In all fairness, one should not avoid or annoyed for the
contradictory views of others. Especially when it comes to the religion we must heed others views too. In this context,
I am putting the following opinions of some one who wrote to me on Srivaishnavam practices.
Samaasrayanam is one of the Panchasamskaarams of Srivaishnavam.
This is done with marking one's arms with hot silver cast Shanku and Chakram on the left and right arm of a person respectively.
The following versus were despatched by a person to my mailbox (identity concealed). There a lot more but , for the sake of
accepting the contracdictory view too, I put forth these for viewers comments and the readers to judge. These are
all not my views nor I subscribe fully to the following :
QUOTE
You are human beings. They are marking your body
with HOT silver metal with their religious emblems. This is what happens with every religions/castes. You have
to be in their fold. This is like a political game, showing that so and so has joined their fold.
Every religion/caste says that you have to be loyal
to your head and no questions be raised. Unless you are taken into their fold, according to them, you will wander or
hang like Trisanku; this is the tenets of every caste/religion. But, to me the life is so vast that there is place for
one and all ( inclusive of our gods, demigods, daities, mystiques, etc.).
I used to read the magazine 'AAVIGAL ULAGAM' wherein an
article is there mentioning about the experiences of person(s) who relives memory through hypnotism, of the experiences
before birth, hidden in the unconscious mind.
Every chapter of the article says about the different experiences,
not only of human beings but also of the plants, animals, etc. How they evolve, what experiences they gain; how much
they evolved into consciousnes; how to go beyond the present plane; even some places are there where so many helps are given
to the departed person to evolve his consciousness; freedom is given to choose the birth, parents, etc. So many things
are there in the other world. We know only of three dimensions; there in the other world many more dimensions are there; many
more colors are there.
Infact, I read some where that this planet is the shadow
of the other world; but only thing missing is our limited vision of seeing things. This could be overcome with the help
of a master who helps you to meditate; master means one who is enlightened. Only very few are there. If
you are lucky to find them, then your life changes, provided you are open to him/her.
I am not not talking against anything (inclusive of
'srivaishnavism'). In mathematics a problem may have multi solutions. A destination can be reached from anywhere
by more than a route. These are all analogues only. I try to finger-point something that I see. I have not
been brought up as a vaishnavite! I was never forced to do any things. I volunteered myself in my earlier days.
Sooner, after started growing, questions started arising in me. I have questioned your Guru, the Vaadyaar, too
regarding rituals done every year for the departed souls. He could not give any convincing reply to me because he never
raised the question himself to any of his elders.
During a 'devesam' (sraardham) offered to 'departed
souls', I asked the Vaadyar then, that the Hinduism believes in re-birth and you are offering the 'devesam'. If the
departed souls have taken rebirth, then where shall your offerings go? Your Vaaduaar replied that the rituals
are conducted to relieve the soul from the cycle of birth. I didn't accept his reply.
The Srardham or pithru pooja in itself raises many questions.
It doubts one's own mother's charecter! YES! You ask your vaadyaar the meaning of the slokha, which he recites while
offering the cooked rice to the "holy" fire or the Agni. (it starts with 'yanme maathaa, pralulobhasarthi, anuvradha,
thanmeretha: ). The meaning is an insult to one's own belief, that so and so is his father. This is, I promise,
the actual meaning and puts one's own mother's charecter in doubt. Mother is your first and foremost known God to one
and all. Should one state these sort of versus to perform the Sraardham? Is it really a necessary to insult the woomenhood
in total?
If the whole world is destroyed due to a nuclear war and
no one is left, then who will be there to relieve the souls? And the vaishnavism has numerous tenets to be followed.
If vaishnavism believes in the vaikundam which it considers
the ultimate place, then where will these poor fellows - jesus, mohammed, kabir, gautama the buddha, ramana, ramakrishna paramahamsa,
etc(?) goes? They do not know the vaikundam. They have not said anywhere about the vaikundam.
Ramanuja story is altogether a different one. He was
a revolutionary!
He was genius! I agree!! His insistance on vaishnavism
was to save the
traditional values of our country from the invaders(mohammedans).
So
he initiated the other people into the fold of vaishnavism.
His theory of ' vishistadvaitam ', I feel that, is his way
of understanding the life ( remember here the multi-solution to a mathematician). Seeing the tremendousness of life,
he had this idea. He had a charisma. 'AANDAAL' too had a charisma.
But what is going on now is carbon copy of the originals.
And originals are originals and carbon copies are carbon copies. I differ here. Why we could not have those feelings?
We should try to enquire ourselves. Techniques are there for meditations, devised by the masters of the yester years.
A deep enquiry is needed for every soul to evolve into higher consciousness. Why we are here? what we were before? Why people
differ? and so on.
I am not a master at all for my views being exhibited here.
I may go on, and on these views(?)
Sincerely,
a revolutionary thinker, who practices what
he preaches!
UNQUOTE
