Hinduism and Christianity in La Réunion

EDITORIAL
For a number of years, Hindus getting converted to Christianity is an issue

facing the Hindu community in many countries. In an article, Prof. Ghasarian
outlines the conversion efforts in the island of La Reunion, home for more
than 100,000 Tamil Hindus. All religions ask their followers to love God, to
try to live according to the teachings of His prophets, to serve mankind, to
be honest and humble, and so on. Indeed, there is so much that is common
between one religion and another that it is just as well if a man continues in
the religion of his birth, if of course it is the solace of religion gives is what
he is seeking. If he is seeking not the solace but something else, then it is a
different matter. It is unfortunate that some treats the religion as a
commodity to obtain short-term gains. Many human weaknesses, such as
poverty, ignorance, job prospects, education etc., are exploited to achieve
conversion. The same Universal Motivating Factors are used by the
employers towards their employees as discussed in the article, Internal Man
Management based on Vedanta philosophy. One of the eight discourses by
Late Mr. K. Ramachandra to Roman Catholic Nuns in Colombo in 1971 is also
appearing in this issue. Mr. Sivanesan, AMS member, describes the ancient
Sun Temple, Konark in India, following his recent visit to the temple.
Professor Ghasarian said that Tamils in La Reunion today face an important
dilemma emerging from within to reform or not to reform their Hindu folk rites,
as a brahmanic Hinduism is recently imported from India and propagated
among Tamils of the younger generation. This is an issue facing all Hindus all
over the world. Although ritualistic worship has its own merit, it is true that it
is over-emphasised by the temples and priests all over the world. In this
process, devotees failed to understand the essence of the Hinduism. Hindus
in South Africa has taken steps to move away from traditional temple
ritualistic methods without using Brahmin priests.
This issue takes a new A5 format in its presentation with a colourful
cover, containing pictures relevant to the published articles. As a personal
note, I apologise to the readers for the delay in the publication of this issue
due to the death of my beloved father, Nallur, Pandit S. Rasiah, at the age of
90 years, who had inspired me in the spreading the god-given knowledge.
AUM MURUGA JOURNAL No. 23: July/September 2003
Editor: Dr. R. Sri Ravindrarajah

Publisher: Aum Muruga Society; First Issue: January/March 1998.
Frequency: Quarterly; ISSN No.: 1 442-9330
Purpose: To promote the understanding of the spirituality through the
religious and cultural practices, and traditions of Hinduism.
Postal Address: Aum Muruga Society, 15, Valda Place, Baulkham
Hills, NSW 2153, Australia; E-mail: R.Ravindra@uts.edu.au;
Individual Copy: $3.00; Annual Subscription: A$15
Web Site: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~rasiah/ams/ams.html
Articles, Discussion and Letter to the Editor are welcome.
Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society
Page 2/40
WE HAVE THE BEST GODS! THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN

HINDUISM AND CHRISTIANITY IN LA RUNION
Professor Christian Ghasarian
Anthropologist, Institut d'Ethnologie de Neuchtel (Suisse)
ABSTRACT
Christian religion, imposed on South
Indian immigrants from advent in La
Reunion (Indian Ocean) by the French
administration, did not succeed in
eradicating belief in the Hindu gods:
rather, Christianity became for the
Tamils a matter of mere public display,
acted out to satisfy the island's "others"
and to demonstrate integration into the
mainstream
society.
Meanwhile,
Tamils in La Reunion today face an
important dilemma emerging from
within to reform or not to reform their
Hindu folk rites, as a brahmanic
Hinduism is recently imported from
India and propagated among Tamils of
the younger generation.
The South Indian Diaspora has spread
to many places among which are a
forgotten French Department in the
Indian Ocean: the Island of La
Runion. The substantial population of
Tamil origin living in this small
multicultural society (around 100,000
on a total of more than 600,000
inhabitants originated from Europe,
Africa, India, China, Madagascar and
Comores) offers interesting data for a
comparative study on Hindu beliefs
and practices outside India. I will
consider
here
how
Christianity,
imposed on Tamils from their advent in
La Runion by the French administration, did not succeed in eradicating
the belief in Hindu gods. I will also
describe the internal religious transformation currently under way among
the populace of Tamil origin in the
Aum Muruga Journal No. 23
island that is resulting in a

confrontation between the former
Hindu Folk rites, brought by the first
low caste immigrants to the island at
the end of the last century, and a more
Brahmanic
Hinduism,
recently
imported from South India and
propagated among Tamil of the
younger generation.
The current religious situation of
the French citizens of Tamil descent in
La Runion can only be understood by
briefly retracing the conditions of
immigration, and the integration of
South Indians into this society. The
bulk of Tamil coolies arrived in this
French colony after the abolition of
slavery, during the second part of the
last century, to work as contract
workers in the sugar cane plantations
for the white landowners. Principally
recruited in French settlements of the
Tamil Nadu, they were drawn mostly
from the lower castes and practiced
what Indianists used to call a "folk
Hinduism". Although the engagement
contract specified that the coolies'
religion should be respected, the
Catholic Church, directly linked to an
authoritarian administration, spent a
great deal of energy in converting the
newcomers. While the population of
Mauritius, ruled under the British
government, was allowed to maintain
and express cultural and religious
differences, in La Runion, the
motivation and policy to "civilize" the
alien population under its control led
the French administration to convert
Tamil labourers to the official Christian
July - September 2003

religion and, through this, to make
them adopt the French way of life.
From the very start of the immigration
in this place, the practice of Hinduism
(as well as any notable expression of
otherness like the maintenance of
Tamil language and Indian dress) was
overtly
disapproved
of
and
discouraged.
Under the joint pressure of the
church and their employers, Tamils in
La Runion were obliged to learn the
Christian religion, to go to church, to
wear French clothes and to give
Christian names to their children. They
have thus adopted the three main
Christian rites of the life-baptism,
marriage and funeral - as an
unavoidable part of life (I should say of
the "public life") in the island. The
contract workers had to express
Christian attitudes to be more accepted
- if accepted at all - by their employers
and by the society at large. It appears
that a Hindu sense of conformity
(notably the idea that each thing
should be assigned its designated
place) helped them to act properly
according to the dominant norms and
rules of the host society to their own
advantage. This external compliance to
the dominant models explains why
there is a majority of Christian first
names, notably "Mary" and "John,"
among people of Indian descent in the
island.
It must be emphasized that
Christianity has really been forced
upon Tamil immigrants and their
descendants in the island. Expected to
act as Christians if they did not want to
endure God's future and society's
present reprisals, it was virtually
impossible for them to avoid an
outward
display
of
Christianity.
Memories of elders are full of stories
Page 3/40
highlighting the authoritarian and

oppressive behaviour of Christian
priests towards Tamils. An old man
explained to me for instance that, at
the beginning of the century, when he
and his Tamil co-workers went to the
church
(under
their
employers
pressure), the priest systematically
asked them to kneel in front of him and
to answer the question whether they
were Christians or pagans, a query to
which they all responded the same by
heart learned sentence: "We are
Christians. A Christian is someone who
has been baptised, who apply the
Christian dogma...". Another woman of
Tamil descent told me that one time,
during her catechism, the priest
assigned the children to draw a picture
of Christ surrounded by the apostles.
She did her best and drew the Christ
with three apostles in (what she felt to
be) a nice picture. When the priest saw
this drawing he angrily took a ruler,
asked her to present her extended
fingers and heavily rapped them, the
number of blows corresponding to the
missing apostles in her drawing. Such
episodes, quite routine in the island,
only ceased to occur in the 1970s. Not
surprisingly, this type of intimidation
has failed to create a strong inner
religious
commitment.
It
only
developed an alternate orientation,
entailing the integration of external
signs of Christian religion and the
correct interpretation of social roles
linked to it.
Using their powerful status,
Christian priests constantly pointed out
the normative behaviour to follow and
adopt. For a very long time, the figure
of the priest has been associated with
hierarchical authority and punishment.
This image, deeply ingrained, explains
why, even today, in the majority of

families of Indian origin in the island,
we find at least one Christian picture
prominently displayed in the living
room and no Hindu representations.
We will see further that it is only since
the last few years that these explicit
Christian symbols in the household are
slowly being replaced by Hindu ones.
Christian priests succeeded to a
certain extent in their mission, but their
success has been partial and mainly
external. Practically every person of
Indian origin in La Runion has been
baptised, has been to the church and
knows
some
Christian
prayers
(sometimes better than the white
Christian population of the island).
Meanwhile, despite their vigorous
disapproval from outside, Hindu
practices were never abandoned. They
have only been relatively hidden by the
immigrants to avoid enhancing an
already negative perception of them
because of their differences. This is
why numerous Indian families have
erected private temples in their yards
(consisting
of
oblong
stones
representing various deities and
ancestors) for private usage, allowing
them to maintain and express their
original 'order of things:'
It was this failure of the employers
to respect their workers' rights to
practice Hinduism under the terms of
the engagement contract that lent the
religion a secret, even clandestine,
character. This situation endured from
earliest immigration down till the time
when workers were finally allotted plots
of land on the plantations to construct
temples and officially worship their
gods together. This concession was
also a strategy to maintain the Indian
labour force on the island. The practice
of Hinduism among the immigrants
allowed them to reconstruct their
Page 4/40
former, stable world-view with its ideas

of hierarchy and order. From that point,
this French island ceased to be an
alien place for the immigrants.
Documents show that this strategically
necessary tolerance of Hindu practices
by the white landowners was yet
strongly disapproved of by the church.
We can find their lament in some texts,
where we read: It should be forbidden
for Indians to play their drums in the
street. This awful music, the incense,
their clamour and their dance disturb
the entire neighbourhood. Their
grotesque
images,
the
weird
ornaments of their cult express the
very sad vision of an open temple
close to the church.
When the practice of Hinduism
was finally authorized, Christian priests
still did everything they could to force
the cessation of such "pagan" activities
and to make Indians act like Christians.
During my earlier fieldwork among a
population of white people in the
highlands of La Runion in 1982, I
remember having listened to a priest's
sermon in the church of a village where
he warned its Christian audience not to
be tempted to attend the religion of
walking on fire, of piercing the body
with needles, that he defined as the
religion of Satan.... Because of its
relative attraction among a particular
category of the population in the island
(notably the poorest, like the
descendants of African slaves),
Hinduism has rapidly been perceived
by catholic priests as a rival religion.
Their only possible recourse in
preventing its spread was to create
and diffuse a negative perception of
Hindu practices in the Island. Because
of its non-official character and
because of the fact that its religious
practices were practically hidden in the

