Contributory

Calming a Barking Dog

Ensures1 Comment

Translated from a Kannada Post that I received

It was not so warm day and the Sultan decided to take a boat ride with his subjects. He took his  ferocious and ugly looking pet dog, Tippu along with him and reach the banks of the river.

There were many others on the boat, including a philosopher.

Since it was the first time for Tippu on a boat, it began to behave strangely and started running helter skelter on the boat.

This unsettled other passengers and induced fear in them too. The boatsman was getting worried too. If too many passengers out of fear start moving away from their places to avoid the dog, the balance would be lost there was a chance that it would capsize.

However, since it was Sultan’s dog, no one dared to speak aloud. Even Sultan was getting fed up and furious with Tippu’s behaviour. The calm philosopher was watching all these from a distance and walks up to the Sultan and says, “Jahanpanah! if you wish and order me to do so, I have a way to calm down Tippu, make him sit in a corner with his tail tucked between his legs” Sultan immediately agrees to this.

The philosopher then calls a couple of able bodied men and with their help lifts Tippu and throw him into the water. Everyone including the Sultan was shocked. Tippu kept swim and makes valiant but futile efforts to get back on to the boat. After a while, the philosopher with the help of people pulls Tippu back on board.

Tippu realised the dangers of water and ability of that to even kill him. More importantly it also realised that it needs the protection of the boat to stay safe. He retreats to a corner and sits down tucking his tail. Everybody’s journey thereafter becomes comfortable and peaceful too.

Sultan who was surprised at everything that happened asks the Philosopher, “What was the secret? How did Tippu, a dog transform itself from a rattled, uneasy and restless to a calm and composed being”

The philosopher replies, “Those who never experience the difficulties or pain themselves will never appreciate the pain of others. They also don’t realise the value of comfort zone it was in, until it faces the dangers. Experiencing it first hand make them realise the heaven they were in that they were complaining about”

Those who keep cribbing about Intolerance, or those who claim to be living in mortal fear, such Tippus should be dropped in Syria or Iraq for a while. It is only then that value of the protected and comfortable life that India with absolute freedom affords that no other place in the world can provide, would be appreciated.

Dedicated to those Obnoxious and vile “Two legged” Tippus, who enjoy everything  but keep cribbing about, and work against India.

#SaveSabarimalaTradition-Potency of Protest

Ensures1 Comment
Reproduced from https://www.facebook.com/notes/wisdom/entry-of-all-women-into-sabarimala-temple/541142036358479/ Verbatim with permission from the author

