SANKARA MUTT

Five Sankara Mutts and Kanchi Mutt were established by Sri Adi Sankaracharya. As we all know the purpose of Sri Adi Sankaracharya's life was to rally the Hindu religion and give a proper direction to the followers of Sanatana Dharma. Hindu religion and it's principles, at that time was challenged by other off-shoot philosophies. Also Sri Adi Sankaracharya was probably able to visualise at the time the later threats of Muslim and Christian invasion. 

The question now, is the purpose and the relevance of Sankara Mutts established by Sri Adi Sankara. First we must understand that these Mutts are supposed to preserve the Hindu religion and not to propagate it, which is a task being well done by these Mutts. One would naturally think that Hindu religion has to be preserved by making the people aware of Hindu values. 

So we must reflect upon what constitutes Hindu values. The following are some of the Hindu values that I can readily think of;

• Realisation of the principles of Karma and Dharma

• Means of conduct of one's life to achieve the life goals (spiritual) 

• Duties & Responsibilities of an individual in achievement of life goals. This will include the division of society along caste lines. Castes were created purely for facilitating professional duties and not for division of society into higher and lower. 

• Clear duties prescribed for each caste and it's interchangeability. 

• Vasudaiva Kutumbakam - the world is one family

• To harmonise all things in nature with individuals and to respect & regard every component of the eco-system.. 

• The rites and practices to follow for a layman ( with even a minimum understanding of the religious principles). It should be noted here that subjects were given a wide choice as long as they conformed to the ultimate goal. This is the reason there are so many Institutions for Hindu religion such as Shaivites & Vaishnava traditions, Madhava traditions, Ramakrishna Mission, Sikhism, Swaminarayan cult, Radhaswomi Satsang, Bahai faith etc. 

Presently Sankara Mutts have branches in various cities of India making it easier for people to approach them. They run Veda paatashalas, mission hospitals, gaushalas, patronise schools, run colleges, train brahmin priests, conduct upanayanams and marriages for the poor, organise annadaanas, assist temple establishments and so on. The tradition of daily pujas and special day functions throughout the year are all observed in letter & spirit. All these are done to reach out to people and as an example to the people on how to be ideal citizens and contribute to society  

May be I can suggest a few more initiatives such as holistic centres in every town and village of India which can provide health dispensaries, teach yoga, have meditation centres, organise satsangs, provide counselling, provide skills in traditional areas such as pottery, handicrafts, sculpting, looming and agriculture, advise people on some wrong practices such as animal sacrifice, drinking, atrocities on women etc. Such efforts will go a long way in raising the awareness among people. 

SOUTH INDIAN BRAHMINS AND RITUALS

Hinduism, which is also known as Sanatana Dharma, is so called because of the flexibility it offers based on locations and practices. Therefore rituals vary with regions and also based on sects. 

One of the sects (to which I belong) is Brahmins who are the inhabitants of Tamil Nadu. The Brahmins here are categorized due to their birth into a Brahmin family. Here again the whole community can be divided based on whether they are priests or ordinary individuals. Since priests are initiated into learning Vedas from the very beginning, they are sought after for performance of various rituals as prescribed in the scriptures. 

There lies the catch!. Though the Priest Brahmins are initiated into Vedas from a very early age, I doubt, if the real teachings of Vedas are espouced. Vedas have, no doubt, detailed the procedures for various duties and responsibilities for the individuals to practise. But, somehow, I feel the spirit of the Vedas are missed and is delibrately twisted to suit their needs. With the result that teachings of the Vedas, which are supposed to be eternal and true to any time ( because even the times are pre-conceived), the relevant practices have been thrust or forced into the people even if they are irrelevant. So, whether it is the marriage or rituals connected to death, many of those are done with vested interests. In marriage functions, ofr eg., the Kashi Yatra or bride given away to husband while sitting on father's lap are some of the rituals which are totally irrelevant in today's times.

