shri kunjuppu
>>thank you for your detailed posting. i request you to read this reply of mine, only as a query or observation, without an iota of criticism or scorn. hope you don't mind.
re subra swamy. i am dismayed now to find that swami stayed behind in india to seek a career in the swamp that is indian politics at the urging of mahaperiya.
i am also surprised to see that the kanchi mutt is a bjp supporter. especially in the time of the previous pontiff. news to me. bjp is a political party and they have their own agenda to suit the times and strategies to get elected.<<
Kanchi Mutt is not a official supporter of any party,as far as i know.All come and get their graces thru H H.Mahaswamigal is a wise saint.I really cannot know,why he asked Dr.S S,to stick with Janta Party.Any sishya will listen with faith,thats all i know.
>>by the way, bjp supports ardently quotas in educational institutions, which is an anethma to most tamil brahmins.
the tendencies of older folks to tend advice, even on subjects whether they have very little knowledge, is an indian 'thing' in my view.<<
Tamil Brahmins are winners.Will be winners now and in the future.No matter whatever subjugation.
>>i am somewhat surprised that swami cast aside his interest in economics, which had he pursued, he would have now been on par with those of bhagwati, sen and ofcourse krugman. to the best of my knowledge, swami was of THAT level of calibre.<<
Its a matter of your opinion.Obviously you & i cannot decide for SS.
>>should we attribute swami's failure as an indian politician to poor adivce from mahaaperiavaa? swami should have known better and followed his natural instincts instead of listening to the advice of from a mutt chief.<<
Failure & Success are in the hands of the lord,isn't it?SS is just doing job of listening to his acharya,with full faith in Guru,and the Guru will know when to give what!
>>personally, i do not believe, that the kanchi mutt would blatantly come to sponsoring political parties, even though some the managing clique there might be sympathetic to it.<<
I retract any statement that i have written,to make you comprehend,that Kanchi Mutt is sponsoring or its officials are sympathetic to any or none of parties concerned.
>>many elderly folks of the previous generations had this suspicion of western values and influences. it was not uncommon for family elders to actively discourage their sons from pursuing opportunities abroad.
many a times, youth bowed to the wishes of a supposedly hidden wisdom that came with age, only disappointed to find, that this 'advice' was a outer cloth, which hid behind it, a deep feeling of insecurity and suspicion.
most often, it took all the adamance of youth to pull away those tugs of family rules, wishes and cut the umblical cord, to a journey of freedom and self fulfilment. i am not putting any value to it, but enunciating it, as i know, how it happened.
nowadays, i believe, this is a non issue.<<
Yes.Times have changed.
>>just out of curiosity, had mahaperiavaa bestowed the same advice to you, ie to stay behind in india and indulge in bjp politics, what would you have done?<<
I would have done what Mahaswamigal tells me.I already demonstrated this when i was 16 years old,when i had differences of opinion with my late father.
>>my second train of thought....
like you, i am also very excited by barak obama's election. have been following it, but living in canada, not as a participant, but only as an observer.
his most strident enemies, are that particular group of republicans, ie the christian evangelists, to whom sara palin pampered.
this group is almost all white, fanatically christian, with a dislike of people of colour and immigrants and muslims and the media and the educated etc. etc. these group also has a sense of entitlement of a christian white america which should overlord other groups and if possible, kick them out of the usa.
i am quite sure, that like me, you have a contempt and dislike of this evangelist republicans who form what is called the 'looney right', and wish to marginalize them.
india, too has its brand of 'looney right' of which there are many organizations and also an element of bjp. i have found many indians, both in the usa and canada, who spout liberal values here, but when it comes to india, become extremely conservative.
these folks see a threat and fear everywhere in india - to hinduism, culture, way of life etc..
the loony right in the usa calls this 'persecution of christians'. the looney right in india, calls this 'persecution if hindus'. not sure, how desis here can pay lip service to two diametrically opposing values ie liberalism where they reside, but reactionism in their land of birth.
i may be out of step in the above observation and may be faulty to the core. however, in my readings of your posts, i detect a faint appreciation of the conservative elements in india, while at the same time, embracing the western liberalism. how do they coexist?<<
I am anything but conservative in real life.Like Rajni says " Enn Vazhi Thani Vazhi " .Of course he is a super star and i am a dubuku.
sb