Rituals

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Fri, 14 Sep 2001, Sunny Bhardwaj wrote:

> Hi Everyone,
>
> I don't know if this kind of question is appropriate for this list, but I'll
> ask anyway :)
>

Yes it is.  Advaita Vedanta is not just about philosophy but a way of
life.  How to act or not to act are very important.

> Is there any relevance or benefit in observing rituals such as Shraadh, or
> performing Yagnas in this age of Kali? I have heard from some followers of
> Bhakti Yoga that the age for which these were prescribed was a different one
> and the only way to salvation in the Kali Yuga is Bhakti. They say that
> there are so many things to be done if one follows the way of the Vedas (?
> I'm not sure if that's the right way to put it) that he is bound to get
> lost. If he undertakes Bhakti, everything is taken care of by the Lord.
>

They are misinterpreting what the shastras say about the Kaliyuga.  What
is different now is the quantity not the quality of Dharma.  Dharma is
sanatana (eternal.)  I think this view of North Indian Vaishnavas is based
on historical circumstances.  The Vedic tradition in the north suffered
grieviously due to invasions,opportunism etc.  Vallabhacharya had to flee
Vrindavan eventually ending up in Rajasthan.  Two of Chaitanyas six main
followers were convertsto Islam at one point.  This lead to a defeatist
attitude.  But we should remember that Time is maya.  Maya is totally
under our control.  In fact we must try and control it for it is the deeds
of the virtuous people of the Kaliyuga which will cause the next
satyayuga.  This cycle of yugas continues indefinitely.  The India which
was dominated by foreign powers doesn't exist.  Today who is stopping us
from following our Dharma?

In fact the Vedic Shrauta yajnas are not a thing of the past.  They
continue to this very day.  (A list member said a soma yajna took place
earlier this year in Andhra Pradesh.)  Those who practice the Grhya rites
number in the tens of thousands.  I won;t lie to you.  Yes following
Dharma can be difficult, I can tell you that from my personal experience.
But things like mathematics are difficult too.  No none suggests we
abandon them and only chant the name of Pythagoras do they?

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
>From ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG Sat Sep 22 11:24:01 2001
Message-Id: <SAT.22.SEP.2001.112401.0500.ADVAITAL at LISTS.ADVAITAVEDANTA.ORG>
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 11:24:01 -0500
Reply-To: List for advaita vedanta as taught by Shri Shankara
        <ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG>
To: List for advaita vedanta as taught by Shri Shankara
        <ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG>
From: Sankaran Kartik Jayanarayanan <kartik at ECE.UTEXAS.EDU>
Subject: Fwd: A Spoecial Prayer Session (fwd)
Comments: To: JNagarajan at aol.com, puneet_kohli at mailcity.com, "Ayyalasomayajula,
        S Padmakar" <padmakar at mail.utexas.edu>,
        Uttiya Chowdhury <ucy at mail.utexas.edu>,
        Jagannathan Mahadevan <jagan at ccwf.cc.utexas.edu>,
        "Ravisankar S. Mayavaram" <msr at comco.com>,
        "Mukund S.Kalisi" <mukund at mail.utexas.edu>,
        Swaroop Ganguly <swaroop at ece.utexas.edu>
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For those who are interested in a Hindu prayer session to help the victims
of the recent terrorist attacks.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 06:27:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: Shobha Yedatore <yedatore at yahoo.com>
To: kartik at ece.utexas.edu
Subject: Fwd: A Spoecial Prayer Session


Note: forwarded message attached.

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