The Varna system of Hindu culture was conceptualised based on societal well-being and a symbiotic purpose between various people. Distribution of wealth is accorded utmost importance in the form of charitable acts to the downtrodden in the society. Learning of the Vedas (or true knowledge) is the privilege of the Brahmins and since high knowledge can induce inflated ego, the community is not supposed to crave after earning and are supposed to lead a frugal life. The three Gunas are also linked here, so that Brahmins become a class with a high percentage of 'Satvik" Guna and less of other two. Expectations of payoff for their services are something that is firmly discouraged among such people. At the same time other people are encouraged to be generous to the Brahmins. A true Brahmin is expected to take only that portion which is sufficient for him and donate the balance then and there. But what is happening is away from all these principles. For every occasion, there is a price. Not only this, a person is left with a feeling of guilt for not giving away the expected amount and gifts. 

Proper direction need to be given to the people by Institutions such as the Mutts. But these Institutions are firmly in the clutches of the priest Brahmins and public criticisms are addressed with some charitable acts which are not really properly co-ordinated.  So there is a lot of resentment even though some of the good acts are done by some of these Institutions. 

It is therefore necessary to weed the archaic practices and set new guidelines so that people in general do not feel cheated. One may see a revivalism of Hinduism if these practices are well co-ordinated and guided. Many of the superstitions prevalent in the society today can be removed. There may be a wider acceptance of the Religious heads among the Hindus. Presently Hinduism has varied schools of thoughts which divide the people. By this way, the different thoughts can be integrated and unity among different Hindus can be promoted. In these times (Kaliyug)it is all the more essential that people need to be guided properly by those who are God's own messengers. 

PRESENT CONDITIONS IN KASHMIR

5th of August was a historic day when Indian Parliament abrogated Article 370 and Article 35A of Indian Constitution with a very comfortable majority. Indeed,  these two Articles which are supposed to give special powers to Jammu & Kashmir was used as a tool by the greedy political leaders of the State to play a double game and thrive on the riches poured out by both India and Pakistan.  The general condition of the Jammu & Kashmir population did not any better in the last 70 years.. On that same day,  apart from doing away with both the Articles, the Indian Parliament also split the State into two parts and seperated Ladakh from Jammu & Kashmir and rightly so.

Since then, no day goes where Kashmir is not in the news. The Force protection of the region, the development plan for both J & K and Ladakh, the euphotic rhetoric of Pakistan with threat of Nuclear use, the attempts to influence the foreign countries, Media, UN Human Rights ( they find issues where there is none like our Meteorology Department), and Indian Government made to defend with proofs and reasons.

There are some wise (wisecracks) and a section of Kashmir people who ask Indian Government whether it is not right to consult the Kashmiri people before such a drastic decision is taken. I have a question to them, did they question their so called leaders when they were playing dirty games between India and Pakistan?. They voted the corrupt people again and again. Why should they be consulted when they were not even mature enough to decide their own fate?.

There are about 20-25% of people in Kashmir Valley, that is 3% of the whole  J & K population who still exhibit a kind of indecisiveness of their illustrious leaders. These people are probably the decendants of Moghuls who have married among the populace that time and underwent a partial racial change. These people, being Muslims, have their heart in Pakistan and their mind wanting all the goodies of India such as liberty and freedom. While they want to enjoy the goodies of India they will lend unstinted support to Pakistan. Such peoples mindset cannot be changed. Indian Government must decide what to do with such people.

All Countries in that area, consisting of Pakistan, Afganistan, Iran and the region of POK are all unstable regions which present an unruly populace difficult to govern. Such a scenario existing in one corner of India is a challenge which India has to face and skillfully ward off any of their harmful effects. This is really necessary if the true identity and the divine nature of Kashmir land has to be preserved.

Apart from hearing the name of Kashmir,  none of the world countries would want to do anything to help India overcome its difficult situation. But blames may be heaped on India by some countries depending upon their strategic and opportunistic interests. We are doing the right thing in Kashmir presently and we must continue to protect our people and keep educating the world populace about the nefarious plans of rogue state of Pakistan. Other than this, for the present, there is no solution.

Pakistan itself, may be due to its own ill-advised policies is on the brink of disintegrating. India, while actively not participating in any of these, may highligh the plight of the situation in Pakistan to the world so that the true nature of Pakistan is known. To some extent we are succeeding and hope it is led to a logical conclusion.

WHOSE KASHMIR IS IT ANYWAY.?.

Does it belong to India or National Conference or the PDP or the stone pelters or the militants or to the Army or to the Pundits?.

