Hinduism
An exploration into Hindu philosophical theories
K. S. Sivakumaran
During the tailend of last year I was literarily mesmerized in
gaining new knowledge of the basic paradigm of the Hindu Philosophy as
enunciated by a guru-like scholar in thamil literature and religion -
the indomitable Kamabavaarathy Jeyaraj. This happening took place at the
Sangarapillai Hall of the Kolumbu Thamil Sangam began on December 28. It
will conclude on January 2. It was a series of exposition of a great
work in Thamil called Thirukural codified and written by a Jain
Thamilian during the post-Sangam period (roughly 3rdC AD - 6thC AD). It
was organized by the Kolumbu Thamil Sangam.
What Jeyaraj did was not the customary explaining the meaning in the
couplets (1330 in all), but he went deeper into the basics of the
ancient religion Hinduism as described and formulated in the Vedas.
Uniqueness
He had his own choice in determining the heads under which he would
speak for two hours. Accordingly he chose the uniqueness in Dharma, Aram,
Work, Iyal, Kural, Athikaram, Paal, Urai. The right equal term for the
Thamil words is difficult to find in English. At least to me for the
present. The first lecture was on the 'Varnachara Dharmam'. It was a
presentation with clarity. It was a fresh look at the classification of
the four kinds of population: Brahmins, Shashtrian, Vanikan and
Choothiran. The nuances and the functions of each category of people
were rationally analyzed by the speaker.
I am afraid I won't be able to retell what he said in a brief note
like this.
Maybe we shall do that on a later occasion because it was too quick
to assimilate beautiful ideas one after the other in eight consecutive
days.
There were a large number of eagle listeners to listen to
Kambavaarathy who is not an academic, but his methodology in
presentation with his fluency in the language drawing allusions from
related material was simply astonishing.
Enthusiasts
Kambavaarathy has travelled around the world with his Kudumbi (Konde)
lecturing.
He is an authority on Kambar's Ramayana. Every year his Kamban
Kalagam organizes many days of seminar on different aspects of the work
of the 9th century poet Kamban. But of late he had engaged in literary
criticism in the form of lectures.
Kambavaarathy comes from Yaalpaanam and was a student of Hindu
College in that city. His team of enthusiasts was in the north for a
long time serving the people in the peninsula in inculcating Thamil
culture, religion and the arts. After moving to Colombo he has
established his institution at Ramakrishna Lane in Wellawatta.
Many scholars and VIPs in Colombo patronize his cultural activities.
Justice C. V. Wigneswaran, T. Easuwaran are few such people.
He has coached and trained people who have become academics.
Naturally there will be people, who would not like his
interpretations, but Kamabavaarathy is irresistible and one wish to know
more from him to form the correct stance one could take after listening
to him.
He is only 52 years, but a senior citizen like me wished to be his
student understanding the value of Thamil Literature and the Hindu
religion.
Sithars of Sri Lanka
Thilaka V. Wijeyaratnam
In the District of Rmaanthapuram was a small state called "Perunaali".
It was ruled by a king whose son was Govindaswamy.
Once there was an infectious disease in that small state and many
died of it. At that time, two sanyasis were seen walking about the
place. Nobody knew who they were. They went into homes where there was
this affliction and begged for food. For fear of these "sanyasis"
contacting the infection some of the people refused to give them food.
The two "sanyasis" forced the householders to give them food and ate the
food then and there. Those whose food the 'sanyasis' partook cured the
terrible infection. This news spread far and wide. In fact these 'sanyasis'
took upon themselves the disease and relieved the sick. When the king
heard this he wanted to invite them to his palace and sent his son
Govindasamy to bring them to the palace. Govindasamy went to the cottage
in which the 'sanyasis' were and worshipped them. They embraced
Govindaswamy with joy. One of those 'sanyasis' was none other than
Periya Anaikutty Swamy and the other was Navanatha Swamy.
Reaching Colombo
Govindaswamy stripped himself of all his royal raiments and wore a
loin cloth. He became their disciple and was known as Chitanaikutty
Swamy. After going on foot to many shrines in India they turned their
attention towards Sri Lanka. They asked a Chettiyar to buy three
tickets. But only two tickets were available. So Govindaswamy was left
behind. When their boat reached Colombo Harbour, there was a crowd to
receive them and strange to say Govindaswamy was among them. The two 'sanyasis'
were not surprised for they knew that their disciple was not an ordinary
person. Navanatha Sithar left the other two and went his way.
