Dear members, praNAmams
Thank you for the clarification, Sri Rajagopal Kannan swAmin,
as to what the definition of archakar is and what the distinction
between the different roles are. What I was referring to is that
there were clearly adult males *without* yagnyopaveetam serving
close to Thaayaar, offering manjakkaappu to the devotees, and if I
mistakenly called these people 'archakars' then I am sorry for the
mistake. Part of this arises from the confusion with my using the
English word 'priest' to describe a number of different distinct
temple roles.
The reaction I was a little saddened by is the assumption that
other castes are not pure enough to serve close to the deities as
per Varnashramam. These people, whether they are called 'kainkarya
parALs' or 'archakars' or whatever, were close to Thaayaar's
vigraham and distributing the prasaadam, that is the main thing that
I meant to convey. I thank yourself and Sri K.P. Sarathy swAmin for
clarifying what their roles are. But I would have thought that in
traditional varNaashramam, non-dvijas would not be allowed so close
to the idol because they would be deemed impure? Please clarify.
Dear Sri Mukundan Pattangi swAmin, I am guessing that the
specific "mis-quote" of Bhagavad Ramanuja that pained you was mine,
in which case I am very sorry if that caused you pain, but I would
like you to clarify what was incorrect with my quoting of Ramanuja
Gita Bhashya 18:47. "Doing one's duty...", as per the commentary
there, does not seem to mention anything about the jobs for
different varnas or jatis, it seems to talk only about Jnaana Yoga
and Karma Yoga, as per my reading. If my quoting of that passage
has caused you hurt then I am truly sorry, as it is not my wish to
hurt anyone's feelings.
I completely understand the concern that those hereditary
archakar families who are being displaced in the current climate are
facing tremendous problems and facing losing a livelihood. I think
even those of us who have supported the possibility of non-Brahmins
becoming priests would not doubt that this is a terrible situation
for those poor Brahmin families - no-one with any humanity would
wish the loss of livelihood on anyone, brahmin or otherwise. My own
great grandfather on my mother's side served as the archakar in a
temple in Tippur, Karnataka and my grandfather himself was also
trained in this role before becoming an architect. So I have no
desire to be "politically correct" when people's livelihoods are at
stake, and I am sure those who are favourable to the possibility of
non-brahmins becoming priests also would not wish such misfortune on
those poor brahmin families. I think your charge that we are
falling prey to the arguments of "non-believers" is a little harsh,
though. We are merely expressing a legitimate doubt of ours.
I would like to illustrate the flip side of the coin with a
family anecdote. My father's family hail from one of the Divya
Desams (which will remain unnamed for now) and knew many of those
involved in temple affairs (whether they were archakars or doing
veda parayanam I don't know; suffice it to say they were brahmins in
close proximity to the Deity on a daily basis). My father's family
were close enough to them to know that some of them were regularly
drinking ***alcohol, consuming forbidden foods and having all sorts
of extra-marital relations***. Now *please* before anyone jumps on
this I am not suggesting *for one moment* that this is the state of
all brahmins in all temples, which would be a gross bhAgavata
apAchAram. I am just telling you the facts in one particular case
that I know of. Here is one instance where heredity has not worked
at preserving the high standards of sampradaayam and shaastram.
I am no expert on dharmashaastra or aagama to know what
the "dos-and-donts" are with regard to which jaatis can serve in
temples. But when so many "don'ts" are already being commited,
especially by those who we look up to, I think it is legitimate to
ask the question "are we losing focus"? I have no qualification to
say "we must have non-Brahmin archakas in temples" but when faced
with the possibility of a sincere, devoted non-Brahmin who is
willing himself to put in the hours of training, learning and live
according to the high standards required, we should at least be
allowed to ask the question, "why not?". I would suggest that
accusing us of falling for media propaganda if we ask such questions
is a little extreme perhaps, and does suggest that we can't think
for ourselves.
Lastly as I said, it is my hope that we express compassion
first and foremost in all our opinions, whichever side we fall on.
Let us wish the brahmin archakar community well, let us also wish
well to those of other communities who want to offer sincere service
in the temple, let us also cultivate a humble attitude of devotion
within ourselves and our families - perhaps this is really the key
to how we will preserve our tradition, rather than wasting our
energy getting upset at the government, the Empire and any other
past rulers.
sarvAparAdhAn kShamasva
namO nArAyaNAya
Ranjan
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