HINDUISM IS SHAN MATHAM (by L.Kannan)

Lately we have been hearing on radio and reading on news about one individual who have been actively professing his brand of Hinduism. I've heard his 'speech' where he collectively labeled all Hindus as Saivites, all pujas must be only conducted in Tamil. In response to this, my good friend Mr. Kannan Loganathan penned down this piece.

HINDUISM IS SHAN MATHAM

By Hinduism I am referring to what the scriptures (and some people) call Sanathana Dharma. Shan  Matham  refers to the worship of   the 6 main deities in Hinduism :

Shaiva (Lord Shiva) , Vaishnava (Lord Vishnu), Shakta ( Shakti) Kaumara (Lord Muruga),  Ganapthyam ( Lord Ganesha) and finally Soura (Sun). Emmathamum sammatham sonatthu  ithey thaan.

  

I am a Tamil ( I can read and  write Tamil of course) , I  sing the Thevaram and I hold in high esteem the great poet seer Thiruvalluvar. But does being a Tamil impose  an obligation that one must know Thevaram and should only worship in Tamil ?  Does Thevaram give sufficient information on what Hindus should know ? How did the Universe came into being ?  Who was the first man and woman in Hinduism  ?  What are  our Holy  books?  Is there a doomsday for Hindus?  What are the do’s and don’ts  of  Hindus. ?  At least 85 %  Hindus do not know  the answer to the above.   But you can’t blame them because they have not been taught all these ; and the ones who have learnt are not too keen to share.  Athai vida kevalam  ennavenna intha shanmatha followergal sandai. En saami thaan perusu  , un saami sariyalla .  

There are now quite a number of people  running around proclaiming that Thevaram is a must and only means to worship if you are a Tamil native. Thevaram  (Devotional hyms ) is a sacred product of intense devotion  (Bhakti ). But preaching about Bhakti without teaching the basics of religion is akin to climbing a tree to catch a fish.  It smacks of extreme foolishness and ignorance to speak of  God being North Indian and South Indian . It is equally mischievous to label the Vedas and other Scriptures as being in North Indian  or Aryan  lingo. While it is always convenient to pray in a language that we understand  it does not mean  you can’t worship God using any other languages . More importantly it DOES NOT mean that a Tamil native MUST worship in Tamil. God transcends all languages. Is He  not the Creator ?  If language is so important how would a mute  pray ?

In this country Hinduism classes (samaya vaghupu) is synonymous with Shaivism . We hear only of Thevaram and Thrikural competition. That is wrong.  What is needed  is a comprehensive guide on the fundamentals of Hinduism and it cannot ignore the exposure of  the Vedas ,  Upanishads ,  Puranas and and Itihasas.

Children must be taught the existence and importance of all these before they move on to the Shan matha worship. Lord Shiva is an embodiment of love (Anbe Sivam) . He did not instruct us  to alienate other deities or devotees. It is due to the lack of proper study and understanding of the religion the Hindus in this country have become “cultish”. The situation is so severe that I think it is high  time the Malaysian Hindu Sangam takes a couple shots of Viagra.

The Tamil Shaivites here should embrace others in their family of ShanMatha with love not suspicion. Fanatical attachment to  language is a hindrance to spiritual development. Shower the love of Lord Shiva on all ; regardless of who they are , as true Shaivites will always live by the prayers  Inbamey Soolgha ELLORUM Valgha.

Hindu 'temples' demolished? But why?

Note: This posting is not supporting demolishing exercise of any Hindu places of worships. I'm not siding the party that builds or party that demolishes, nor I'm aligned to any party in case you're wondering. However, I'm writing with questions running in mind, hoping to find sensible answers, if any. Views expressed here are personal, accept and reject at your own will. Thanks.

Before we get into the 'matter', let's analyse some basic terms used for places of worship in Hinduism. 