ENTRY OF ALL WOMEN INTO SABARIMALA TEMPLE
An all out struggle which has the potency to develop into a no holds barred fight (JO MARJEE LADAAYEE) between the faithful community clinging to spiritual and traditional values and the rationalists bent upon breaking all existing norms has sprung now, from the month of October, 2018, in the entire state of Kerala, particularly in the approaches of Sabarimala hill area leading to the divine temple of LORD AYYAPPA. This struggle carries with it, the in-built potency to even obliterate the present constitution of India which was framed by a team, consisting of a majority of rationalists, presided over by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. We wish to enlighten the people of India in this matter, which is of transcendental nature. By going through this essay the readers would be able to develop an objective assessment without any sort of prejudice and finally arrive at a proper conclusion. Further, this would help Indian ethos to spiritually, socially and politically evolve towards the age old concept of RAMARAJYAM, the most ideal system of the rule of law. The people of India can ponder over this matter and feel highly rewarded.
Evolution of human intellect has two distinctive paths to progress. One is the Path of Faith and the other is the Path of Reason. The Path of Reason can take an individual to the border lines of reasoning capability in him or in her and not a millimetre beyond that. But life, in general, progresses very much beyond this border lines and finally, evolving further, extends into infinity. This becomes possible by following the Path of Faith alone.
There are innumerable riddles in front of the world of sensory perception, for most of which the Path of Reason has no satisfactory answers. At the same time, the Path of Faith has convincing answers for these riddles which are based on total faith in the Vedas of the Hindus. In fact, the Vedas (vast collections of knowledge) have come into being to enlighten humanity in all transcendental matters. The Smrutis (codes of conduct applicable to each and every individual belonging to various sections of society during different occasions) instituted by the near omniscient Seers (सर्वज्ञकल्पाः) like Manu, Yaagnyavalkya, and others which were put to practical application as Sutras by Bodhayana, Aapastamba and others are the codified essence of the Vedas and they become the extensions of the Vedas in guiding humanity. As time evolves steadily, application and modality ordained in each Smruti undergo a modification, a change in a small or great measure, to suit the requirement of the particular time and occasion, keeping the spirit behind the ordainment alone constant for all times. Cold water bath which is most welcome during summer would turn to be totally unwelcome during winter. This analogy is presented here to grasp the logic involved in this matter. This is the cause for the seeming difference in the ordainment in each Smruti. The ultimate aim of each Smruti is verily to keep India’s Sanatana Dharma, the eternal way of living, ever green and lively. As such, here lies the absolute necessity of FAITH in all spiritual matters. If one possesses a Saatvic (purified) intellect and maintains a positive approach everywhere, the injunctions would look to be wise and sane. The same injunctions would look to be insane, unjust and hostilely discriminative when interpreted with a Taamasic (mired) intellect coupled with a negative approach, towards everything, at the same time.
Faith alone takes humanity to the imperceptible and unknown realm of infinity. There is no room for Reason here. Total faith is nothing other than blind faith. By reasoning, no one can take his or her thinking process beyond the limits of the perceptible present which is the sensory realm. Mankind doesn’t know what or who one was before being born in this world and also what or who one would be after leaving this world of sensory perception. As such, if the rationalists stress that they would be convinced of anything through the faculty of perceptible reason alone, they won’t be able to evolve beyond a certain limit. The perceptible realm is always very limited and often misguiding and the imperceptible realm is static, infinite and eternal.
If we ponder over this matter repeatedly we can realise that one’s basic identity itself is existing in total faith and not in reason at all. No sensible person would go to a genetic test centre to get convinced of one’s real parentage, i.e. of which male’s blood he or she actually is. Faith in the mother’s statement alone provides here the necessary satisfaction for every individual. As such, it is evident that mankind is evolving through the Path of Faith alone and not through the Path of Reason, from day one of life.
Physics declares that there is no effect without its appropriate cause. Life on Earth is the effect of an appropriate cause that was generated in the past. Similarly the present life will have its appropriate effect in the future also. One can only infer how an individual would have lived during one’s previous existence from its present perceptible effect which is reflecting as incidents (both welcome and bitter) in one’s present life. Similarly, the present life would become the cause for future existences. As such, it becomes totally foolish for anyone to say that “I would believe and accept the perceptible present existence alone and nothing beyond than that”.
Religion is exactly similar to a torch light for humanity to evolve in total darkness i.e. intellectual gloom. Beings other than mankind don’t need religion as they don’t possess the faculty of discrimination to judge which would turn for the ultimate good or bad. Their fundamental requirements are to eat well, to pass the time in recreation and to engage in procreation. Beyond this they don’t seem to have a meaning for life. If humanity thinks that it doesn’t need Religion, which is based on total FAITH, and requires the path of Reason alone to progress and evolve in life, it degrades itself to the level of quadrupeds. Strict observance of religion alone makes a distinction between mankind and the rest. Now let us proceed to the Sabarimala issue.
There exists a legend in the Puranas, the mythological collections of the Hindus, concerning Lord Ayyappa. He happens to be the offspring of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu who assumed the form of a female to achieve a specific purpose. Vishnu assumed the form of a world bewitching damsel to delude and bewitch the Asura community, representing the dark forces of destruction, who are basically rationalists and materialists.
Once upon a time, on the advice of Lord Vishnu, the Devata community, the heavenly inhabitants, joined hands with the Asuras and toiled hard in churning the ocean of milk to obtain the symbolic Amrita, the rejuvenating tonic, an elixir, which would make the consumers immortal, in a sense. Finally when the pot of Amrita surfaced, the Asuras forcibly snatched the pot as they happen to be stronger in muscular power and fled away from the sight of the Devas in a trice. Hearing the laments and prayers of the Devata community, Vishnu, out of compassion for Devas, assumed the form of a world bewitching damsel, viz. Mohini, and won back the pot of Amrita from the Asuras through a clever scheme of intrigue, bewitching and stupefying them for a while, making them believe that she had verily fallen in love with them, through her enchanting form, sweet voice, captivating looks coupled with dancing steps and finally through her pretention of serving the ambrosia equally among the Devas and the Asuras. She finally served the elixir of immortality to the Devas alone in front of the very eyes of the stupefied Asura community. It took a little while for the Asura community to realise what was actually happening and when they finally realised the intrigue, it was too late for them to even trace the trail of the juggler. This story is mentioned in most of the Puranas similarly.
When Lord Shiva expressed to Lord Vishnu, his strong desire to perceive this enchanting form of Mohini, Vishnu verily acceded to appear in front of Shiva in the same form, once again. The form of Mohini was so enchanting for Shiva to make him lose his mental equipoise temporarily which resulted in Shiva embracing Mohini irresistibly. Finally this resulted in the ejaculation of semen, even in the case of Shiva who is known as one who has overcome his lust. Krishna says in Bhagavad-Geeta मम माया दुरत्यया which means that his deluding potency is invincible. Shiva was no exception to this statement in Geeta. Without getting wasted, this seminal energy got collected in a reed and subsequently Lord Ayyappa was born as a test tube baby.
This Spirit of Lord Ayyappa is presiding over the Sabarimala hill area. Lord Ayyappa’s first manifestation could be around the closing century of B C or the early century of A D. Bhagavatpaada Shankara has made a reference to Lord Ayyappa in his devotional hymn of शिवपादादि-केशान्त-वर्णन-स्तोत्रम्. There he mentions Lord Ayyappa as भूतभर्ता ruler or controller of all beings in the matter of upholding Dharma unflinchingly. In the same sense Lord Ayyappa is called Dharma Shaastaa (धर्मशास्ता) also. Lord Ayyappa thrusts upon all beings equally the Dhaarmic way of life, punishing the offenders in the process to maintain justice on Earth. The verse in the hymn is presented.
