Interview of Brahmasri.Mani Dravida Shahstrigal on his traditional learning in Sanskrit

285 views
Skip to first unread message

K.N.RAMESH

unread,
Jul 9, 2021, 5:33:23 AM7/9/21
to
A really interesting, inspiring, must watch video
By Brahmarshi Sri Mani Dravida Shastrigal on his traditional learning of shastras

venkat veeraraghavan

unread,
Jul 9, 2021, 6:45:30 AM7/9/21
to भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्
Dear Shri Ramesh

I have had the good fortune of meeting this great soul. He is truly one of a kind and one of the last real brahmanas left on earth. Kindness, wisdom, clarity, vinaya and erudition rarely combine in one person.
But I think you meant Brahma Shri and not Brahmarshi. 
Shri Mani Dravid Garu more than anyone else would be embarrassed by such conferred rishihood.

Kind Regards,

Venkat

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/CAOSP8Jc_K2QJJgPSptS8L2qXhO0rLYs7NYKx-8o_bHaFLSyFdg%40mail.gmail.com.

Mārcis Gasūns

unread,
Jul 9, 2021, 8:23:22 AM7/9/21
to भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्
Interesting indeed. He said Mimansa is hit harder than Vyakarana. I thought it was already dead.

Raghavendra

unread,
Jul 9, 2021, 9:20:21 PM7/9/21
to bvpar...@googlegroups.com
Greetings of the day,

Two disquieting comments found on the group today.... 

 <I thought it was already dead>

...there can be no total extinction of any system of thought…..they have been there and they are going to be there...may be inactive (temporarily) in the present…

Acharya Madhva in his अनुव्याख्यान (२.२.१-३ to ९) has this to tell us,

...अनादि कालतो वृत्ताः समया हि प्रवाहतः, न चोच्छेदोस्ति कस्यापि समयस्य…
तथापि शुद्ध-बुद्धीनाम् ईशानुग्रह-योगिनाम् सुयुक्तयस्तमो हन्युरागमानुगताः सदा । इति विध्यापतिः सम्यक् समयानां निराकृतिम्। चकार निज-भक्तानां बुद्धि-शाणत्व-सिद्धये।

If one were to listen to the interview carefully there is a mention of great men of letters who had dedicated their life to the study and propagation of that system of thought not so long ago. Mention is also made about receiving intricacies of knowledge pertaining to that thought from them. 

<He is truly one of a kind and one of the last real brahmanas left on earth>

Emotional intelligence / quotient is critical and it is best exercised. There are highly respectable men of letters with high erudition across the spectrum of thought of our soil. They command our reverence, not because of their age alone, but because of the lifelong dedication to the assimilation, preservation and propagation of thought. They possess encyclopedic knowledge which we experience reading their scholarly writings on this very group. I need not have to mention their names as we know them through their writings. 

What if one were to ask,

He is truly one of a kind and Is he one of the last real brahmanas left on real or false earth?

I never wanted to ask this question, but I thought it fit to ask it to carry a message. I am fully aware that I have disturbed the hornet's nest here. One may have reasonings / justifications for the "two views" expressed, but there are other viewpoints also...
 
Thanks you and Bestregards,
Sent from RediffmailNG on Android

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.

Sivasenani Nori

unread,
Jul 9, 2021, 10:17:40 PM7/9/21
to भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्
नमो विद्वद्भ्यः।

It is appropriate that in a post about Mimamsa and a Mimamsa scholar, one of the contributions of Mimamsa be recollected. In the Veda, we have superlatives used for various devatas. Example: वायुर्वै क्षेपिष्ठा देवता। Does it mean other devatas are slower - say, in granting boons? No. Mimamsa teaches us that such sentences are to be taken as arthavada and that they should be understood as praising the devata in context, Vayu here, and not as a statement of fact comparing the said devata with others. Similarly here, the statement about Br. Mani Dravida Sastrigal being the last Brahmana should be seen only as an arthavada praising him and not demeaning other learned scholars..