Temples

A Mandir, Kovil , Devalayam, Deul or a Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism. A characteristic of most temples is the presence of murtis (statues) of the Hindu deity to whom the temple is dedicated. They are usually dedicated to one primary deity, the presiding deity, and other deities associated with the main deity. (click to read further)

Altar/Shrine 

Hinduism is notable for its emphasis on home worship. Most Hindus have a shrine at home, which is also called altar. (click to read further)

Now matter-ku varuvom. "Sepang-il Hindu kovil idikkapatathu, ellorum atthiramaga tirandu varungel!!". You would have already heard about this and seen how simple matter can be blown out of proportion and made into a political issue between parties involved.

I know the matter is still simmering and many are harping on the issue to get some media mileage. While this was going on, yesterday I saw another 'news' of 100 years old temple to be demolished. Quick search revealed this 'ancient temple'.

My curiosity made me to write this piece with few questions on the above.

1. Was there any permission/approval sought from the neighbors, authorities like local council / fire department? If yes, where's proof of application?
2. Why build illegal structure outside the home and term it temple? If its a temple, who is the moolavar and are pujas done according to proper Hindu customs & rites?
3. When even a small renovation to kitchen or balcony at private property must be properly planned and approval sought from local authorities, why went ahead and build the structure first?
4. What if his neighbors builds a bigger structure on both sides of his house and start to do things that may disturb his life at home? Will he complain to the authorities?
5. Why the need for a 'temple' in every home? A shrine or altar can do the same, inside the house.
6. If we Hindus regard temple as sacred, why must everyone to simply erect any structure and call it a temple without respect to the design, construction and rules of a proper temple?
7. In the event of a fire in the house, if the structure hampers firefighters from helping him, who will he blame then?

More questions:

1. More than 100 years old temple is not even registered, why?
2. Were there any application for land made during all those years? Proof?
3. The ancient temple's 'committee' can only build a wooden & zinc structure over 100 years period? Seriously?
4. Why only now political party's are jumping on the issue, when over the years there were hundreds of shrines may have been cleared in many states? Where were they at that time?

Who's at fault? Who to blame? Who is the victim? Who is the opportunist? There are many other questions running in my mind on this issue. 

While reading more articles, I found this news which earned the guy massive brickbats, but his points makes sense to me : "Failure of the Malaysia Hindu Sanggam (MHS) to explain how and where the temples and shrines can be constructed was the reason why Hindus in the country are building such places of worship according to their whims and fancies." 

He said MHS, as an influential religious body, should not encourage construction of shrines or temples at houses. "Running religious classes alone is not enough. MHS must initiate a large-scale awareness campaign to tell Hindus about their own religion. It would be better if MHS comes out with a declaration stopping people from building places of worship in their house compound,” said Thiruvengadam.

A temple for me is a sacred place, it should not be build without proper care, in a private premise. Thanks for reading.

Nam Hindu mathatai naameh sirumai padutha vendam. Valipaadu talanggalai katti athai vazhinadattha sila poorvigha vazhimuraigal undu. Vittuku munpuram seruppu veikum idathilum, naai padukum idathillum, kusiniku pinnal kuppai kottum idathilum 'kovilgal' yena kuri kudaram katta tevei illei. Nam panpaadu, kalachaaram matrum aanmiga valarchiyai olukkathudan todarvom.

Child abuser extraordinaire - he needs 'treatment'

I'm writing this piece with simmering anger. If only I can get hold of the culprit, and step on his genitals ...

Probably you may have already seen the sickening video of an adult bastard abusing a small kid, which went viral on the social media.

The 'brave' potteh hero have been caught and remanded. While in custody, I wish he meets some burly character who will abuse him in any possible ways. He is now facing potential jail term and fine, I hope he gets both.

While there are couples who yearns of having kids of their on for many years, here we see a kid who's born to a couple where the father left while his mother is carrying him, and she eventually became the '2nd wife' (I don't know how the F its possible) to this hero. In the video he goes on to abuse the kid physically while being filmed by hie 1st wife, is she even human?

The video is 2 months old, in that time the kid could have been killed and buried by this bastard anywhere. So friends, if at all you come across suspected child, wife or husband abuse, lend your hand by at least sending a SMS to the police. You may save someone's life. Don't ignore these cases ... a life lost, will never return. Thanks.