आरूढः प्रौढवेग – प्रजवित – पवनं तुङ्ग – तुङ्गं तुरङ्गं
चेलं नीलं दधानः करतल-विलसत्-काण्ड-कोदण्ड-दण्डः |
राग-द्वेषादि – नानाविध – मृगपटली – भीतिकृद् – भूतभर्ता
कुर्वन्नाखेटलीलां निवसतु मनः – कानने मामकीने ||
“Let the great God, the ruler of all beings, the unflinching dispenser of Dharma, mounted on a horse of a mammoth height and size capable of eclipsing even the wind-speed, adorning black cloth around his waist and upper body, holding bow and arrows in his hands, reside in the thick jungles of my mental realm, exhilarating in sport and pastime of hunting and in the process driving away the hostile wild animals residing there in the form of lust, greed, wrath, likes, dislikes, sensuality and all sorts of other vices.”
The name, Ayyappa, originated in the ancient Tamil language. Its usage became common in Malayalam language ever since its evolution into a separate language from Tamil, somewhere around A D 1200. Malayalam is the offspring of Tamil-mother and Sanskrit-father. The name of Ayyappa is derived from the Sanskrit word, Arya (आर्यः) meaning Acharya (आचार्यः) i.e. Guru or preceptor which would become Ayya (அய்யா) or Ayyan (அய்யன்) in the slanted version of Tamil. The same word, in an endearing sense of a pet child, became Ayyappa, as he manifested as an endearing and captivating infant of great lustre. He is also called Manikandan as he was found wearing a rare gem of invaluable worth over his neck at the time of his appearance on the bank of the Pampa river. The word Mani denotes a gem in Sanskrit and it is mistaken for a ringing bell made out of bell metal or bronze in Tamil Nadu.
The ruler of Pandalam kingdom accidentally came across this orphaned and abandoned child in Sabarimala hill area, on the bank of the Pampa river, during a course of his hunting expedition and brought the child to his palace with great compassion and care. Ayyappa became the adopted son of the king after undergoing a formal ritual for adoption. He was fostered with great affection by the king who was anguished by the terrible misfortune of childlessness till then. After this adoption, the king’s better half conceived and gave birth to a son in quick succession.
When the question of inheriting the throne arose after about 18 years, the queen was ill-advised by her coterie to eliminate, by any means, the adopted son who was elder and as such, the rightful inheritor to the throne, so that the son born out of her womb would inherit the throne. This was actually against the wishes of the king who wanted Ayyappa to become his heir apparent. To eliminate Ayyappa from this world of mortals a well planned intrigue was contrived by the coterie. According to that, the queen started pretending to be suffering from a serious ailment, almost unbearable in its nature, for which the remedy was prescribed by the prearranged royal physician as tigress-milk. The king was shocked to hear this prescription as tigress-milk was almost unthinkable for anyone to obtain.
At this juncture, the son, Ayyappa came forward, with youthful vigour, valour and exuberance coupled with unshakable determination, raring to go to the thick jungles to get the tigress-milk, against the prevention and wishes of his foster father, the king. In quick time he returned from the jungle with a vast herd of the big cats viz. the tigers, males, females and cubs, Himself mounted on the back of a ferocious looking tiger of a mammoth size. He stated without even alighting from his seat, on the back of the tiger, facing the big gathering assembled in the courtyard of the palace, that anyone among them could extract the milk from the udder of any suckling tigress, without the slightest fear, as they were fully friendly and domesticated like the cows.
On hearing these words, the queen fell unconscious instantly while the coterie remained trembling in fear, as they had no means to save themselves from the consequences of their treacherous design. Ayyappa, on the other hand, instead of showing any ill will towards the coterie and the queen, magnanimously pardoned them for their wrong doing and told the king that his Karma to remain as prince in the palace was over then and there and he was to concentrate thereafter on his eternal mission of redeeming the sinners, infusing optimism and confidence into various kinds of anguished and misery-stricken people, wiping out their tears, thereby uplifting the entire downtrodden masses (like Jesus Christ did in the past) irrespective of their religion, status, cast, creed and community, whose number would swell into gigantic proportions in the ensuing period. He told the king to meet Him in His eternal abode, in Sabarimala, where the shrine remains now.
Uttering these words of benediction, Ayyappa retreated to His hilly abode in Sabarimala, where He remains in his astral form. There, he has appeared in his luminous astral form many a time to bless His devotees, as promised earlier. These days, He appears as pure luminosity on the 1st day of the month of Makara (Capricorn) coinciding usually with the 14th of January. He, Himself, instituted all the disciplines for daily, seasonal and annual worship to be followed in the temple. Sabarimala-Ayyappa’s riding car came to be known as a tiger after these thrilling incidents. Throughout Kerala, Ayyappa is worshipped as riding a tiger. In Tamil Nadu and elsewhere the riding car of Ayyappa remains a horse as it used to be before His manifestation in Sabarimala. In Tamil Nadu He is called as Dharma Shaastaa or Ayyanaar, the respectful version of Ayyan.
In Tamil Nadu, each and every village would have an Ayyanaar temple. Here, He is generally worshipped as a guardian deity of the village disciplining the inhabitants from transgressing Dharma, the ethical and moral standards. In Sabarimala, Lord Ayyappa assumes the fully Saatvic (purified) aspect of Sadguru, imparting the eternal wisdom, the knowledge of the Self, exactly like Lord Dakshinamurti, by holding His right palm and fingers in the sign of CHINMUDRA (चिन्मुद्रा) generally used to steady and introvert the wandering mind and guiding it to the transcendental state of Samadhi.
In the Sabarimala sanctum sanctorum, Lord Ayyappa remains as an eternal celibate. As He observes celibacy in thought, word and deed, the enormous power generated in the temple and in the vicinity of Sabarimala becomes highly detrimental to the interests of women wishing to conceive and beget children. Their menstrual cycles, the amount of bleeding during menses and finally their fecundity get terribly disturbed resulting in the total ruin of their reproductive system which would definitely reflect in their mental health also by visiting Sabarimala Temple. This is the actual reason for prohibiting women in the age group of 10 to 50 in Sabarimala Temple. There is no hostile discrimination against women in this matter. It is for the benefit of women alone, that this discipline is instituted in Sabarimala pilgrimage. Without grasping these subtle matters in detail, the Women Liberation Activists, who are professionals, fight vehemently for gender equality with the male population to visit Sabarimala Temple. Naturally, it makes one smell some hidden agenda (machinations behind the curtain, prompted by agencies committed to destroy Hindu Religious Faith completely) in their obstinate move to break all the conventions practised in the Sabarimala temple as in the case of the earlier fight against Jelli-Kattu, the martial sport and pastime of the exuberant youths, belonging to the warrior class of society, in Tamil Nadu, where the institution of PETA are said to have acted as the informal agents of the manufacturers of agricultural machinery in America and Europe. If there would be no Jelli-Kattu, there would be no purpose in rearing and maintaining the bulls in top condition. In that case, the same bulls which are supposed to beget the cattle for agriculture would be sent to butchery and they would become extinct steadily thereafter.
