Sree BALA vedha patasala nava Chandi homam invite reg --7 th feb 16
Balakrishnan
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From: mooladka ravi <moolad...@gmail.com>
Date: 15 January, 2016 12:14:37 PM GMT+05:30
To: Balakrishnan <miip...@yahoo.co.in>
Balakrishnan
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H.H. Jagadguru Sri Sri Sankaracharya Swamigal
(Excerpts from the book, Hindu Dharma, published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan)
Continued from previous issue...
Let us first consider the view that according to the Vedas themselves caste is not based on birth. (After all, the Vedas are the source of our religion. So it is essential to be clear on this point.) Earlier I sought to counter the view that there was Vedic sanction for post-puberty marriages. The present contention about what the Vedas say about caste is similar, being based on a passage read out of context. What is mentioned as an exception to the rule is being interpreted as a rule itself. I will give firm proof in support of the view that caste is based on birth and not on the nature or quality of individuals. The caula of children belonging to particular caste is performed at the age of three, the upanayana at five or seven. These are samskaras based on birth and performed in childhood. So it would be absurd to claim that one's vocation is based on one's nature of qualities. Is it possible to determine one's qualities or nature in early childhood?
Let us now come to Gita. It is true that the Gita speaks of "samadarsana", "seeing the selfsame thing in everything and everybody. But it would be perverse to argue on this basis that the Gita does not recognise any caste distinctions. When, according to Krsna, do we attain the stage of samatva, the stage when we will look upon all as equal? We must consider the context: The Lord speaks of the samadarsana of the wise man who is absorbed in the Atman and for whom there exists nothing [other than the Atman] including creation - and even the fact that Isvara is the creator is of no consequence to him. The Lord says that all are equal for a man when he renounces karma entirely to become an ascetic and attains the final state of enlightenment. The Vedas and the Upanisads say the same thing. Only an individual belonging to the highest plane can see all things as One [as one Reality]. Samadarsana is not of this phenomenal world of plurality nor is it for us who are engaged in works. The Lord speaks in the Gita of samadarsana, samacitta and samabhuddhi from the yogin's point of view, but by no means does he refer to "samakaryatva" as applied to our worldly existence.
Some concede that Bhagavan does not deny caste differences, but however argue that, according to the Lord, caste is not based on birth but on the individual qualities of people. In support they quote this line from the Gita. "Caturvarnyam mayasrstam guna-karma-vibagasah".
When do we come to know the qualities that distinguish an individual? At what age does he reveal his nature? How are we to determine this and impart him the education and training necessary for the vocation that will be in keeping with his qualities? Take, for instance, the calling of the Brahmin who has to join the gurukula when he is seven or eight years old. His education covers a period of twelve years; after this alone will he be qualified for his vocation which includes, among other things, teaching. If a man's occupation were to be fixed until after his character and qualities are formed, it would mean a waste of his youthful years. Even if he were to learn a job or trade thus at a late age it would mean a loss not only to himself but also to society. The Lord speaks again and again that we must be constantly engaged in work and that we must not remain idle even a moment. How then would He approve of an arrangement in which every individual has to be without any work until his vocation is determined according to his character? Does this mean that the Lord lends his support in theory alone to the system of vocations according to the differing qualities of people and that in actual practice he wants occupations to be based on birth? But He is not like a politician [of these days] speaking one thing and doing something entirely different. What do we see in Krsna's own life as a divine incarnation? When Arjuna refuses to fight saying that it is better to become a mendicant than spill the blood of friends and relatives even if it be to rule over an empire, what does the Lord tell him? He urges Arjuna to fight. "You are born a Ksatriya and you are duty-bound to wage war. Take up your bow and fight". Here too it may be argued thus: "Arjuna was a great warrior and a great hero. His reluctance to take up arms against friends and relatives must have been a momentary affair. His inner quality and temperament were that of a man of valour. So the Lord enthuses him to go to war. What he refers to as Arjuna's svadharma (own duty) cannot be the same as his jati dharma (caste duty). The Lord must be referring to Arjuna's natural character as his svadharma. "
