Pranams :

onc i was very proud to be a member of this group .
iam one of the many people inspired by this group to
learn many scriptures by our great acharyas . and
follw there principles.the mails that i have been
receiving i thought i thought were not just written
but follwed . but i found to be wrong . In a recent
function attended by my appa of a member of he said he
was shocked to see the parents of the bidegroom eating
food in both the hands and ever thing against the so
called anushtanams which the group was started the
spread

This was done in the family function of the primary
contributor of our group.In this the way the
vaishnavism has to be spread to the younger generation
..As a person belonging to the second generation. I
want elders to answer.

Are the mails only for self boasting the knowledge.
Are the mails oly the preach others and not to follow.
I request the elders to answer this

Balaji

__________________________________________________ ______________________
Missed your favourite TV serial last night? Try the new, Yahoo! TV.
visit http://in.tv.yahoo.com

Dear Sriman Balaji,

Preaching and practice are very much away from each other. We have to
live with it. Particularly youngsters should not get carried away by
awe-inspiring religious mails but concentrate on their own welfare
with complete faith in SrimannArAyaNa.

Regards
Vishnu

Dear Mr S. Balaji,

A good point raised. But the manner is offending. A
person admitting to an outburst of anger cannot aspire
to Srivaishnavism.

Our love for an urbane life has forced us to divest
ourselves of the Vedic and other Aachaarams and
Anushthaanams. Who is to blame?

Why punish and slander this group for the 'fault' of a
distant relation of a contributor?

While I do not condone any laxity in the observance of
any Anushthaanams, it is time our Aachaaryas enunciate
a new set of Anushthaanams in tune with the modern way
of living. Till that happens, we, as slaves of the
modern lifesyles, shall continue to break without
remorse the time revered Anushthaanams that our elders
had put in place.

Cool down, Mr Balaji, this group needs your views and
your rebellious presence. I see no other way to
progress.

Warm regards.
Thiruvendipuram Naima Krishnan

Namo NarAyaNAya

Dear Sri Balaji,
Please accept my humble Namaskarams.
I happen to look at your posting and would like to say
the following, please forgive me if it appears
hurtful, which is not my intention.

* First of all, doesn't your great self think that it
can be hurting to the member to whom this is
addressed, given that you are going to the forum which
has many users, instead of directly approacing him??

* A son trying to be a SriVaishnava doesn't guarantee
that his father would be one, and vice versa. If
Vaishnavism is based on blood relations, we won't have
beef-eating Iyengars in the modern age.

* We are not here to judge each other's actions, look
at each other's flaws. We are here to gain Knowledge
of SriVaishnavism.

* I hope this point is not taken in the wrong way, Sri
Prahlada was the greatest devotee, but his father was
the greatest demon. Did the Lord fail to grace him
because of his father's attitude??

* The moment somebody says he is a Vaishnava just
because he is born one, he ceases to be a Vaishnava.
Thiruppanazhvar belonged to the Baanan or the modern
day ambattan (barber) caste.

* It is really sad and bitter that you could post such
messages. The first mistake anybody does is to judge
others. What that person does is between him and the
Lord, who are we to judge??

* This is a forum, and the members are trying to learn
more about our glorious SriVaishnavism. Now, it would
be a big problem if anybody forces you to disobey the
anushtaanams. I guess thats not the case.

* Cmon, Balaji!! If you belong to the second
generation, you should understand!! The people
visiting the forum do it out of their free will!!
Successful in the material world, they are looking for
higher spiritual pleasures, they take joy in knowing
and exchanging ideas about SV, thats all.

* Don't get me wrong, it is indeed too narrow-minded
to judge a person based on the action of the
bridegroom's father, and I don't know and don't care
who is related to whom. Your attitude is very very sad
indeed.

* Do you mean to say that you will stop visiting the
forum or stop following SriVaishnavism just because
some Member's family relative ate with both
hands??Well...

* I really pray you don't get offended by my message.
The moment somebody starts to find imperfections in
others, his own imperfections start to grow.

Dasan,
Vimal.

> In a recent
> function attended by my appa of a member of he said he
> was shocked to see the parents of the bidegroom eating
> food in both the hands and ever thing against the so
> called anushtanams which the group was started the
> spread

Others have said it well but I am reminded of
the Biblical statement "Judge not, lest ye be
judged." Who among us has not lapsed in our
ritual purity in some way or another? I shudder
to think of the consequences if I were judged
merely on external appearances. Though none of
us can be compared in any measure, the story of
Jada Bharata also comes to mind as good food
for thought.

But yet I am not surprised at the shock of you
and your father. This is the sad state of our
community when orthodoxy is judged principally
on the basis of ritual cleanliness and not on
internal qualities and formal anusthanam of some
form or another is the primary measure of one's
Vaishnavatva.

Mani
[writing as a participant and not as moderator]