If one goes into history before, say, 600 years, prior to Moghul invasion from the North-west Khyber pass, the land which mostly consisted of inhabitants called Hindus as exemplified  by the mountain Indu-kush and river Indus and Him-alayas (Mountain of temples). The borders were well-defined by nature with inaccessible mountains and giant rivers. More proof exist as the ethnic features of the people living there even now, the age-old temples built, the near-permanant names of the places and locations and the reference in the ancient  Hindu scriptures. Though the underlying faith of the people were of Hindu Dharma,  the lands were a motley of small kingdoms. Among these kingdoms there were conflicts as well treaties. There were even marriages between people from different kingdoms. So the Hindu land consisted of hundreds of small kingdoms. Most of these rulers were Just and ruled wisely according to the Hindu Dharma as the basis.

The Muslims invations into India started right from 700 A.D. There were Muslim rulers in the Mediteranian who were eying India for long. Most of these powerful Muslim rulers were defeated by the Indian Kings, but they came back trying different routes, defeated weak kings and entered Indian land and their prime deed was to loot and plunder. Around 1500 AD  came Babur. I think history records that first time Babur was driven away. After some time,  the Moghul army came with reinforcements, took advantage of a weak period and crushed the small and prosperous kingdoms. This led to 250 odd years of Moghul rule wherein temples were destroyed, wealth was plundered, atrocities were committed on men as well as hindu women. Many hindus got forcibly converted to Islam. Therefore, the Indian people were under the influence of Muslims for about 1200 years.

After the end of Moghul period, the British came. Probably their initial intention was for trade. They noticed enormous wealth in the lands both in the form of materials as well as richness in culture and concepts. Greed got the better of them. Their business acumen made them notice the fragile nature of a race which was culturally united, but politically divided.  They applied themselves to the task of widening this gap. Their supressions and oppressions did not yield results because the culture identified itself with such sagacity which baffled them. Muslims among the race was their trump card. It is fate that, they could not fragment and cause division among the Hindu culture (so strong was the underlying philosophy) and therefore decided to use Muslim-Hindu divide to advantage. They were aided by the arrival ( or plant) of Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Using this man, they systematically infused poison  into the same race which was united in origin, but different in Idealogy and played on the sentiment and pride of gullible people.

By that time, the conversions had taken effect and a sizable population of Muslims was ensured. The British succeeded in dividing the country possibly as a revenge on the Indians for standing up against their Empire. So East and West Pakistan got formed. In spite of the formation of these Muslim States, sizable population of muslims inhabit predominantly some parts of India such as Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad, Surat and many pockets.

So historically speaking, even the lands of Pakistan, Bangladesh belonged to India and people in these countries are also basically converts whose basic cultures must have been same generations ago. The original inhabitants of Kashmir, the Pundits ( they are so called because they were the caretakers of hundreds and thousands of Hindu temples there), either were subtly resettled or these Pundits found the demography getting slowly altered and therefore migrated down to the plains. So the soul of Kashmir is Indian as demonstrated by many pilgrimage centres there. Moreover Himalayas are not just mountains, but a sacred place for the Hindus, the kesh of Lord Shiva who houses in his kesh, the Ganga and other celestial rivers. To think that, today, an indisputable sanctum of Hindu race is a contentious issue is both absurd and cruel play of fate. The Pakistan aided terrorists call the fight for Kashmir as ‘Jihad’ which can be ‘Dharm Yudh” for Hindus. The battle may be won ultimately and history will be restored to hindus, but after a lot of blood-shed. 

FABRIC OF INDIAN SOCIETY

I sense a general feeling of insecurity among the Christian community in the Country. I find many articles or write-ups of many Christian writers generally critical of the Central Government policies and reforms even if they are welfare centric. I find pronoucements by Christian Institutions very tacitly warning its followers about a threat approaching them.

The fact is that situation in the Country is not at all that fluid to warrant such a reaction by the community. True, there has been a Hindu revivalism in the past four years, but that has been more towards uniting Hindus and restoring their past pride. Great leaders of this Country fought for Independence. The leaders, post Independence penned their dreams into the Constitution to pave the way for a society akin to Utopia. But it was a fractured India, which underwent a terrible brith pang in the form of partition. Coupled with this, the Country was illiterate, with rampant Caste outlook and riddled with abject poverty and disease. The British plundered and looted the Country and left its inhabitants like the aftermath of a hurricane. The early Government servants were naivettes who, probably did the best they could. The British style of Institutions were the only form they could learn from in almost spheres, be it Governance or in Education.

