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″
Tag Archives: Tamil Nadu temples
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-40
In at least six or seven decades that immediately followed Indian Independence in 1947 CE, the deep crisis into which the “ubaya-vedaantic” identity fell was caused fundamentally by the sudden social chafing that suddenly irrupted between its centuries-old traditional Vedic value-system and those that soon came to be enshrined and championed by the new holyContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-40″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part 39
The small religious community of Sri Vaishnavas for several centuries, have always been apolitical. As priests, religious scholars, spiritual seekers, temple up-keepers, poets, litterateurs, philosophers and theologians, “ubaya-vedaantins” kept themselves away from most of the affairs of kings, kingdoms, the state and the government. Their indifference to matters of politics was the norm. Exceptions wereContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part 39″
Tormenting Minorities Amounts To Defying the Shankaracharya Order
https://m.thewire.in/article/religion/syncretism-adi-shankara-teachings The WIRE Everyone should read the Op-Ed piece above. It is balm for the troubled soul. It is always good indeed to hear calming words spread by apostles of peace (peace be upon them, wherever and whoever they are!) … such as this “veteran journalist” writing in THE WIRE who attempts to be one.Continue reading “Tormenting Minorities Amounts To Defying the Shankaracharya Order”
The sorry state of a Sri Vaishnava heritage site in Chennai Mylapore
A relative of mine who works for a leading newspaper in Chennai forwarded to me this morning — 18 August 2022 — the published report below : As a Sri Vaishnava I read the above news report and was deeply saddened by its contents. It made wonder why no religious organisation (muttams, charitable institution, volunteer-groupContinue reading “The sorry state of a Sri Vaishnava heritage site in Chennai Mylapore”
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya vedaantins” – Part 4
It was during the period after the Vijayanagar Empire fell — and its vassal kingdoms in Tamil Nadu dissolved too and disappeared eventually– that the differences and distinctions between North/South, Kanchipuram/Sri Rangam, Sanskrit/Tamil and the Tenkalai/Vadakalai identities became increasingly pronounced in the “ubaya vedanta” fold. In the SriRangam region, a galaxy of scholars from theContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya vedaantins” – Part 4″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya vedaantins” – Part 2
The 2022 fracas between the Tenkalai and Vadakalai groups of Sri Vaishnavas at Kanchipuram is only the latest of dozens more of the past which are far bitterer — and equally petty-minded — than similar sectarian spats that occurred and grabbed news headlines over the last 200 years in Tamil Nadu. India is a vastContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya vedaantins” – Part 2″
THE Open-Letter to SATHGURU JAGGI VASUDEV-ji that I did not write
I watched the above video-clip and it made me think : With a little bit of help from PM Modi and other friends , Sathguru might even soon be angling for a Nobel Prize … who knows . Best of luck to him . 🙏 I for one will not grudge that. But this isContinue reading “THE Open-Letter to SATHGURU JAGGI VASUDEV-ji that I did not write”
Don’t the Trustees of the Mudichur Ram-Anjaneya Temple, demolished by the GoTN yesterday, deserve the same rights as illegal slum-dwelling encroachers?
https://www.facebook.com/kannansastrigal.kannansastrigal.3/videos/1072305363340957/ A friend of mine —- an experienced retired high ranking public servant in the Government of India, after watching the video link on Facebook above that I had rather forwarded to him wrote to me as follows : QUOTE : Some basic facts about the video: It’s not in Tambaram as stated. It’s templeContinue reading “Don’t the Trustees of the Mudichur Ram-Anjaneya Temple, demolished by the GoTN yesterday, deserve the same rights as illegal slum-dwelling encroachers?”