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diluting traditions

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I was pained and amused to see during the recent amniyavattam,( thread changing ceremony) that less than 10% of the brahmins with Vibhuthi in their forehead and chest, limbs-i meam with full turnout.

Rest came, with just a small dot like vibhuti in the forehead. I feel this event comes only once in a year, and why we are shying away by not observing it properly.

Also, may participants, starts pestering the vadiyar, for speedy completion of rituals, so that they can attend the office early..

My question is that, why not spend one-hour more atleast once in a year. Also, i observed, many changed the treads in their home, by reading the pamplets, why r we diluting our rituals.
 
வேதம் புரியவில்லை . சமஸ்கிரதம் தெரியவில்லை .
செய்வது எதற்கு ? புரியாத வயது (age/time) .
திருவல்லிக்கேணி மாம்பலம் இவைகளை விட
இராஜபாளையத்தில் சமஸ்கிரதம் தழைப்பதாக கேள்வி .
வேதங்களே பாடசாலைகளில் தமிழில்தான் மூச்சு விடுகின்றன
 
Vedham theriya vendaam;
vedhathin saaram arindhal podhum;
samskrutham theriya vendaam;
adhilulla neethi sasthrangal purindhal podhum;
evvalavu theriyum enbathalla kelvi;
evvalavu pinpatrugirom enbadhuthan kelvi.
 
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Our Vadhyar was very sincere in conducting the Avani Avittam. Offcourse some people come without the basics which is very sad.
Vadhyar politely told us to wait for the Homam and if not possible this year, atleast next year.

I think we should take half a day each holiday for Avani Avittam and Gayathri Japam

I was pained and amused to see during the recent amniyavattam,( thread changing ceremony) that less than 10% of the brahmins with Vibhuthi in their forehead and chest, limbs-i meam with full turnout.

Rest came, with just a small dot like vibhuti in the forehead. I feel this event comes only once in a year, and why we are shying away by not observing it properly.

Also, may participants, starts pestering the vadiyar, for speedy completion of rituals, so that they can attend the office early..

My question is that, why not spend one-hour more atleast once in a year. Also, i observed, many changed the treads in their home, by reading the pamplets, why r we diluting our rituals.
 
வேதம் புரியவில்லை . சமஸ்கிரதம் தெரியவில்லை .
செய்வது எதற்கு ? புரியாத வயது (age/time) .
திருவல்லிக்கேணி மாம்பலம் இவைகளை விட
இராஜபாளையத்தில் சமஸ்கிரதம் தழைப்பதாக கேள்வி .
வேதங்களே பாடசாலைகளில் தமிழில்தான் மூச்சு விடுகின்றன
hi akura,
தங்களுக்கு மிக்க நன்றி. வேதம் மற்றும்
சம்ஸ்கிருதம் இப்போழது இராஜபாளயத்தில்
நன்றாக வளற்ந்து வறுவதாக அறிந்த
விஷயம்.......

இப்படிக்கு
டிபிஸ்
 
My father once advised me regarding nethikku ittukaruthu ;
"if you observe 10 good things your son will observe one - if cultivate one bad thing your son will do ten bad things"
From then on i was regular to do good things. After bath have a full vibuthi or thiruman as the culture demands- then while going to office you have them reduced to the level of acceptability by your office.

Whenever somebody praises about a muslim doing namas even during journey, i would ask them why dont you do your sandhya vandhanam regularly. who stopped you';
As elders should first inculcate the good habits. Even on festival days why you should truncate the good cultures.

Nagai perunkadambanur madhava chari parthasarathy

I was pained and amused to see during the recent amniyavattam,( thread changing ceremony) that less than 10% of the brahmins with Vibhuthi in their forehead and chest, limbs-i meam with full turnout.

Rest came, with just a small dot like vibhuti in the forehead. I feel this event comes only once in a year, and why we are shying away by not observing it properly.

Also, may participants, starts pestering the vadiyar, for speedy completion of rituals, so that they can attend the office early..

