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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

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.

7 comments:

  1. Ha ha. All Tamils are Saivites? Since when? What about the 108 Vaishnavite temples in Tamilnadu?

    Have they heard of the 4000 Divya Prabandham, wrote completely in Tamil in praise of Vishnu?
    Do they know that ONLY Sanskrit prayers are allowed in the Siva temple in Chidambaram.

    Do they know that Vaikunda Ekadesi was celebrated with fervour before the 70s in Malaysia when Sivarathri was totally unknown?

    Do they know that Siva has NO Tamil name while Perumal, Thirumal, Kannan are pure Tamil names?

    Generally Tamils are not bothered about this divide. They go to Perumal temples and Sivan temples without any thought. It is the fanatics who try to plant the differences. Just like politicians, these extremists must be weeded out.

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  2. Well said. I was shocked hearing this self-proclaimed Saiva authority who vehemently claimed all pujas, rituals must be done in Tamil. Since when all Gods only knows Tamil?? I called the program host and told him that his guest have mass preached something very narrow.

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  3. Many of these preachers pass on their beliefs as the absolute.
    Who is the guy? Aboorvaas?

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  4. Saiva narpani kalagam's Tharmalinggam

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  6. It was proclaimed to conduct all the prayers in TAMIL when you forced the Tamils to conduct/listen the prayers in a language that was unknown to many. When you are not forcing your way of prayers on other, then is no need for others to repel your encroachment. The Prayers should come from the heart. As Saint Manickavasagar says "சொல்லிய பாட்டின் பொருள் உணர்ந்து சொல்லுவார் செல்வர் சிவபுரத்தின் உள்ளார் சிவன் அடிக்கீழ்ப் பல்லோரும் ஏத்தப் பணிந்து", you should understand the meaning of your prayers. I chant Rudram and Chamakam in the same way that I chant Thevaram and Thiruvasagam. When you do not know the meaning of your prayer, you can't differentiate between a prayer and the cursing. So, people should pray in their own language or at least in the lagnguage in which they can understand the meaning.

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