In the Sabarimala case, the Supreme Court gave their verdict in favour of the professional activists, hurting very severely the sentiments and confidence of the faithful Hindu community who are also the majority community in India. The judges say that they are more concerned to implement the gender equality than sticking to the conventional observances of the faithful community. This adherence to equality is exactly similar to maintaining precisely equal length in all the fingers in both the hands, no matter it might require cutting off some length in the longer fingers. Gender equality cannot be achieved by any reformer or any judge in the empirical realm, how much so ever great one would be. Equality is possible in the realm of Atman or Spirit alone. In the realm of matter there would be only inequality to whichever direction one would turn. As Spirits all are equal and as individuals identifying with the body, all are ever unequal. Males and females are born in this world for achieving different purposes. There is no superiority or inferiority in this matter. When both are put together, then only, it becomes a single wholesome unit like द्रव्य the matter and गुण its attribute. The attribute cannot be separated from the matter. Kalidasa says in the beginning of his immortal Rhetoric of Raghuvamsa that Siva and Parvati ever remain as a single wholesome unit like a word and its meaning when he says वागर्थाविव सम्पृक्तौ. The judges of the Supreme Court should have shown more objectivity and commonsense in this case. Strangely, the Muslim and Christian communities of Kerala are also supporting the believers of the Hindu community. 99.99 per cent of Kerala women, irrespective of religious affiliations, desist from undertaking the pilgrimage to Sabarimala.
When Supreme Court delivered the verdict, the spirit of equality was totally forsaken by the judges holding on fast to the skeleton aspect alone. Actually, holding on to the spirit aspect, should have been of paramount importance to the judges. To protect the spirit aspect, if the skeleton aspect had to be ignored, in some cases, it would not have been wrong at all. This verdict would make the believers to lose their confidence and faith in our very Constitution, in the matter of obtaining Justice.
To understand the logic behind the age old practice in Sabarimala, all the readers are requested to go through the Blog Site maintained by a highly educated woman, Maitri by name, engaged in the research of menstrual periods of women for the past nine years. She is very popular in Karnataka through her educating mission. Her write up remains highly welcome, informative and reformative among all classes of women, possessing the stamp of personal experience. The Women Liberation Activists (who are verily professionals) fighting for equality in the matter of Sabarimala Darshan should definitely go through her Blog Site to feel greatly rewarded. The link to her Blog Site is given hereunder for everyone’s enlightenment and the accruing benefit thereafter. https://mythrispeaks.wordpress.com/2018/10/23/sabarimala-verdict-fabricated-rights-over-real-experiences-of-women/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
Ayyappa’s story is very famous in the entire length and breadth of Kerala and need not be gone through in greater detail than it is done now at this juncture. There are many more legends with regard to Lord Ayyappa and the holy shrine of Sabarimala. Lord Ayyappa’s vanquishing and subsequently transforming Mahishi, a female of mass following (probably encouraging and promoting polyandry in those days) in those areas, and Vaavar, the colloquial version of Babar, a Muslim forest brigand like Veerappan of 20th century in Tamil Nadu, are some of the noteworthy legends sung in the form of folklore among Ayyappa devotees. Ever since their transformation by Ayyappa, they became immortalised and are given their places of pride in the scheme of things in Sabarimala. The Spirits of both of them are installed and formally consecrated within the ambit of Sabarimala hills, the first one’s Spirit remains somewhat close to Ayyappa’s sanctum sanctorum by the name of Maalikappurattamma and the second one’s Spirit remains in the little faraway place called Erumeli, the starting point of Sabarimala pilgrimage. The pilgrimage to Sabarimala shrine attains completion and fruition only after paying obeisance in front of their sanctum sanctorum also. How magnanimous and forgiving Ayyappa remains even towards His adversaries!
In front of Lord Ayyappa all are equals in letter and spirit. During the pilgrimage all dine side by side, all rest alike spreading a cloth or sheet on the ground in the wilderness of the thick jungles, observing the greatest virtue of sacrificing one’s own comfort for others’ sake with spontaneity and joy. There is no discrimination of religion, cast, creed, community, language and race here. No untouchability is involved among devotees here. All stand in the same queue, formed at times for miles, waiting for their turn of Darshan of the Lord. There is no preferential Darshan here for the highly influential. There is no Darshan on payment also. All differences are forgotten, at least for the time being, till the formal completion of the pilgrimage when all the devotees would return to their native places and remove the rosary from around their necks, which they started wearing at the commencement of their vow. This pilgrimage teaches humanity to live in peace, harmony and brotherhood in this world, renouncing all hostility. Even the hostile wild animals, tigers and elephants, residing in those thick jungles do not harm the pilgrims, the symbolic different forms of Lord Ayyappa Himself, provided they have not violated the disciplines to be observed during the course of the vow, lasting about 45 days. This is the evidence of the great power remaining behind the virtues of truth, sacrifice, morality, non-violence and universal love. The power of virtues are capable of moving even mountains.
Muslim clerics are looking after the sanctum sanctorum of Vaavar at Erumeli from good old times and they are distributing the MAHAA-PRASAADAM, the sacred ash, by their own hands and all the Hindus are receiving it with great humility and reverence. Can anyone show even a remote parallel to this pilgrimage anywhere in the rest of the world? There is no need of any conversion into another religious faith if the spirit behind this pilgrimage is perceived properly. If all can live in harmony for at least 45 days forgetting all the differences why can’t it be extended for the whole year which would get extended thereafter to all times? Oh, the respectful class of judiciary, please try to understand the great pilgrimage to Sabarimala shrine in its true perspective. Please desist from giving such verdicts which would promote disharmony alone in our society. India is predominantly a land of gods and believers in gods. Please don’t disturb the harmony of this sacred land. Please try to practically understand the enormous benefits accruing from this pilgrimage, by observing the spiritual disciplines under the formal guidance of a Guru Swami and finally by going to Sabarimala during a pilgrim season, at least once in your life time. Please don’t give a judgement favouring the professional activists, the nonbelievers, who are not at all required to go to Sabarimala. Please don’t enthuse the professional activists to register more and more success in achieving their hidden agenda of destroying Hinduism.
Lord Ayyappa’s manifestation as an infant child in Sabarimala hill area should have been after Shankara’s time who belongs to the 7th century A D. We need not delve deeper into the symbolic story connected with Lord Ayyappa to grasp the core issue involved in this matter. This much is mentioned here to enlighten everybody that Lord Ayyappa is an extraordinarily powerful Spirit, totally benign in nature, residing in Sabarimala hills and this is evident from the number of devotees thronging to that shrine every year from all over the world. It was calculated as around 5 crores during the year 2017.
There is a lot of symbolism involved in the mythological collections of the Hindu Religion. First of all, symbolic statements are to be understood as neither facts nor fictions. It is like concealing a medicine in a capsule. The patient need not know what is concealed in the capsule to get cured of the disease. Faith in the doctor’s diagnosis and prescription alone would be sufficient in this matter. Similarly symbolic statements are powerful enough to touch the heart directly and to make an indelible impression, thereby transforming the individual. By so doing they become quite capable of achieving the ultimate objective of the statements. The explicit language used in any statement agreeable to intellectual logic is generally understood and accepted as factual statements by the rationalists. These statements cannot achieve the objective which the statements loaded with symbolism are capable of achieving. Symbolic view is like perceiving anything differently like perceiving our Globe Earth from the earth-satellite moon when it looks like a whirling colossal sapphire stone embedded with gold in many places. The portion of ocean would look like sapphire stone and the portion of land would look like embedded gold. Even though the Earth is the same it can be perceived differently. This is the spirit behind the liberal usage of symbolic language in the entire mythological literature in Hinduism.