Regards
Senani

Madhav Deshpande

unread,
Jul 9, 2021, 11:08:18 PM7/9/21
to Bharatiya Vidvat parishad
What an amazing interview of Professor Mani Dravid Shastri. Thanks for sharing. I had the opportunity to study Mīmāṃsā with Pt. Vireshwar Shastri Dongre mentioned by Prof. Mani Dravid Shastri. Dongre Shastri used to teach at the Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth in Pune for some time.

Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]


--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/CAOSP8Jc_K2QJJgPSptS8L2qXhO0rLYs7NYKx-8o_bHaFLSyFdg%40mail.gmail.com.

venkat veeraraghavan

unread,
Jul 10, 2021, 1:25:15 AM7/10/21
to भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्
Dear Sri Raghavendra

You have already misunderstood a statement i made....so before i respond pls clarify the following-

"What if one were to ask,

He is truly one of a kind and Is he one of the last real brahmanas left on real or false earth?"

What are you trying to say here? Are you poking fun at MD's advaita siddhanta position or is there something more superficial?
I find this paragraph hard to parse and may require your tika for the same.

Regards

Venkat 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/1625838216.S.75124.autosave.drafts.1625838317.4184%40webmail.rediffmail.com.

Raghavendra

unread,
Jul 11, 2021, 1:47:20 AM7/11/21
to bvpar...@googlegroups.com

Hello Sir,

Greetings,

Misunderstand, I did not; “….one of the last real Brahmanas left on earth”… is stated in plain and simple language; there isn’t anything in it for misunderstanding; I have brought in Siddhanta position in parallel; it was never for fun; it has seriousness in it which become clear if my note is re-read; now the question asked is: if there is something more into it – serious or superficial? 

Let me explain,

“Every age has its great men and women and therefore, to say, one of the last one left on earth is incongruous; I am reminded of the following touching and poignant words from the pen of a modern thinker, every word and even pause between the words of that saying are true and it leaves an everlasting impression on the mind, please read,

“Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, And departing leave behind us, Footprints on the sands of time, footprints, that perhaps another sailing over life’s solemn main, a forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing shall take heart again”, By Henry Wordsworth Longfellow.

Great men have left footprints on the soil of this nation and it is a continual process and those footprints are never erasable.    

A suggestion is made to read अर्थवाद (प्राशस्त्यपरम्) into what is said viz., “….one of the last real Brahmanas left on earth”…I defer it to learned scholars in the group to throw light on what is said qualifies for अर्थवाद or not.  

 

Responses, rebuttals, and/or criticisms I am sure are on the way, and it is in order in a scholastic debate, but let me make it clear, I have said what I had to say going by what was stated earlier on and in the light of what I have quoted above there is nothing ‘dead nor is there the last one left’; footprints on the sands of time will go on and on and on.

 

Thank you for your patience and understanding.


Best regards,
Raghavendra,
===========
 
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/1625838216.S.75124.autosa...@webmail.rediffmail.com.

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/CAOWN-CaYwEFKx5Q3E-0dg9rB...@mail.gmail.com.

venkat veeraraghavan

unread,
Jul 11, 2021, 7:17:15 AM7/11/21
to भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्
I am reminded of a quote from John Wick...."..You dip so much as a pinky back into this pond... you may well find something reaches out... and drags you back into its depths"

I posted my original message merely to gently correct Shri Ramesh on his (inadvertent?) use of "Brahmarshi" in describing Shri MD.

Now to the main business at hand: pasting below verbatim what I wrote.

"I have had the good fortune of meeting this great soul. He is truly one of a kind and one of the last real brahmanas left on earth. Kindness, wisdom, clarity, vinaya and erudition rarely combine in one person." 

I do not know what rarefied level of language you operate from, but my layman's understanding is as follows:
1. one of a kind   = is unique (in this case in a good way)
2.  one of the last real brahmanas left on = is one of a group (Please note the use of plural brahmanas)

I have nowhere suggested that Shri MD is the ONLY brahmana left on earth.

There are many in this group who also qualify for that superlative...an immediate example that comes to mind is Shri Korada garu.

There is no hornet or nest here. All hornets and their associated nests are a product of one's own imagination. If one listens instead of filtering throough one's own inner narrative it is possible for a dialogue to happen. 
With conversation both parties gain. 

