiya lineage
of Sri Shyamananda. Radharani revealed a portion of
her broken bangle to Sri Shyamananda, which he used in
applying tilak to his forehead. As a result, his
followers apply a unique design of tilak from other
branches of the Gaudiya sampradaya.

In other cases, an acharya may scientifically analyze
the sampradaya siddhanta and compare its compatibility
with the tilak they wear. The external purpose of the
tilak is to differentiate the followers of a
sampradaya from other classes of philosophers, just as
one branch of the armed forces wears a uniform to
differentiate itself from the other branches. In such
a case, the tilak may change when there occurs a shift
or branching of the sampradaya due to philosophical
views. The newly formed branch may re-analyse the
tilak in connection with its siddhanta and make
changes that fully reflect their process of surrender.
Such is the case among the two branches of the Sri
Vaishnava sampradaya. Due to a difference of opinion
in regards to the process of surrender, two distinct
tilaks emerged.

In any case, the ultimate purpose of tilak is to
sanctify oneself and mark the body as the temple of
the Lord. The scriptures do not specify in detail the
manner that this should be done, and as such it is the
acharyas who crystalize the procedures while adhering
to the general prescriptions given in the scriptures.

http://www.hindu-religion.net/showflat/cat/hinduism/935/40/collapsed/9/o/1





                
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