In the proceedings of arguments raised by the legal fraternity in the Supreme Court, representing the believers, minor issues were only raised repeatedly leaving the core spirit of the matter untouched. Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala doesn’t get disturbed if women aged between 10 to 50 go there and stand in front of His sanctum sanctorum. “What is the sin involved here or cause for disqualification on the part of women, if they happened to menstruate in front of Lord Ayyappa during the pilgrimage, which is actually not in their control?” This matter was repeatedly raised during the course of arguments by the lawyers representing the nonbelievers. It has been convincingly explained in the previous paragraphs that this practice of barring young women is followed in Sabarimala, exclusively for the benefit of women devotees. There is no discriminative agenda against women in this matter.
The Vratam or vow for the pilgrimage is undertaken at least 41 days before commencing the pilgrimage. The pilgrims should do this under the guidance of a Guru Swami, the preceptor and guide in this case. They should even avoid the food prepared and served by women, maintaining strict celibacy. In olden days (till 1947), to avoid the nearness of women (which would turn for the benefit of both) they used to reside in temporary out-houses during the period of their vow, eating food prepared by their hands after undergoing ablutions and prayers during both twilights. Mortification of the sensory organs remains to be so strict that for all practical purposes they would consider themselves as mendicant monks during those days of penance. By undergoing all these acts of penance they generate so much of spiritual power in them and in the vicinity of their presence and dwelling. It would be only natural if they happened to succumb to temptations when young women also walk side by side with them in heckling and squeezing conditions, during the course of the pilgrimage. It takes two days’ trekking from Erumeli through thick jungles to reach Pampa, the basement spot of the hill. In those jungles the pilgrims would be required to spend one or two nights in rainy condition, fearing hostile wild animals, without proper food, without a proper place to rest or even to stretch the limbs of the body and finally without toilet and ablution facilities. How can one expect the women to withstand all these extremely bitter adversities? The activists should realise that Sabarimala is not a picnic spot or a recreation centre, specially known for its five star hotels with inbuilt merry-making nightclubs, gambling dens, etc. like Miami Beach, Florida, in U.S.A. or the city of Paris in France.
An inert metal piece, an idol cast of an alloy of five metals, cannot attract such a large number of devotees and make them feel rewarded and keep them constantly satisfied. There exist crores of devotees who have taken the vow of celibacy and other required disciplines connected with Sabarimala pilgrimage and who have visited the hilly shrine 18 times and even more during their life time. Their numbers are only increasing as time evolves.
One of the five judges who gave the verdict, remaining a member of the constitution bench, wrote that a deity has no fundamental rights. Only the human beings in the form of pilgrims or visitors can have fundamental rights. As such, the deity, i.e. Lord Ayyappa in this case, has no right in setting up the standards for the pilgrimage. If this is to be accepted as correct, in the light of religious beliefs, Lord Ayyappa has to be considered as an inert entity without any Chaitanyam i.e. life force in Him, thereby remaining there as just an object of a metal piece. When it is strongly believed and accepted by the class of faithful devotees that even hillocks like Arunaachala and Palani in Tamil Nadu have a force field around them radiating Chaitanyam, life force, this verdict becomes a stab on the back of the class of faithful devotees. The great seer, Ramana Maharshi, has stated that he could visualise the hill of Arunaachala as a vibrant Spirit which forcibly robbed the individual free will in him and thereafter made him an eternal brain deranged mendicant. This is clear in his famous composition named அக்ஷரமணமாலை, the sweet smelling garland of letters composed in the alphabetical order as an offering to Lord Arunaachala.
Any verdict delivered by a court of law and justice should be welcome and also convincing to the unprejudiced class of nobles. Further, the judgment should not create disharmony in the society leading to pitched battles between the believers and the non-believers. This verdict is welcome to the class of rationalists alone who are not required to visit the hilly shrine at all. To wound the sentiments of the believers and to belittle the deity in Sabarimala, the rationalists confess one fine morning, suddenly, that they have become believers and they should be allowed into the shrine as per their whims and fancies, i.e. without observing any vow of celibacy and other disciplines for 41 days. The logic that remains here is that the moment they confess they have become believers requiring to visit Sabarimala shrine, they become automatically bound by the injunctions of the hilly shrine which says that women between the age of ten and fifty should not visit the shrine. In this matter it is to be informed to all concerned alike that all the rules of worship at Sabarimala are instituted by Lord Ayyappa, Himself. No one else has any right whatsoever to introduce any change or modification in the conventions observed there. All these standards are maintained through the medium of a TANTRI, the permanent overseer and spiritual guide appointed by the custodian of the temple, Pandalam Raja, to look after all spiritual matters concerning Sabarimala Temple.
As per legend, Lord Parashuraama, before retiring (renouncing all activities) into the eastern ghat ranges of Mahendragiri, near the present Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, as an act of प्रायश्चित्त i.e. atonement for eliminating a vast population of unrighteous (क्षत्रियाः), warrior class of men, reclaimed and founded the narrow strip of landscape which is called as Kerala today from the Arabian Sea. He threw away His deadly weapon, the axe, into the Arabian Sea, never to engage in any sort of warfare thereafter. Subsequently the sea retreated to that extent where the axe fell and a narrow landscape sprung there from Gokarana (in Karnataka) in the north to Kanyakumari (in Tamil Nadu) in the south. It was obligatory and customary on His part to bring all classes of people from elsewhere to reside in this newly created piece of land. By doing that only the ritual of atonement would attain fruition. For this purpose He brought all classes of people from other areas like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and even from the far away state, Gujarat.
The Brahman-family of Thazhaman Potti, who are the TANTRIS in Sabarimala, were among those migrants settled in Kerala who originally belonged to Andhra Pradesh. This could be grasped from their names which are similar to Telugu names viz. Kandararu, Mohanaru, Rajivaru, etc. They were duly appointed as TANTRIS by the Ruler of Pandalam Kingdom, the rightful custodian of Sabarimala Temple, considering their life of penance and intuitive knowledge. Lord Ayyappa gladly consented to this appointment and everything went on smoothly for centuries.
During earlier days when the human intellect, in general, had not corrupted to the present level, the appointed TANTRIS in Sabarimala Temple could act as medium of Lord Ayyappa. During the present days, when all people are groping in darkness alike, with regard to transcendental matters, due to the overwhelming influence of TAMO GUNA (resulting in mired intellects and total ignorance of one’s own Self) Lord Ayyappa’s will and wish in all matters concerning Sabarimala Temple and the age old pilgrimage are obtained through a formal ritual called DEVAPRASNAM.
The ritual of DEVAPRASNAM is based on the horary branch of astrology, by erecting an astrological chart for that particular moment, combined with the vast wisdom obtained through Nimitta Shaastra, the science concerning omens and all other happenings taking place at the spot of the ritual, at that particular time. A team of TANTRIS from all over Kerala or even outside, engaged in long drawn out penance, conduct this ritual with their intuitive knowledge. The science of occultism includes in itself all the subtle details of this matter. Idol worship in India is part of this science of occultism. A bare naked eye would not be able to comprehend any bacteria or germ in any object but with the help of a microscope it would be able to do it. Similarly the mired average intellect would not be able to comprehend the subtle principles and secrets behind these occult matters. A Saatvic (purified) intellect, through austerity and through leading a life of long drawn out penance, would be able to grasp the nuances involved in this matter directly. To provide such occult information, the different religious faiths, all over the world, have come into being. In India, the Sanatana Dharma (the eternal way of living) which is known as Hindu Religious Faith, has come into being from an untraceable beginning point in time. It is our duty to follow the religious injunctions with utmost sincerity to feel greatly rewarded and thereafter to remain in a state of eternal joy and contentment.
OM SHAANTIH.
SWAAMIYE SARANAM AYYAPPA.
OM SHAANTIH, SHAANTIH, SHAANTIH.