Since Independence there has been a substantial increase in the population of Christians in India. Initially the Christians had a missionary zeal which provided selfless philanthropic assistance in the field of health and education. Somewhere this zeal turned into a machinery for conversions taking advantage of the innocence and poverty of people in very sensitive areas. The vulnerable areas were North East of India, West Bengal, Kerala and southern Tamil Nadu. A sizable population in these areas were converted into Chritianity with propoganda and generous aid from their drivers overseas. This practice continues even today while Indian society advanced admirably in almost all the spheres. This is probably because they thought that if India were to become an advanced country it would be Christain in nature. Even today I get at least one group in my doorstep every month professing about Christianity and looking for an opportunity to convert. Taking a cue, Muslims too started conversions in the Southern tips though it was not backed strongly by any overseas agents.  However Islam was more active in Africa where many have been converted over the years and good sportspersons they were that they could immigrate into European soils. It is also significant to mention that 320 years of Moghul rule and 120 years of British rule could not wipe out Hinduism inspite of razing of Hindu temples by the Moghuls and weakening of Hindu Institutions by the British.

Otherwise, Indian society with their tollerant attitude have nothing against Christians as long as they practise their religion without interfearing into others' territories. Somehow all religions teach the same virtues, lead to the same goal, though the path taken may differ. Therefore, each individual, whatever religion he may belong to, must respect other religions and this only can ensure harmony in a society. They must not be swayed by some self-serving parties or institutions whose motives may be malicious.

DRIVE THE FUTURE?.

During the sixties till the nineties, one used rise up in the corporate ladder gradually with experience. There used to be a selection process in the Companies where people used to get elevated based on one practical capabilities. With the advent of Management courses that is supposed to compress years of practical experience into a two year capsule, Companies began to induct MBA graduates at senior positions giving them exorbitant salaries. This turned the tables upside down and perhaps sowed the seeds of many of the behaviours we see today.

The countless number of loosely regulated Management schools that sprung up everywhere gradually started to change the  a course of times. These probably induced change in the thinking young minds. In the family, the father and mother became casualties. The sons and daughters stopped to listen to them. The mobile phone and internet made the matters worse. The young people just  assumed to know all. Quickly parents lost their relevance. The teachers were the next. They lost the respect. Teachers were once upon a time the heroes and heroines. Now they are mere instruments who are supposed to do the job alloted to them in their profession. The schools gradually altered their exhalted role of character building to those of commercial corporates where it is more important to turn in material and immaterial profits. There is a gradual degradation of family and community institutions because their roles lost the relevance. One finds that nowadays the marriages are breaking up at the drop of a hat, and marriage itself becoming a question mark for many of the youngsters. There is a threat to the very fabric of life  In the society too, a large number of people express diverse opinions, engage in blatant loose talks and take extreme positions on issues of collective importance. Many issues are allowed to burn literally in the name of democracy and freedom of speech. One has to view one of the debates being conducted in the news channels on television to understand the harsh and untruths being spoken in the name of free speech. Sparks fly, heat is generated which pushes the mercury of tolerance to critical levels resulting in crimes. In these circumstances can one expect righteousness to happen?.

Sigmund Freud or Phillip Kotler propounded theories probably to establish a new corporate order. Einstein proposed theory of relativity which also contributed to fearsome nuclear weapons. Japanese mass production models also lead to Chinese type of cheap products. It is rarely possible for humans to direct the course of the times. But look at someone such as recent theorist J.Krishnamurthy. You will find a seeming contradiction in his theories. Hindu scriptures are by nature contradicting. It gives people not only the possible but also the vision of the negative effects of any theory. While the past cannot be controlled, the responses in the present times are in the hands of the people. Human mind has been given the power of discrimination which has to be used to decide the appropriate responses. This  is the only way to sustain the world.

PRESENT DAY INDIA DEFINED

In India

Education has no value
Ignorance is Bliss
Poverty is a blessing
Economy is skewed
Money is everything
Corruption is a way of life
Road is a war zone
Breaking law is a matter of pride
Politics is a lucrative profession
Justice is a boon

Striking work is one's right