DEIVATHIN KURAL # 78 (Vol # 3) Dated 20 April 2009

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 78 (Vol # 3) Dated 20 April 2009
(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. To day we are proceeding from the second para on page 338 of Vol 3 of the Tamil original. The readers are reminded that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too, mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://advaitham. blogspot. com constantly updated.)
23. Let us see as to what exactly did Bhagwan Sri Krishna say about leaders of men not saying things to confuse the common man's trust, belief and faith. "Na buddhi bhedam janayet agnaanaam karma sanginaam I Joshayet sarva karmaani vidvaan yuktas samacharan II" [B.G. 3.26.] There by He says, "Even if there were some apparent errors in the traditional way of doing things, the leaders of the society, ignorant of the logic of those traditions, should not out right desist from those actions lest the common man may not get confused."
24. That is to say, even when the leader may be convinced that he has risen above the need to follow certain rituals, since he is in public notice all of the time, his refraining from doing the ritual will create a conflict in the minds of the common man! If you as the leader transgress the saastraa-s, the simple folks who are the followers of the leader are likely to come to a conclusion that, 'Since after all our leader himself has given up these things, why should we continue to unnecessarily follow these rituals?' So the leaders should show and display that they are subservient to the dictates of the saastraa-s. These days when every body is quoting the Bhagawat Gita for all sorts of things, they conveniently ignore these injunctions of the Gita!
25. In yet another place He says, "tasmaat saastram pramaanam te karyaakarya vyavastitou I" [B.G.16.24.] He says, "When you have to decide as to do or not to do and what to do, let the Saastraa-s be your guiding line." Saastraa-s are the authority. Do what it tells you to do and refrain from doing what is forbidden in the Saastraa-s. Reformists do need the Gita. But when it comes to some embarrassing areas they will simply not mention about these things or say that these were later interpolations!
26. Leaders of Reform. In the name of reform what has really happened is to let loose all control with no discipline whatsoever. We cannot blame all leaders as being irresponsible and indisciplined. Since they have reneged on traditional rules of Saastraa-s, we as the Heads of Sanaatana Dharma Organizations, have not accepted or agreed upon them! But it is a fact that many of them have been followers of the principles such as truth, honesty, sacrifice, sincerity, integrity, universal love and compassion! To quite an extent they are well-read and knowledgeable. Their sincerity in intending to guide people in the right path cannot be doubted either. But their greatest error is to think that what appeals to their mind as OK is alright and what does not appeal to their minds as OK is all wrong. They may be well read and well intentioned. But those Saints, Sages and Rishis of the past were not lacking in knowledge or sincerity or comprehension and sacrifice. In fact they were far more greater in each aspect under consideration! If we approach these matters with that humility, our own understanding and comprehension will vastly improve!
27. The present day leaders do not have that sort of a respect for the past. They are ready to believe in the canard created by the so called western analysts of Indian Vedas and Saastraa-s. Some of them like Sir John Woodroff alias Arthur Allen, were sincere in digging deep and bringing out the hidden treasures. But mostly others, out of a sheer sense of superiority as to how can these ancients be so far advanced in thinking and conceptualizing, came to the conclusions that Vedas were mostly inane, repetitive, meaningless mumbo-jumbo! If some of them believed so, some of them had their own axes to grind on behalf of the erstwhile British Rulers of India who wanted to sustain themselves in power at all costs. So, it was in their nefarious purpose to loosen the hold of the Veda-s on the minds of people of India itself, let alone outsiders!
28. Then there is, what is known as, 'adrushta phala', 'the unseen effect' in abiding with the saastraa-s. The westerners and following them some of the so-called reformists, never being aware of or blind to this unseen effect, have looked forward to only the apparent effects! Beyond the apparent, there is the divine effect of the methods of the saastraa-s, which may not be immediately known or directly relatable! Our actions and thoughts could have effect in some other dimension of space and time, may be in this life or in some other re-incarnation. The reformers generally have no belief in such things. Their education and perspective is exactly similar to the views of the westerners! So, instead of accepting that all differences in social, financial, physical and material fields are with an inviolable logical purpose by one's own past actions of Karma / Nature / God, they talk about some impossible imaginary non-difference and equality!
29. So, they make fun of Yaagaa-s and Yagnaa-s as wasting good material as sacrifices in to the fires. They ridicule our conduct of Tarpanam and Divasam for the Pithru-s as superstition and blind belief! Forgetting that there is a God beyond time and space who is the optimal provider of the fruits of all effects of our actions, they presume authorship and doer ship on themselves! They want to see the world changed within their life time with no respect whatsoever to the existing order of things! Such people are so full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance that Sri Krishna calls them ’damba maana madaanvitaa :’. [ B.G. 16.10.] As though taking a video snippet of such people’s behaviour, He goes on to say that they claim, “This has been gained by me to-day; this desire of mine I shall fulfill; this is mine and this wealth shall continue to be mine in future too!” [B.G. 16. 13.] Further He says that such people will not have the cleanliness of heart, mind, speech or action! In short they will be lacking in the important quality of ‘Aachaaram’!
30. In the Katopanishad {1.2.5.} and Mundakopanishad {1.2.8.} too, such people are compared with the blind followers of the blind! "swayam dheeraa: panditam manya maanaa:" , meaning, 'self proclaimed as all knowing experts!' Between these reform leaders and their followers there is a slight difference. Let us look at that.
31. These days it is the in thing to differentiate between religious virtues and ethical excellences. It is funny that such a differentiation is being made at all! Religion and morality after all are inextricably inter twined. But people of the modern day, especially of the English education system have got it in their minds and managed to instill in people's minds that religion and morality are to be kept in separate compartments. Thus it is below their status and prestige if they have to function subservient to the Saastraa-s! So they are questioning all that is not apparent. They are ashamed of whatever is called blind-beliefs that, it is a fashion to be seen weeding the religion of these things in the name of reforms!
32. In very recent times however, the western world has woken up to the real values of Yaaga and Yoga and such things about which it was normal to make fun of. They have started saying that there is value in Homa-s and Mantra-s. Thus it has become more acceptable to our Doubting Thomases too. So what happens now is some traditions are taken and some dropped off in the name of reform. The leaders draw some strict moral codes and what evolves is a hotchpotch mix of yet another religion, with its own pecking order and codes of conduct. Though they know not that having rebelled against an existing order; they are now falling into another groove! Further problem in this is that while the leaders have rather strict codes of conduct because of their commitment, the followers are made up of a wide spectrum of fanatical hard core cum piggy-back riders and jetsam and flotsams!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.