Pujya Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi ji – A tale of Two Tributes!!!

Ensures

Hara Hara Shankara||Jaya Jaya Shankara

Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devo Maheshwaraha |

Guru Saakshaat Para Brahma Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha||

Shruti Smriti Puranam Alayam Karunalayam |

Namami Bhagavadpadam Shankaram Lokashankaram”

My humble Pranaams at the Lotus Feet of Jagadguru Shankaracharya 69th Mathadhipati of Kanchi Math.

His departure to  His Destination – The Shiva Loka was as sudden as it was shocking.  For a person who is from a different philosophical school, the impact he had on me and my family was profound. Rewinding back 2003 when my job forced me to shift base to Chennai. Coincidentally, at the same time my manasik sister, Vidya and her family (Kalyana Kumar & children Roshni and Adharsh) also had to move to Chennai from Bengaluru. Looking back even this had a purpose and was not a coincidence at all. It was Divine will for a purpose. We used to regularly drive every weekend to various temples and other spots from Chennai. I vividly remember that August day when we decided to visit Sri Yoga Narasimha Temple in Sholingur (around 100 kms from Chennai). On our return trip from Sholingur after praying at Sri Yoga Narasimha Temple, when Kalyanakumar made an invaluable (with benefit of hindsight) suggestion of taking a detour and visit Sri Kanchi Matha and Darshan of Kanchi Kamakshi. What a decision it turned out to be!!!

We also had a wonderful darshan of Kanchi Kamakshi and landed up in Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. To our utter surprise, it wasn’t crowded at all and We had the time of our lives. We had a Darshan and got blessings of Balaperiyavaa Pujya Vijayendra Saraswathi ji and thereafter came for Darshan of Pujya Jayendra Saraswathi AVL. We were simply stunned and stood speechless in His Powerful Presence – Even today it gives me goosebumps to recollect those moments. With our sashtaanga pranayama and namaskaarams rendered, he found we were yet to get over that Divine Stupor and he made us comfortable by talking to us in Kannada. In a loving manner He addressed my wife, Aparna and asked her the place she hails from and then it opened a floodgate of emotions. Everyone had TEARS OF BLISS!!! Absolute BLISS and He turned His attention to the kids. Akhila (my daughter), Roshni (my Niece) and Adharsh (Nephew). Son, Ashrit was too small to realize the import of what this experience means. Lucky Kids! I envied the attention Pujya Swamiji was showering on them. He then asked them if they know any chants and Aparna and Vidya unanimously suggested Totakashtakam. The kids began in unison and Pujya Swamiji joining them in a childlike manner, swinging and swaying rhythmically to the chant was a sight to behold. Since we thought were were taking too much of His precious time, we hinted to the kids to stop after 3 stanzas… And Swamiji asked what happened! You know it completely, Finish it. (We are still wondering how did He know that kids knew the entire Totakashtakam) and it continued. After blissful 1 hour or so, almost for ourselves – it was time to take leave and with a heavy heart moved away from magnetic charm of Pujya Swamiji Jayendra Saraswathi AVL.

About an year later in Nov 2004, we heard the worst news of our lives – that Police arrested both Shankaracharyas of Kanchi Math. It was A BLACK DEEPAVALI for us (and millions of followers) – a Deepavali we would never want to remember again. What  was worse – they were stopped from the Anushtanams midway and arrested. A set of volunteers from the Art of Living from Chennai drove down to Kanchipuram next day – had a Satsang in a hall and took out a protest march (After we got back to Chennai we were told that it was such a risk considering the fact that cops were hounding supporters of Swamijis – Thankfully and blissfully we were unaware of the viciousness of the TN Police at that time) It was a black period for our Dharma  but never once our Faith in Swamijis were shaken. We knew there was an agenda by the powers that be and also enemies within. Karma has its way of getting things of even keel. After the trial and tribulations, insults by the forces inimical to these Divine Souls, they were acquitted by the courts. But who would pay for the hurt and pain that the Devotees went through. Swamijis who were Divine were forgiving but ordinary mortals like us were hurt deep. Eulogies of Swamijis and reasons are in two posts that follow (which I don’t wish to repeat – the purpose of this MAXI-POST.

We will miss your jovial yet intellectually and spiritually stimulating presence and invaluable Guidance Pujya Swamiji Jayendra Saraswathi ji. WE WILL NEVER HAVE ANOTHER ONE LIKE YOU. Prayers to you to continue to shower your Blessings on all the Followers!

I reproduce two tributes that were in public domain and leaving it to readers to judge! One is by much respected Sri Gurumurthy ji. The other by an anonymous devotee which I received by Whatsapp (The author can revert to me to attribute to him/her).

Sri S. Gurumurthy – Article in The New Indian Express

Reproducing the content (as at the time of publishing this piece) verbatim for easier readability (Click on the Headline to read the article in original)

Jayendra Saraswathi: An Acharya with a difference

By S Gurumurthy  |   Published: 01st March 2018 04:00 AM  |

File photo of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra 82 the 69th pontiff of the Kanchi Mutt died on Wednesday in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram. | PTI

 

Jayendra Saraswathi, the direct disciple of the Mahaswami, was particularly distinct from his predecessor in almost every respect. Being more contemporary than traditional, he often tested the limits of orthodoxy and extended the areas of the Math’s reach and influence

Jayendra Saraswathi Swami, the 69th Shankaracharya of the famous Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, who attained samadhi on Wednesday was an Acharya different in comparison to his peers in the pantheon of Shankaracharyas. He was particularly distinct from his predecessor and Guru, Chandrashekarendra Saraswathi, popularly known as the Kanchi Mahaswami, in almost every respect. Jayendra Saraswathi was even controversial because of the risky territories he traversed that were never unravelled to him in the training he had received in the innocent surroundings at the Math.

Guru-Sishya contrast

The Kanchi Math, rebuilt from scratch by the Mahaswami, attained the most revered status among all Maths in the country and the Mahaswami was revered as the walking Divinity. An epitome of modesty and simplicity, his calmness and silence attracted millions to him. The tallest intellectuals, the mightiest leaders and the most respected men and women from all walks of life queued up for his darshan and to hear his profound words. Even his detractors were silenced by the power of his calmness and quietude. The Math reached its pinnacle under his stewardship. Jayendra Saraswathi, the direct disciple of the Mahaswami, was almost a contrast.

If the Mahaswami was silent, Jayendra was outspoken. If his Guru was inner directed, Jayendra was outgoing. If the Mahaswami walked, Jayendra motored, even flew. If the Guru avoided fame, the disciple enjoyed it. If the Mahaswami immersed in contemplation with self, Jayendra involved in conversation with the world. This contrast did create a situation in 1988, when Jayendra Saraswathi, piqued by some in the Math not accepting the culture change he was bringing about, left the Math without informing anyone suddenly. It shook the Math and its millions of followers. Though he returned after calming himself, the incident demonstrated his trans-traditional impulses.

