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Instructions to neophyte

From the Bhakti List Archives

TV.Venkat • July 14, 1998 


                      Sri Mathe Narayanaya Namaha
         Sri Rukmani Sametha Sri Venkatakrishna swAminE Namaha
                      Sri Mathe Ramanujaya Namaha

     I take this invitation from Sri Mani for all to participate in this
     discussion.

     I feel personal opinions play a major role in such discussions and it
     is upto some scholars like Sri Mani, Sri Sadagopan, Sri Sudharsan, Sri
     Anbil swamy and others whom I have not mentioned here, to correct me,
     the siriyavan, if I am wrong.

     Speculation will be in everybody's  mind about every thing. For argument
     sake let us agree that we do not want to accept anything told as such by
     our ancestors, achAryAs and other scholars. But if we are not going to
     listen to the words of THE SUPREME BHAGWAN, who else are we going to listen
     to.

     In my opinion, all the works of our Great AchAryAs and the AruLicheyals of
     the AzhwArs are in one way or other related to the Most Sacred Bhagavadh
     Gita, which was given to this world by Sri KrishNa Himself.


     So finally it all boils down to that we are listening only to what THE
     SUPREME BHAGAWAN has said, thro our AzhwArs and AchAryAs.

     I would also like to quote here the work of Sri ManavALa MAmunigaL, Ubadesa
     Rathina mAlai, in which he writes,

     "MunnOr mozhindha murai thappAmal kEttu
      PinnOrndhu thAm adhanaip pEsAdhE - tham nenjil
      thOtrinadhE solli idhu suddha ubadEsa vara
      vArra dhenbar moorkar avAr"

     ("MunnOr mozhindha murai" - All the traditions and culture that were told
     by our ancestors, "thappAmal kEttu" - listen to them promptly, "pinnOrndhu
     thAm adhanaip pEsadhE" - Don't argue with that,as all these traditions and
     cultures were lined up by our ancestors, as per the PerumAL ThiruvuLLam.
     "tham nenjil thOtrinadhE solli idhu suddha ubadEsa vara vArra dhenbar"-
     The people, who feels or boasts that, whatever they think only is right,
     arguing with what our ancestors told, "moorkar avAr"- are those, who are
     without brains (Buddhi Heenan))

     So when one cen agree to it that, if we are not to listen to what THE
     SUPREME BHAGAWAN says, we have none to listen to, they shall also agree to
     it that all that told by our AchAryAs and AzhwArs and other scholars were
     told with Bhagavadh AnugrahA only and hence that is also to be listened
     without arguments.

     However, in my opinion, we are not prevented to find out the basis on what
     our ancestors have lined up our Sampradhayams. This is only the knowledge
     part and this does not mean offending our ancestors.

     So coming back to the instruction to the neophyte issue, as Sri Mani has
     said in his posting, all that our AchAryAs have said are for neophytes. It
     is not only, Sri Ram Gopalaswamy who claims himself to be a neopyte.
     Instead, we all of us are neophytes of a kind. None of us know fully, what
     is told in the VEdAs and ShAstrAs.

     So it is only to enlighten all the neophytes (which of course, is us) our
     AchAryAs have taken so much pain to explain what are our rituals, thro' the
     VEdAs and ShAstrAs.

     Please do correct me if I am wrong in any of my above words.

     adiyEn RAmAnuja dAsan,

     Thirumalai Vinjamoor Venkatesh.