VaishNavism
– royal patronage
SrI:
SrImatE rAmAnujAya nama:
SrI lakshmI narasimha parabrahmaNE nama:
Dear vaishNavAs,
Today there
is no trace of doubt about declining situation of vaishNavism in the society. Most divya dEsams of SrIya pati are suffering
in severe poverty stricken state, not having enough facilities even to perform basic kainkaryams. The great monumental temple
buildings are about to break down. Many contemporary vaishNavAs forgot their traditions and leading lives of lust and greed.
The term ‘VaishNava’ lost its importance in the context of an individual, as if it were only representing one’s
birth in a family. Many attribute this apparent fall to secular governments, changed social scenario (work for bread), advancement
in technology,…..
It is clear
for historians to find vaishNavism to flourish between 11th – 20th centuries as a result of royal
patronage and their generous contributions to temple and brAhminical culture. However, I disagree with the view that this
is the reason for the flourish in the olden centuries and fall in the present era. If we take the examples of all great AchAryas
in our sAmpradAya, all of them withstood the onslaughts of different political outrages. Many important AchAryAs had to flee
to another safe place to protect the deities and own lives, when para-mathas(other religions) attacked us severely. One has
to clearly understand a crisp point that the great royal families that helped the cause of vaishNavAs originally belonged
to para-mathAs. Our AchAryas CONVERTED them to our religion by defeating the para-mathas with their logic, conviction and
devotion. This proves the fact that our AchAryas were in no better position than ourselves, but successfully turned the tables
in favor of the Almighty. Hence the past vaibhavam(glory) of vaishNavism can be only attributed to the unflinching devotion
of vaishNavAs of that era. In today’s world context, most countries are secular and it is free for people to practice
their own religion without being offended by others. It is such an unfortunate situation that in a such favorable conditions
we are losing our traditions.
It is also
true that, in the present day world, one has to work very hard to maintain one’s family in good condition. Yet, there
is a trade-off between the amount of time and effort we put in our culture and bread. One has to find an optimistic solution
so as not to lose the ultimate goal of life, performing kainkaryams to the Supreme Lord, SrI hari. We do not have to build
great temples like that of Sri rangam, but we just need to protect already manifested temples which are the result of SrimAn
nArAyaNa’s and great AchAryAs grace for us to be blessed with the privilege of serving them.
The Technological
advancement should be used to remember the Lord more efficiently than to completely forget Him.
By the mercy
of SrI AchAryAs and SrI ranganAtha’s consort, many vaishNavAs are able to reach good positions in their professional
lives. Accordingly if we all serve the divya dampathis who are already Self-satisfied, will be pleased and grant us with much
more bhAgyam of serving Them; eventually leading us to un-interrupted service (in SrI vaikuntham). Hence let us not make lack
of royal patronage as a hinderance in our services to Them. Else we are proving vaishNavism to be a mere droplet of historical
royal activities.
May
SrI AchAryAs give us more determination to perform kainkaryams to divya dampathis!
sarvam SrI krishNArpaNamastu.
dAsOham,
SrIperumbUdUru vEnkaTa vinOd.