beginning, Hinduism was very soon
associated with some kind of sorcery.
It is important to stress that the
Tamils' eventual official practice of
Hinduism did not imply the end of the
Christian apprenticeship and its show
off. On the other hand, it is impossible
to say that they have really been
converted to Christianity. As I have
suggested, for them, this religion
became above all a matter of mere
public display, acted out to satisfy the
Island's others, those having the
political and economic power, and thus
demonstrating their integration into the
mainstream of the society.
Hinduism has been adapted to the
new cultural and social context of this
French colony in the Indian Ocean. As
there were no Brahmin priests among
the Tamil newcomers, the priestly
function was assigned to the workers
who knew better than the others the
religious traditions, those who knew
how to read and to interpret Tamil
sacred books, those who received a
special knowledge through the oral
tradition from their eiders, etc. These
persons acted like the pujaris in India.
They were never full time priests.
Despite some regional variations, as in
the villages of Tamil Nadu, the gods'
figures are the same throughout the
entire island. Probably the main and
most powerful figure of folk Hinduism
in La Runion is the goddess Kali, who
requires powerful self-sacrifices and
animal offerings. With Kali are
associated
Madurai
Veeran,
Muniswaran, and Mariyamma, three
powerful deities to whom devotees
address
vows.
The
preliminary
invocation of any ceremony is of
course still directed to Ganesha. The
other deities invoked, who only receive
vegetable offerings, are Shiva and his
Page 5/40
son Murugan. More occasionally some

prayers are addressed to a form of
Vishnu, Perumal. Each Tamil family
has its own family cult (kuladeivam)
addressed to a special deity. Among
the specific expressions of this folk
religion in the island let us mention fire
walking, the ceremony of Kaavadi, the
animal sacrifices and the priest's ritual
of possession by a deity or an
ancestor.
It is an anthropological fact that
living traditions are those able to
integrate novelty and change. The
Tamil Diaspora of La Runion indeed
offers many interesting examples of
maintenance of the fundamental
patterns and rites of Hinduism within
the social context of their host society.
The ceremonies of fire walking and of
Pongal, for instance, have been
celebrated at the beginning of the
French civil year, when the workers
had some rest because of the end of
work in the sugar cane plantation. The
ceremony for the ancestors was also
celebrated on the official day of the
Christian religion that is during All
Saint's day. Hindu attitudes associated
with birth, marriage and death,
although not quite manifest, have been
similarly maintained at the same time
as Christian practices. I will briefly
describe here how Christian and Hindu
worlds have cohabited by compartmentalizing the public sphere of life for
the former and the private sphere for
the latter. The following examples
document not the disappearance but
the adjustments of a living tradition.
Concerning baptism, people of
Indian descent have been obliged to
officially perform this Christian rite at
church, but they have further
associated it with Hindu rites and
practices performed privately at home,

to bring auspiciousness to their childs
life. The Hindu ceremony corresponding to this consists in the shaving
of the childs hair, to rid him of his
potential bad luck in the future. Parents
also chose the first letter of the child's
second name according to Hindu
astrology to give him or her an
auspicious name.
Marriage, a crucial institution of
Hindu life, is also officially performed at
church, but is similarly surrounded with
numerous Hindu conceptions and
auspicious practices such as the
choice of the date and the hour of the
marriage according to Hindu astrology.
The valorisation of the girl's virginity
(another strong Indian value) is
expressed by wearing a white diadem
on her forehead. Among other features
that maintain Indian patterns, there is
the official encounter of the two
families contracting a marriage at the
girl's parent's house; the ostentation of
a big and prestigious marriage; the fact
that the future husband must already
possess a house before daring to
propose the marriage, etc.
Concerning funerals, they are
publicly catholic, performed at the
church and at the cemetery, but they
are systematically preceded and
followed by Hindu rites in the private
space of the home. Hindu attitudes can
for instance be found in the touching of
the feet of the dead to recognize him
as superior and to ask his/her
protection, in the discrete throwing of
some coins, some flowers and
sometime some rice in the hole of the
grave before its closing, in the ritual
washing of hands and feet with saffronwater and, of course, in the Hindu fast
and purifying self-sacrifice following the
relative's death.
Page 6/40
About the ancestor cult, what can

appear from outside as a renouncing to
the tradition is in reality experienced by
people of Tamil descent as a
contextually marked behaviour. The
rite, performed during the official
Christian day for the dead in the host
society (November 1st), falls into two
parts: one is public, at the cemetery,
and uses the symbols of the Christian
religion, such as the flowers and the
candles placed on the grave; the other
is private and only for the family
members, at home, and uses camphor
in a Hindu ceremony. In this, the father
acts as a priest and recites prayers in
the names of all the members of the
family who have been purified by a fast
of almost one week. At the ceremony's
close, foods preferred by the husband
and wife's ancestors is placed on
different leaves, and is offered to the
spirits (in the empty living room,
scrupulously cleaned and purified for
this event) before being consumed by
the family.
These examples show that the
explicit practice of Christian customs
never excluded the underlying maintenance of Hindu beliefs. These beliefs
have been - and still are - learned
implicitly during the first socialization
within the family. Contrary to the
Christian religion, whose apprenticeship occurs officially during the second
socialization in this society, there is no
explicit teaching of Hinduism. Hindu
patterns of behaviour are integrated,
without any questioning, and are
simply taken for granted. Despite the
absence of contacts for more than one
century between the descendants of
the Tamil immigrants in La Runion
and India, the main patterns of
Hinduism have been scrupulously
conserved by families of strict Tamil

descent in this island, even if the full
theological knowledge is not known
(but we can wonder if a full religious
knowledge is really the case in India
itself!). Actually, the main particularity
of Hinduism in La Runion is that it has
no institutional connections with the
global society.
Hinduism in La Runion is a folk
religion, strongly connected with the
idea of protection, a protection against
many things, notably the evil eye and
the negative forces of the visible and
invisible world. The Hindu attitude is
always considered as auspicious and
provides the normal way to manage
the difficulties and problems of everyday life as well as an unlucky fate. As it
is often the case in India, individuals
are inclined to personally turn towards
God to find a solution to their
problems. I cannot enter here into the
details of such religious practices, but I
would like to mention the main living
patterns of the Hindu religious attitude
in this French island that are the sense
of sacrifice and purification leading to a
frequent fast destined to turn things
into one's favour. Fasting (through the
abstinence from meat, from sexual
relations, from any physical contact
with those not fasting, etc.) is a means
to realize one's vows by renouncing
one's potential pleasure. Restricting
oneself also purifies and brings one
nearer to God.
From the very start of the
confrontation
between
the
two
religions, there was no syncretism
between Hinduism and Christianity in
this
French
micro-society.
The
Christian religion has simply been
absorbed and ranked in a specific
place within a more general Hindu
conception of the world. The overt
adoption of Christianity has been a
Page 7/40
criterion of integration and acceptance

across the whole society. However, the
idea that the Hindu gods are the best
and
the
strongest
had
never
disappeared. Actually, till now, each
time people of Indian descent have to
face and solve an important problem,
they resort to Hinduism as the only
appropriate answer. Despite their
isolation from India, the disappearance
of
the
Tamil
language,
the
disappearance of the caste system
(and its distinctions) and despite the
vigorous anti-Hinduism that was
widespread from very early in the
island, Hindu immigrants and their
descendants have conserved their
principal beliefs, rites and practices.
One may even speculate that the Tamil
Diaspora in this society offers a unique
example of the conservation of Hindu
practices that are virtually the same as
those one could find in South Indian
villages in the last century. It is known
that people in the Diaspora generally
froze their original traditions.
Thus, while it has been adopted,
folk Hinduism has been maintained in
La Runion almost as it was in India at
the time of the emigration. In fact, the
main modifications to Hinduism into
this French island occur in the
contemporary society. Paradoxically,
what Tamil immigrants and their
descendants have been able to
preserve for more than one hundred
years of indentured settlement on the
island, notwithstanding the church
disapproval
and
the
compelled
involvement in Christianity, is now
radically threatened by the new
generation of people of Indian descent
themselves. By importing Brahmin
priests from Tamil Nadu to officiate in
Hindu temples in La Runion, this new
generation
is
encouraging
the

adhesion to a new form of Hinduism,
defined as the true one, in which the
worship is principally addressed to 50
called vegetarian and peaceful gods
(who do not require animal offerings
nor priestly possession) like Shiva,
Murugan, Vishnu and Ganesha. At a
time when cultural and religious
differences are - at last - tolerated and
even valorised in this multicultural
society, this reforming movement is
ironically about to succeed in
eradicating the folk Hinduism from La
Runion; a thing that Christian priests
could never achieve. Simultaneously,
people involved in this revival are, in
their desire to present themselves as
more Indian, criticizing the elders'
complementary practice of Christian
religion and starting to take off the
Christian pictures from their own living
room, replacing them with Hindu ones.
It is interesting to notice that the Tamils
who criticize both the folk Hindu
religion and the alternate practice of
the Christian religion of their peers are
those who are the more subject to the
modern ideology. The youth of Tamil
origin grows up in a modem society
where cultural differences are more
and more valued. Most of them
consequently involve themselves in the
display of a particular kind of
Indianness: not the adapted one, that
has overcome the difficulties of the
settlement on the island, but a
Brahmanic one, that has had for the
last decades a strong attraction to
western societies. The radical changes
that this new generation of Tamil
descent is able to realize is not as easy
for their elders who have been heavily
committed to their beliefs and their life
in the folk religion. Folk rites, directed
to folk deities, like animal sacrifices
and priestly possession, entail a strong
Page 8/40
emotional commitment that can hardly

be suppressed, especially for the old
generation who consider their gods to
be pre-eminent. Elders definitely
consider their ancestors' gods as the
most powerful ones. In these
conditions they can hardly renounce
worshipping them, offering them
animals, or invoking them, to see them
dance, advise and bless the devotees
through the medium of the priest's
possession. For these persons who
cannot forsake these practices due to
society's perception on them, the new
propagation of a Brahmanic Hinduism
is tantamount to a secular game where
devotion to God is missing. The
generational and ideological gap is
obvious when we see for instance, a
young girl nearby her mother at the
temple, the former, in a bright sari with
hair cut short in a typically western
fashion, and the latter, in a common
dress of the island with her long hair,
bound in the typical Indian bun. This
same old woman keeps going to the
church, ostensibly showing a ring with
a cross while secretly wearing under
her shirt another gold ring with an
Indian talisman, highly powerful and
auspicious for her; a symbol that the
girl, in her modern attitude, would
never assume because it is too much
connected with some kind of Hindu
superstitions. Moreover, this girl,
whose first name is probably Mary
and whose second name - that of a
Christian saint - starts with an
auspicious letter chosen according to
the Indian astrology, will probably give
an Indian first name to her children (a
new official possibility that has long
been forbidden) without considering
the first letter of their name according
to the date of birth.

