By the end of the 20th century CE, and after more than 200+ years of colonial and post-Independence history in India when the community of “ubaya-vedantins” in Tamil Nadu experienced wrenching social tumult and developments that occurred and swept through the land, the Sri Vaishnava identity itself underwent significant transformation. The “ubaya-vedantin‘s first language, SanskritContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedantins”: Part-50″
Tag Archives: Srivaishnavism
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedantins”: Part-49
C. The deliberate assault on the most sacred institution of Hindu personal law: the wedding ritual solemnized by Brahmin priest If the father and Party patriarch, M.Karunanidhi, towards the fag end of his lifetime attempted “salami-slicing” the Sri Vaishnava cultural identity by subtly glorifying Ramanujacharya with the chief aim of appropriating the great 11th centuryContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedantins”: Part-49″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedantins”: Part-48
The most daring effort at “salami slicing” the Sri Vaishnava identity was carried out by none other than the octogenarian patriarch of the DMK Party, the man the Dravidianists worshipped as “Kalaignar Karunanidhi”. In April 2015 he decided to move to appropriate the most venerated icon of the Sri Vaishnavas and assimilate it into theContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedantins”: Part-48″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedantin-s”: Part-47
In the decades after Indian Independence — and especially after the Dravidianist Movement triumphed in the 1967 State elections and captured the seat of power in Tamilnadu and held on to it continually thereafter until the present day — the small community of “ubaya-vedaantins”, along with the entire Brahmin populace in the state, suffered traumaticContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedantin-s”: Part-47″
“THE IRON SHACKLE AND THE GOLDEN MANACLE” Words of Wisdom” from Sri Mukkur Azhagiyasingar “arul mozhigal” in Tamizh: English Translation
It is my privilege to translate into English the 2nd and Final Part of the Tamil epistle of HH Sri Mukkur Azhasingar, the 44th Pontiff of Sri Ahobila Mutt, on “Sin and Virtue”. It has been published under the title “BREAKING OUT OF BONDAGE” in the December 2022 issue below of “VAINAVAN KURAL ”, “SpiritualContinue reading ““THE IRON SHACKLE AND THE GOLDEN MANACLE” Words of Wisdom” from Sri Mukkur Azhagiyasingar “arul mozhigal” in Tamizh: English Translation”
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-46
From a historian perspective it can be said that in just a short span of 50 years after Indian Independence, the small community of Sri Vaishnavas that was part of the insignificant Tamil Brahmin population in the three states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, suffered a collective trauma of grievous loss…. The lossesContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-46″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part-45
Hereditary and/or traditional rights of control over temple wealth and administration (continued) In the decades after Independence, in the democratic, socialistic and secular republic of India, successive elected governments of the State of Tamil Nadu realized the enormous potential for extracting great and steady revenue-streams and wealth — not to mention enormous leverage in electoralContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part-45″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-44
Hereditary and/or traditional rights of control over temple wealth and administration The story of how in 50 year after Independence the State in Tamil Nadu “established a system of legal plunder…. known as the “drain of wealth”… and “mercilessly imposed” it upon temples and temple-centric Brahmin communities is indeed a very long one. The storyContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-44″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-43
Hereditary and/or traditional rights of control over temple wealth and administration All through the years during the period 1970s through 2000, the community of the “ubaya-vedaantins” plunged rapidly into a social morass. The language of their ancient traditions, Sanskrit, was in its death-throes if not already dead. The ancient social-contract of “varna-ashrama-dharma” in which, onceContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-43″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-42
“Brahminical dominance“: Education, Employment, Governance and Arts and Culture Throughout the post-Independence decades, until the very end of the 20th century CE, the Dravidian Movement launched in the State of Tamil Nadu by Periyaar and later crusaded by leaders such as C.N.Annadurai and M.Karunanidhi, became a social revolution of the non-Brahmins, by the non-Brahmins andContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-42″