My question is that, why not spend one-hour more atleast once in a year. Also, i observed, many changed the treads in their home, by reading the pamplets, why r we diluting our rituals.
 
It is sad to see many have dumped their basic obligation of performing tharpanam and thithi to their pithrus.I have heard some elderly people giving the reason for the non performance every year that once thithi is performed at Gaya, there is no need to perform the same for the rest of one's life.
Does this argument have any validity as per sastras?
S.Sridharan
 
Tos.sridharan, I was also stoped Ammavasai ,Monthly 1day, grahanam,and yearly thithi,because the vaithiyar who charged very high and he started coming late ,one year my fathers thithi he didnot turnup and came on a ammavasai day and asked me to do both the tharpanam and thithi,like wise and my true serch end in Guru feet and I have started reading the Holy books started discuss with knowledgeable peoples,started reserch on scripitures. Now I am happy since no tension or any guilty in my approch. I used to put the Hole money in the SEWA Box when the GURU give us his Darson and prasad day. Now I also stopped all type of pooja, clebrating Deepavali and other festivels. Once I started my meditation I enjoy Deepavali inside(Swami sivanandha write a message about Deepavali with in you). Due to verious resons and envirmental factors affecting certain Karmas and diluting traditions. s.r.k.Last word the vathiyar started to bring unmarried bachlors and some time without Brahmans and using Khurchams in place of Brahmanals.Only Money was the only aim. I have paid rs 100/for Ammavasi and thithi rs 400plus convayence 50, and brahmanal 300/plus convayence 50 perhead.once I also understood that Brahmanals shouls pay a commission to the Vathiyar and their group head. thatsall.
 
tochims: sir your athangam purikiruthu, any one should NAMA Jabam while Travelling ,eating, walking, during sleeping,nothing going to stop. That is the best way. s.r.k
 
Diluting Traditions

I totally agree that the present day vadyars are different from the ones of our fathers'/grand fathers' time.The element of shreddai is missing and they have become money minded.Though their demand for more money may to some extent be tolerated considering the present cost of living,we cannot compromise on the paddadi which they try to skip.
Fortunately for me,there are some places here where shrarddham is arranged and conducted on turnkey basis.We have to inform the thithi in advance and pay money to them .On that day we can just go there, have bath, perform the thithi, have food and return with the prasadam.Though we spend liitle more money,there are no hassles whatsoever.They conduct all the rituals fairly as per one's sampradaya.
S.Sridharan
 
There are good vaadhyars in the field, highly dedicated to the job. Every year during Avani Avittam, we are getting a vaadhyar who is highly dedicated,sincere and not at all money minded. We have a responsibilty to take care of them to the best possible extent. It is a two way process.

Amavasai, Masa tharpanam etc could be performed without depending on the Vaadhyar by referring to the books.

For performing Shrardham, it is better we develop community centres near our residential areas. Probably we can hire a small flat where a cook can stay permanently. We can have arrangement with a good Vaadhyar and few brahmins for performing the ceremony.
We can regulate the charges taking into account the cost of living as well as affordability.

We have to have self regulating community centers near our residential areas wherever our community has a large presence

எண்ணாயிரம் ஆண்டு யோகம் இருப்பினும் கண்ணார் அமுதனை கண்டறிவாரில்லை உள் நாடி ஒளி பெற உள்ளே நோக்கினார் கண்ணாடி போல கலந்து நின்றானே
 
I am not sure , Diluting Traditions .... the topic by itself , is an attempt to dilute the traditions or is it posing a question of " What on earth does one need to do to save diluting traditions !!".
From the young brahmachari's perspective , the day when the upanayanam is done and thalai avaniavittam is completed , is it wrong for a BRIGHT YOUNG boy , who :

a) Has done wonders in understanding emerging technologies and competing by establishing a position for himself in this modern world (joining in the rat race for achieving success !!)

b) Has simply gone by and accepted good or bad as his parents dictate ??, without analysing !
c) Had lived his life till such time following the culture adopted by his parents !!

so as i was saying shouldn't he have the right to raise questions about the rituals / practices being followed expecting MATURE answers , rather than mythological stories ??
So diluting traditions happen in cases when the new entrant does not find sufficient convincing reasons behind practising anything and everything !! Is it illegal ??
 
