DEIVATHIN KURAL # 83 (Vol # 3) Dated 06 May 2009

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 83 (Vol # 3) Dated 06 May 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 page 364 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.)
72. Contrary to getting 'Chitta Shuddhi' and scaling down of one's greed, the exact opposite happens when you are successful in your efforts through agitations and strikes! You get used to the idea that you are able to manipulate the management or government through such means. So you try various methods to further threaten for more and more demands and privileges which become rights in your perspective! So, if you win it leads to more demands and if you lose, it leads to more hate campaigns. Both are dirts in the mind. So far I talked about the social reform movements. Now let me talk about the religious reform movements. What is this reform aimed at?
73. On the name of equality, they wish to raise everyone to the highest level of religious understanding and comprehension. Everybody has the freedom to do so, OK! But that very idea causes loss of humility and instigates conceit! Their leaders label all tradition as orthodoxy or superstition and encourage breaking away from them. Their followers get further ahead and are ready to break any and every rule, including the Do's and Don'ts of their own leaders. This only leads to lack of discipline and purposefulness! Another odd and funny observation!
74. All government leaders, intellectuals and press, pay encomiums of praise for the pioneers of such movements, celebrate their birthdays, give write ups in news papers and magazines, install their statues and bring out postal commemoration stamps and so on. But if you carefully observe as to who are the hard core followers of such movements, you will find that the majority of them are only fence sitters. 90% of them are vary of leaving the so called orthodox, superstitious Hindu religion!
75. While I am saying this with a bit of pride, I know that this is more a case of being slighted and insulted! Remaining in the traditional Hindu religion, they shout the slogans for the reforms. What does it mean? It means that they do not have the courage of convictions for either continuing with the tradition or adopting the new system! This is as good as double disloyalty! This mistake is done by not only the common man but by some pseudo modern leaders of very high reputation that they are thought to be great. Knowingly or unknowingly they are responsible for such double dealings!
76. Since I am the head of a traditional religious institution, my this statement I know will immediately provoke a response from others that it is a case of vested interest! Despite that likely criticism, as it is wrong not tell what I sincerely feel, I am making this statement. Now-a-days there are many Swami-s who have come in to being. They do not say or claim that they have come out of the parent body of Hinduism and evolved in to a new religion of reform. If they have any organization on their names, they still do not separately identify themselves as Brhma Samaj and Arya Samaj people do! Their situation is very similar to the majority of people who keep adhering to Hinduism because they do not have the courage of conviction to leave!
77. These Swamiji-s claim themselves to be representatives of the Sampradaya Sanatana Dharma of Hinduism only! They do talk of Veda-s and Upanishad-s very knowledgeably. They edit and publish books on all such subjects. They celebrate all Hindu festivals and conduct Bhajan-s and Yaaga-s and Yagna-s. Looking at all this, their work seems even better than what we do in the traditional organizations such as ours. Their work seems like a revival and renaissance of Hinduism. Some of them are endowed with great oratorical capabilities. They are able to put across subtle points and ideas of Vedanta in a manner that is well received and deeply etched in the listener's minds! Still some of them do have the power to forestall accidents and cure people of diseases. So the followers do start doing some of the Anushtana-s that they were required to do originally.
78. So, these Swamiji-s who are not part of the ancient dharma peetam-s, but modern creations of the times, are doing some wonderful work for the revival of the religion, undoubtedly. Especially when some of us are being repeatedly downgraded and derided by the intelligentia and national leaders thereby creating adverse publicity for organizations such as ours in the minds of the modern generation; these Swamiji-s are responsible for retaining some hold and sway over the minds of the modern generations, therby preventing the total collapse of the religion! Let it be so by some Siddhi like powers of theirs or whatever, we have to be thankful for their noticeable contributions in spreading the good words of the religion!
79. Since this is a good business proposition, there is a fair percentage of pseudo Swamiji-s too; and some people may be duped by them! There cannot be a Divine Messenger and Messiah in every road turning. But undoubtedly the number of such is mushrooming. So people may be confused as to, “eththai thinraal pittam theliyum?”, meaning, ‘by eating what insanity will prevail’! As this goes on, foreigners too while decrying Gurudom and Swamidom, are falling on their feet like ants swarming over a piece of jaggery and become their disciples.
80. Just because they could be fake Swamiji-s, we cannot call them all fake either. Whatever else is fake, it is a fact that some people do go to them in search of some relief. Some problem is solved. There is some solution found. To that extent they are utilitarian! He or she may not be true to their own professed ideals and principles. It does not matter. It is a fact that some people are truely benefitting in terms of becoming more devoted and observing some of the Achara Anushtana-s at the least, by listening to them! To that extent it is good.
81. But when it comes to ‘observance of the religious achara-s’, what happens? Most of these Swamiji-s discard and do away with most of the religious rituals. Most of them do not differentiate between caste related observances. Many other Achara Anushtana-s have been discarded as not suitable in modern times by these Swamiji-s. In deciding as to which Achara to be retained and which to be discarded, the factor is rather a matter of convenience. Some are retained as the essential and some done away with! By telling that we the orthodox organizations have ignored the spirit and are clinging on to the skeleton only, they have done away with these Achara-s, which actually form 90% of our religious activities! Thereby they are creating a delusion in people’s minds that what they profess is the correct Hindu Religion!
82. It is here that I feel that the movements which separate from the main stream Hindu Religion are better than organizations which are killing the essence of this religion while sticking on to it in name and form! If you have some differences of opinion, it is better to discuss the same thread bare. If you cannot still gulp some ideas, then it is better to depart amicably. But having differences of opinions on matters clearly spelt out in the Saastraa-s and still adhering to the name and form of Hinduism, and injecting their own ideas in to the religion, is totally unacceptable! This is like the story of the ‘camel which initially put it’s face inside the tent and finally ended up-rooting the tent itself!’ Not only that they have installed themselves, they rather recommend doing away with organizations like ours! We are not worried about protecting ourselves. I am not crying for the death of the traditional Hindu Religion either. But I do feel very bad about the ‘loss of the opportunities of the masses to progressively refine, mature and ennoble themselves, as provided by the Sanatana Hindu Dharma!
(To be continued)
Sambhomahadeva.