Fake Sankaracharya

[Jagannathan Mahadevan]

I think Jagannath's mail is ambiguous as he has himself put it. I don't
understand what exactly he means by "present problems in leading a vedic
life".

Although the Sankara Mata's were primarily established for disseminating the
scriptural (Vedic) knowledge as per Adi Sankara, they, in addition to
spreading the scriptural knowledge also have participated in other
beneficial activities like the Sankara Netralaya in Chennai.

I think most Sankara Matas and the leading Swami's are doing their bit. I
feel it may not correct to judge the entire Sankaracharyas based on ones
personal observations of society which statistically speaking is biased. I don't
know about the alleged misrepresentation of quoted (in context of this thread)
Sankaracharya of Puri.

I also feel it is correct to say that being a stickler to
rituals alone and no explanation of those rituals to younger generation
may not find acceptance. I don't know if thats what Jagannatha Chatterjee
mean't.

Jagannathan.

On Wed, 20 Nov 2002, Jaldhar H. Vyas wrote:

> On Wed, 20 Nov 2002, Jagannath Chatterjee wrote:
>
> > Another thing I wish to say, and which is sure to
> > attract flak, is that the Sankaracharyas should take
> > into consideration the present problems being faced by
> > the masses in leading a vedic life.
>
> The "masses" don't have problems it is the westernized elite who do.  And
> their trouble doesn't stem from their environment (which is is totally in
> their hands) but from their illiteracy.  This is the crux of the problem
> and until it is dealt with no amount of palliatives will help the current
> situation.
>
> > Times have changed
>
> You are right.  We no longer have to worry about starving to death
> because the crops failed.  We no longer have to laboriously copy out
> shastras by hand because books are available from a wide range of places
> and the Internet.  We no longer have to worry about our children dying of
> malaria or smallpox before they grow up.  We no longer have to make
> arduous treks to far away places to be able to learn about Dharma, the
> teachings of our Acharyas are widely disseminated through all kinds of
> media.  We no longer have to worry about fanatic Mughal emperors burning
> down our Mandirs.
>
> Times have changed.
>
> --
> Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
> It's a girl! See the pictures - http://www.braincells.com/shailaja/
>