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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00063 Nov 2002

 
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Dear Bhagavatas:

We have received quite a few mails from members of ?Sri Ranga Sri? in response 
to the appeal of Dr. Venkat Kanumalla Swamin for donations for "Annadanam 
project" in Pomona Ranganatha temple.

Having published the original appeal, we will be guilty of partiality, if we do 
not offer an equal opportunity to the alternative views. It is in this spirit 
that a few mails representing the alternative views are placed before our 
readers. And, we have no opinions to offer either way.

We believe that this is a matter that is best settled by dialogue between the 
proponents and opponents of the respective views. Those who wish to respond to 
any of them, or to have further discussions may do so by contacting the 
concerned parties directly through personal mails. 

We wish to reiterate that ?Sri Ranga Sri? is NOT A DISCUSSION GROUP.
We therefore, request members not to post any further messages on the subject.
Moderator
?Sri Ranga Sri?
==================================================
>From Sri jivadas@xxxx
Sat, 09 Nov 2002 01:12:40 +0000

?This does not belong here. With so substantial a donation, I could feed ten 
thousand people rice. 

A tap to www.theHungerSite.com will give somebody a cup of rice? 

jivadas@xxxx
==================================================
Another alternative view is given below:
==================================================

" After much hesitation and self restraint, I have ventured to express my views 
on the subject of Annadhanam at Ranganatha temple in Pomona, New York. I can 
understand the lofty ideology of Sriman Venkat Kanumalla who sent out an appeal 
for donation In SriRangaSri for this project. 

I am only trying to suggest that Annadhanam is to be practiced to feed only the 
poor and hungry people who are in need and deserve for providing community 
service. Most devotees attending Ranganatha temple functions in New York are 
financially secure and are commuting in cars and vans often in Mercedes Benz, 
Lexua and SUVs who can easily pay for food provided in the basement. God bless 
them all for continuing success of their families with happiness and 
prosperity. They do not need any free handout for satisfaction. 

No temple even in India is obligated to provide free food to devotees. Only 
Thirupathi extends this service as gesture of goodwill to thousands of poor 
pilgrims from far off places as this temple generates enormous income everyday. 

Matams (Ashramams) provide food to Vedic ghosti after their hard service and 
all visitors make conscientious contributions to the Matam (Ashramam) for 
community public projects to benefit the needy class. These are private 
institutions to which individuals are affiliated. 

Acharyas treat devotees as guests who come to them to seek their blessings and 
Bhagawat Anugraham and offer them food at institutional expense. Temples as 
public institutions do no provide this service. Perumal koils maintain 
Madapalli and Pathukadai from where pilgrims and devotees buy high quality food 
items for cleanliness and consumption. 

Ranganatha temple in New York has to generate funds as a public institution to 
pay off the huge debt to the bank and maintain high quality service as the 
premier vaishnavite temple in North America. Let us try to be pragmatic than 
being blind idealogues. 

You will be amazed to know how much funds you can generate from food sales 
alone than from sale of archana tickets and pooja sponsorship. For example, 
just view the revenue statements (from food sales alone) of Boston MahaLakshmi 
temple and Pittsburgh Venkateswara temple even in the last few years of 
worsening economic recession in the US. 

It is blasphemous to suggest that these temples are not authentic Vaishnavite 
temples like Ranganatha temple. I know these temples from day one in the seed 
and how much sweat, hard work and dedication it took to make them shining 
examples today. Money is pouring because of devotion to Perumal and Thayar in 
these temples including the Bridgewater temple in New Jersey, where worship is 
followed according to Pancharatra agamam. Of course with growth comes conflict 
of competing forces,all in the name of God. This is human and solution comes as 
cool heads prevail. 

I am not at all speaking against providing Prasadham to devotees after 
poojakalam and Sattumurai. Prasadham can be teaspoonful or handful depending on 
the crowd and time and is not intended to fill up anyone. Distribution of 
fruits as Prasadham at the Mahamandapam is ideal as it avoids the mess of 
distributing cooked food, eating with hand and wiping on the floor or wall. 
These are gross habits that are hard to control in a crowd.

I understand that whenever we go to temple with our family in this country, we 
often spend several hours there with no time to go home for lunch or dinner. It 
is a very lucrative business for the temple to provide food for a nominal cost 
for which people are grateful and willing to spend money. 

Most of us working as professionals eat vegetarian food in restaurants in this 
country and do not insist on food to be cooked by only a Paricharakan in 
Madapalli who has taken up Bharanyasam according to sastram. Everyone visiting 
temple for worship follow standards of cleanliness and hygiene. It is easy to 
get volunteers who can pack snacks like Pongal, Uppuma, Tamarind rice, lemon 
rice and yogurt rice etc in disposable containers and sell each for a dollar. 
You can charge additional 50cents for chips,soda or coffee each. 

Very orthodox people can buy orthodox food at the madapalli to suit their 
requirement. we can definitely ban forbidden items like onion, garlic and 
masala in the temple premises. It is all a matter of common sense that do not 
violate religion in our every day practice.

I am a devotee of Ranganatha temple, NY from the early days of inception.It was 
fostered by a small but strong nucleus of dedicated vaishnavites with Sriman 
Venkat Kanumalla serving as pivotal force. 

It is sad to note that many of the founding members have faded away to the 
background in the past few years. No doubt that new blood has been infused to 
hold the fort but the task is arduous and burdening everyone. We need new ideas 
to open new venues to establish progressive policies to beckon public 
participation. 

There is a vast Hindu community in the Orange County of Pomona and adjoining 
Weschester county,all along Palasides Parkway to Tappanzee bridge connecting 
the state of Connecticut and in NY city and Northern New Jersey who are in 
driving distance to Ranganatha temple. We seem to be scaring away the general 
public at large by fostering only exclusive Vaishnavite orthodoxy as the 
stipulated requirement to be a part of this temple. Please do not use the 
temple as propaganda forum for your own vested idealogy. 

Anybody who wants to pray in any language before RAMA, Krishna, Govinda, 
Narayana, Narasimha and Mahalakshmi (Sridevi and Bhudevi) should be greeted 
with folded palms irrespective of what other deities he/she goes to pray in any 
other place. We can only say that we follow Vishitadwaita doctrine of Bhagawat 
Ramanujacharya in this temple. We should not disrespect other views, criticize 
their philosophy and hurt their feelings with our propaganda. 

Our business should be to provide the forum for anyone to pray and prostrate 
before Sriman Narayana to receive His Grace. Let us not try to be 
self-righteous preachers and assume the role of Acharyas, as we are only 
ordinary people with our own faults and limitations. We must learn to project 
friendlier accommodative stance towards others and shed our exclusiveness as 
Vaishnavites close to God. 

I will not be surprised if some people raise their eyebrows to disapprove of my 
opinion. I am convinced that we need to reform our attitudes and action to 
receive the benefit of public support for our mission.

Adiyen

Srinivasa Raghavan



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