DEIVATHIN KURAL # 40 (Vol #4) Dated 13 July 2010.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 40 (Vol #4) Dated 13 July 2010.

(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 the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the third para on page number 230 of Vol 4 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 updated constantly)

298. Malik Gafoor and such Muslim marauders went south right down to Rameswaram looting and destroying the Hindu Temples and Townships, delivering almost a mortal blow on the Hindu society! After that, if the Indians could still rise from the ashes like the Phoenix, it was the Vijayanagara Empire that could make them hold their head high with pride once again! This was made possible at the start of the 14th Century due to the efforts of a Sanyasi Jagat Guru Sankaracharya, Vidyaranya Swami. He has not only been the driving force for the creation of Vijayanagara Empire, but also authored many treatises on Adwaita such as Panchadasi and Sayana Veda Bhashyam.
299. A branch of the Vijayanagara Samrajya was the Tanjore Nayak dynasty, which was mainly founded by the efforts of a house holder expert in Adwaita philosophy, by name Govind Deekshidar known as “Adwaita Vidyacharya”! Then I will not be doing justice to the topic that I am talking about, if I do not mention the name of the clean Naishtika Brhmachari Samarta Ramadas, who was the force that brought out the lion in Sivaji! At a time when Aurangazeb’s madness knew no bounds, if Hindu society was saved from total desolation, conversion and extinction, it was Sivaji who created the Maharashtrian Empire, under the constant guidance of Samarta Ramadas, his Guru an Adwaitin of eminence!
300. I said all this only to point out that, there are people who show off as though they know much and give their opinion unasked for, creating a sense of inferiority complex in the minds of us Indians about our religion and culture! Within the Indian Hindu society, there was never any jealousy or hate as to who is high in education and knowledge. “Vidya vinaya sampanna”, as the saying goes, humility was considered the defining quality in a man of high education. So there was never a competition in trying to show off! If and when there was an ego clash, it was possibly between Kshatriyas and Brahmins, which I have already described!
301. Cultural Nicety in Confrontations! Even when there were confrontations between Kshatriyas and Brahmins, we notice some peculiarities of Indianness in them as available nowhere else in the world. In other countries when there has been difference of opinion between the Pope and the Ruler of that country or the Ulema and the Sultan, we have seen that such confrontations have ended in real fights and even killings on either side! This has never happened in this country that a Brahmin has been killed because of his caste! If it was true that the Brahmin was exploiting all other caste, I am sure that there would have been revenges when the opportunities presented themselves! Especially when the Kshatriyas were having some difference of opinion, others could have instigated the armed Kshatriyas to do away with the Brahmins! This sort of a thing has never happened, not because opportunities were not there but, because the cause and motivation to do so were never there!
302. Kshatriyas despite being armed, ‘who would pull out a sword at the drop of a hat’, so to say, never ever raised their weapons in anger against the Brahmin! This is indicative of their discipline even in tense situations! Similarly, the other castes too never exploited the situation to settle any accounts with the Brahmin! This is indicative of the apparent reasonableness of their behaviour and the fact that there was no enmity as such between the castes!
303. This matter is not to be closed with that only. You please look at the logic of it! A caste well known for being soft on the physical side, if they were also haughty and cunning, could not have remained deserving the respect of other castes for long! They could not have fooled the entire society and still be recipients of their respect! So what do you gather from this? Brahmins in reality had such character qualities of intelligence and knowledge that was beneficial for all, to be able to evoke the respect and regards of the whole society.
304. This they got from their ‘Vidya’, which in turn came from their stint in the Guru Kula, from a young formative age! Even when occasionally there was a powerful movement against the Brahmins, instead of being a physical objection, it was on the lines of theories, principles, ideas and concepts. I am talking about the advent of Buddhist, Jain and Sikh religions only.
305. Actually none of those three religions were really anti-Veda and Anti-Saastra movements. Though they were against the Hindu Sanaatana Dharma in terms of Varna Ashrama Dharma on the one hand and the rituals on the other, they were not declared enemies of the Hindu ethos really. There are many occasions when they have given refuge to Hindus when they were running away from the looting hoards of Muslims! Sikhs have even gone to fight with the Muslims on behalf of the Hindu Brahmins! The Kshatriyas Buddha, Mahavira and Nanak, fought against the Brahmins on point of principles, which were only slight amendments in perspectives and not total deviations or contrary views. So these religions and their views were not complete strangers or anathema to Hindu ideals! So their clashes were more as debates on differing opinions, views and principles.
306. Those were the times I suppose, when the Brahmins were possibly a bit jaded. But, still it is their traditional power of the ‘sat karma’ or good deeds of anushtaana over generations that was keeping their flag still flying high. Knowing this fact, when they were attacked, it was not done against their physical being, but against their Saastraa-s or their understanding and comprehension that was attacked. Point out the seeming inconsistencies and if they are not able to give sensible replies, it is as good as losing a battle on principles! So the Kshatriya-s must have had a ‘race or class conscience’ that was out to prove the Brahmin wrong! If a cat is always chasing the rat, genetically sometime in the future, the rat is likely to develop one who is capable of standing up to a cat! At least psychologically this is likely to happen! So studying together in the same Guru Kula, some of the Kshatriya boys must have felt themselves superior to some of the Brahmin boys at least in theories conceptually! If not all the Kshatriyas, at least a small percentage of them must have felt motivated to do so. Buddha, Mahavira and Nanak, I would say, were the proof of such motivation. This is something that both Brahmins and Kshatriyas could be proud of!
307. I am saying all this to emphasize that, for knowledge, ideas, concepts, and deeper comprehension and understanding, it was not necessary that Brahmin had to be the only ‘Repository’. Abiding with the Saastraa-s as pointed out by the Brahmin, repeatedly listening to the quotes and references, many a Kshatriya must have felt that, ‘we as Kshatriya-s are not only strong physically and in use of arms and weapons, we are also capable of deep rooted thinking, analysis and conceptualization’. This sort of a collective conscience, must have led to the coming into being of such great thinkers and pioneers such as Buddha, Mahavira and Nanak!
308. This subtle point of psychology is discernible on another aspect too. Amongst the three Satvic, Rajasic and Tamasic Gunas, Brahmins were required to be most Satvic, as per the Saastraa-s! Even in practice the Brahmin has been noticeable in this character quality. Contrary to this the Kshatriyas have been physically strong, brave and ever ready to fight, for a cause may be! So, there must have been a motivation inherent here to prove that they were not only ready to fight, but were also capable not only mental acumen and conceptualization and were also capable of going one step higher than the Brahmin even in the matter of Satvic character qualities! So, Buddha and Mahavira could have sincerely felt the need to emphasize the ‘Ahimsa’ as a major policy thrust!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.