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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00128 Feb 2003

 
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Respected Sir,
I agree with the points you raised. When we say a Brahmin, being a part
time Brahmin is not good. When a Brahmin moves away from his profession
because his faith is weakened on Vedas, then we have a serious problem
and its manifestation is very much obvious nowadays....

But my view point is that Srivaishnava and Brahmin are not exactly the
same. Most of the Azhvars are non-brahmins but they are sri vaishnavas.
There are lots of Brahmins who do not subscribe to the Vaishnava
philosophy. Lots of kings were srivaishnavas (Pandavas from
Mahabharatham are good eg, same with Kulasekara Azhvar etc). In these
cases, I feel what Kanch Acharya said is not applicable. His Holiness
spoke of people who took Brahmin profession and who did not do justice
to the same. In this case for people outside Brahmin fold, is giving up
material pursuits and seek exclusively knowledge the right thing to do?

I am not sure. Karma Yoga is as important as other yogas... I am an
engineer, I love my field. I have deep faith in Sriman Narayana. I
enjoy listening to Tamil Prabhandhams and feel humbled by the fact only
endless devotion can produce such profound and interesting verses and
this only increases my faith... 

But am I a Brahmin? I come from a very traditional Brahmin family with
Ahobil Mutt Acharya as our Acharya and my home village of Thuvariman is
a devout Vaishanva village. But me learning or the desire to learn
Tamil Prabhandhams is not because of my family background but rather
the fact that faith is the key, Deep meanings in Prabhandhams and the
rich poetry in those songs could have occured only when Azhars felt the
presence of The Lord, and deep down I feel that I can never deny the
presence of Para Brahmam and unless I put utmost faith, I will never
find peace.... 

But should I renounce my job, go back to my agraharam and focus on
acquiring knowledge? I think that is not the right thing to do because
I chose engineering as my profession and it is my duty to shine on this
profession as enshrined in Karma Yoga. 

If I chose to go back to my Brahmin background, I agree I must remain
committed to that full time, renounce material pursuits .... I must
follow my Acharya and try to follow the exact tradition without any
deviation. 

My point is how do we draw to our fold other people who are not from
brahmin family but who have deep faith in the Lord? Because Vaishnava
fold is different from Brahmin fold and reaching out to people who are
not from Brahmin background but who believe in Sri Narayanan will make
sure that knowledge gained in vedas remain available to future
generations for ever.... 

I am willing to accept any criticisms to my view and if I am wrong, I
am willing to change myself, I am just a 27 year old guy trying to
understand things and i believe things are not as straightforward as I
say. Again, please accept my apologies in case I said something
offensive....

Dasan,
Mugundhan

--- "M.K.Sudarshan" <sampathkumar_2000@xxxx> wrote:
> 
> --- Mugundhan Varadanarayanan <mugundv@xxxx> wrote:
> 
> > My point is we in our professions must follow whatever is the
> > duties of> the profession and it is as much as virtue as following
> our job> duties> as much as we follow the Vedic rituals, 
> 
> ************************
> 
> Dear Sir,
> 
> You make a good point but I think you can find the answer to your
> question in the Kanchi AchArya's own quote (probably you might have
> missed it while reading the quote y/day for the first time):
> 
> QUOTE:
> > > ?The brahmin, if he is true to his dharma, HAS to spend all his
> > time> > in learning and chanting the vedas, in performing
> sacrifices, in> > preserving the sAstrA etc. What will he do for a
> living? If he
> > goes> > in search of money or material he WILL NOT BE ABLE TO
> ATTEND TO> HIS
> > > LIFETIME MISSION?. and this mission IS NOT ACCOMPLISHED ON A
> > > PART-TIME BASIS. And if he takes up some other work for his
> > > livelihood, he is likely to become lax in the pursuit of his
> > dharma.
> > > It would be like taking medicine without the necessary diet
> > regimen:> > the benign power gained by the brahmin from his vedic
> learning> will be reduced and there will be a corresponding
> dimunition in the good accruing to mankind from his work.?
> UNQUOTE
> 
> 
> Sir, I think the key words in the Kanchi achArya's quote is "good
> accruing to mankind from his (the brahmin's) work".
> 
> In Indian society the work of brahmins dedicated solely to Vedic
> pursuits used to be greatly valued by members of other
> classes/communities. The work done by "full-time", dedicated
> Vedaviths was seen to be important (though not always well
> compensated, but that's a different matter altogether) since it
> contributed greatly to the spiritual upliftment and well-being of
> society as a whole. It is only when brahmins started taking a casual,
> "part-time" approach to their Vedic life-mission that they rapidly
> lost their credibility and respect in the eyes of the rest of
> society. Nobody takes a "part-time" carpenter or plumber seriously.
> So why would they take a "part-time" Vedavith seriously?
> 
> Please allow me to paraphrase for you the 'key' point that the Kanchi
> achArya was making so that you can reflect upon it more deeply: 
> 
> Society's conviction that there is enduring value in Vedic and
> spiritual pursuit has to be at all times firm. If that conviction is
> weakened, and nobody believes any longer there is any worth in such
> activity, then the Vedic ethos and legacy will simply wither away to
> the lasting detriment of Indian society. Now, who but brahmins
> themselves -- and I mean credible "full-time brahmins" here -- who
> can alone affirm society's conviction in the Vedas? 
> 
> Please give this important matter some genuine thought (and not just
> for sake of academic discussion on cyber-groups) and revert with
> comments, if any. I appeal to bright young people like you to take
> this matter seriously and do something about it in their lifetimes
> for the sake of the Vedas. If this thread of discussion is not
> welcome on this list you and others interested are welcome to
> continue it on Tiruvengadam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 
> Regards,
> 
> dAsan,
> Sudarshan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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