The current situation of Hinduism
on the island is thus one of constant
(overt or covert) dissension between
old and new religious perspectives.
People of Tamil descent in La Runion
today face an important dilemma
emerging from within: to reform or not
to reform their ancestral practices; to
adopt or not to adopt a new form of
Hinduism that is not that of their
ancestors and elders and that comes
from outside what is now their society.
The interesting anthropological point of
this new approach to Hinduism is that,
in its apparent discontinuity, it still
expresses a need to adapt to the
global society. Yet, this time, subject to
the general western outlook of this
French island and its overt disapproval
of animal sacrifices, the adaptation
appears to reach a point that the elders
never wanted to reach. Folk Hinduism
is now regarded from within as the
whole society has always been inclined
to perceive it: a violent religion based
upon numerous superstitions. Besides,
like in India, the new reference to a
Brahmanic Hinduism is of course more
valorising - in the Hindu scale of value
- than the folk one, too evidently
expressing low caste origins. A
respectable external Indianness is now
strongly
emphasized
but
this
emphasis, tangibly expressed in the
wearing of Indian clothes once
prohibited, is restricted to specific
social contexts like Indian music
concerts and attendance in temples,
especially those run by Brahmin
priests. This movement, concerned
with the expression of a specific
cultural and religious identity, is
emerging while the island slowly opens
its doors to tourism. In this context,
cultural and religious differences
become consumer goods like other
Page 9/40
specificities of the island. The striking

point of this new religious attitude is
that, at the same time that an external
Indianness is emphasized, Hindu
practices themselves involve less
fasting, fewer restrictions and less
inner commitment than those of the
senior generation who had little
concern
with
exhibiting
their
Indianness.
It has been said that living
traditions adapt themselves in order to
survive. Like elsewhere in the world,
times are changing in La Runion and
the Hindu practices must again adapt
to contemporary society. Criticized in
their beliefs and practices, elders point
out the disorder and the confusion
rising from the radical and fast shift
from the ancestor's tradition to a new
tradition coming from India. The
stability of a reconstructed Hinduism
on the island is, once again,
endangered. The problem of adjustment is obvious when the desire to
display Indianness leads more and
more people of Indian descent to
engage in Hindu marriages presided
over by the imported Brahmin priests.
The wearing of a red sari entailed in
those marriages, for instance, is not
quite understood by the elder
generation who do not see the honour
and the virginity of the girl externalised
without the white dress and diadem
they were accustomed to. For that
generation, these Christian symbols
did not disturb the basic Hindu
conceptions of purity and constituted a
modified expression of Hinduism.
Besides, in the folk Hindu tradition in
La Runion, the wearing of a white
western dress had been the norm
when going to the temple. In the logic
of the adapted conceptions of the
Hindu tradition to the cultural context of

the island, white saris are sometimes
worn during Hindu marriages at the
temple and are also occasionally worn
when ordinarily going to the temple, a
thing that would never occur in India
because it is there symbolically
associated with mourning. Thus, what
is tradition in India (red saris during
marriages) becomes a problematic
modernity in La Runion and, what is
the adapted tradition there (white dress
at church and at the temple) has an
inauspicious character in India and in
its practices recently imported to the
island (white saris during Hindu
marriages or religious ceremonies).
The desire to show a greater
Indianness than that of the elders is
actually
destabilizing
and
even
breaking the basis of the adapted
Hinduism in La Runion. Paradoxically,
this deconstruction and reinvention of
Indian ways on this French island
refers to a foreign and idealized place,
far away from the everyday realities of
people living in this increasingly
modem society. The fact is that more
and more persons of Tamil descent
express their intellectual position and
their attainment of a good financial
situation through their adhesion to this
recently imported Hinduism. As this
society allows more and more people
to improve their level of life, one can
expect that sooner or later the practice
of folk Hinduism will disappear with the
elder population involved in it.
It is nevertheless too soon to
predict the future of the new form of
Hinduism that is taking place in this
French Department of the Indian
Ocean. We can understand this
revivalism as another effort from
people of Tamil origin to adapt to the
changing social and cultural contexts
Page 10/40
of a society that is no longer a host

society but their own society.
REFERENCES
ARGYLE, Michael, Adrian FURNHAM
and Jean Ann GRAHAM (1981) Social
Situations.
Cambridge
University Press.
BABADZAN, Alain (1985) - "Tradition
et Histoire: Quelques Problmes de
Mthodes." Cahiers ORSTOM, Srie
Sciences Humaines, Vol. XXI.
BENOIST, Jean (1979) - "Religion
hindoue et dynamique de la socit
runionnaise." Annuaire des pays de
l'Ocan Indien, Vol. VI.
Peter
and
Thomas
BERGER,
LUCKMAN
(1966)
The
Social
Construction of Reality. A Treatise in
the Sociology of Knowledge. Anchor
Books, New York.
Christian
(1991)
GHASARIAN,
Honneur; Chance & Destin. La Culture
Indienne La Runion. Collection
Connaissance
des
Hommes,
L'Harmattan, Paris.
Erwing (1959) The
GOFFMAN,
Presentation of Self in the Everyday
Life. Penguin Books.
HALL, Edward (1996) La Dimension
Cache. Seuil, Paris.
Ulf (1992) Cultural
HANNERZ,
Complexity.
Studies
in
the
Organization of Meaning. Columbia
University Press.
Alfred
(1970)
On
SCHUTZ,
Phenomenology and Social Relations.
The University of Chicago Press.
Reprinted from the Journal of Asian &
African Studies Vol. XXXII, No. 3-4,
December 1997, with the kind
permission of the Author.
Page 11/40
THE RELIGION OF SAIVAISM
Late Mr. K. Ramachandra

Editor, Religious Digest, From Hinduism in a Nutshell, 1971
This article is one of the eight
discourses on Hinduism delivered by
Late Mr. Ramachandra, the highly
esteemed Editor of the internationally
famous Religious Digest to sixty four
Roman Catholic Nuns, belonging to
none different Orders, at the Aquinas
University College, Colombo, Sri Lanka
in 1971 at his late seventies. This
informative and useful discourse is
published in full, even though it is long.
Saivaism and Siva Worship
The majority of Tamils in South India
and Sri Lanka belongs to the religion of
Saivaism. In the words of Rev. Dr. G.
U. Pope. Saiva Siddhanta Philosophy
is the choicest product of the Dravidian
intellect. Another church dignitary,
Rev. Gowdie says: judged by its
intrinsic merits, the Saiva Siddhanta
represents the high watermarks of
Indian thought and Indian life.
There was a time when indologists
used to associate Siva with Rudra, the
Vedic God, and bring down the history
of Saivaism to a much late period. All
these erroneous ideas are now given
up for good, after excavations of
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa of Indus
Valley Civilization. Sir John Marshall
has left on record: Among the many
revelations that Mohenjo-Daro and
Harappa had in store for us, none
perhaps is more remarkable than the
discovery that Saivaism has a history
going back to the chalcolithic age or
perhaps even further still, and thus it
takes its place as the most ancient
living faith in the world.
According to the Sanskrit work,

Thedjana-kailasa Manmiyam, when
Siva worship was universal during the
pre-Vedic period, there were 1008
Sivan Temples in the region north of
Himalayas, 1008 temples between
Himalayas and Cape Comorin, and a
third group of 1008 temples in old
Lanka, of which present Sri Lanka is
only a small portion. That this is not a
poetic exaggeration, but a definite
historical fact is proved by the
discovery in recent times of many of
the sites of the Jyothilinga Shrines in
India, like Somanath and Amaranath,
and of two ancient and famous Sivan
temples in Sri Lanka, Ketheeswaram
and Koneshwaram, which are reputed
to have been in existence during
Ravanas reign in old Lanka, and which
were renovated and rebuilt by Chola
kings in the 11th century. Not only
Ravana, his parents and his wife, and
her parents, but Rama and Krishna,
the two Avatars of Vishnu, were Siva
worshippers.
In describing his pilgrimage to the
Siva shrine of Amaranath in Kashmir,
Dr. Joshua Duke says: It is the trip to
make. I shall never forget it. One felt
one was in the presence of the Maker
of the Universe. This is exactly how
the ancient Tamils, at the dawn of the
civilization, felt when they stood before
the majesty of snow-capped mountain
peaks, which naturally became their
first objects of worship. Of the sixty
four manifestation of God Siva
described in the scriptures, Lingam
and Lingotpavam come first in order,
and this is associated with Arunachala

(Red Hill) which is one of the oldest
and most sacred of all Indias holy
places, and which became world
famous in the 20th century, after
Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi sat
there for 54 years (1896 to 1950)
shedding spiritual lustre of a unique
kind for his teaching through Silence,
thus reminding us of God Sivas
manifestation as Dakshinamurthy, the
Silent Teacher. Arunachala is also a
Jyothirlinga Shrine like Kailas, Kedar,
Pasupathinath (in Nepal), Amaranath,
Somanath, Mallikarjuna, Tryanbakeswara, Ujjain and Kasi. Kasi stands
supreme like Arunachala as a
Jyothirlinga Kshetra. Skanda Purana
says that the Supreme God Siva, the
indescribable light shines (Kasi
means to shine). As it is situated
between the two rivers Varana and Asi,
it is called Varanasi.
Old Tamil Classics
Let us have a peep into old Tamil
Classics. In the same way as the
Sumerian cities had a separate God for
each one of them, the ancient Tamils
too had their regional deities assigned
to the natural divisions of their land,
from the hill country to the seacoast,
ranging from jungle, pastoral land, and
fields. Four such deities are mentioned
in Tholkappiyam, the most ancient
Tamil book available. Of these, Mayon,
the dark-coloured, (Vishnu) and Seyon,
the red coloured, (Siva) belong to the
indigenous spiritual culture of the
ancient Tamils, while the other two,
Indra and Varuna, are, without doubt,
the Vedic Gods of the Aryans. There is
a controversy about god Seyon. Some
interpret it to mean Siva, ad others say
that it refers to His son, Murukan. As
every one of the Saivites is a Muruka
Page 12/40
devotee from very ancient times to the