Unchartered territories

The calm, quiet and inward-looking Math and its grammar changed into one of high pulse and activity under Jayendra Saraswathi’s leadership after the Mahaswami attained siddhi in 1994. Being more contemporary than traditional, Jayendra Saraswathi often tested the limits of orthodoxy and extended the areas of the Math’s reach and influence beyond its traditional adherents even as he explored areas of social thrust. He was instrumental in the Kanchi Math expanding directly into people’s service and not remaining merely a spiritual fountainhead as it was under the Mahaswami.

Today, the Kanchi Math runs a deemed university and dozens of schools and hospitals — territories previously not in the reach of Math — besides over 50 traditional Vedic schools and temples. Jayendra broke the restraining rules of the Math and reached out to the downtrodden. He went to Harijan bastis and attracted thousands of new followers and devotees. He transformed a spiritual and ritualistic Math into a socially vibrant one. This brought him high popularity and also into interaction with a multitude of social and political leaders in the country. It had had its pluses and minuses.

Arrest and vicious atmosphere

Jayendra Saraswathi’s independent course provoked some elements in the Math to fault him for deviating from the celebrated traditions. This led to an uncomplimentary campaign against him and the murder of one of the dissenters. In a state where Hinduism has borne the burden of unjust assault at the hands of the Dravida Kazhagam and its offshoots, political parties and others found it opportune to attack Jayendra, finally leading his arrest.

This sparked a nationwide uproar, but in Tamil Nadu, a vicious campaign was carried by political parties, intellectuals, activists and even the media against the Math and the Acharya. The New Indian Express alone gave the other side view and carried five counter-investigation articles [authored by me]. The first article titled As the Shankaracharya stands like Abhimanyu [NIE 23.11.2004] captured how the Dravidian political and secular media in the state were hounding the hapless Acharya, who was stung and stunned by the heinous charge against him. The third one titled The case is dead. Who’ll do the funeral, and when, exposed the frivolous prosecution. An angry government ordered my arrest and even the bail available to any accused was denied to the Acharya by the Magistrate and Sessions Court and by the Madras High Court. Finally, he had to get bail from the Supreme Court! Even the junior Acharya was arrested.

The final article titled Will the Secular Media Heed Justice Reddy’s Warning? [Jan 14, 2005] was on the judgment of Justice Narasimha Reddy of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, who condemned the unprecedented process of denigration of the ancient, prestigious and glorious Math with almost 2,500-year history by “not only individuals, but also a section of the institutions, such as the State and the Press”. Noting the stoic silence of the proponents of human rights, fair play and dignity, the judge said “a powerful section is celebrating or watching with indifference” the “perfidy against the Math” that had shocked the nation and beyond”. Pointing to the “amount of disrepute and sacrilege inflicted on Jayendra Saraswathi that had no comparables, Justice Reddy pointed out that harshest possible words were used directly or in innuendo against him”. Finally he declared, “today he is subjected to similar treatment as was Draupati in the Court of Kauravas.”

Acquittal

Later, the Principal Sessions Court in Puducherry acquitted Jayendra Saraswathi, Vijayendra Saraswathi and all others. The judgment almost echoed the third counter investigation article in The New Indian Express which opened thus: “On counter investigation, we found the case against the Shankaracharya not just slippery, but actually groundless from day one. Not just that. It involves a bit of fabrication too. Yes the fabrication to fix the Acharya. The police are running for cover. They may not give up yet and may fabricate more to put the case, which is dead, on life support system. But the case is irretrievably lost. The dramatic turn came on Wednesday in the Kancheepuram Magistrate court. The two criminals on whom the police had exclusively relied to name the Shankaracharya as an accused in the case have actually turned to accuse the police as the fabricators of the case itself.”

Within two weeks of the Acharyas’ arrest, The New Indian Express had called the prosecution’s bluff. The judgment acquitting the Acharyas pretty much said the same thing. But that was after nine years of intense pain and humiliation the Acharya underwent, having been declared a criminal even before a chargesheet was filed against him.

Jayendra Saraswathi is no more and the pain inflicted on him has died with him. But the pain the Math and the millions of peaceful devotees underwent at the hands of a hostile state, egged on by the media and watched by the proponents of human rights, as Justice Reddy had said, will remain a permanent scar in the political, judicial and media history of Tamil Nadu. Jayendra Saraswathi’s demise may be an occasion for all those who hounded him for a decade and more to introspect so that they don’t repeat it ever.

S Gurumurthy

Here is a touching tribute – Straight from the heart Tribute by Devotee (Received it on Whatsapp without any attribution). I would be glad to credit the author if I am informed.

Reproducing verbatim except for fixing Typos.

An era has just ended in the hoary history of the Kanch Kamakoti Math, with the Maha Samadhi of Sri Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, the 69th Peetadhipathi of the Kamakoti Peetam. There is an overwhelming sense of loss and despair amongst the devotees of the math and the Acharya. It is even more significant if one dispassionately considers the deep impact that Sri Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal had left on every aspect of the math functioning.

He was chosen as the successor to the Paramacharya (as his predecessor Sri Sri Chandrasekarendhra Saraswathi was known to all) at the young age of 20 and for almost four decades lived under shadow of the towering Paramacharya. It is a very difficult thing in any human activity to be the second in command, while the number one is in absolute control and is a larger than life kind of personality, which the Paramacharya was, very deserving of course. He was a very disciplined deputy and was known for his total devotion to the Paramacharya., a fact that those closely linked to the Math can vouch for.

The four decades that he was with his senior, were very difficult times for the Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism if one were to use a contemporary terminology), as this state had often had elected governments, where the ruling party was inimical to the faith in general and to the math and its followers in particular. Caste based politics and the resultant bitterness was far too obvious to escape the notice of even a casual traveler to the state. The math had to break out of its traditional moorings and reach out to the people at large, as missionaries of the Abrahamic faiths were creating havoc in the coastal and southern districts of the state of TN, causing great level of anxiety to the people and the government. Unfortunately, the successive state governments did precious little to stem the rot and were almost mute spectators to the gross misuse of religious freedom enshrined in the constitution.

It was in these circumstances that Sri Sri Jayendra Saraswathi decides to break the perceived shackles of Sanyas and enter the social world to put a brake on the large scale conversions that were taking place resulting in levels of social unrest hitherto unseen and unheard of. This decision necessitated even his ignoring instructions to the contrary perhaps even from the Paramacharya himself. He realized at the very beginning that the only way we can stop this was to shed the faith of the caste based discrimination and erase the dividing line between the math and the Hindus of so called lower castes. This strategy, expectedly, met with stiff resistance and derisive comments not only from within the math but also from Hindus outside, especially the upper caste Hindus (more importantly a section of the Brahmin community). What was not observed correctly and appreciated by most commentators was that in breaking the caste based discrimination and uniting the Hindus under one identity, he had inevitably invited the wrath of the minority missionaries and the so called secular brigade.

