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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00124 Apr 2006

 
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--- In ramanuja@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Jayasree Saranathan"
<jayasree.saranathan@...> wrote:

SRIMATHE RAMANUJAYA NAMAHA.

Dear Sri Soundarrajan,

> SrI:
>
> Smt. Saranathan,
>        Adding to your query, I would like to see if there are any
sastric conditions that Silk MUST be used to adorn the Lord, or should
be worn by all of us in funcitons/rituals.
>
>   dasan,
>   Kidambi Soundararajan.
-------------------------------------------------
Shastras say about using 'noothana vasthu' for Perumal, but nowhere it
has been said that 'rEshme' vasthram (silk vasthram) is a noothana
vasthram or to be used for adorning Perumal.

We can see in a number of slokas too, pIthambharam as the vasthram of
Perumal. It means it is a vasthram of "peetha sahitham", with yellow
in colour. The yellow dye is made from turmeric powder which will
stick to cotton vasthram effectively and not to silk vasthram.

Again the yellow is symbolic of Lakshmi (pl read my mail in
Tiruvankatam group sent long ago on why Sita desired the golden deer).

Gold is also yellow in colour and is again symbolic Lakshmi (refer Sri
sookhtham)
The sapeetha vasthram is therefore defined as golden vasthram, because
it is samyatha peetham. It is yellow in colour, and the yellow is of
the gold.

By adorning the Lord in peetha vasthram and sapeetha vasthram, we are
seeing Him with the inseparable Lakshmi!

No such rationale can be drawn for silk, except that it is costly, 
something not suitable to our climate and culture, but of something
which is made out of himsa.

There are no two opinions about where Himsa is allowed by shastras.
Chandoghya is the pramana.

Shastras also say, "vaidee himsa, na himsa" If the Himsa is done for
vaideeka (vedic) purpose, it is not himsa.
That silk is meant for vaideeka purpose is not to be found in
scriptures. The only type of himsa found is animal sacrifice, which is
invalid in kali yuga. Pramana exits for this too.

Again it is said " dhukkaadika sukha janakathwam". If from some
Dhukkam, arises sukham for the people, then that act is allowed.

"Dhukkaadika Dhukkam janakathwam" If from some dhukkam, arises dhukkam
only for the people, such an act should not be followed. This is what
I heard from Sri Chakravarthy Ramachandran, teaching Purva mimamsa at
the Mysore Veda paata shaala.

Since scriptures do not talk about silk and himsa in making silk, I
leave it to individual's conscience to decide whether it gives sukham
or dhukkam while wearing silk. If it gives sukham, let them wear it.
But will it give sukham to Perumal is a question we have to ask
ourselves.

But I am also of the opinion our wishes and paradigms should not be
extended to perumal. For instance we have the  habit of doing what we
wish and imposing on perumal moorthys, like wishing to have sandana
kaapu for perumal whose moorthy is made of wood! This was done in one
of the divya desas for many years leading to decline of the community
around. Such practices will mar the sanctity, leading to the untold
misery to the place and people. The temple protects the community
around, as in the saying "koil illa vooril kudiyirukka vEndaam". 
Sandana kaapu or thirunmanjanam are meant for shilas made of stones
only.

Another issue is mindless barricading of the premises in the temple,
particularly in the most important region between bali peetam and
moolavar sanndhi. Crossing of the circuit in between these two is not
correct.

 When I and my daughter tried to bring  issues such as these to
discussion a few years ago, we were effectively shut. If we don't know
the basics, we will be committing more blunders un-knowingly, is my
contention. Such discussions did not take place in the past, in the
distant past, because people then had known the rules and shastras and
meticulously followed them. Now the knowledge is declining.

One such area where we go against the established practices is in
vasthram. When we repeatedly sing about peetha ambharam and speetha 
vasthram in the slokams, let us see him in such vasthrams.


As quoted in one of the previous mails, Dr Devaki considers the use of
'kausheya vaasam' in Ramayana times to be seen along with other
aspects which are serious issues in today's condition, like
non-vegetarianism. That it had existed in those days, is no
justification for following them, particularly for those going in
moksha maarga.

 I wonder whether the silk that was used in those days was 'naar
pattu' drawn from banana tree. Please read the mail below sent to me
by my friend and guide, Sri Mandayam Kumar Krishnawamy on naar pattu.

"Srutis and Puranas have come down to us after passing through many
generations with additions and alterations by many thinkers. When the
late Srinivasa Iyengar gave his erudite lectures on the Ramayana, he
was himself apprehensive of adverse comments from the conservatives
because of his critical appraisals. Rajaji boldly questioned some
incidents in Ramayana and attributed them to interpolations - such as
Sita's agni-pariksha and her banishment to the forest when she was
pregnant. We need many scholars to conduct research studies in many
areas of our social life through the centuries and
publish their findings in some prestigious journals which should be
established. Your thinking on the subject of silk, koora-p-podavai and
on other customs etc., in some of your earlier writings are  some
examples for conducting such studies. We need greater funding and
encouragement for these activities.. We need also to shift emphasis
from purely Brahmanical traditions to others..

About silk, I remember that my father used to wear only naar-pattu
during puja; it was made of fibre from the banana plant, dyed a light
brown to look like raw-silk. Some ladies (widows) also used to wear
saris made of this fibre. I do not see this any more in shops
now-a-days. But ladies (my mother) used to wear only Dharmavaram
silk-saris and never a cotton sari!

Intelligent studies generally prefer to opt for engineering, medicine,
finance/accounting and MBA/IT fields since these are the most
rewarding ones in terms of earning-potential. I am sure that in about
10-20 years when India becomes a truly affluent country, many such
students will consider careers in art/history/social studies. Viewed
in this back-ground, I welcome study groups like the
Mahabharata-Study-Group in Yahoo.

Krishnaswamy"


(end quote)

I request fellow bhagavathas to pardon me for any
adhika-prasangi-th-thanam on my part.

With humble pranams to everyone,

Jayasree saranathan.

--- End forwarded message ---






 
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