present, it is safe to conclude that
Tholkappiyanar meant both the Father
and Son, by one term Seyon. Before
him, Skanda Purana had already
affirmed this truth, from the lips of Siva
himself.
Furthermore, the Tamils are proud
of their language like the French. Their
passionate love can be gauged from
the fact that it is claimed that in the first
Academy (Tamil Sangam), which
existed centuries before the Christian
era, their supreme God, Siva, was its
President, and His son, Murukan, the
tutelary god of the race, is mentioned
as a member of that august body. Like
the Indo-Aryans and the Chinese, the
Tamils believed that their script and
scriptures were revealed by God. The
God is Sivam. In all languages, God
and Good are synonymous. The pure
Tamil word Sivam means not only
goodness and auspiciousness, but
also Love and Light.
When we discuss the Saiva
Siddhantha Philosophy, it is safe to
bring its exposition under three distinct
heads:
1. The
metaphysics
of
Saiva
Siddhantam Its dogmas and
doctrines
2. The Saiva Music and devotion and
3. The Saiva Saints.
It is a well-known fact that the first
is too abstruse for any lecturer to make
it interesting to the average student. It
has always been a theme for the
subtlest of intellects to build a
monument of mental gymnastics,
unrelated to facts of life. I have no faith
in such hair-splitting logic, and shall
here confine myself to listing the
scriptures and mentioning the authors.
Thirumanthiram is undoubtedly the
foundation
upon
which
the

superstructure of Siddhantam was
built. It is a monumental work by Saint
Thirumoolar of the 18th century has
praised Saint Thirumoolar as an
Emperor among Yogis. He is also one
of the 18 Siddhars of ancient Tamil
Land.
There are 14 other Siddhanta
Shastras, starting with Sivagnana
Bodham by Meikanda Devar of the 13th
century. His treatise has only 12 crispy
sutras. We can call this the New
Testament of Saivaism. He was a
precocious child who was initiated with
the mystic mantra in a miraculous way
by Paranjothi Munivar of Kailas who
made an aerial journey for the
purpose. As Christians you are sure to
recall the descending of the dove of
Holy Ghost on the divine child Jesus.
There is a difference of opinion to the
origin of Sivagnana Bodham. Tradition
has it that it is the authentic translation
of the Sanskrit sutras of Raurava
Agama, but some later scholars, the
pure-Tamil pundits, argue that the
Sanskrit sutras now available are
actually the translations of the original
text in Tamil. This is an absolutely
useless controversy except to tickle the
vanity of some scholars, who lack the
inner eye, which illumineth the
scriptures.
There is an elaborate and learned
commentary in verse for Sivagnana
Bodham by Arulnandhi Sivacharya,
popularly known as Sakalagama
Pandithar. His monumental work is
known as Sivagnana Siddhiar. How
such a giant among scholars came to
be the disciple of the child-sage
Meikandar has an interesting story
behind.
Arulnandi was a Brahmin priest,
and Meikandar was vellala by caste.
His own father was a devotee and
Page 13/40
student of the priest, who used to

conduct a class on religion for
students. Being an erudite and
profound scholar, his class was always
full, until inspired by Panajothi Munivar.
Meikandar, the boy prodigy, started a
class in the same village. Day by day,
Arulnandi found the number in his
class diminishing. He made enquiries
and got the information that his
students had gone to listen to the childsage. He got enraged. What does this
puny little boy, the son of my own
student, know of religion, to teach his
elders? I must bring him to his senses,
thundered the Brahmin guru. One day
he walked into Meikandars class with
full of self-consciousness and pride of
learning. The young teacher was
absorbed in his work. On that way he
was explaining what Anavamalam, one
of the three bondages of the souls,
was. The presence of the priest was
completely ignored, and wounded
vanity made him to shout at the boy,
challenging him whether he could
illustrate Anavam (egoism). Meikandar
raised his forefinger and pointed at
Arulnandi himself as supreme example
of Anavam. Taken aback by this
sudden burst of wisdom from the lips of
the child-age, the elder guru fell
prostrate at the childs feet and begged
of him to accept him as his disciple and
to initiate him into the mysteries of
Saiva Siddhantam. Arulnandis disciple
Maraignana Sambhandar and his
disciple, Umapathi Sivam, are authors
of the other Siddhanta works. All these
authors are considered to be the four
great Santhanacharyas of Saivaism.
They form the outer group (Puram), as
distinguished from Inner group (Aham)
who are Nandi Devar, Sanatkumarar,
Satyagnana Darsini and Paranjothi,
who gave initiation to Meikandar.

Philosophy of Saivaism
As against the four Santhanacharyas,
we have four great Acharyas known as
Samayachararyas Gnanasambhandhar, Appar, Sundarar and Manickavasagar, who composed the Saiva
Pslams, Prayers and Praises. They
flourished long before the Theologians
referred above, and did the pioneer
work for resuscitating Saivaism. Their
poems are the treasure-chests of
Vedic truths and Agamic principles, in
melodious language and spontaneous
rhythm. The true spiritual literature is
really from these four religious
geniuses, and what the theologians did
was the preparation of the grammar
thereof. Appar was the senior
contemporary of Sambhandhar, the
marvellous boy who died in the prime.
It was latter who gave the name Appar,
who was known, and in even today
known, as Thirunavukkarasar. Appa
means in Tamil father. These four
Saints are exponents of the four paths
of salvation in saivaism, namely dasamarga (the path of a servant), Satputra-marga (the path of a good son),
Sakha-marga (the path of the friend)
and San-marga (the true path or the
path of the lover and the beloved).
These paths are also known as Sariya,
Kriya, Yoga, and Gnana. They should
not be confused with the four Yogas
explained in connection with our study
of the Bhagawad Gita.
The eternal entities are three in
Saivaism, namely, Pathi, Pasu and
Pasam God, Soul and Matter. They
have neither beginning nor end. This is
the central doctrine of Saivaism. The
foremost postulate of Saiva Siddhanta
philosophy is: Something cannot
come of nothing or become nothing.
Its first corollary is: That whatever is
Page 14/40
further unanalysable cannot undergo

any change. This is a unique scientific
statement. At the dawn of the 20th
century, the scientists held the view
that an atom was indivisible. It was
therefore not expected to undergo
change. But later discoveries have
revealed
that
an
atom
has
components, and in the near future, it
is not unlikely that these components
may
be
resolved
into
minute
components. When the scientists
ultimately reach the point beyond
which there can be no further analysis,
they are sure to discover the existence
of a component, which is not subject to
any change. On such a basis is
founded the Siddhanta doctrine that
the world is something real and not an
illusion.
Since living beings are unlimited,
souls are also numberless. Saivaism
divides souls into three distinct groups,
Sakalar, Pralayakalar, and Vignanakalar, according to the degrees of
the force of the Anavic grip. This
Anava is one of the three bondages of
the souls, the other two being Karma
(action) and Maya. Maya is the source
of supply of energy for souls to know,
to will and to do. Umapathisivam
succinctly explains this idea in the
second
couplet
of
his
work,
Thiruvarulpayan: The power of God
(Siva-Sakthi) works for the upliftment
of all souls to the condition of God
Himself. But Anava fosters the
feelings of I-ness and My-ness, and
blocks the passage and prevents the
full flow of the energy that is offered by
Maya.
The very word Anava is significant
one, derived from the word Anu an
atom. It literally means that which
tends to make the souls power
indefinitely small. In simpler words the

feelings of I-ness and My-ness are the
cause of all the misery in the world. All
the wrong deeds witnessed are due to
a special value being attached to
oneself and to ones possessions,
applying one law to ones own self,
and different one to others. However,
the world is ever bent on teaching a
lesson to the wrongdoers. This is
strictly under Karma, the Law of cause
and effect.
The ultimate goal of every soul is
becoming one with God. This is
possible only when the soul has
attained
liberation
from
Anava,
liberation from Maya and liberation
from Karma (action).
Sankhya
philosophy
mentions
twenty-five Tattvas or principles, which
constitute the world. The Saiva
Siddhantha analyses them into thirtysix, naming the 36th, which is the
highest and subtlest, as Nada Tattvam
or Nada Brahman. This is just below
God or Sivam, and mystical poets are
wont to characterise itself as God and
propitiate it through devotional songs,
which consist of sound or music. The
four Samayacharyas, are votaries of
Siva in His aspect of Supreme sound
or Para Nadam. The Thevara Hymns
of
the
first
three,
and
the
Thiruvachakam of the fourth saint are
used in the worship of Siva in all
temples. We are now discussing the
second category of the Saiva
literatures. These are known as
Thirumurais. These devotional poems
form the 6th century releasing forces of
Hindu regeneration and of the
elimination of Jain and Buddhist
influences in South India. They are
arranged into eleven Thirumurais,
including the work of the great mystic
Thirumoolar, as the tenth. In addition to
them, there is also the Periya Puranam
Page 15/40
(the great Puranam) dealing with the

biographies of the sixty-three Saints
who are held in veneration even today.
These Saints belongs to different
castes: Brahmins, kings, traders,
farmers, potters, hunters, fishermen
and untouchables. There were also
women among them. Periya Puranam
is a perpetual reminder to the Tamil
race that Gods love and salvation are
quite independent of caste, profession
or gender. Saint Thirumoolar says:
Love and God are different, sayeth the
fools; That Love alone is God no one
knows.
Commenting on this beautiful
saying, late Prof. Romanes exclaimed:
What has all the science and
philosophy of the world done for the
thought of mankind to be compared
with the one doctrine that God is
Love?
The curse of caste cruelties exists
in India, despite the efforts made by
noble men like Narayana Guru and
Mahatma Gandhi. Mrs. Indra Ghandi
said that the reason for this continuing
social malady, was the traditional
attitudes, which had been deeply
ingrained over many a century. But in
India, at present, the evil is confined to
certain rural areas, whereas in North
Sri Lanka it is tolerated, of course, only
in some rare cases, in the urban areas.
I am sure that this disability for lower
castes will disappear soon.
The Periya Puranam giving the
biographical sketches of the 63 Saints
is an inspired and inspiring work by a
mystical poet Sekklar of the 12th
century. Only a poet-saint could have
conceived such a beautiful practical
poetical work, which adds lustre to the
illustrious lives dealt with. Most of them
are Supreme exemplars of the highest
form of devotion to Siva. Cheraman