This asking of questions and answeres giving dates back to vedic times.If our parents are unable to give answeres,there lots of resources now available to learn.But then,the faith that by doing a samskaram produces the result is being questioned.The root cause is,we adopting english speaking countries methodology.Slowly indians will worship christ as the main diety,i think.Nothing wrong,but its my prediction for the future and i will not be alive to see that in this body.Thank you !.

gopal.
 
Viji,

I think that there are as many variations of practising the traditions as there are Brahmin households.

Our laws and scriptures are many and each one of us focuses on either what has been handed over to or what we selectively chose.

The only exception to this perhaps is avani avittam, the only communal ceremony that I know of.

In my youth, we did avani avittam at an aunt’s house.

It was more an occasion for family get together and lunch.

the menfolk piously started the gayatri, and before long lapsed into the current day’s politics. Don’t know how that happened, but it sure did with regularity.

So, here is the crux. The avani avittam was diluted in the above story.

So when an earnest youngster queries the need for such an lackadaisical avani avittam observance, I think the parents should not be too hard on him.

Either they reform, or just give it up altogether.

Nowadays, I find the poonul ceremony, atleast from the folks I know, is a very much mindless ritual.

The ones I have enquired post poonul, none of them do the sandhi. But the parents seem bent on the elaborate ceremony.

It is on occasions like these, that I am more than convinced, that as we gained materially, at the same rate we shed our traditions.

This appears to be the way things are going, till all that is left of our traditions will be found in books, which I hope someone will write before it is completely forgotten.

It will be of interest to future anthropologists.

Thank you.
 
Exactly Shri Kunjuppu ji ,

There's definitely a positive and an appropriate way of presenting things to the child , relative to his age and understanding .
If however ,we push things too hard , our goal will and cannot be accomplished - this is the bitter truth !
So how i really wish my culture and traditions persist for a long time , it should be my prime duty to present the merits and demerits to my child and impress upon him to gain his confidence and make a mark in his internal conscience on continuing the cultural traditions that have come a long way ( aavi vanthathu !).
It is really simple , they say you just need to follow the heart sometimes and not the brain !
So spread the message through love and affection and tell your offsprings that these are some of the virtues and beliefs that i have been following by my heart and i will be more than happy if you continue this tradition and pass it on further !
By this you buy time and your son will look into the positive things in the traditions like improving concentration levels , faith levels , or may even get an early exposure into reading religious books and getting into the quest to understand the meaning of LIFE !


And about your concern that our traditions may be soon forgotten , don't you worry sir , However high may one reach , any brahmin fella will have something pestering him , reminding him that he has achieved all whatever he has by virtue of the vidhya taught by his parents and seldom will he dare to defy the beliefs of the older generation !, subject to the condition that the feeling of LOVE is more predominant in the household( basic family virtue ), rather than dictatorship or strict adherence by force imposed by a parent !
 
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I know of two Brahmins here in Canada that sort of "went back". One was a mechanical engineer, had a good job, even married a Canadian (white) girl. He realised his calling wasn't that, so he decided to learn the Sanskrit, asked his Telegu parents for help, and took courses. He resigned his job, and is now chief priest at a North Indian style temple in a city of 500 000. I've been there and his is a demanding task, as he accommodates to several worship styles, languages etc. The Tamil community there is quite small but there is an alcove shrine area for Murugan. The Tamil community sponsors a Murugan puja once a month. He has memorized 108 names of Muruga for archana to serve them better. This is on a saturday night. Then on Sunday if you go, ha has new role of North Indian punditji.

The other fellow hails from TN and is also an engineer. he left the country and the practise pof the religion, but somehow he encountered the small Ganesha temple I go to, and pondered , `What are these people doing. He must have realised there was something to it because now he is volunteer assistant priest and comes every day to do hie persoanal Murugan slokas.

