DEIVATHIN KURAL # 122 (of Vol 2) Dated 19 June 2008

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 122 (of Vol 2) Dated 19 June 2008

(To-day’s e-mail is a continuation of Deivathin Kural # 121 dated 17 June 2008. These are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti peetam, over a period of some sixty years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of last century. These have been published in Tamil by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each, as Deivathin Kural. To day we are proceeding from Page number 884, of volume 2, of the Tamil original. )

68. “Vedam odiya vediyarkkor mazhai,

needi mannar neriyinarkkor mazhai

maadar karppudai mangaiyarkkor mazhai

maadam moonru mazhienap peyyume”.

69. The above poem means that, every month, there will be three rains, one each for, the brahmins who chant the Veda-s, the rulers who do not go astray from the path of truth and justice and for the women who are faithful to their husbands, by mind, speech and action, that is, ‘karppu’! I am in no way responsible for the Rulers of the Land. But as the the Peetadhipadi of Kaama Koti Peetam, holding the name of Jagatguru Sankaraachaarya, I am responsible for the other two! To ensure that Brahmins are made to chant the Veda-s is very much my responsibility. To motivate the women to maintain in the narrow path of faithfulness, to take preventive action before they can be given chances to go astray, is my responsibility. This is best done by directing the girl towards her future life partner, before the machinations of ‘cupid’ can enter her mind. Once that happens, to safe guard her in such a way as not to think of any other man, is easily done. This is my constant endevour for which I am continuously planning something or the other. The more I am thinking on these lines, the more the task seems unattainable!

70. That is not reason enough for me to give up! Like the ‘boom boom maadu’, I should not shake my nut either to agree that the modern trends of the world are unavoidable! (In our villages, a beggar will lead a well decorated bull and stand before each house for a few minutes. He will make some predictions in a semi musical litany, while rubbing the face of a drum with a stick. The drum will make a noise sounding, ‘boom boom’ to which, the bull will shake his head in affirmation.) I am not here to say, ‘let bygones be bygones. We can do nothing against the onslaught of the Kali Yuga.’ The reasons for this country and its culture to have remained at such adorable high levels are two. One is the chanting of Veda-s. Second reason is the very high standards of morality of the women of the Land! I am not here to keep quite and see these two traditions going by default! For two thousand years this Matam has gone on, not so that I could besmirch all that in my tenure! There can be no greater insult to my Existance! Leaving the victory or loss in His hands, I have to ‘bash on regardless’! Result will of course depend upon my sincerity, integrity and inner cleanliness. If till now, I have made no dent in the situation, the mistake is entirely mine. No amount of flattery can save me from this conviction!

71. If everything is already lost, I do not have to tell you all this. I need to make no effort. I can annul the Peetam and cancel the Matam! But no. Everything is not lost. The fire is not yet dead. The embers are still there. The very fact that so many of you are still sitting around here and listening to me for so long, is proof of the fact that, there is a spark still left. Whether you do as per my directions or not, the very fact that you are not raising counter slogans, makes me believe that there is still some hope! I have to believe so and with all my effort, I have to blow and blow till my sides burst or the spark catches flames and becomes a roaring fire! If I let the masses go by their own way, then that will the biggest disservice to the name of Adi Sankara!

72. I have to unburden myself. It is alright for you to be devoted to me and for me to give you blessings. That is always there! But instead of telling you as to why this Matam came into being and direct you in the right path, if I just let you do things your own way, and only take your money; then that is as good as plain robbery! That is why I am taking you all into confidence and sharing with you my worries and apprehensions.

73. The plans we made for the protection and propagation of Veda-s have borne fruit, by the grace of God. Though we have not been able to ensure Adhyayanam in every house, we have overcome the fear that there may be no more Veda Adhyayanam in the next generation. There are a number of Veda Schools all over the country and more and more students are learning the Veda-s and Veda Bhashyam and so on. Only this ‘Kanya Vivaham’ which has come in the form of an Act of the Government, which has tied our hands rather acutely! This Act of the Government is contrary to the permanent prerogative of the Dharma Sastra which, enabled a young child to start thinking of a man as her personal God, to whom she could surrender her all, when she came of age. I will be the last one to advice any action against the Act of the Government. But we must make our objection known at every given opportunity. Like a stone is etched by the continuous movement of ants over it, we must continue our efforts to try and make the Rules of Dharma Sastra the governing rule in these matters, which are too personally religious; affecting no body else!



What We Must do Now.



74. Let us bring about the necessary changes in the Law of the Land, when we can. In the mean time, what we must do now is to get the girls married as close to the age limit set in the rules on the subject. For this all arrangements should be done beforehand! Look for a suitable, ‘Varan’. Compare and match the horoscopes for suitability. Conduct the ‘Nischayadartham’ or engagement beforehand. The girls should be married as early as permitted by law. ‘To delay this is a sin’, should be the fear in our hearts. If there is some unavoidable delay, that is alright. But the delay should not be due to the fact that the responsible persons did not even make an attempt! All this should be done with the minimum of expenditure!



Simplicity in Marriages.



75. If the reason for crossing the time limit for marriage is the Law of the land, the reason for further delay is that we have made it an extremely complicated affair by making it a business contract! The sort of crass and shameless display of wealth is not at all approved by the Sastra-s. Just because there is somebody to bear the expenditures, to ask for so many suits, coats, wrist-watch and so on is just not correct! Now-a-days, the list is further extended to include motor cycle, car and even landed property! In the name of ‘Janavaasa Oorvalam’ what is done the previous day of the marriage, as though it is an unavoidable function, has no relevance in the Samskara of what is known as the Vivaham! Actually there is no mantra for this event!

76. In the olden times, because the marriage was held at a very young age, to encourage the children suffering in the clouded smoky atmosphere of Yagna, they added side events such as ‘vilayadal’ that is ‘games’, ‘Nalangu’ and ‘Oonjal’ etc. ‘Kanyaam kanaka sambandaam’, it is said in the Sastra-s, because Gold is directly invoking the blessings of ‘Lakshmi Kataaksham’! So, the ‘thiru maangalyam’ that is the, marriage thread should have some gold in it. That is all. No silk. No show off. A simple function will do most sufficiently!

(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.