Perumal Nayanar was from the royal
family of Kerala. He was a friend of
Saint Sundaramoorthi, who composed
the original Pathikam at Tiruvarur,
giving names of the sixty-three
Nayanars. Tradition says that he was
inspired to compose his Thiru Thonda
Thokai by the sight of a vast assembly
of Sivas devotees at the hall of
Tiruvarur. However, it is safe to
presume that he was influenced by the
poems of Saint Thirumoolar in regard
to the worship of Saints as the surest
and safest path to salvation. The
latters name is in his list. In thanking
his friend and Guru, Sundarar, for
helping him to reach the Lords Abode
(Heaven), Cheraman had uttered a
great truth in saying that even if the
devotee is sinful and undeserving, if he
is devoted to a Saint, he would also
gain place in the Kingdom of God.
Karaikkal Ammaiyar Lady Saint
For the last thirty minutes, I have
burdened your brains with dogmas,
doctrines, poems and philosophy. I
must not forget my promise to tell you
some stories. I can do this no better
than by giving you something from the
life of a lady-saint, to whom I am
devoted from my childhood, and some
lessons to be learnt from a male-saint
whose life must appeal to all modern
minds.
The name of the lady-saint is
Karaikkal Ammaiyar. She belonged to
the trading community, and hailed from
Karaikkal, a seaport near Pondicherry
in South India. In introducing the
merchant class to which she belonged,
the
saintly
author,
Sekkilar,
emphasises the fact that the traders of
Karaikkal were a class of people who
helped in the economic stability of the
Page 16/40
State, by being truthful, honest and

righteous in all their dealings. It is
refreshing to recall this fact when we
have
at
present
time
many
racketeering and hoarding blackmarket kings as traders and importers,
who send their goods underground in
order to create an artificial scarcity of
essential food stuffs. A few years ago,
we had in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the case
of a trader who was caught in the
heinous act of sending underground
250,000 pounds of butter, with a view
to make illegal profit. In most of the
European countries that produce butter
and cheese, several tons of these
articles are kept in deep freeze,
expecting a more profitable market in
the future. Such are modern methods
of trade and commerce! And yet their
politicians lament that the worlds
civilization is on the verge of collapse!
Now coming back to our story,
Karaikkal Ammaiyar was born in a
wealthy family, and she was married
into an equally prosperous home. Her
child-hood name was Punithavathy,
and she was a devotee of Lord Siva.
The parents who were also devotees
of Siva got the gift of this daughter
after many years of penance and
prayers. Her husbands name is
Paramadattan. A friend of his gave him
two mangoes one day in his shop, and
he sent them to his home through his
servant. As Punithavathy was busy
cooking the meals for the noon, and
had finished only the rice, she heard a
feeble voice at the gate, asking for
something to satisfy his hunger. She
came out of the kitchen and saw a
saintly looking man, with famished
appearance. She thought it was not fair
to ask him to wait till the curries were
cooked. And decided to serve the rice
with one of the mangoes available,

Accordingly, she served the meal and
the Sadhu was satisfied. He left the
place after blessing her.
Paramadattan came home for his
lunch. While taking his meal, he
remembered the two mangoes he sent,
and asked his wife to serve them as
desert. Punithavathy went in and
brought the one fruit kept, and served it
to him. It was so tasty that he thought
of eating the second one too. He asked
for it. The wife was perplexed, and she
went into the Shrine Room and prayed
to the Lord to show her a way to get
out of her predicament. Divine Destiny
was playing its part. In her open palms
out-stretched in prayers, she found
another mango. She brought it and
served it to him. This was much
sweeter than the previous one. He
said: This is not an ordinary mango
we get in the market.
She was
obliged to confess what had happened.
The husband was not a man with the
faith his wife was blessed with, and he
was an ordinary man of the world. He
could not accept the story. He insisted
on his wife getting another mango with
the grace of God, if he was to believe
her miraculous episode. She went in
and prayed again, the prayer was
answered. The Merciful God never
betrays His faithful devotee. She
handed the mango to the husband and
it disappeared at the very touch of his
palm. The man became very
thoughtful, but managed to control his
thoughts and feelings. Saying that he
had some important transactions in the
shop, he left immediately. On his way
back to the shop, he meditated on the
saintly
and
holy
character
of
Punithavathy, and felt that it was a
great sin to live with her as her
husband. He did not want to open his
heart to her, but on the pretext of going
Page 17/40
on a trade mission to distant foreign

lands, he left with a ship-load of goods.
Years passed and he did not return
home. Actually, he went to Madurai in
South India itself and settled down in
business. He married another lady
there and had a daughter to whom he
gave the name of his first wife,
Punithavathy. The news of his new life
at Madurai reached the ears of his
father-in-law who had friends there,
and with a view to get more definite
information, he sent messengers. They
reported that the rumour was correct.
On hearing this, Punithavathy, with her
parents consent, went to Madurai to
meet her husband, accompanied by
attendants, suitable to her status in life.
Paramadattan had learnt of her arrival.
He, accompanied by his new wife and
child, reached the place where she
was, and placing the child at her feet,
both husband and wife prostrated
before her, and asked, for blessings in
their new life. She was taken aback,
and the relatives who witnessed his
peculiar behaviour were also shocked.
They demanded his explanation. He
said: She is no more a human being in
estimation. She is verily a Goddess.
So, I am worshipping her.
Realising his mental condition,
Punithavathy addressed the Lord thus:
Oh, Lord, as a dutiful wife, I had felt
that this body belonged to my
husband. I preserved it in physical
charm for his sake. Now that he has
renounced it, do please grant me a
decrepit body. Her beautiful body was
instantaneously transformed into a
mere skeleton. In that body, she made
a pilgrimage to Kailas in the Himalayas
to the Abode of Shiva. She was
welcomed by the Lord, with intense
love and in the most endearing term:
Ammah! (mother) When granted boon

by the Lord, she prostrated and
prayed: Oh, Lord of infinite Love and
Mercy! Grant me pure, unalloyed,
eternal love unto Thee. I want no more
birth. If, however, I have to take a birth,
bless me with everlasting love for
Thee. I should never forger Thee.
Whenever You dance, I must be at
Your feet singing Thy praise. I seek no
other favour.
The Lord granted her last prayer,
and directed her to proceed to
Thiruvalangadu in South India. She is
still there in spirit form, worshipped by
devotees for centuries. There is also a
temple in her honour at Karaikkal, her
native village, where she is worshipped
as a Goddess in Saivaism. One of her
inspired hymns to Siva gives an
amazing list of the musical instruments
used in her times.
Cosmic Dance of Siva

Before taking up the next story
promised, I think, I must briefly explain
to you the significance of the Cosmic
Dance of Siva. This is the most
appropriate place for it. Lord Siva, as a
God of Love and of infinite Grace, is
worshipped as the Saviour and Guru of
humanity, and Saiva scriptures claim
that Chidambaram, where His Dance is
going on eternally, is the heart of the
Universe. In order to free the souls
from three bonds of Anavam, Karma
and Maya, Siva is engaged in five
kinds of activities, assuming the forms
and names of Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra,
Page 18/40
Maheswara and Sadasiva. The five

activities
are
called
creation,
preservation, destruction, veiling and
grace. The Dancing Siva represents all
these forms and expresses all the five
activities.
No atom moves but by His
motion, so said our ancient sages.
This rule applies to the microcosm as
well as to the macrocosm. After
considerable
researches,
modern
science accepts this fact partly today.
In the same way as it has discovered
the secret in the heart of the atom, it
must ultimately delve into the secret of
the human heart, which is the sacred
platform (Arangu) for the Dance of
Bliss
(Ananda
Thandavam)
by
Nadarajah, the Supreme Lord of the
Universe. In one of his inspiring
poems, the great Saint Thayumanavar
of the 18th century emphasises that the
ideals of all religions find their fulfilment
in Chidambaram, the common ground
of all faith and the leveller of all creeds.
The unique features of Chidambaram
lie in the fact that in this sacred shrine
alone God Almighty is worshipped in
all His three important aspects
Sakala, Nishkala, and Sakas Nishkala,
i.e. with form, without form, and both
combined. Nadarajah represents the
Lord with form. The formless aspect is
known as Chidambara Rahasya. The
third
aspect
is
known
as
Spadikalingam.
I believe most of you have seen the
picture of the statue of Nadarajah.
There is one statue at the Colombo
museum. Now let me give some brief
details of the Dancing Siva. The drum
held in His right hand represents His
act of Creation, the fire in His left hand
stands for Destruction, the right hand
palm turned outwards represents
Protection, the right foot firm on the

prostrate human body stands for
Veiling or Involution, and the raised left
foot stands for Salvation of the souls.
The prostrate body represents human
egoism, which has to be crushed
before salvation. It was killing the
demon Andhaka of darkness that Lord
danced His Cosmic Dance, which was
the expression of Supreme Joy which
alone sustains the universe. The myth
of the conquest of Andhaka signifies
the victory of the forces of light over
those of darkness, of wisdom over
ignorance, and of the supreme good
over all that is evil.
In this connection, I wish to quote
some Western historical references in
regards to this Cosmic Dance. Lucian,
the Greek writer from Somosata, while
conceding that the Art of Dance is as
old as the world, attributes the
invention of the dance to the goddess
Rhea, and states that dancing and
music were more particularly cultivated
by the Greeks than the rest of the
ancients. Goddess Rhea, who gave
birth to Zeus on the mountain of Dikte
in the island of Crete belonged to a
period much later than Siva worship.
The very idea of dancing had a sacred
and mystic meaning to the early
Christians. Origen, one of the great
thinkers of all times, who belonged to
the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D., prayed
that above all things there may be
operative in us the mystery of the stars
dancing in Heaven for the salvation of
the Universe.
Mirza Ahamad Sohrab, a Sufi writer
of repute, residing in U.S.A., writes: I
want the new God of my world to
dance and pour upon the faded,
joyless spirits, the exuberance and
gaiety of the Stars, for now I know that
the stars are dancing in the heavens
for the salvation of the Universe, and
Page 19/40
now I know that dancing and praying

are the same. The dance is at once to
worship and to pray, for as the Stars
dance in the sky, so the Cosmic control
of the Universe. Could only believe
in a god who knows how to dance. My
God is a Divine Dancer. These are
words from a Muslim friend. I do not
think that a more beautiful commentary
on the Cosmic Dance of Siva could
have been given by any living Saivites.
Saint Pusalar
The second story I promised relates to
St. Pusalar, who was an expert in
meditation and contemplation. He
knew that inner worship of the Lord is
thousands of times more efficacious
than ceremonies and external ritualistic
worship. For a long time he had the
desire to build a temple for Siva, but he
did not have the means for it. So he
mentally gathered the necessary
materials, and built the temple within
step by step. And finally fixed an
auspicious time for the installation of
the deity in it. Just at this time, the
Kadava king who was also a devotee
of Siva had built a magnificent temple
in Kanchipuram and by chance had
chosen the date that Pusalar had
mentally fixed. The Lord, who was
gracious to bring the deep devotion of
Pusalar to light, appeared in a dream
to the king and told him that he must
postpone the installation, as He would
be going to the temple constructed by
Pusalar at Tirunintavur. The king
thought that the latters temple must be
more magnificent than his for the Lord
to prefer it, and hurried to that spot in
search of the new temple. There was
no temple to be seen, and the king
finally traced Pusalars house and
explained to him the dream and the