If such an argument is correct, what about the character of Dharmaputra (Yudhisthra)? From the very beginning he is averse to war and anxious to make peace with the Kauravas. Does he not go so far as to say that he would not insist on half the kingdom but he would be satisfied with just five houses? Krsna goes to the Kauravas as his envoy [of peace] but is Himself dragged into war by them. Earlier he encouraged Yudhisthra to subjugate all his neighbouring kingdoms to become an imperial ruler and perform the rajasuya. Does Dharmaputra desire such glory? His inner character and temperament show that he is not warlike by nature nor do they suggest that he desires the status of a mighty imperial ruler. Sri Krsna Paramatman makes such a man practice his dharma of a Ksatriya. All this shows that by svadharma it is jati dharma that the Lord means. Men like Dronacarya were born Brahmins but they took up the duty of Ksatriyas. Bhagavan does not deprecate them since they were otherwise great men, but all the same he does not show any displeasure when Bhima taunts Dronacarya for having forsaken the dharma of his birth. Thus we have confirmation that by svadharma the Lord means the jati dharma of birth.
Then, why does He use the phrase "guna-karma-vibhagasah" in the Gita?
To be continued...
Thomas Macaulay, the British historian and poet, declared that if the British were to enslave the Indians, the only way was to make the Indians lose their pride in their culture. He succeeded in this attempt by introducing the western system of education and luring the Indians with the material prosperity of the West. The shackles of political slavery were broken nearly seventy years ago, but the people still remain enslaved intellectually, socially and culturally. Evidence of this is seen in the recent controversy over the inclusion in the agenda of the Indian Science Congress, held recently at Mysuru, of two papers entitled, “Lord Shiva as an environmentalist” and “The medical benefits of blowing conch”. The scientific community, along with their political allies, have condemned this as a despicable attempt to destroy “scientific temper” and resort to superstitions derived from mythology. Even Nobel laureates do not seem to be free from such 'conditioned thinking', which is at once surprising and disappointing, because scientists of eminence are supposed to have an open mind without which scientific inquiry cannot happen. It is the sign of our times that there was not even the inquisitiveness or an attempt to know the contents of the papers – the very titles were enough to condemn them.Such a reaction from the scientists can be easily explained though the explanation does not endorse the reaction. Scientists think that it is their job to “discover” new things in the fields of their pursuit and therefore they are mentally inclined to treat with contempt anything that is old, ancient or traditional. Puffed up by their achievements, they tend to forget that all their 'discoveries' are of things that have always existed and that they have created nothing new. As someone remarked, “It does not require great intelligence to discover that the mother's milk is the best food for infants, something which is known even to monkeys!”. What happens to all the scientific study that went into the discovery and manufacture of baby foods?
Scientists must be humble enough to admit that their discoveries are not infallible. Even the discoveries of Nobel laureates are, in a matter of a few subsequent years, proved to be defective and superseded by the discoveries of the succeeding generation of scientists who go on to win Nobel prizes for disproving their predecessors. Ever so many recent scientific discoveries are pointing out to the ill effects of some of these discoveries and the need to resort to traditional methods. The use of fertilisers and pesticides that give rise to adverse effects on the health of the soil as also the human beings and the increasing popularity of organic farming, all over the world, is a case in point.
But it is not the fault of the scientists or their political allies that they tend to condemn anything traditional as superstitious. The education system they have gone through has made them lose their pride in their legacy. It is time to appreciate the limitations of scientific methods and approach, which rely almost completely on sense perceptions, directly or through sophisticated instruments, whereas, in actual fact, there are lots of things which are inaccessible to such perceptions and cannot be captured in a laboratory. The 'truths' they discover, despite the evidences they gather to support them, is still limited and is tentative and have a limited validity in time. Have we not heard of the drugs that are introduced after extensive research and clinical trials being withdrawn from the market because of their adverse side effects?
