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June 05th, 2013

6/5/2013

6 Comments

 
                                                            Loka-sangraha  Gita 3:20,25

                                            loka saṅgraham-evāpi saṁpaśyan kartum arhasi || 20 ||
                        “One should engage in work  with a view to benefit the world. (loka-saṅgraha)”

In the dictionary among the various meanings we find for the term sangraha are:--
elevation, kind-treatment, entertainment, protection, holding together, benefitting, favouring.
And the word loka refers to the whole world and  the human race.

What Krishna is enjoining us to do is to work for the benefit and upliftment of the whole world and the whole human race.

While Krishna teaches this and we talk about it,  the Catholics  actually DO IT! All over the world we find nuns and priests who have dedicated their lives to the service of the masses.

I began my spiritual journey with the Divine Life Society of Paramahamsa Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh. He and his disciples all embodied this ideal and one of the major focuses of the Ashram is running schools and the serving of the poor and the sick. There are free clinics and meals are distributed everyday to everyone who turns up. The Ashram also runs a leper colony and the monks themselves serve the lepers, changing their dressings and feeding them.

In South Africa the Divine Life Ashram runs free clinics and food and clothing distribution centres as well as schools for the poor Africans.

The Ramakrishna centre is also at the forefront of charitable work as are numerous other Advaiti organizations.

But what of the Vaishnavas? The Hare Krishnas were the first to really begin this sort of outreach program but they concentrated mainly of “food for life” and the distribution of Prabhupada’s books in order to gain converts.

Chinna Jeeyar Swami is today the only Srivaishnava monk of note who actively  pursues charity work and he is to be highly commended for it.

The rest of the Srivaishnavas are primarily concerned with attending festivals and enjoying the alankaram of the deities. They then fight and argue about who stands where in the temple queue and who gets the “prathama tirtha” first dispensing of holy water! God help you if you stand on the wrong side!  Most of the time they spend congratulating themselves on the good fortune of being Srivaishnavas and arrogantly disparaging others (especially the other “kalai”!)

We are told that the essence of being a Srivaishnava is to empathize with the suffering of others and to work to alleviate their suffering (Nanjiyar)! How many of us actually do this?  How many of us perform act of charity, help the poor and work for the benefit of others? Of the major schools of Vedanta the Srivaishnavas are the most status-conscious and bigoted!  More concerned with window-dressing than actually delivering the product.  The tilak that we wear, the size of our topknots, the orthodox practices of ’purity’ (madi-acaram)  are all frivolous, tinsel and trash! What really matters is the degree to which we have attained self-mastery and developed the qualities of compassion and kindness and the amount of service we do for others.

6 Comments
Pritesh Patel
7/16/2013 03:24:54 am

In addition to all this charity work, HH Chinna Jeeyar stands out from other Vaishnava leaders through the following:
1) Overcoming orthodox boundaries by travelling outside India and mingling with tribals and others considered untouchable
2) Maintains his exclusive Vaishnava devotion but openly works with other sects to foster Hindu unity
3) Uses Hindi, English and utilises points of cultural reference that are not just Dravidian-and Brahmin centric and hence makes teachings attractive to non-Brahmins, Northerners, Southerners, Nepalis and even some non-Indians
4) He is bold and courageous in speaking out against the crass commercialisation of Tirumala temple. He has placed his reputation on the stake to face the TTD and the more politically powerfull Jayendra Saraswati head on.

I am very curious to know more about his lineage. On all of this websites and publicity material, information on his immediate Acharya is detailed. Is anyone able to explain a bit more about the history of his Mattam and his line going back to the Manavala Mamunigal? Also has he had much contact with the Srimatham in Australia?

Reply
Pandit Rami
7/17/2013 07:15:17 am

Chinna Jeeyar has taken Sannyas from our guru — Sriman Varada Yatiraja Jiyar Swami, which makes us "guru-bhais." He has had no formal contact with Srimatham at all - although he knows of our existence.

Reply
Pritesh Patel
7/19/2013 04:02:58 am

Pandit Rami - Thanks for that. However I'm confused. I thought his Guru is Peeda Jeeyar Swami?

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