Subscription (fwd)

[Ravi Mayavaram]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 17:51:31 -0800 (PST)
From: Vivek Anand Ganesan <v_ganesan at yahoo.com>
To: Ravi Mayavaram <msr at reddy20.tamu.edu>
Subject: Re: Subscription

Hi Ravi,
     Thanks for the invitation.  I am 24 years old and am a software
engineer.  I have been very interested in Vedanta in general and
Advaita in particular since my high school days.  My father is an avid
follower of Swami Vivekananda ( hence, my name! ) and my interest in
Vedanta was kindled by reading Swami Vivekananda's books.

    As far as my vedantic knowledge goes, I am no scholar.  I have
been reading a lot about Vedanta and the Indian religious tradition
and history but I do not have detailed knowledge of Sanskrit or the
scriptures.

    I do respect and revere the Vedantic tradition in general.  And, I
am in no position to find fault with the great acharyas of yore.  My
goal is to learn as much as I can about the philosophy, practice and
history of Vedanta, so I promise you that I would not make
irreverential statements about acharyas, gurus etc., vedantin or
otherwise.

   I do have one request to make of you.  My interest is primarily
with the philosophy and hisotory of the Indian religous tradition.  I
am also a practitioner but I cannot claim to be a serious one at that.
 I also intend to benefit from this learned forum by gaining knowledge
regarding the afore-mentioned topics.  So, I hope I do not come across
as being too pedantic but my participation would primarily be one of
posing questions.

    I was drawn to this august forum by the astute, well-written and
superb replies to my questions, provided by Shree Vidyashankar
Sundaresan.  His Web page and his replies to my e-mails piqued my
interest and I started following the list as a mute spectator.  Given
the erudition of the members and the topics of discussion, I felt that
I could gain a lot more by posing my questions to the group at large.

    On a final note, I am usually not this verbose.  I just felt that
I had to answer your concerns at the outset.  Thanks again for your
prompt response and I look forward to our journey together.

-Vivek.