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.
Ha ha. All Tamils are Saivites? Since when? What about the 108 Vaishnavite temples in Tamilnadu?
ReplyDeleteHave 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.
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.
ReplyDeleteMany of these preachers pass on their beliefs as the absolute.
ReplyDeleteWho is the guy? Aboorvaas?
Saiva narpani kalagam's Tharmalinggam
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ReplyDeleteIt 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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