purpose of his search. Pusalar was
stunned, and filled with joy. He
exclaimed: How kind and merciful is
the Lord! He accepted my mental
shrine as His Abode. I am really
blessed. The king paid his respects to
the Saint and fixed another date for the
installation of the deity in his
Kanchipuram temple.
God does not need big temples or
churches. If He is seeking anything
from us, it is our love with a pure heart.
He knocks at every heart and asks us
to permit Him to reside there, but most
people ignore this knock. If we take
one step towards Him, he is ready to
take ten steps towards us. Many
people ignore Him when they are
happy and prosperous, and are quick
to call Him when in some sorrow or
suffering. Pure and unselfish heart is
the best temple for the Lord. This is the
lesson St. Pusalars life teaches us. I
have chosen it for the special
significance it has for modern minds
who seem to think that Sunday church
going and Friday temple going are
sheer waste of time.
In every Saivite temple built
according to Agamic injunctions, you
will find shrines for Lord Vigneswara
and Lord Skanda (Murukan in Tamil).
They are called the sons of God Siva
and His consort Parvathi. There are
separate temples also for them in
every village. Their worship is popular.
If we analyse life philosophically, we
will find that it is the sum-total of the
evolution of a problem, and its
consequent solution. It is an unbroken
chain of problems evolved and
solved. The power that controls life is
the Lord of obstacles or Vigneswara.
Such a power must naturally be
supreme, the lord of lords, and with no
superior to control him. Hence he is
Page 20/40
known as Vinayaka. He must also be

the most ancient one. So, he is
addressed as Adhibhagawan. He is the
first one that ever manifested in the
mind, from the first word AUM, the
sacred Mantra. I have already
explained the Nadam or Sound is next
to God. Spiritual scientists in ancient
time meditated on the physical
representation of the mystic word AUM
and discovered that it resembled the
head of an elephant. With the passage
of time, the mystic significance became
obvious, the form of the word gained
importance. He is also known as
Ganapathy because he is the Lord of
the five elements. I can only conclude
that He is more real today than the
mind, which created Him. No Hindu
religious worship or ritual ceremony
start without first invoking the blessing
of Vinayaka. The following extract
taken from a recent, publication,
Japasutram, by Swami Pratyagatmananda Saraswati of Calcutta, explains
the deep significance of the mystic
figure of Vinayaka: The mystic figure
of Vinayaka or Ganesha is a living
symbol or image of Omkara. Ganesha
wears the head of an elephant and as
such the trunk occupies a prominent
position in the figure. This holds a deep
significance. In the variously inspired
images of Omkara, the trunk is found
depicted in three different and distinct
postures: sometime it is up-raised,
sometime it hangs forwards in the
natural manner and again it is shown in
the middle as a double trunk in which
the ends are curled up and down. The
first symbolizes the movement of
creation or evolution; the second that
of dissolution or involution; and the
third, the natural nexus or the ground
of equipoise between the two.

The second son of Siva and
Parvathi is called Skanda. Murukan is
His most ancient name and He is also
popularly known as Lord Subramaniya
or Arumugaswamy. Skanda Purana
deals with his advent and mission in a
very elaborate manner and this Purana
is available in both Sanskrit and Tamil
languages.
The
Tamil
version
composed by Sri Kachchiyappa
Sivacharya is also popular as the
Periya Puranam of Sekkilar and the
Thiruvilyadal Puranam of Paranjothi. In
the
Hindu
educational
system
organised by the great Hindu reformer
of Jaffna, Sri Arumuga Navalar, these
three Tamil Puranas were taught in the
schools and temples. The students
learn their Saivaism through them and
the Thevaram, and Thiruvachakam in
the primary schools much more easily.
That the worship of Murukan has been
very popular in Ceylon from time
immemorial is proved by existence of
the ancient Shrine of Kataragama. Not
only the Hindus of all sects, but even
Buddhists have been worshippers of
Skanda. In fact, this worship has been
for many centuries an underlying force.
It is the sight for the gods to see and
enjoy the way in which Hindus and
Buddhists join together in prayer at
Kataragama and Munneswaram in
thousands. You cannot find such a
scene in any other part of the world.
This spirit of harmony and tolerance
accounts for the presence of Skanda
Shrines in Sinhalese places like
Panadura, Kalutura, Galle and so on.
There are Shrines of Skanda in many
Buddhist temples as well. The Skanda
Puranam is too voluminous a work for
discussion in a discourse like this. I
wish to make merely a passing
reference to the advent of Lord Skanda
from the third eye of Siva to save the
Page 21/40
world from evil and doom. Six sparks

emanated from Sivas third-eye in the
middle of the eye-brows, and they
were taken care of by six nymphs
(Karthigai maidens) in the pond of
Saravana, and when Parvathi, Sivas
Consort, handled them together,
Skanda appeared as a baby with six
faces.
Non-Hindus are perplexed and
puzzled when they see the Hindu Gods
and Goddesses with more than one
face and many hands. They cannot
easily grasp their true significance. A
brief
explanation
is,
therefore,
considered essential at this point to
clear all possible misunderstanding in
your minds. According to the
Chandogya Upanisad, The Infinite is
below, above, behind, before, to the
right and to the left. In other words, it
sees all four directions, and the upper
and lower worlds. Lord Skandas six
faces represents six faces represent
this truth. In Skanda Purana, Lord
Siva, who is described as the God with
five faces, declares that Himself and
His son, Skanda are identical, and the
latter has additional faces known as
Athomukam. It is a face looking down
below, blessing the sinners, outcastes
and downtrodden. This face accounts
for the worship of Skanda being so
popular among the veddahs, hunters,
fisher-folks, and aborigines. He is their
favourite God as witnessed at
Kataragama (South Sri Lanka) and
Sella Sannithy (North Sri Lanka).
Skanda is reputed as a Lord of
War, and Mars represents Him. Ares,
son of Zenus and Hera, of the Greek
mythology was identified by the
Romans with Mars, whose worship
spread through Macedonia to Thebes
and Athens. There is another
interesting legend which appears to be

an echo of the story relating to the
Skandas advent. I am mentioning it
here just to remind you how certain
religious principles and practices has
been spreading from one culture to
another, from one country to another.
Plutarch tells us that Numa, the second
king of Rome, appointed the ever-living
fire to be worshipped as the first cause
of all things. This is the same old
concept of Saivaism. If ever the sacred
fire was allowed to go out, it could
never be relighted from other fires, but
Page 22/40
must be taken direct from the rays of

sun by the Pontifix Maximus himself.
The temple where this sacred Light
was worshipped was served by the
Vestal Virgins who had vowed to be
honoured. Strangely enough, the
number of Virgins at the temple of
Vesta was six as in the case of Kartigai
maidens mentioned earlier. The said
temple existed till Emperor Theodosius
extinguished the fire and closed it in
392 A. D.
HINDU TAMIL PROVERBS 3

Rev. P. Percival, Tamil Proverbs, 1842
From the collection of over 6000 Tamil
Proverbs, the modes of thinking, and
the natural shrewdness of the Hindu
mind are seen through this medium.
5. Mw;wpNy tpl;l njHg;ig Nghy;

jtpf;fpNwd;.
1. MwpYk; rhT EhwpYk; rhT.
6. MdKjiy mopj;jtd; khdk;

,og;gJ mhpjy;y.
Death may occur at six, or at a

hundred years of age.
2. MW
epiwag;
NghdhYk;
eha;f;F ef;Fj; jz;zPH.
Though the river is full to overflowing, a
dogs laps. Amid the greatest
abundance one can enjoy what is
required.
3. MW khrg; gazk;
ele;jhy; KbAkh?
mQ;rp
Can a six months journey be

accomplished if the party walks
hesitatingly? An arduous enterprise
requires unremitted exertion.
4. MWk;
fld;
EhWk;
fld;
ngUf;fr; Rnllh gzpfhuj;ij.
Debt is debt whether it amounts to six
or a hundred: you fellow bake the
cakes large.
I am tossed about like a tuft of sacred

grass that has been thrown into a river.
Having lost his capital. It will not be

difficult for him to lose his reputation.
7. Mdp
NghfhNj.
mb ,lhNj $dp Fb
Do not begin to build in June; nor set

out to occupy a house in March.
8. Mid mire;J jpd;Dk; tPL

mirahky; jpd;Dk;.
An elephant moves when eating, a
house eats without moving.
9. Mid xU Fl;b Nghl;Lk;

gyd;> gd;wp gy Fl;b Nghl;Lk;
gad; ,y;iy.
It is of value though an elephant brings
forth a single young one; but the many
young ones of a pig are of no value.
One good thing is better than ten bad
ones.
Page 23/40
THE SUN TEMPLE OF KONARAK

Siva Sivanesan, West Pennant Hills, NSW, Australia
Earlier this year my wife and I visited
the state of Orissa in India. As Orissa
has no international airport, we flew to
Bhubaneswar via Calcutta. One can
also access Bhubaneswar through
Delhi, Chennai or Hyderabad. Our
purpose was to pay homage to the
shrines of Jaganath at Puri and
Lingaraja at Bhubaneswar. We also
planned to visit the ruins of the Sun
Temple of Konarak. On an earlier visit
to India, a gentleman we met at
Guruvayur in Kerala, advised us to visit
this monument to Lord Surya in
Konarak. He regarded this the most
beautiful and impressive example of
Hindu architecture. We agree with his
assessment we were awed by the
Sun Temple of Konarak.
The Indian poet Rabindranath
Tagore was struck by the beauty of this
magnificent monument to Surya, the
Sun God, he was moved to say Here
the language of man is defeated by the
language of the stone. To the early
European sailors it was the Black
Pagoda an important landmark on the
east coast of the sub-continent. Once a
grand majestic temple, the ruins are
still awesome, representing the daring
design and creative skills of the ancient
Orissa builders and craftsmen. From
1984 it has been on the World Heritage
list.
Legend has Konarak as an
ancient site of sun worship. According
to the Puranas, Samba, son of Lord
Krishna, a proud handsome man, once
upset the divine sage Narada. Seeking
revenge, Narada used a cunning
scheme to lead Samba to a place
where his stepmothers were bathing.
The ladies were captivated by Sambas

beauty and charm. Narada had in the
meantime slipped away and led Lord
Krishna to the scene. Lord Krishna
became angry and cursed his son to
be afflicted with leprosy. Samba
proved his innocence but the curse
could not be removed. He was
instructed to go to a village near
Konarak, and to pray and pay homage
to Surya, the healer of skin diseases.
After twelve years of penance he was
cured of his illness and in gratitude he
built the first sun temple. Legend also
has it that the local Brahmanas refused
to worship the surya image and Samba
had to bring from Iran sun worshipping
Maga families.
The present Sun Temple was built
by King Narashima Deva of the Ganga
dynasty who reigned in the 13th
century. The temple has been
designed as a giant chariot, driven by
the charioteer Aruna, the god of dawn.
Abul-Fazl, the chronicler of Emperor
Akbar wrote, It has three portals. The
eastern has carved upon it figures of
two finely designed elephants, each of
them carrying a man upon its trunk.
The western bears sculptures of two
horsemen
with
trappings
and
ornaments and an attendant. The
northern has two tigers, each of which
is rampant upon an elephant that it has
overpowered. In the front is an
octagonal column of black stone, 50
yards high.... It is said that somewhat
over 730 years ago, Raja Narsing Deo
completed this stupendous fabric and
left this mighty memorial to posterity.
Twenty eight temples stand in its
vicinity.