Henceforth if you are oversensitive about use of language, kindly ascertain what is meant instead of shooting from the hip and making a mountain out of a mole hill.

venkat veeraraghavan

unread,
Jul 11, 2021, 7:31:34 AM7/11/21
to भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्
Dear Shri Senani garu,

Thanks for dipping into Purva Mimamsa to explain my superlative.
Just one clarification sir:
I wrote: "He is truly one of a kind and one of the last real brahmanas left on earth."
SS->"about Br. Mani Dravida Sastrigal being the last Brahmana should be seen only as an arthavada "

I have nowhere said Shri Mani Dravid is the last brahmana, which is the main bone of contention with Sri Raghavendra.
I have used the term "one of the last real brahmanas left " to denote he is one of a very selective and rapidly diminishing group, but a group nonetheless. I have not suggested that Shri MD is the only person in this class/group. I know you do not need this explanation, but I am including it just in case there are others who are still confused.

Thanks again,

Kind Regards,

Venkat

Raghavendra

unread,
Jul 11, 2021, 11:53:58 PM7/11/21
to bvpar...@googlegroups.com
Thank you for this one,

"There are many in this group who also qualify for that superlative...an immediate example that comes to mind is Shri Korada garu".

While accusing me of being oversensitive, what has got demonstrated below is hypersentivity on your part by use of phrases viz., shooting from the hip / making a mountain out of a mole hill etc., Please read my posts on the subject again, I never use such language. 

How it dragged into whirlpool is evident in your inner narrative. I cautioned there being a whirlpool if one were to talk of a system of thought already dead and one of the last real brahmanas left on = is one of a group (Please note the use of plural brahmanas)  I have made note of the plural, but you seem to have left out one term in your narration which was there in the original post. How come?

In one vein there is talk of rarefied level of language and in another there is talk of layman's interpretation and in yet another one (another post) there is talk of application of the cannons of interpretative exegesis of मीमांसा, you seem to be all over the place.

<<Henceforth if you are....>> Please don't direct others what they need to do. Questions will be asked, bit it is up to the person concerned to answer it or not.  

Happy Sunday,

Thank you & Best regards,
=====================
From: venkat veeraraghavan <vvenk...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sun, 11 Jul 2021 16:47:20 GMT+0530

To: ­¯¿ª¿· <bvpar...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} Interview of Brahmasri.Mani Dravida Shahstrigal on his traditional learning in Sanskrit

I am reminded of a quote from John Wick...."..You dip so much as a pinky back into this pond... you may well find something reaches out... and drags you back into its depths"

I posted my original message merely to gently correct Shri Ramesh on his (inadvertent?) use of "Brahmarshi" in describing Shri MD.

Now to the main business at hand: pasting below verbatim what I wrote.

"I have had the good fortune of meeting this great soul. He is truly one of a kind and one of the last real brahmanas left on earth. Kindness, wisdom, clarity, vinaya and erudition rarely combine in one person." 

I do not know what rarefied level of language you operate from, but my layman's understanding is as follows:
1. one of a kind   = is unique (in this case in a good way)
2.  one of the last real brahmanas left on = is one of a group (Please note the use of plural brahmanas)

I have nowhere suggested that Shri MD is the ONLY brahmana left on earth.

There are many in this group who also qualify for that superlative...an immediate example that comes to mind is Shri Korada garu.

There is no hornet or nest here. All hornets and their associated nests are a product of one's own imagination. If one listens instead of filtering throough one's own inner narrative it is possible for a dialogue to happen. 
With conversation both parties gain. 

Henceforth if you are oversensitive about use of language, kindly ascertain what is meant instead of shooting from the hip and making a mountain out of a mole hill.
On Sunday, July 11, 2021 at 11:17:20 AM UTC+5:30 rv...@rediffmail.com wrote:

Hello Sir,

Greetings,

Misunderstand, I did not; “….one of the last real Brahmanas left on earth”… is stated in plain and simple language; there isn’t anything in it for misunderstanding; I have brought in Siddhanta position in parallel; it was never for fun; it has seriousness in it which become clear if my note is re-read; now the question asked is: if there is something more into it – serious or superficial? 

