Dear Bhagavatas, DESIGNER TEMPLES It is a recognized as an inalienable dictum that Mumukshus (those desirous of mOksham) should not engage in Anya Devata worship. It is also a recognized and indisputable fact of life that in the USA (with the solitary exception of the Sri Ranganatha Temple at Pomona) a mixed bag of deities have been installed in the various temples. In India also, too much of this mixing up has come up and keeps coming up - a mix up of Sannidhis for Bhagavaan and Anya Devatas. In fact, this trend has come to stay with newer additions in the recent past (including Sannidhis for Ayyappa and other Devatas). In Buffalo, one can see Sannidhis for Buddha and Jaina, both of whom were naastikas who repudiated the Vedas! Once, I have seen even Jesus Christ being displayed in the Hare Krishna temple at Wheeling!. All these may be due to societal compulsions. THE PROBLEM The problem, however, is nothing new. Even among Divya Desams such mixing up is seen. For example, in Thiruchitrkootam (sung by many Azhwars like Periya Azhwar, Kulasekara Azhwar and Thirumangai Azhwar), Sannidhis of Govindaraja and Nataraja are seen side by side from the very beginning. (Let us not delude ourselves by the claim by some overzealous Srivaishnavas that Nataraja came to be superimposed by some Shaivite Sthala Puranam subsequently!) Similarly, in Kanchipuram, the Sannidhi of Nilaa Thingal Thunda Perumal otherwise known as Chandrachooda Perumal (sung by Thirumangai Azhwar) is enshrined within the Sannidhi of Ekambareswarar. THE SOLUTION The solution can be gleaned from what these Azhwars did under similar circumstances. They seem to have been obviously oblivious of this factual mix up. Like Arjuna who saw only the bird perched on the branch of the tree and not either the branch or the tree, these Azhwars had their concentration riveted on Bhagavaan and nothing else. They saw Bhagavaan and sang His praise; they were practically blind and deaf-mute about who stood at the various other Sannidhis and what obtained in their surroundings. AGAMAS: I raised this question during the Agama conference held in Madras University as to which Aagama sanctioned such mixing up of temples. I was told by the Aagama experts there that there was absolutely no sanction in any Aagama for this practice. But, other devatas can be installed as Parivara devatas around the Pradakshina praakaarams and elsewhere. That is why we find images of these deavatas in VishNu temples, like Ganesa at the entrance of Tiruvallikkeni Parthasarathi temple. I do not know if the converse practice is in vogue wherein VishNu is installed as a Parivara devata in the temples dedicated to other devatas and if so under what scriptural basis. WHAT WE CAN DO? The mixed temples have become the "fait accompli" and perhaps, we can do nothing about it. All that we can do as "Paramikantins" is to ignore these other Sannidhis and offer our worship to ONLY Bhagavaan and Bhagavaan ONLY. By "ignore" I do not mean "showing disrespect". - As all beings are the Sareeram of Bhagavaan, as much as we ourselves are, we cannot disrespect any of them. Will you keep quite if somebody hurts your body? - As all beings are the children of Bhagavaan, as much as we ourselves are, we cannot disrespect any of them. Will you tolerate anyone who abuses your children? - As some of them may be VishNu bhaktas, we should not indulge in Bhaagavata apachaaram which is considered to be more heinous than Bhagavad apachaaram. In fact, there can be no greater VisNubhakta than Lord Siva (when he is dominated by Sattva guNa) A prapanna while offering obeisance to Bhagavaan will not take cognizance of other Devatas any more than of a mannequin in a departmental store, before which no one would stand and pray for "Moksha". Since Bhagavaan can grant all the other wishes also as a bonus (anushangikam), Paramaikantins have NO NEED to pray to other devtas. So, if you are a "Paramaikanti", go straight to the PerumaaL Sannidhi, offer prayers and come away. You need not feel guilty for not visiting devatantara sannidhis. This is the way our Azhwars have shown us and let us follow their example. IT IS IN THE BEHOLDER'S EYE! Ultimately, it is in the beholder's eye that these Vaishamyams seem to loom large or fade into nothingness, as the case may be. This vanishing trick was remarkably pronounced in the case of the Azhwars. And, we have to draw a lesson from this. Let us develop the right attitude and enjoy the worship of our Lord wherever He is enshrined. Dasoham Anbil Ramaswamy ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? 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