Periya Anaikutty and Chithanaikutty were walking along with the other
mendicants. Suddenly Periya Anaikutty Swamy asked his disciple to buy
two tickets to Peradeniya. When they went by train to Peradeniya they
saw Navanatha Sithar there. Navanatha Sithar had a cane. With that he
tapped on his head and then he tapped on Periyanaikutty Swamy's head and
then he tapped on Chithanaikutty's head. Symbolically he had indicated
that he would attain Samadhi first and then Periyanaikutty Swamy
followed by Chithanaikutty Swamy. Later Navanatha Sithar left for
Nawalapitiya. The other two left for Colombo.
In Colombo Chithanaikutty Swamy was hovering around the hut of
Eanamuthu who was a devotee of Periyanaikutty Swamy. He felt that
Periyanaikutty Swamy had come close upon Samadhi state. He wanted to
take him to Jaffna then. There were only a few days left for his
Samadhi. So Chithanaikutty Swamy was always beside him. Suddenly one day
his guru ordered him to go to Munneeswaram. When Chithanaikutty Swamy
was there his guru attained Samadhi in Mutwal, Colombo. On that day
while at Munneeswaram he saw an effulgence and he knew Periyanaikutty
Swamy had attained Samadhi. He came to Colombo and stayed in meditation
at the Samadhi for forty nine days. On the fiftieth day Periyanaikutty
Swamy appeared in his dream and told him to go to Queensbury.
Navanatha Sithar attained the state of Samadhi in Queensbury. Before
that he had told one Perumal Ammayar that Chithanaikutty Swamy would
come and look after him. Chithanaikutty Swamy, went to the Samadhi of
Navanatha Sithar and prayed there. Later he went to Perumal Ammayar's
home and asked for alms. That lady gave him everything he needed to be
comfortable there. Both at Queensbury and other estates around Swamy
performed many miracles.
Mystical deeds
Chithanaikutty Swamy went to Kataragama and went to Hambantota and
from there he went to Batticaloa. There he resided at the house of one
Karthigesu - a superintendent who was a great devotee of Swamy. Swamy
had a great liking for Swamy Vipulananda - the greatest son of
Batticaloa soil. He was a religious, a poet and an erudite scholar. When
Swamy Vipulanandar was suffering from paralysis, Chithanaikutty Swamy
became ill and underwent the sufferings.
Swamy instructed his followers thus:
"Wake up early
Think of God as you get up
Abstain from tea and coffee.
Vegetarianism gladdens you.
Feed the hungry.
If you fail in your duty you cannot realise God.
Let there be the holy ash on your forehead.
Pray to God before retiring to bed."
These were considered as golden words by his devotees.
Swami Vethanthanantha to lecture on Bhagavad Geetha in Sri Lanka
Chelvatamby MANICCAVASAGAR
All the religions, faiths, creeds and saints had come into this world
with one objective - to remind man, the need to turn the inner spiritual
relationship into a dynamic and living factor in one's own life.
Swami Vethanthanantha |
Swami Vethanthanantha who is in-charge of Sri Sarada Brahma Vidya
Kendra (Ooti Ashram), is presently in Sri Lanka to lecture on Bhagavad
Geetha and various other religions discourses pertaining to 'Kambaramayanam',
Mahabharatham, Periya Puranam and Thiruvasagam.
Swami Vethanthanantha who was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu obtained
his Diploma in Textile Technology and Masters Degree (MA) from Madurai
Kamaraj University and served as a textile engineer for nearly 10 years
at Coimbotore.
Since he was very much inclined to spiritual matters, initially he
entered Chinmaya Sandeepani Vidya Mandir (Vedanta Gurukulam) situated at
Coimbotore and studied for three years mastering Bhagavad Geetha,
Upanishad, Bramasutra and Tamil Vedanta scriptures.
On completion of his training at Chinmaya Sandeepani Vidya Mandir, he
was posted as Achariya of Pollachi Ashram and there he served for 2
years. From there, he was posted to Chinmaya International Foundation
(CIF). As he wanted to serve independently, he left Chinmaya Mission and
joined Sri Sarada Brahma Vidya Kendra (Ooti Ashram). As Swamiji-in-charge
of this Kendra, he conducted lectures on Tamil Vedanta scriptures and
also he has established vedanta International Foundation which is now
extended to Sri Lanka as Vedanta Mandram.
Swami Vethanthanantha's main aim is to make everyone to attain self
realization and to serve mankind. His philosophy of life is to love all,
to share with all, to give away everything without caring for his own
comfort and conveniences and also without expecting anything in return
and without any considerations of gain.
Swami Vethanthanantha's motto is to help all and to make them happy,
cheerful and blissful. He says, "I live to serve you all. I live to help
you all to destroy ignorance.
I live to make you all happy. Whenever people go to him in India with
various problems they are facing, Swamiji never hesitates to see whether
they are deserving or not. He helps them with all he can, to get over
their problems.
