Overseas travel forbidden-Why?
Dear Bhagavatas:
This is one of the frequently asked questions that have also been answered
as frequently.
I discussed this issue with several Yathisreshtas and Acharyas of Bhagavad
Ramanuja- Swami Desika Sampradaayam. I also put forward several arguments
favoring the ?crossing the oceans?:
1. When the Lord measured the three worlds in his Trivikrama Avataara, He
is
said to have measured everything including landmarks outside the narrow
boundaries of Bharata varshaa and Bharatah KhaNDa. Obviously, while doing
this, He did not choose to exclude regions outside India. If this is
accepted, how could it be taboo to proceed overseas?
2. The very names ?VaasudEva? ?NaaraayaNa? and ?VishNU?, are part of
Vyapaka
Mantras - meaning all-encompassing and that there is no place on earth or
heavens NOT sanctified by the presence of the Lord. If this were so, how
overseas countries could be disqualified for purposes of travel, especially
for the kainkaryam of propagating the very ?Naama Samkeertana? of the Lord?
Does this not mean a disincentive in the performance of this Kainkaryam?
3. If Mount MEru is considered as the northernmost boundary of the
Universe,
all the landmass and seas lie to the South - as we say in our Sankalpam
?mErOh dakshiNE paarsvE?, the question arises whether America, for example,
is not included in this region? If included, what is the harm in crossing
overseas to visit/settle there?
4. When a Bhaagavata inquired of an Acharya, whether he could go to USA
for
economic reasons (consequent on the brain drain occasioned by political
circumstances back in India), the Acharya is reported to have replied
?Periya TiruvaDIyE angu pOyaachu. Nee pOvadil taDai illai? meaning ?Lord
GaruDa, the bird vehicle of the Lord himself has taken his abode in America
already. There is no bar to your going there? Obviously, he was referring to
the bald eagle, the national bird of America.
5. Did not AnjanEya ?cross the ocean? in search of Sri Sita? If he could
do
that, why not we?
6. Today?s renewal repair, renovation, reconstruction etc of temples and
religious institutions need lot of money that only fund raising in foreign
lands would seem to generate sufficient resource ? necessitating frequent
travels not only by lay folk but also by Acharyas who are supposed to be
guardians of rectitude in terms of strict disciplines commanded in the
Saastras.
This is what I have gleaned from these discussions.
While all these arguments appear very logical in the modern circumstances,
it is true that foreign travel is not envisaged under any circumstances for
all. This is especially so, in the case of Yathis (Renounced ones) who have
a very strict code of conduct to adhere to in order to carry out their
duties without let or hindrance, demanded by the special stage of life as
ascetics (Sannyasis).
Crossing the ocean was discouraged in the olden days for several other
practical reasons:
1. The normal mode of transport in the olden days was the ship. It took
long
and in fact months on end to reach the landmark at the destination. With all
and sundry with different levels of Aachaaram and AnushTaanam are clubbed
together, it is very difficult to obse4ve the strict norms in an exclusive
manner. This argument is not any more valid because, if one is able to shell
out enough moneys on engaging private carrier, one may do so, obviating the
above disturbance.
2. If some Aasoucham (like death) should take place during the long
journey,
the daily Tiru Aaradanam of the Lord cannot be performed and can be resumed
only after completion of the Samskaras on reaching the nearest land port,
Any interruption in the daily Tiru Aaradanam to the Lord was deemed worse
than death especially in the case of Yathis, Even this argument can be met
by the fact that today, one can reach the nearest airport within a few hours
where the obsequies ?apara prayOga samskaras? can be performed as quickly as
possible so that the Nitya Tiru Aaradanam can be resumed with utmost
expedition.
3. During travel by ship, they used to empty out the human wastes in the
sea. Polluting the Seawaters is an unpardonable sin. Today, when the
airplanes land at the nearest airport, the wastes are emptied out on the
specially marked waste sites. Thus, this argument also has no force now.
4. But what really matters is that the water for needed for bath, ablution
etc should be drawn only from one of the following four bodies of water
viz., (i) Well (ii) Tank (iii) Lake and (iv) River. When you invite an
Acharya say for a DOlai, the first question they would ask is whether there
is a well in your home wherefrom water could be drawn. ONLY if the answer
were in the affirmative, they would consent to come to your home for DOlai.
This is as per the ?Yathi Dharma Samuchhayam? of Yadhava Prakaasa, the
Guru-turned-disciple of Bhagavad Ramanuja and emphasized by His Holiness
ChinnaaNdavan Swami in his manual also bearing the same name of ?Yathi
Dharma Samuchhayam?.
In a foreign country like U.S.A, for example, not only private wells are
scarce but also it is also illegal (and punishable by law) to draw water
direct from any of the sources mentioned above. The only water that is
available is through the chemically treated water through pipes made of
materials not approved in the Saastras.
In "Sthaana VisEsha Adhikaara" of "Srimad Rahasya Traya saaram", Swami Desika
has enumerated the places fit for the stay of Prapannas (Those who have done
Prapatti). This enumeration does NOT include foreign countries. Swami Desika
would have known the existence of foreign countries. In fact, seafaring Indians
had already spread to and built temples in the Far East like Cambodia etc.
History has recorded the well-chronicled invasion of Mohammed of Gazni and
GhOri and Swami was himself a target of the fury of the notorious Muslim
invaders under Malik Kaafur. If he had felt it OK to go abroad, he would
certainly have recorded this based on appropriate PramANAs. In the absence of
such mention, our Acharyas deem it "Swaroopa Viruddham" to venture abroad.
In this connection, I may mention that in one of my visits to AhObila MaTam
in Delhi for securing a translation from Kannada to Tamil of the handwritten
Srimukham granted by His Holiness Prakritam Prakaala MaTam Jeeyar, the Swami
who was in charge of offering Bikshai to H.H. Prakritam Azhagiya Singhar
asked me to wait because he could not touch paper till Bikshai was over. (He
is now the Srkaryam Swami of His Holiness). Such is the strict norms of
Aachaaram that even the Kainkaryaparas are expected to follow, let alone the
YathisrEshTas themselves!
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
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