If scientists can realise these limitations and develop some humility, they will, instead of dismissing anything traditional as rubbish, will investigate the contents of the traditional knowledge and study their validity. There is, therefore, an urgent need to create greater awareness about the contents of our traditional literature. Though the Macaulay system has largely destroyed interest in knowing about our traditions, the destruction is not complete. Even today there are pockets where a few persons have dedicated themselves to the study of sastras, our traditional literature. lt is only such people who must be encouraged to initiate a movement to revive the sastric study. Unfortunately, even many of the vedic scholars graduating from the conventional pathasalas do not study the sastras, because their profession as Vedic priests does not require this knowledge. This is a short sighted approach. The time has come for pathasalas to extend their period of study from the 8 years currently in vogue to at least 12 years, which is typically the duration of an academic study in schools. Unless the sastras are studied systematically, they will disappear from our literature. That will be a great loss as with the disappearance of the sastras all the wisdom of the ancients will be lost and the code of living they prescribed for healthy and harmonious life will be lost for ever. People cannot be expected to follow tradiitons any more blindly. They need a logical explanation for any instruction. Only sastras analysed scientifically can provide such an explanation. There is indeed a compelling need to do research on our sastras at least on mundane matters. If this research reveals the validity of the statements in the sastras, it will engender a greater degree of faith in our sastras on even more abstract issues, which are nevertheless of great importance for a wholesome living. Even the few sporadic studies that have been made must be provided a platform for disseminating the findings to a larger audience. It has been said that Mimamsa, one of our ancient sastras, provides an opportunity for a new computer language. Even the study of Samskritam has been found to be of great use in developing new computer language or for that matter the Panchangams accurately predicting the eclipses with traditional tables. It is the responsiblity of organisations involved in this field, including pathasalas, to create an environment for the promotion of such study and research.
Patasala News
Pathasala Adhyapakar and Vidharthis taking part in the Rudra Ekadasi at Sri Aatcheeswarar temple - Paadal petra sthalam at Achirapakkan. This was organized as part of Karthigai Somavaram celebrations
Another snap from the Karthigai Somavaram rudra parayanam
Sri A. Govindarajan of Mylapore. a long-time donor and well-wisher of our Patasala, had his 80th birthday (Sadhabhishekam) function on 27th December, 2015 at ISKCON temple premises in Tiruvanmiyur. Sri Govindarajan was very particular that gifts / contributions for the event go towards conservation of Vedic Heritage. To this effect, a few trustees of the Patasala were at the function venue and family and friends of Sri Govindarajan contributed about Rs. 1.1 Lakhs to the Patasala. This will go towards providing ear studs (Kadukkan) for the patasala vidyarthis.
Karthigai deepam at the Patasala
A new solar power set-up - 1 KW capacity has been set-up and operational. This was donated by Sri V. Muthukrishnan of R.Venkatram Educational and Charitable Trust. This infrastructure assumes importance in the light of potential power cuts in the summer months.
Pongal at the Patashala
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Sri Bala Veda Patasala · Acharapakkam · Tamilnadu · Acharapakkam 603301 · India
miindustrial products
We have decided to conduct in our sri bala vedha patasala, 109,GST road,perumberkandigai village,acharapakkam for
lokakshemam Nava Chandi parayanam on Saturday the 6 th feb 2016 followed by rudra parayanam in the evening
during pradosha kalam as being sani pradosham. On Sunday the 7 th feb 2016 ,Elaborate nava Chandi homam followed
after ganapati ,Navagraha homam will commence by 7.30 am through 1 pm . Lunch will be served for all after this.
Contributions if any may be sent to
A/c no:64029207189,State Bank Of Mysore
Annanagar Branch
IFSC SBMY0040625
Please send your address to post the 80 G receipt of our
trust.
With Pranams
R.Balakrishnan
Managing Trustee
Sri BALA VEDHA PATASALA
098409127629840912765044-26289868
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