Times of India 18 Aug 2021
In the above news-article, two great Hindu religious icons of the past have been appropriated by the “Periyarist” Government of Tamil Nadu to endorse and and celebrate the employment, under the State enacted Archaka Act, of all Castes as Hindu temple priests viz. Sri Ramanujacharya, the 11th Century Sri Vaishnava preceptor and Swami Vivekananda, the founder of Sri Ramakrishna Mutt.
The author writes: “… the move fulfils the principles of Hindu saints like Sri Ramanujacharya and Swami Vivekananda who also wanted to ensure temple worship for all communities ..”
While it is indubitable that both did want to ensure temple worship for all communities, it is moot point however whether they also wanted the jobs of “archakas” in the sanctum sanctorum to be held by all and sundry recruited from any or all walks of society. That however, and very ironically too, is a matter which might get adjudicated upon by the legal-secular courts in Tamil Nadu in the days ahead… it won’t be allowed to be deliberated upon by any Hindu religious institution.
The author further goes on to say “The practice of nominating only brahmins as priests was imposed by the Vijayanagar Emperors who captured Tamil Nadu in the 16th century” . He does not have any authoritative historical or scholarly sources to cite, upon which the sweeping assertion is made.
The author, finally, triumphantly boasts that the DMK Government — whose ideology is entirely that of EV Ramaswami Naicker’s (EVR), the rabid Brahmin-hater — has made the cultural appropriation of Sri Ramanujacharya (Tamil saint) now a complete, effective and successful fact and undeniable reality : “The DMK government’s Archaka Act, is a queer case of rationalists fulfilling the teachings of a revered Hindu saint Ramanuja who offered “theetchai” (religious ordainment) to all communities ….” .
In other words, this article in the TOI is very clearly implying that it is the DMK indeed which is the far truer representative of the ideals of Sri Vaishnavism than any other traditional religious mutt or religious organisation in all of Tamil Nadu carrying his name and symbol.
Pretty much same inference is to be applied to the Ramakrishna Mutt also who now, it seems quite clear, no longer represents that great Vedantic saint of Bengal, Swami Vivekananda’s ideals quite as genuinely as the DMK and DK do .
The DMK on its official Party flags, hoardings and buntings, as everyone knows, proudly flaunts the busts in image of EVR, Annadurai and Karunanidhi emblazoned upon it. Maybe sooner than later , the busts of Sri Ramanujacharya and Swami Vivekananda are likely to be included too in the same pantheon alongside the former three.
The tough question now for all Unknown Sri Vaishnavas like me is really this … but then, there just seems to be no one around anywhere who can answer it :
What are the mattadhipathis (pontiffs) of various Sri Vaishnava Mutts like Sri Ahobila Mutt, Sri Andavan Ashrams, Parakala Mutt and other denominational Munitreeyam Sri Vaishnavaites who in my own esteem are indeed the true heirs and legatees of “Sri Ramanuja Darsanam”, and its great “siddhaantham” and “sampradaayam”, going to say or do about this cultural onslaught upon their religious domain?
Will they remain reticent ? Or are they going to resist this brazen cultural appropriation of their revered iconic Acharya lineage which is being done to suit the political purposes and ends in Tamil Nadu of some quarters who profess to atheism ?
Are they as community leaders going to disapprove the nefarious plan obviously afoot of the DMK Government to project Sri Ramanujacharya himself as the ideological precursor of EV Ramaswami Naicker?
Srimathe Raamaanujaaya Namaha 🙏Sudarshan Madabushi