Aum Namasivaya
 
My father once advised me regarding nethikku ittukaruthu ;
"if you observe 10 good things your son will observe one - if cultivate one bad thing your son will do ten bad things"
From then on i was regular to do good things. After bath have a full vibuthi or thiruman as the culture demands- then while going to office you have them reduced to the level of acceptability by your office.

Whenever somebody praises about a muslim doing namas even during journey, i would ask them why dont you do your sandhya vandhanam regularly. who stopped you';
As elders should first inculcate the good habits. Even on festival days why you should truncate the good cultures.

Nagai perunkadambanur madhava chari parthasarathy
Quite true.We need to inculcate the habits in younsters by practising the same ourselves.There is no need to shy away as we do not mind sporting staff ID of our Office or wearing scout/NCC uniforms.Let us understand that it is our way of life.For the information of those shying away,I used to apply Vibhuthi even while in Dubai and also I go to office even with my religious marks though Iam working in General Manager cadre.It only requires some strong conviction.
 
To: s.sridharan sir I was also tried to go to Sankra Mutt where every thing arranged for money including Vathiyars and Brahmanals. When I witnessed that the perprations of Items is changed from our family tradation and also interchanged between other familys on the same day,next quality comes very poor and using recycle of oils, Vegitables also not good quality.In every Institution some one become corrupted and they force others to do so.Just watched all and came back without booking and decided to follow my own decision,and faced abuse from all corner from my family members.But I am Happy my Money which goes to the SEWA Box is feeding daily Laks of sawadhars who duing Psycial sawa to the Guru and the institution with out any return but the blessings and daily giving personal darshan and blessings to crossover life as ocean to reach the final destination. Even today my brothers carring the tourch and duing at Sankara Mutt and that they are happy on their way .s.r.k.
 
Our like style, environment, society all have changed now and not in the way they were when traditions began. I have seen many changes in the attitude, dress and manner of speech of our people. Much have changed specially during the last 10 or 15 years. There was not much difference between my father's ways and mine, but my son's ways are very much different from mine. We speak of tradition only as we know it when we were young. May be it was different from the tradition followed by our grandfather. I do not think wearing Vibhuthi or Thiruman only for the occasion is irrelevant. Also wearing them in full and reducing it when going to office. These are lame excuses. It should be either do it or do not do it.
 
I also feel that we cannot follow the same custom and practice all the time First of all we are migrating to new places on a continuous basis and availability of resources to follow the same old custom in the new place may not be there.

Attitude of the Vaadhyars are also makes us dilute our customs. If they make `vaidheekam' as fully commercial, we don't have any other option except reduce the practices. Except probably Shrardam, marriage, upanayanam and final rites, I personally avoid vadhyar. Avani avittam is conducted in nearby temples and there is no problem.

I think the present day vaadhyars will make us dilute our traditions and cusotms

எண்ணாயிரம் ஆண்டு யோகம் இருப்பினும் கண்ணார் அமுதனை கண்டறிவாரில்லை உள் நாடி ஒளி பெற உள்ளே நோக்கினார் கண்ணாடி போல கலந்து நின்றானே
 
many vadhyars, with many exceptions, are more interested in money. So, even while I do perform the sraddhas regularly I satisfy my conscience by donating a sizeable amount to a charitable institution for feeding the imates that day
 
All religions treat this visit on earth as a temporary passage enroute to promised potential happiness in the next.

Based on our birth, the social group to which we are blessed, has imposed certain norms, with the understanding, if these are followed, the rewards of afterlife will follow.

No religion, to the best of my knowledge, encourages its followers to live it up here on earth for the next world is going to be worse than this.

When traditions are created, they are time stamped to reflect mores and values of a certain period.

By their very elaborate exclusivity, these set up the practitioners of those rites, to succeed in their quest for celestial virgins of the next life.

By gradually abandoning those mores, perhaps we do not believe in the promises offered to us of eternal bliss?

But few of us discard all our tradtions like dirty underwear. We strip layer by layer, perhaps consoling ourselves, that the lapse of this minute nature, will not be noticed (by God or other humans) and will not siginificantly alter our chances of entry to nirvana.

