DEIVATHIN KURAL # 81 (Vol # 3) Dated 26 April 2009

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 81 (Vol # 3) Dated 26 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 353 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.)
53. Even if you go by pure logic and reason, there are many occasions when we have to do many things not exactly relevant to the job in hand! You do not recognize a police man or an Army man unless he is wearing a uniform! That is alright. But what relevance do the women sparsely dressed and making all sorts of contortions in the name of 'Cheer leaders' have in a game of Basket Ball or Cricket? When they wear black and red bordered dhoties, with flags and banners, go in a procession by walk or cycle or in bullock carts, have you noticed as to how contrary to common sense, logic and reason are such activities!? In the same place if someone is wearing the Dhotie in 'Pancha Kacham' and go singing Bhajanai songs in praise of God, it becomes something to be laughed at and ridiculed! For the cause of political and labour interest if someone pours kerosene oil on himself and immolates, he is called a martyr and when you sacrifice ghee and cooked rice in the fire of a Yaaga, they call it superstition and blind belief!
54. “We are great and elders; we need the status; we should not be under anyone’s orders; there is nothing beyond our understanding; we will not agree to anyone’s Lordship; we may do things unreasonable, but we cannot be questioned”, this is the mind set of these people claiming themselves to be reformists of this religion! They think on these lines and cause others to think similarly! Net result is that they are neither practical for this worldly life nor for future. This is the effect of giving up the traditions of our religion.
55. They are telling the people to wake up from believing these stupid Saastraa-s. When looking at their misbehavior of such wakefulness, I wishfully dream as to how far better it would be if somehow they were to be administered the sleeping tablets of the very stupid saastraa-s! I regret as to how in the name of reform they have spoiled what was orderly and systematic! Having benefited themselves in some materialistic, narrow parochial ways, they have caused confusion in the minds of many! In truth religion is not opium given with the idea of dulling their senses! (It was Karl Marx who said that Religion is the opium of people!) To think this world to be real and the sense objects to be real is the greater delusion! Religion is the medicine that wakes you up from such illusion! It is only since these reformists have had their sway that the common people have become blind to the reality to which they were waking up! To think of an imaginary sense of equality without refining oneself to be worthy of such, is the real delusion!
56. With all this reform, not only the connection or any reference to God is gone but, all connection to Dharma (the sense of rightness and morality) is also gone. They claim that they are believers in God, Atma and Soul! What ever it is, it is that inner power that inspired the Veda-s, Bible, Quran, Zend Avesta and or Guru Granth! Is it not so? The original authors of these were great sacrificers of intense sincerity and integrity! Many thousands, nay millions, nay crores have practically imbibed, inhered and adhered to those great ideals and concepts! That path has the weight of tradition! To follow that is discipline and orderliness. If you believe in God of Faultless Perfection, then even the act of your being born in a particular religion is part of that perfection. Is it not so? Then accept it and follow it. That is why this Hindu Religion believes in intense inversion and NO conversion to other religions! {once you have studied and mastered your own religion to which born, you are free to imbibe and absorb the ideas and ideals from other religions too. Because by then you have risen above all limitations and confines!} This is how He the God meant it to be!
57. That is why it is said, "samayaacharameva cha poorvai : aasrita : kuryaat I anyataa patito bhavet", meaning, 'do as your elders have done lest you fall by the way side!' How does he fall? Say that you are standing in some step in the ladder. Saastraa-s are there for you to climb step by step. The reformist tells you simply jump to 'equality' and he breaks the ladder. You neither have the power nor the procedure. You simply fall flat, anyhow much lower than what you had gained till then! That is why, 'anyataa patito bhavet! '
The Duty of the Leaders: as Given by Gita.
58. Bhagawan has warned us already in the Gita about this pitfall! He has said, "If you go against the norms in the ways of the world, (even if you were to forego the 'Kula Aachaara-a',) you will prove to be a mis-guiding post. Looking at your example, they will also follow suit. Though you may improve by your maturity, the common man your follower, will be left in the lurch! He would neither have the maturity nor the strength of tradition; and so fall further down!" Putting all these ideas together are the sloka-s 25 & 26 of B.G. Chapter 3! "...saktaa: karmanya vidvaamso yataa kurvanti bharata I kuryaat-vidvaam-stataa (a)sakta: -chikeershur-lokasangraham II na buddhi bhedam janayet agnaanaam karma sanginaam I..."
59. Generally people are only 'Karma sanghi-s', that is, 'people bounden by duties'. With them if you talk of 'Atma, Dhyanam' and such things you will get nowhere! They have been assigned many duties in the Saastraa-s. For each of those actions some results are given as seen and some as unseen, (drushtam and adrushtam). Many of the daily and periodical rituals given in the Veda-s have these sort of effects (as karma phalam) only! 'There will be rains', or 'there will be increased mental acumen', and or finally 'you will attain to Heaven' and such would be the karma phala. 'Swarga Vaasa' the stay in heaven is only the happiness you can get by sensual pleasures! Veda-s do not talk of going beyond these mundane pleasures of the senses to the unity of Jeeva-Brhma or about Man-God oneness!
60. Because, if you talk of Liberation and Moksham, right from the beginning, no one will come any where near. It is like the carrot before the horse. All the material benefits promised as 'Karma Phala' are so that you may do your duties meticulously thereby attaining to 'Chitta Shuddhi'! Once that happens, you are on 'auto mode', self motivated to achieve the further goal of 'Brhma - Atma - Aikyam'! It is with this purpose that all the Karma Duties have been ordained for us. In later days, Yagna Karma-s became less and some easier methods were suggested.
61. "Go to Rameswaram. Go around the Arasa Maram. You will be getting progeny. Do Surya Namaskara, you will get better eye sight. Chant the Kanakadara Stotram. You will get much wealth. Go around the Thiruvanna malai hill and attain better life!" So on and so on! Saastraa-s talk of many karma-s so as to get material benefits, mainly. If you tell these people not to look for material benefits and talk of esoteric goals, they will not be motivated! They have to be progressively weaned from worldly desires and ambitions.
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.