Let me explain,

“Every age has its great men and women and therefore, to say, one of the last one left on earth is incongruous; I am reminded of the following touching and poignant words from the pen of a modern thinker, every word and even pause between the words of that saying are true and it leaves an everlasting impression on the mind, please read,

“Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, And departing leave behind us, Footprints on the sands of time, footprints, that perhaps another sailing over life’s solemn main, a forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing shall take heart again”, By Henry Wordsworth Longfellow.

Great men have left footprints on the soil of this nation and it is a continual process and those footprints are never erasable.    

A suggestion is made to read अर्थवाद (प्राशस्त्यपरम्) into what is said viz., “….one of the last real Brahmanas left on earth”…I defer it to learned scholars in the group to throw light on what is said qualifies for अर्थवाद or not.  

 

Responses, rebuttals, and/or criticisms I am sure are on the way, and it is in order in a scholastic debate, but let me make it clear, I have said what I had to say going by what was stated earlier on and in the light of what I have quoted above there is nothing ‘dead nor is there the last one left’; footprints on the sands of time will go on and on and on.

 

Thank you for your patience and understanding.


Best regards,
Raghavendra,
===========
 
From: venkat veeraraghavan <vvenk...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sat, 10 Jul 2021 10:55:19
To: ­¯¿ª¿· <bvpar...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} Interview of Brahmasri.Mani Dravida Shahstrigal on his traditional learning in Sanskrit
 
Dear Sri Raghavendra
 
You have already misunderstood a statement i made....so before i respond pls clarify the following-
 
"What if one were to ask,
 
He is truly one of a kind and Is he one of the last real brahmanas left on real or false earth?"
 
What are you trying to say here? Are you poking fun at MD's advaita siddhanta position or is there something more superficial?
I find this paragraph hard to parse and may require your tika for the same.
 
Regards
 
Venkat 

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.

venkat veeraraghavan

unread,
Jul 12, 2021, 1:04:20 PM7/12/21
to भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्
Dear Sri Raghavendra,

Instead of indulging in strawman shadow boxing, contact English Literature Grads/postgrads and PhDs. Ask if your inference from my simple statement is justified.

You have serious issues with reading comprehension in English.

I am not going to respond to your verbal diarhoea. And I am not here to tutor unwilling people on the finer aspects of English.

Good day SIr,

V

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/1626006495.S.81741.autosave.drafts.1626009701.5435%40webmail.rediffmail.com.

Raghavendra

unread,
Jul 13, 2021, 12:29:58 AM7/13/21
to bvpar...@googlegroups.com
Greetings,

Members of the group have noticed your  language bordering on abuse. 

I reiterate, caught in a whirlpool, you are trying your best get personal, it is reflected in each and every phrase you have used in your responses. 

I never did shadow boxing. I have expressed my mind quite candidly. 

Even in the face of provocation from your end, I have maintained decorum in debate and remained objective. 

Personality glorification attempted on this group is unacceptable. 

Let's be conscious of the fact that there are ऋषि-तुल्य personalities around us and on this very group, that's my humble request. 

Thank you and Best regards,
Sent from RediffmailNG on Android
======≠=====================

Greetings of the day,
 

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/f0d5db10-3204-4b03...@googlegroups.com.
 

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/CAOWN-CaYwEFKx5Q3E-0dg9rB...@mail.gmail.com.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/1c16d030-ee30-4105...@googlegroups.com.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bvparishat+...@googlegroups.com.

Nagaraj Paturi

unread,
Jul 13, 2021, 12:56:24 AM7/13/21
to Bharatiya Vidvat parishad
Moderstator's note : This Thread is Closed 

The thread is being closed. 

Members are  requested not to respond to this thread. 



To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bvparishat/1626113628.S.39842.autosave.drafts.1626117099.26957%40webmail.rediffmail.com.


--
Nagaraj Paturi
 
Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.


Director, Indic Academy
BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
BoS Kavikulaguru Kalidasa Sanskrit University, Ramtek, Maharashtra
BoS Veda Vijnana Gurukula, Bengaluru.
Member, Advisory Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam, Bengaluru
BoS Rashtram School of Public Leadership
Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Studies in Public Leadership
Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies, 
FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education, 
Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
 
 
 
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
This conversation is locked
You cannot reply and perform actions on locked conversations.
0 new messages