The Sun Temple follows the Oriya
tradition
with
the
main
deul
(sanctuary), the jagamohan (assembly
hall) and natya mandir (festive hall) all
in a line. The only departure from
tradition is the separation of the natya
mandir from the jagamohan by a flight
of stairs and an open space. In this
space stood a tall chlorite pillar, the
Aruna Stambha. Aruna, Suryas
charioteer, was on the crown of the
pillar. This pillar is now installed in front
of the Jaganath temple at Puri. The
deul and the jagamohan are one unit
on a platform designed as a chariot.
On the sides of this platform are 24
gigantic carved wheels. The chariot is
drawn by seven richly adorned horses
carved on the sides of a flight of stairs
leading up to the jagamohan. The
sides of the platform and the outer
walls of the deul, jagamohan and natya
mandir are richly decorated with
sculptures and friezes. The decorative
motifs consist of floral and geometric
patterns, of animals, of dancers and
musicians, of kings, of soldiers, of
erotic and amorous couples and of
beautiful maidens. Apart from platform
and the bottom part of the tower, very
little remains of the deul. The stairs to
the jagamohan are guarded by a pair
of lions-on-elephants. In the rolled
trunk of the crouching elephant is a
terrified man.
The carved wheel has now
become symbol of the Sun Temple of
Konarak and possibly, Orissa. Each
wheel consists of an axle, which is kept
in position by a pin, a hub, a rim and
sixteen spokes (eight broad and eight
narrow). The entire wheel is decorated
with elaborate floral motifs, beaded
strings, maidens is various poses,
musicians, soldiers, animals and
hunters. The 24 wheels signify 24
Page 24/40
hours and the eight broad spokes eight

prahas (three hour periods) of a day.
Between two broad spokes, the rim
has thirty beads, each bead denoting 6
minutes of time. In essence each
wheel is a sun dial.
There are other buildings within
the walled enclosure including a
sanctuary to Maha Gayatri Devi, a wife
of Surya. There are also free standing
sculptures of elephants, lions and
horses. Outside the northeast corner of
the enclosure is a shed housing a huge
monolith chlorite on which are carved
the navagrahas. This monolith was
originally double its present thickness
and formed the architraves of the
eastern entrance to the temple.
It is claimed that the Gayatri
Mantra is what inspired the creators of
this poetry of stone - the Sun Temple
of Konarak.
References:
1. Konarak by Debala Mitra Published
by the Director General, Archaeological Survey of India New Delhi
1998.
2. Devalaya: Great Temples of India
by Subhadra Sen Gupta Published
by Rupa & Co 2001.
Thai
Pongal
(Maha-Sankranti)
always takes place during winter
solstice, the period when the sun,
have finished its course towards
the southern hemisphere, turns to
the north again and comes back to
visit the people of India. The feat
lasts for three days: First day
Bhoghi Pongal (Pongal of joy);
Second day Surya Pongal (Pongal
of the sun); Third day Pongal of
the cows.
Page 25/40
THE HINDU COMMUNITY IN SCOUTING

Emma Donaldson, London, England
INTRODUCTION
The value of Scouting, such as
honesty, a willingness to do things and
a respect for others, and an emphasis
on
personal
development,
are
particularly compatible with Hindu
teachings. Young people in Scouting
are encouraged to develop mentally,
physically, socially and spiritually,
which are key principles in Hinduism.
Approximately 1 million of the 25
million Scouts worldwide are Hindus.
There are at least 360,000 Hindus
living in the United Kingdom today, of
whom 40% are under 20 years old.
The majority of the Hindus living in the
United Kingdom have their origins in
the Gujarati State in western India and
the Punjab in northern India and
Pakistan.
Smaller
British
Hindu
communities originate from other
Indian states, such as West Bengal,
Maharastra and Tamil Nadu, and from
East Africa, Caribbean and Sri Lanka.
However, it is more often the case that
these young people will now be second
or third generation Hindus who have
been born and brought up in the United
Kingdom.
The word Hindu was originally a
Persian word meaning people who live
beyond the River Indus, and came to
mean Indians who were not Muslim or
Buddhist. In this way Hinduism
connected people from different
cultural traditions, and as a result does
not have a rigid set of beliefs, a single
founder/prophet, scripture or creed.
Hinduism does not expect its followers
to believe in certain things, but to live
in a certain way, and consequently
Hinduism affects every aspects of a

Hindus daily life. As with any world
religion Hinduism is made up to
hundreds of thousands of individuals,
and each person finds their own way of
expressing their faith. This fact sheet
aims to highlight the major common
elements that exist among the majority
of Hindus.
HINDUISM
Hindus believe in one personal
Supreme Being or God Parabrahma
that can be found everywhere. The
Hindu symbol and the syllable AUM
symbolise the trimurthi (trinity), which
represents Gods relationship with the
universe. God is creator Brahma (A),
preserver Vishnu (U) and destroyer
Shiva (M), which can also be explained
as Generator, Operator and Destroyer
(GOD).
Hindus also worship representatives of God or incarnations, which
they see as different forms of a single
reality that is greater than all human
thought. These incarnations may be
human or animal, male or female.
TWO KEY BELIEFS
1. Dharma: a Hindus duty to behave
rightly and to fulfil their obligations
to their family, society and God.
Many Hindus use Dharma to
describe the faith.
2. Karma: the law of cause and
effect, where every action has an
effect, even upon their future lives.
FOUR AIMS IN LIFE:
1. Dharma: to do their duty.

2. Artha: to make wealth to help
others.
3. Kama: to fulfil their ambitions
without becoming attached to their
success.
4. Moksha: to gain release from the
cycle if rebirth known as samsara
which is the ultimate aim of every
Hindu.
A Hindu can only reach fulfilment, or
be reborn with greater of spirituality, if
they have fulfilled their Dharma. Hindu
believes they can do this by living
correctly, and by performing good
actions in order to achieve good
karma. Though Hindus are not bound
by a creed, as a society they are
bound by rules associated with their
family and caste. Every Hindu is born
into a caste (jati), which is a social
group with its own duties and place in
the
social
hierarchy.
Castes
corresponds to (1) the mouth (2) arms
(3) thighs and (4) feet of God.
Traditionally these castes were:
1. Brahmins: temple priests and
teachers of doctrines.
2. Kshatriyas: administrators and
soldiers.
3. Vaisyas: commercial and artisan
clan.
4. Sudras: farming and humbler jobs.
Sikhism and Buddhism have their
origins in Hinduism, as do some
modern sects such as the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness and
the Swaminarayan Hindu Mission.
HOLY WRITINGS
Hindus follow teachings from a number
of sacred books called Shastras (texts
that explain and guide the way people
behave in live). These teachings were
passed on orally for hundreds of years
Page 26/40
before they were written down, and are

some of the worlds oldest known
writings. Most are written in the ancient
Indian language Sanskrit, which most
Hindus believe is a sacred language.
The Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana
and the Mahabharata are some of the
holy texts. There are two types of holy
writing: shruti (heard and revealed)
and smriti (remembered).
WORSHIP AND PRAYER
The place of worship is the temple
(mandir), though most Hindus have
shrine in their home where they
perform worship (puja) daily. Any quiet
place where meditation is performed
can be used as a place of prayer,
which could be a place of worship of
another faith. Everyone is welcome in
a temple, providing they respect Hindu
principles. Anyone visiting the temple
must remove their shoes before
entering the main body of the temple
where deities are installed as a mark of
respect. Some Hindu women will often
cover their heads before entering, and
will not enter while they are
menstruating.
There are many shrines in the
temple, which contain murti (statues)
of incarnations. These images are a
visible sign of God, which helps the
devotee concentrate their mind during
worship. Temples in the United
Kingdom usually have shrines for the
followers of Vishnu, Krishna, Shiva and
the Mother Goddess.
A pujari (a person who leads the
worship) or pundit (a priest who also
acts as religious adviser) performs a
series of rituals, behind curtains, which
prepare the murti. The curtains are
then drawn back so that the devotees
can see and be seen by God. This

moment is called darshan. The pujari
then performs the Arti (lights)
ceremony. First, the pujari places five
lamps on a tray, which he then moves
in a clockwise circle in front of the
deity. While he does this, devotees
sing a sacred song, and then ask God
to bless me with ever-increasing faith,
divine love and spirit of service.
Devotees then warm their palm over
the lights in the shrine or on the arti
tray, and place their hands over their
eyes, forehead and head in a single
movement, thus symbolically taking the
light of God in to their mind and heart.
Devotees are then offered prashad
(blessed food) by the pujari, which
gives them, Gods blessing. The
syllable AUM is often recited at the
beginning and end of prayers and
when bhajans or mantras are sung.
Most shrines have a Sikara (peak)
over it, to symbolise Mount Meru, a
mountain that is the centre of the
universe and where the Gods reside.
There are different patterns of the
dhvaja (flag) placed on each shrine
symbolic of that particular god.
PILGRIMAGE
Pilgrimage is not a requirement of the
Hindu faith, but is seen as a form of
devotion and a way of gaining punya
(religious merit). A pilgrimage can be to
anywhere of religious significance
whether that in a rover, mountain or
temple. Many Hindus from the United
Kingdom also travel to India to meet
members of their family or to see
where their friends and families grew
up. One of the most important places
of pilgrimage is the town of Varanasi
on the River Ganges. Hindus believe
that bathing in the river can cleanse
away bad karma from previous lives,
Page 27/40
and that dying at Varanasi or having