Unmindful of all this, Sri Sri Jaydendra went about his tasks of uniting the Hindus through service, through such organizations like Jan Kalyan, Jan Jagran etc. He was given unconditional support by the RSS, Hindu Munnani and Viswa Hindu Parishad etc., making it even more uncomfortable for the minority outfits. Given the source of limitless funds and other resources, the minority institutions could play havoc with the hapless Math and the Acharya, which they did with aplomb.

Meanwhile, Sri Sri Jayendra initiated multifarious activities like revival of old dilapidated temples, revision of wages for poojaris/archakas of small village temples, educational institutions for the economically weaker sections, health care through numerous hospitals etc. The last two were going to earn him bigger enemies who were raking in crores through their own private institutions in these fields. Here again the minority community question was inevitably linked, especially the Christian lobby. That’s what finally landed him in the mess that was Sankara Raman murder case. He touched those areas that were invariably linked to the minority-politician nexus which has an unimaginably huge muscle power in our country, especially in states like TN, where anti-Hindu parties have been in power for long.

What am I talking about?? Yes, a Hindu seer dared to stand up to this nexus and refused to budge and paid with his reputation, dignity, health and the overall image of the Math and himself. Here comes the irony. In this hour of despair he didn’t have anyone of substance backing him unconditionally, something unthinkable in other faiths. Those avowed devotees of the Math were more than ready of believe the media’s concocted stories. The political class was seeing what was politically convenient and taking such a stance. BJP and RSS with the other Hindu outfits were the only ones which were even prepared to consider getting to the truth.

The Hindu community in TN should have risen as one and resisted the media’s preplanned character assassination of the seer and forced the powers that be to behave. They failed him collectively. More blatant was the Brahmin community’s response. A whole lot of them were ready to believe the media than see the opposite side’s version. That some of the worst detractors of the Math and Sri Sri Jayendra, at that time, were people from the community itself, is the most bitter fact. This attitude comes from their appointing themselves judges of how the Acharyas should conduct themselves and how the Math should be administered. This is from a community wherein not even 10% of the people observe their daily chores as stipulated in the shastras (nithyakarma anushtaanam), a good percentage take alcoholic beverages regularly, consume non-vegetarian food, a vast majority skip offerings to their ancestors via tharpanam, shrardham etc.

The worse is most of them compare Sri Sri Jayendra with his predecessor the Paramacharya and make derisive comments against the former. First, the comparison itself is completely unfair to both and is completely lacking in common sense as they both were working on different planes and at different times and very, very different set of circumstances. The efforts of Sri Sri Jayendra in getting all Hindus (okay, a majority if not all) to identify with the Math as a representative of the Hindu faith, are incomparable. His contribution in getting rid of the Math’s Brahmin Tag, was singularly responsible for people of all communities identifying with the Math. It is the result of his efforts that brought a vast cross section of the Hindu society to oppose the activities of DK, DMK and other Anti-Hindu activists, whenever the latter crossed the boundaries of decent politics and were bordering on selective outrage.

Their animosity towards him multiplied when political leaders and religious scholars from across the nation consulted him on the Ayodhya issue which he offered to help resolve. While many Muslim organization from UP as well as TN welcomed his efforts and offered to accept his recommendations, the Anti-Hindu political outfits in TN were systematically instigating an opposition to his effort, with clearly a vote bank mindset.

In a nutshell, one can see clearly, how the forces opposed to national interest could use the media and the powers that be to malign an important religious head of the majority community and thereby weaken the faith’s popular support thereby aiding in conversion. It is an irony that the so called forward castes failed to see this and instead put him on the accused stand and made him stand the trial by media.

Despite my great hesitation, I have to give a piece of my mind to my Brahmin friends, many of whom had declared him guilty even before the case was in court, just going by the media outrage. Many disgruntled elements within this community, who had either disagreement with the Math in general or with the seer in particular, exploited this opportunity and poured venom in the guise of writing commentary. And of late, there are many who go around claiming to be great devotes of the Paramacharya (the numbers have grown exponentially after his Maha Samadhi), which is good if they restrict to expressing their devotion to him. The unkindest cut of all that Sri Sri Jayendra had to stomach was that good percentage of these so called devotes of the Paramacharya were great critics of Sri Sri Jayendra and were almost dismissive of him.

To them, I ask, “Who are you to judge him? What is your qualification to do so? Do you know the kind of positive transformation he had brought about in the way the Math was perceived by the common Hindu outside the so called devotee crowd that you make up? How many of you live the way the Shastras recommend? Have you ever cared to go to the institutions run by the Math and learnt how they are administered and how the funds are made available? Have you ever gone to any of those hospitals run by the Math and found out for yourselves as to how patient care is offered there and how the beneficiaries perceive these?? Many of you may not have any answers to these questions, because, you go by what the media vomits as news and sit in your living room and pass judgements against a man who dared to challenge those very forces and showed he could succeed.

It is the quirk of fate or irony of justice in this country that he had to go through the worst for daring to oppose those forces and his greatest failing was that he thought he had us behind him. For sure, we were behind him, but not to support, but to push him down.

We are ungrateful people who never deserved a Jayendra Saraswathi. We did not respect his sincere efforts at bringing in the changes that were desperately needed. We did not have the guts to stand by him when forces inimical to our national interest were hounding him out. We now shed crocodile tears at his passing away. Shame on us for our hypocrisy.

He must be giving his famous disarming smile looking down at us from wherever he is now. At least from now on, let us carry on the good work started by him and compensate for all the dishonor and insults that we have heaped on him. I would dare say that, no single Acharya from the Shankara lineage could have contributed so extensively in critical social areas as His Holiness Sri Sri Jayendra had done in the last three decades (or longer). More than ever before, we needed him now as the forces inimical to the nation and Hindu religion are gathering great strength and momentum to give one last shot at denying this nation its Hindu identity. We have to defeat this at all costs and for that we need a few more Jayendras.

Jaya Jaya Sankara…!

Look at the glaring difference in the tributes! One is too cerebral and other one is Emotional. Leaving it to readers of this piece to make your own conclusion.

Signing off with Two Part Videos of very Touching Anugraha Bhashana of Pujya Shankaracharya Vijayendra Saraswati AVL (3 yrs back) on the occasion of Peetarohana Jayanti celebrations of HH Pujya Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi Swamiji (Overwhelming and each time I watch this… tears just flow). I am sure the readers will be moved too.

UPDATE: 6TH MARCH 2018

Some comments that I received on Twitter/Facebook that I found is worth sharing with readers (Click on the image to read the Original tweet on Twitter (available at the time of updating this)