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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00027 Mar 2001

 
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Well said, Swamin. I & I am pretty sure a lot more will second your
suggestion(s). I can't imagine why a lot of our folks give 'undue'
importance to how the rest of the world looks at our ideologies and beliefs.
I think you've given a well articulated 'punch' to the discussion group via
this e-mail.

Dasoham,
Vijayaraghavan.

----- Original Message -----
From: <Ramanbil@xxxx>
To: <SriRangaSri@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2001 6:40 PM
Subject: [SriRangaSri] Idol and Icon


> Dear Bhagavatas:
> In message # 107 dated 27th February 2001, I had announced that I
> would be away for about a fortnight at Indianapolis, where I did not
> have Internet facility, that I would not be able to post anything
> till 9th March 2001 and that regular postings would resume only from
> 10th March 2001. Some of the correspondents seem to have overlooked
> this message.
>
> I had also made it clear that while I might be able to peruse mails,
> I could reply only after getting back to Atlanta. However, with a
> moment of brief help of someone's laptop computer, I managed to post
> the concluding portions of "Greatness of Bhagavad RamAnuja Darsanam"
> which had already appeared in other internet sites.
>
> In the meanwhile, our site has been flooded with messages on the
> subject of the appropriateness of the term "Idol" to describe
> the "ArchA Vigraha" of the Lord. Having allowed the first few
> postings, I would have been accused of being discriminatory, if I had
> disallowed the rest, though some of them were off the mark and
> tangential. Reluctantly, I had to approve them.
>
> I wish to remind that the objective of the group has been set forth
> clearly in the Preamble:
> "This is a group for studying the Visishtadvaita philosophy and
> practices as laid down by AzhwArs and AchAryas. Articles and
> discussions are welcome subject to the general norms of tolerance and
> mutual respect within and without the realms of the above philosophy
> and practices".
>
> One of the reasons for requesting feedback to be addressed
> to "Sri_ranga_Sri@xxxx" and not to the "Yahoogroup address" is
> to avoid tangential postings and give some leeway for the Editor to
> censor such materials.
>
> This is because "Sri Ranga Sri" is mainly a Journal and NOT a general
> discussion group as rightly pointed out by Sri Malolan Cadambi, Sri
> Anand Karalapakkam and Sri M.K.Sudarshan. My heartfelt thanks to
> these Bhagavatas for clarifying the focus of "Sri Ranga Sri"
>
> I may add that "Sri Ranga Sri" is meant primarily for educating our
> Srivaishnavas who may have lost their moorings from our Sampradayam
> due to extraneous circumstances by living for long, and far away from
> the mainstream as also the 2nd and subsequent generations who have
> had no opportunity to be initiated into our Satsampradayam.
>
> Others interested in learning are also welcome provided they approach
> in the spirit of honest yearning as conveyed in the Gita SlOkam "Tad
> viddhi prathipAdEna pariprasnEna sEvayA", not in an attempt to nit-
> pick, based on the idiosyncrasies of traditions outside (VedabAhyas)
> the pale of our ParamaVaideeka matham of SrivaishNavam
>
> Each language has peculiar idioms. Translation into another language
> can never bring out the exact import of the original. The noblest
> translation as someone said can only be "from gold to lead", "from
> the sublime to the ridiculous" or "from Idiomatic to idiotic"
>
> The best way to arrive at meanings is to refer to some standard
> dictionaries. There is nothing derogatory about the word "idol" as
> seen from the meaning for the word "Vigraha" given in different
> standard dictionaries like - Roget's Thesaurus, Monier William's
> dictionaries (both Sanskrit to English and English to Sanskrit), The
> dictionary published by the Sanskrit Education Society, Madras, The
> Great Lifco Dictionary (both English to Tamil and Tamil to English).
>
> Also, the word "Idol" has been adopted by great Scholars proficient
> in both Sanskrit and English (e.g.) Sri C.R. SrinivAsa Iyengar Swami
> who has translated Srimad VAlmiki RAmAyaNam in English and Tamil,
> Prof. A. SrinivAsarAghavan Swami who has translated almost all works
> of Swami Desika, Sri M.R. RAjagOpAla Iyengar Swami who has
> translated faithfully Srimad Rahasya Traya Saram in English and many
> more.
>
> We need not be carried away by what some Westerners or their
> scriptures say or dictate what we should think or say. We are not
> interested in proselytization or conversion to our faith. If "Idol"
> is wrong, so is "Icon" because we come across "iconoclast". Buddha
> who started as an "Iconoclast" ended up as being an "Icon" himself
> and as we see his icons (idols?) being destroyed by Taliban fanatics.
>
> If one needs to know how "Islam" views those whom they
> call "Infidels" (including us), you will be startled by the
> revelations in the site- http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate/
>
> We need not bend ourselves backwards to oblige their views. We need
> not chip off our head to suit the cap while it should really be the
> other way about. This is like the fad with some of our NRIs
> mutilating their beautiful given names to suit the disability of the
> aliens in pronouncing them! When they can pronounce such long winding
> names as "Stephanapoulus" etc, what difficulty can they have in
> pronouncing our names and why should we oblige them by mutilating our
> beautiful and meaningful names?
>
> The learned Professor has pointed out our adopting the Western
> Calander, observing Christmas or cutting cakes on our birtdays etc.
> I would like to point out that there are two different and mutually
> exclusive concerns in society viz., "Social" and "Religious".
> These are at best merely Social events.
>
> But, when we do our sankalpam in our religious obligations, we do it
> citing Thithi, vAra, nakshatra, yoga and karaNa etc. of our
> PanchAngam and not some western almanac.
>
> I still feel that the word "Idol" is not taboo, so far as we
> Srivaishnavas are concerned. Those who are comfortable with "Icon"
> may use the term and those who feel comfortable with "Idol" may
> continue with the same.
>
> Anyway, I would request that the discussion on this subject may be
> terminated and let us move on to study our glorious Satsampradayam as
> indicated in the "Statement of objective of Sri Ranga Sri" mentioned
> in the preamble.
> Dasoham
> Anbil Ramaswamy
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
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>
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>





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