Dear Bhagavathottamas,
We all have very well realised that temples are central
for the continuance of our traditions and cultural heritage. Our acharyas have
established beyond doubt that Lord, invited by us (?prathishta of deity is
equivalent to this?) is living along with us for our benefit in the form of
?Archvatharam? which is similar to his performance in Krishnavatharam. Swamy
Deshikan has aptly put ? Aapeethaath mouli paryantham pashyathaha
Pusrushottamam, Pathakaanyaashu nashyanthi kimpunasthuupapathakam? which means
Lord exists in the form of archavatharam to help us see him and get us rid of
our sins. Unfortunately, today the existence of these institutions are
challenged by legislation 30/87 enacted by the late N.T.Rama Rao Government in
A.P. during 1987. This legislation along with abetting administration and
conniving vested interests have created irrepairable damage to the institutions
leading them to loss of their glories. There are about 31000 temples in Andhra
Pradesh alone which are completely without daily poojas. Excessive
corruption, just like in any other govt. body has crept into the temple
administrations which have lead to progressive commercialisation of religious
activities. Darshan tickets which creates differences among devotees before the
lord is in itself a shame on our religious system. Over and above this the
corrupt authorities are rolling and re-rolling the same numbers so that the
collections are not really adding to the intended temple fund. Websites sport a
variety of arjitha sevas which are fantastically designed by qualified MBAs to
attract devotees. There is also vested interest involved here. Strangely, it is
only our hindu religious institutions which resort to such methodology to
generate funds. Other institutions world wide are flourishing better with
different means. Temples are places for selfless service and not places to make
money! Today money collected from the rich temples of A.P goes to the Govt
exchequer to pay hefty salaries to the officials. Yet poor Archakas are left
to fend for themselves. Many prime temple lands have been auctioned for
pittance and temples reduced to penury, while crores of money and land have
been eaten away by the land grabbers in connivance with the authorities.
Certain erstwhile pious temples have been reduced to gambling dens where
alcohol and meat too finds place. Thanks to the anti-corruption bureau which
brought to book some corrupt officials and recovered crores from them. But
thats only the tip of the ice-berg. Many nice temples have slowly lost their
art pieces and some of them even their utsava moorthies and one can imagine the
plight of priceless jewels and ornaments. Having identified the tools of
destruction of the pillars called ?temples? in the form of the legislation and
excessively conniving authorities and vested interests, having singled out the
pests, it is now time to strike with a heavy and weighted iron hand in the form
of an
organised move to stop everything which has been the offshoot of this
legislation. As a first call for mass protest, the Temple Protection Movement
convened by Prof. Soundararajan has requested all the devotees to refrain from
buying tickets for various sevas in all the temples. Its a month since this
call has been given and there is a great response from the devotees. Prof.
Soundararajan, my father, has asked me to communicate this widely to the
Bhagavatottamas of the net and appeal for their support. This is my first
communique in an attempt to bring in awareness.
Sajjana Padapadma parama renuhu
Lakshmi Narasimha dasan
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Rent DVDs from home.
Over 14,500 titles. Free Shipping
& No Late Fees. Try Netflix for FREE!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/I3w.vC/hP.FAA/3jkFAA/VkWolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Srirangasri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
|
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia |
srirangasri-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the list |