Indeed, his method of teaching is to encourage people to think for
themselves and to resonant and test for themselves and not to be bound
by any blind belief. Swamiji says that the greatest contribution of the
Geetha to modern society, apart from its priceless spiritual teachings,
is its emphasis on work, dedicated work for the good of the society and
the welfare of all the people.
Work without aiming at personal aggrandizement and with an eye only
to the welfare of the community is the way of life taught in Bhagavad
Geeta.
It lays emphasis on the dignity and sacredness of all work that falls
to one's lost.
According to Swamiji "God is one. Follow any path that appeals to you
with steadfast faith and try to experience Him."
Temples and sacred worship
Sivanandani DURAISWAMY
"Our whole world is a temple domed by a vast celestial heaven.
Billions of stars follow the moon and pour themselves into the golden
brilliance of sun-rise. The sun rises like a luminous lingam filling the
solar system with its radiant light," says Suddhananda Bharati.
An ancient Shiva temple at Thiruketheeswaram |
The beauty of the luminous lingam tinging the clouds with pink hues
and bathing the sleeping world in that strange ethereal rosy glow,
creates in man a sense of peace and harmony. The calmness that radiates
from around and the extraordinary sense of stillness at that sacred hour
creeps upon him. This magnificent beauty stretching across the sky moved
the ancient rishis in their woodland hermitages on the banks of the holy
Ganga, to prayer and meditation, singing the Gayatri mantram at the very
dawn of civilisation itself - 'Let me contemplate the adorable splendour
of Him who created the earth, the air and the starry spheres and sends
the power of comprehension within our minds,' said Rabindranath Tagore.
This has been the transcendental guiding light to humanity down the
ages. It is an earnest prayer requesting for enlightenment, linking the
present to the Vedic past. The past lives alongside the present giving
the whole a gentle continuity and man even today is constantly seeking
peace and happiness, despite all the tensions around him.
Places of worship provide man the rhythmic anthem of love and peace.
These places are the temples referred reverentially by the Tamils as the
koyil or aalayam. The koyil is the home of the Divine King, the Lord of
the Universe and is a sanctum of peace and bliss. Dame Avvai, the grand
old lady of the Sangam Age says, "aalayam tholuvadu saalavum nanru," it
is good to worship at temple," and adds, "never live in a village where
there is no temple."
The Hindu enshrines and worships the Almighty God in three places:
firstly in his heart as the Antar-atman; secondly in his home as the
revered household guest and lastly in the Royal Residence, the
consecrated temple, as the Ruler of the Universe. The Hindu temple is
thus one of the holy sanctuaries where man shares the precious moments
of prayer with God. He attunes his own emotional self to noble and pure
thoughts. The purpose of the temple is therefore to be near God, seek
His love and to awaken greater love for him. Initially man worships God
in His Personal form and as his love deepens, he begins to understand
Him as pure Consciousness, Light and Love.
The religion and culture of the Hindus are centred on the temple.
Being serene settings for music, song and dance, weddings and spiritual
discourses, temples mirror the life of the people. Down the ages, these
have been regarded as centres of excellence for the study of fine arts,
sacred architecture, engineering, medicine and sociology.
The temple is likened to the body of man and the various sanctified
acts within the temple have their significant parallel in our inner
world of body and mind, "ullam perun koyil oonudambu aalayam," says
Tirumular.
Modern research shows us that temples act as bridges linking both
religion and science. Hinduism is viewed as a religion, which could be
explained scientifically. As a philosophy it quenches the thirst for the
knowledge of the Ultimate Reality and as a religion it is a link between
God and man founded on faith and devotion and manifested through the
various rites.
The belief in God is basic to the Hindu Religion and man needs the
temple and images to guide his prayer and establish contact with Him.
Within the temple, God is worshipped physically and through the
senses but in man's inner temple deep within, He is realised through the
mind. "ennul eluparam sothi," He is not only the Soul of his soul, but
is also the dweller in the holy shrine of Tirupperunturai - 'Tirupperunturai
urai Sivane', sings Saint Manikkavasagar. These words guide one to seek
God first in the temple and then with more prayer and meditation,
within.
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A felicitation ceremony to honour the long
standing members of Arulmigu Sri Mutumariamman Kovil at
Wattegama for the contributions made by them in their respective
fields organised by the Kovil Trustees Board and the Saiva
Development Society took place at the kovil premises recently.
Here Rev. Sivashri Sambasiva Iyappadas Kurukkal hands over the
‘Sivaneri Sivmani’ award certificate to the kovil propaganda
secretary S. Ramadas while the members look on. Picture: A.
Maduraveeran |
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