----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2004 3:49
PM
Subject: Re: [Oppiliappan] Console me if
possible (& apologise me if it hurtsyou !!)
SrI:
Dear SrI Balaji Sundararajan :
Your moving mail touched me.
There is nothing to apologize or consloe
.
What you saw at the temple is the
LingOthbhavar sculpture ,
which is usually present in Siva Temples
in
the West wall of Garbhagraham . This relates
to
an incident described in Siva PurANam and
repeately
celebrated in the ThevAram verses of
NaayanmArs , who
worshipped Siva as their Supreme Lord . It is
their tradition .
Overseas Sri Lankans , whose community
spirit is strong , have
built a lot of temples to suit their
cultural spiritual needs .Their special
Gods are Lord Siva , who is the leader among
VishNu BhakthAs
and who has performed Prapatthi (Self-Surrender )
to SrIman
NaarAyaNan ( Sri Mantra Raaja Padha SthOthram)
and KumAra
Swamy ( Skandhan/Murughan) . They come from the
Kadir Kaamam Temple
tradition ( Murugan Temple tradition ) , where
they worship Murughan as JyOthi .
This is their tradition . Please remember that
they came from the villages of
Tamil Nadu few hundred years ago during the
height of exploitative British
Colonial rule , when the British ruling class
lured them to the island
on false promises to work in Tea Gardens and
denied them the return
to their nome land . The conflict between the
Tamil culture in a land
known for Buddhist culture ( From Emperor AsOkAs'
time) and
its reverberations are still going on in Sri Lanka .
The expatriate Tamilian Srilankans are known for
their exquisite Tamil
and Saiva
and KoumAra aagamams that guide their temple worship
procedures . For VaishNavAs , Dhivya
Prabhandhams are the Tamil Vedams
and the two VaishNavite Aagamaas ( PaancharAthram
and VikhAnasam)
are their anchors . Each one is entitled to
their way of worship based on
the PurushArTams that they seek . All
aasthikAs share the eternal VedAs and
Upanishads although their intrepretations
are different . We as VaishNavAs
follow Bhagavath RaamAnujA's darsanam ancjored in
Ubhaya VedAntham .
For VaishNavAs in general and for those who have
performed SaraNAgathy
at the feet of a SadAchAryan ( Prapannan ) in
particular , the Supermacy of SrIman
NaarAyaNan as the one and only Para Devathai to
grant Moksham is
a core siddhAntham . Parathvam of SrIman
NaarAyaNan and freedom
from BhAgavatha apachAram are central to have
their Prapatthi
fulfilled . There are many things in the world
that we can not
waste our time in straightening out . As
PrapannAs , who have
chosen Sriman NaarAyaNan as Moksha Daayaka
Mukundan ,
anya devathA worship is forbidden . One follows
the dharmam of
Pathivrathai and follows an undeviating
course of MahA Viswaasam
in SrIMan NaarAyaNan to gain MOksha Siddhi. If
one is NOT interested
in MOksham in this janmam itself as the final
release from all our Paapams
and PuNyams , then one follows other
routes . Bhagavath GithA slOkam that
you quoted is very appropriate in this
context . The Charama slOkams
of the Lord during Raama , KrishNa and VarAha
avathArams are the guiding
beacons to
find our way in the engulfing SamsAric darkness to
Lord's
Supreme abode and to serve the dhivya dampathis
there and enjoy
ParipoorNa BrhmAnandham . This is Parama
PurushArTam .
That is all there is to it for VaishNavAs ! We
have to lead a life of
utter respect for others without compromising an
iota from
the core principles that our AchAryAs have
blessed us with .
There is no time left in this short life of ours
to get distracted
by distractions of any kind away from the central
path shown by
our far seeing AchAryAs , who have strived for
our spiritual
well being . Following the path prepared by
our SadAchAryans
and serving them to our utmost is the one
and only way for
our liberation from the SamsAric sufferings
!
NaarAyaNa , NaarAyaNa , NaarAyaNa
!
Oppiliappan KOil Varadachari Sadagopan