And so the dilution process begins.. like a trickle of water when a dyke is breached. To prevent the leak turning to a gusher, maybe the plug should be applied very early, ie an uncompromising attitude towards rituals. Not one iota of a movement or utterance will be altered in tempo and form.

Even the most sincere adherents of our tradition, have found our traditions, painfully long and difficult to practice in the context of demands of modern day living.

In short, we have all been set up for failure. There is no way anyone can follow the letter of the law re performance of our rituals, and maintain an ordinary grihastha life that we all aspire.

Perhaps the rituals can be simplified. Maybe short standard prayers uttered three times a day, wherever we happen to be, could be suffice.

Maybe mandatory charity (minimum 1% of our net income?) ? 1% may sound small, but I think, in the context of our community, that is a start and progress from zero.

Maybe 8 hours social work at the local community centre or in lieu spending time with our youth for education.. all these are modern day rituals, which are meaningful to the self and give us a sense of fulfilment.

Otherwise we end up degenerating to such levels as denigrating our priests, who theoretically, are the upholders of such traditions and whose duty is to impart them to the public.

To sum up, I think, we do not value our traditions worthwhile to practice.. this as a community at large.. though some individuals may do so differently

I wish there is some way, where we can reform our rites and set it up, so that it can be practised regularly, with ease, and as a result more fervently and devoutly. This I wish, not just for Brahmins, but all Hindus.

Thank You.
 
Maybe mandatory charity (minimum 1% of our net income?) ? 1% may sound small, but I think, in the context of our community, that is a start and progress from zero.

Maybe 8 hours social work at the local community centre or in lieu spending time with our youth for education.. all these are modern day rituals, which are meaningful to the self and give us a sense of fulfilment.


Thanks Sri Kunjuppu ji

I fully agree with you that we have to reform. But the transformation will take place slowly and steadily.

However we can continue the charitable works which you suggested above without getting out of the present traditional practices

எண்ணாயிரம் ஆண்டு யோகம் இருப்பினும் கண்ணார் அமுதனை கண்டறிவாரில்லை உள் நாடி ஒளி பெற உள்ளே நோக்கினார் கண்ணாடி போல கலந்து நின்றானே
 
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I also feel that we cannot follow the same custom and practice all the time First of all we are migrating to new places on a continuous basis and availability of resources to follow the same old custom in the new place may not be there.
It may be helpful to all if a committee representing all sections of the brahmin community be formed to study the various customs and traditions and draw a new authoritative code that is suitable for the present scenario and to be strictly followed by all Brahmins.
In earlier times, the Kings took care of these things but now the so-called secular government may not do anything, specially to Hinduism and more specially to Brahmins.
Tamilbrahmins can take initiative in this direction.
We should take into consideration that Vadyars have their families and they depend fully on the community, so we pay them adequately even if we have to strive to some level. Vadyars may not 'demand' but accept whatever is given. I have seen Vadyars who switch off their mobile when they start doing the rites. All Vadyars are not commercialising.
 
`Uksharma 3
It may be helpful to all if a committee representing all sections of the brahmin community be formed to study the various customs and traditions and draw a new authoritative code that is suitable for the present scenario and to be strictly followed by all Brahmins.'

Our Acharyas have to guide us in these aspects. Smartha's have to guided by Sringeri/Kanchi Acharyas. Vaishavites/Madhvas have to guided by their respective acharyas.

If our Acharyas guide us the reforms in our customs and traditions, all of us will accept without much of a problem.

First of all forming a committee is not at all possible. There are different sects among us. There will be difference of opinion at the committee formation stage itself.

Best way is the Acharyas suggest reform measures taking into account present circumstances.

எண்ணாயிரம் ஆண்டு யோகம் இருப்பினும் கண்ணார் அமுதனை கண்டறிவாரில்லை உள் நாடி ஒளி பெற உள்ளே நோக்கினார் கண்ணாடி போல கலந்து நின்றானே
 
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