The history of the whole world tells us clearly that at the root of all great human conflicts is the inability of Man to know Truth first and to then Reconcile himself to it.
Conflicts arise and continue to fester and outrage us only because one side of the conflict believes its version of Truth is true and the other side’s version is false… and vice versa. Each side presents and projects a certain carefully constructed narrative which is then sought to be debunked by the counter-narrative constructed by the adversary.
Thus, in the ensuing battle of narratives that continues endlessly thereafter, each narrative put forward by either party only obscures or obfuscates the Truth ever more darkly until no objective, third-party onlooker — or a well-meaning friend perhaps of both sides keen to mediate — is able to separate truth from post-truth, falsifications from facts, rhetoric from representation, testimony from bombast and dissimulation from veracity.…. And the net, tragic result finally is that there is no end to the conflict… For, when no one knows what the Truth is, where is the question of Reconciliation between the two warring parties?
In the world of international affairs, one hears of warring parties in countries (South Africa, for example, between Black natives and White settlers) getting totally exhausted at last by their bitter disputes and endless conflicts — be it over territory, religious faith, political ideology or cultural animosity. In the end they decide fighting is utterly futile. They then decide to give it all up and try instead to resort what is known as the “Truth and Reconciliation” process by which they begin to seek to heal relations between them by:
(i) uncovering all pertinent facts related to their age-old conflict,
(ii) distinguishing truth from lies, and
(iii) allowing for acknowledgement, appropriate public mourning, forgiveness and healing.
Human conflicts between large social groups can be resolved through two means of imposing justice. One is called the “Restorative Justice” method which is what is employed rarely, if ever at all in Truth and Reconciliation process of conciliation, where both parties try to arrive at a “win-win” arrangement. This process is more or less effective than the “Retributive Justice” method which is, of course, the most common and universally prevailing process of Justice pursued in the whole world: It consists in aggrieved, conflicted parties “going to law courts” and getting a judicial verdict that awards punishment to one party and relief to the other party. In Restorative Justice there is often a glimmer of hope that the reconciliation designed and arrived at between the parties will act as “a springboard for continuing work in the areas of reparation, restitution, memorialization, prosecution and transformation“. In sharp contrast, in Retributive Justice such idealistic things are quite impossible to expect.
The “ubaya vedaantins” of Kanchipuram, engaged for over 500 years now in the sectarian conflict between Tenkalai and Vadakalai, see just no end to it even today because they have chosen, time and again, to settle scores with each other through the Retributive Justice process in the Courts of Law even when the honorable Judges themselves — upon finding themselves quite out of their depth, in terms of both competency or capability, to find secular resolution to what is essentially religious/doctrinal disputes — have urged them, nay, beseeched both parties to settle the matter between themselves through any reasonable and amicable means of Restorative Justice.
After hearing a case between Tenkalai Vs Vadakalai in 20/10/2018, the Madras High Court banned, until further orders, the recital of the Tamil Prabhandam at a temple in Kancheepuram following a dispute. The Judge held a special sitting at his residence (!!) to hear an urgent case filed against the proposed recital of Tamil Prabhandam of Acharya Vedanta Desika at Varadarajaswamy Temple in Kancheepuram.
After hearing the petitioner’s counsel, and a Special Government Pleader representing the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, the judge banned the recital of the Tamil Prabhandam till further orders.
“Temple is a place of worship where anybody can pray. Unfortunately, as there is a difference between Vadakalai and Tenkalai of Iyengar community, the issue is yet to attain finality. As long as this globe exists in the orbit, their differences would not be resolved. Instead of terming themselves as human beings, they should first know the importance of being human,” the judge observed in his interim order.
The Judge was thus only confirming what has been obvious to all Sri Vaishnavas of both sects: that the Courts are all fed up and have nearly given up trying to find resolution to this 500-year old squabble.
Why?
Because it is virtually impossible for any man of reason, let alone the best of well-trained and experienced legal minds of the land, to know what is the real Truth in all the sectarian strife that has happened in recorded history of the Sri Vaishnavas right from the times of the Vijayanagar and Nayak Kingdoms to the present day.
All the so-called facts, evidence, proof, testimony, affidavits, counter-affidavits, representations, petitions, prayerful submissions… and tomes and plethora of information submitted by either sect to the courts in the course of arbitration and adjudication in the last 3 centuries has not helped one bit to uncover the real Truth behind the phantasmagoria of narratives and counter-narratives that the Tenkalais and Vadakalais have each come forward, in each court case, to put forward forcefully before the judges to claim their respective rights of legitimacy, ownership and control over the Sri Devarajaswamy Perumal Swamy Temple at Kanchipuram.
Wherever it might be — whether in South Africa, Jerusalem or Kanchipuram — if one is simply unable to see the Truth, how is then even the proverbial “a Solomon come to Justice!” (Shakespeare in “The Merchant of Venice”) be competent and able to exercise wise, righteous judgement and rule on any means to bring about Reconciliation between the warring parties? It is simply impossible…. and that is why none can fault Judge Vaidyanathan for saying what he did in his caustic observation about the Sri Vaishnava community being less than human!
The inconvenient questions that stares the “ubaya vedaantins” in their faces today is this:
Forgetting for a moment whatever has been submitted as petitions and representations to the courts of law, why on earth is it so difficult to sift the plain truth between the two narratives put forth by Tenkalais and Vadakalais with regard to their claims to legitimacy to own, control and manage the ancient Kanchi Varadaraja temple?
What is the Tenkalai narrative?
What is the Vadakalai narrative?
Which one is nearer the Truth?
No one can begin to even offer an explanation for such difficult questions without referring to the legends and apocryphal accounts surrounding two great protagonists of the Tenkalai and Vadakalai sects who lived in Kanchipuram in the 15th and 16th century CE and whose names even today figure prominently in the never-say-die conflict that simmers, at times even rages today among the “ubaya vedaantins” of Tamil Nadu…. and Kanchipuram especially.
One was Sri Alagiya Manavaala Jiyar who lived between 1420 to 1468 A. D, “the most prominent Jiyar at Kanchi in the post-Sri Manavaala Mahaamuni period”. He is the Tenkalai-sect’s champion.
The other was the leader of the Vadakalai sect, Sri Koti Kannikaadhaana Lakshmi Kumaara Thathaa Desikan, or Acharya Thathachariar — 1571–1643.
It is the historical narratives of their respective life-stories that will have to be recounted at some length in the next two instalments in this series.
(to be continued)
Sudarshan Madabushi