their ashes scattered on the river will
allow them to achieve moksha (release
from the cycle of rebirth).
HOLY DAYS AND FESTIVALS
The Hindu calendar is based upon the
lunar year when a new moon
appears this denotes a new month.
The seven days of the week have
names that correspond to different
solar bodies. The lunar year is shorter
than a full solar year, which is the basis
of the western calendar, so an extra
month is added every few years.
A Hindu will not necessarily
observe all the festivals listed, and the
way they will celebrate festivals is
dependent on the form of worship the
Hindu practices, e.g. whether they
follow Shiva or Vishnu. This often
depends upon which region of India
their family is from.
Diwali/Deepavali (Festivals of Lights
or the Festivals of good triumphing
over evil) is held for five days every
year in October or November. It
celebrates
Ramas
triumphant
homecoming to his hometown of
Ayodhya from his 14 years exile after
he defeated the wicked king. People
celebrate by placing diva (lamps and
hence diwali) in the windows of their
homes to invite a blessing on the
household from Lakshmi the goddess
of prosperity, and by setting of
fireworks, Hindus also give cards and
gifts. These include a new set of
clothes, which are worn on Diwali day
to symbolise a new life ahead.
Navrati/Navarathri (or Dassehra or
Durga Puja) is held for nine nights,
twelve days before the beginning of
Diwali. It is the worship and devotion to
the Mother Goddess, who acts as a

safe refuge for the devotee as a
mother does for her child. Dassehra
(literally tenth) is celebrated on the
last day of the festival and commemorates Ramas victory over Ravana.
Ram Navami is the celebration of the
birth of Rama, said to have taken place
at 12 noon on the ninth day of the
month Chaitra (March/April). In many
Hindu temples an image of Rama is
uncovered and rocked at noon as the
congregation sings passages from the
Ramayana.
Janmashtami (or Krishna Jayanthi)
is the celebration of the birth of
Krishna, aid to have taken place on the
eighth night of the month Bhadrapada
(August / September). Hindus believe
that he was born at midnight, and so at
Janmashtami everyone stays up until
then to greet the baby Krishna. He is
greeted with songs, dances and
offerings of butter and curds, and is
then rocked in a cradle.
Maha-Sivarathri is the Festival of
Shiva (who represents the power to
destroy and recreate) and is held in
January/February. Shiva is often
represented as the Linga, and some
Gujarati communities celebrate the
festival by pouring milk over the Linga
as an offering to god.
Holi is an ancient Spring Festival, held
on the full moon of the month Phalgun
(usually March), and celebrates the
triumph of good over evil. Hindus light
bonfires to commemorate the burning
of the demoness Holika, who perished
while planning to burn alive Prahlad, a
devotee of Lord Vishnu. It is also the
Festival of Colours of Spring, which
celebrates the joy of life and new life
(as things come in the bloom). At this
time Krishna and his devotees
Page 28/40
sprinkled coloured water on one

another to symbolise Krishna showering spirituality in all its richness on all.
Hindus re-enact this by throwing red
and yellow dye or powder at one
another.
Raksha
Bandhan
(Festival
of
protection from evil and family love)
expresses the love between brothers
and sisters, and reminds men that it is
their duty to always care for their
sisters. Women tie a rakki (a charm
against evil) around their brothers
wrist to protect them, and receive
money and presents in return. Rakkis
can be anything from red thread to
ornate bands. Raksha Bandhan is
celebrated in July/August.
Ganesh Chaturthi celebrates the birth
of Ganesh (the remover of obstacles)
and occurs in August/September.
BEHAVIOUR AND VALUES
There are eleven (11) principles by
which a Hindu will live:
1.
2.
3.
4.
to tell the truth;

to not steal;
to use their intelligence;
to understand the difference
between right and wrong;
5. to develop a knowledge of God;
6. to be peaceful;
7. to love everybody;
8. to be kind to all creation;
9. to behave non-violently;
10. to not have false attachments to
worldly goods;
11. to have faith in God.
Some Hindus, especially sadhus (holy
men) practice ancient exercise called
yoga, as a way of controlling their body
and mind in order to build up their
spiritual power to gain moksha.

The scriptures recommend 16
samskara (sacraments) to achieve
moksha.
Samskara
are
rituals
performed at key stages of Hindu
persons life from before they are born
to after their death, and include:
The naming of a child;
A babys first hair-cut (between
their first and fifth birthday) where
the karma of their previous life is
washed away;
The sacred thread ceremony
(upanayana) where boys in the
highest three castes (at 8, 11 and
12 years respectively) make a vow
to remain celibate until marriage,
and to fulfil his duty to God, his
parents and to his religious teacher;
Marriage the 12th samskar
which Hindus regard as the bond of
two families rather than of two
people. The wedding rituals are
performed by the brides parents,
and then conducted by a priest who
recites mantras from The Vedas.
The ritual includes the couple
taking seven steps together, which
represent food, strength, prosperity,
happiness, children, enjoyment of
pleasures, and lifelong friendship;
Cremation (the final samskar), after
which the persons ashes should, if
possible, be scattered in running
water. Fourteen days after the
funeral the family holds a feast,
who then take part in an annual
ceremony on that time as a way of
remembering the person who died.
Though the rules of caste are less
restrictive in modern Indian cities and
in the United Kingdom, most Hindus
lives are still affected by caste. Some
older Hindus in the United Kingdom
comply rigidly with the rules, and most
Hindus will still marry within their caste.
Page 29/40
Some Hindu communities have jati

(caste) associations, where members
of the same caste can meet and run
classes and activities for their children.
THE FAMILY AND COMMUNITY
Living as a member of an extended
family is an important part of a Hindus
life. Grandparents and aunts and
uncles are as significant in the
upbringing of a Hindu child as their
parents and siblings, and as a result
first cousins are often called brothers
and sisters. Living as an extended
family is not always possible in the
United Kingdom, and so there is often
an increased emphasis on a Hindus
responsibility to all members of their
community, particularly in the respect
and care of their elders (an important
part of Hindu family life).
Names and Naming a Child
As the naming of a child is one of the
Hindu samskars, sacraments, it has a
prescribed ritual. After a baby is born,
the familys priest will consult an
almanac and used to choose the
babys name. Then, on the twelfth day
after it was born, the baby will be given
their names.
The naming system in Hindu
families is the same as the English
system. The surname, such as Amin,
Chandarana, Gupta, Patel, or Shah, is
shared by all members of the family
and a person may be given one or two
personal names. If someone has two
personal names the first is usually the
one used. The surname usually
indicates a division of caste.
Most personal names are either
male or female, e.g. Indra, Leela,
Meena and Vishni for girls, and Anil,
Gopal, Naresh and Surrendra for boys.
However, some names are common to
Page 30/40
both sexes, e.g. Krishna, or are made

feminine by the addition of an a, e.g.
Arun and Aruna.
Kumar and Kumari (prince and
princess respectively) may be added to
personal names. They are not
necessarily used by the person all the
time whether formally or informally,
e.g. a girl who has written her name
Pannakumari Desai will most probably
be known as Panna by her friends and
will probably on another occasion write
her name Panna Desai. Ben (sister)
and Bhai (brother) are also added to
personal names as a mark of respect,
e.g. a boy who is known at Scouts as
Amit Mistry would be called Amitbhai
by his younger brother.
Chemise when they visit the mandir or

for special occasions.
Traditionally Hindu girls marked
their forehead with a chandalo when
they got married, but this is now
something a woman choose to do,
whether for traditional, cultural or
fashion reasons. Having a chandalo
does not imply that a woman is
married, just as not having chandalo
does nor imply they are still single.
Hindus, both men and women, can
also apply a tilak (a U-shaped mark) to
their forehead, which represents the
foot of God and is a sign of surrender
to God.
Food
Many families will worship at home on

the actual date of a festival, and so a
Hindu Scout may not be able to attend
a Scout meeting on those days. Some
Hindu children will take part in
community-based activities, such as
studying a language and/or religion,
learning musical instruments and/or
dance. Most Hindu parents would allow
their children to attend mixed Scout
Groups, provided they had both male
and female leaders. If appropriate,
some aspects of Hinduism could be
included in Scout meetings, e.g. saying
Hindu prayers or enacting stories from
sacred tests at appropriate times.
Some Hindus are happy to use the
phrase duty to God in the Promise,
but others would prefer to say duty to
my Dharma (i.e. the divine force which
directs my life) instead. Both of these
are acceptable. Hindu vegetarian
options would be suitable for all
Scouts. It is also important that you
ensure that Hindu hygiene rules are
followed when preparing all meals.
Hindu writings instruct devotees to

respect all living creatures, and so
strict Hindus are vegetarian and will
not eat eggs or cheese that contains
animal rennet (most English hard
cheeses). Hindus who do eat meat will
eat lamb and mutton, and possible
chicken, fish and pork, but beef is
strictly forbidden as the cow is a
sacred animal. Strict Hindus will not
drink or eat prepared by, or with, a
person who does not share the value
of their social group. Women and girls
from many Hindu families are also not
allowed to prepare food when they
have their period.
Dress Code
Most Hindu women wear saris or, if
they are from the Punjab, shulwar and
chemise (trousers and tunic), while
men usually wear western clothes.
More and more girls and young women
wear western clothes most of the time,
and only wear saris and shulwar and
SCOUT MATTERS
Page 31/40
HINDU GIRLS, DON'T GET TRAPPED...

Pratibha Bhambri, West Midland, England, UK
I want to share my experiences and
encounters with the Indian Community
in England and other countries. One of
these is as follow:
After my high school graduation, I
made a big blunder. Despite my
parents' tearful pleas and the warning
of my brother I married outside my
religion to Muslim from Bangladesh.
I did not know at that time that was
abusing the liberties and freedom
bestowed on me by my great religion,
Hinduism. I realized now that I was just
copying some of the film girls of
Mumbai, who by marrying this or that
Khan, are proving to be real bad
models for young Hindu girls like me. I
understand now that this is all being
orchestrated by the menace of the
Middle East Oil Company
My ex-husband and his family
started questioning and frowning on
my dress and any Hindu ways. They
pressured me to change my religion. I
knew I was fully trapped, because I
thought if I go back to Hinduism, I will
not be fully accepted and it will be
almost impossible to remarry a Hindu.
Due to the persistent and relentless
pressure of my Muslim In-laws family, I
had to give up my beautiful name?
Religion and dresses, just to please
them.
It did not stop there. They started
labelling my parent's family and any
contact with them as bad 'influence on
my sister-in-law; they even severely
beat my youngest sister-in-law for
developing, friendship with a Sikh
young man. That was too much for me
and I confronted them for double
standard. When I could not take it any
more I got separated and filed for

divorce. .
I wondered why I had left Hinduism.
I did not know the real philosophy and
history of Hinduism, which withstood
successfully the onslaughts, and
massacres of invaders. The only
Hinduism I knew was going to the
temple. Sing arthi, eat prasad or dance
before goddess Durga once, a year
during Navratri festival.
To prevent my Hindu sisters from
committing the same blunder I did, I
educated myself about my religion.
Later I stated giving lectures in various
British temples, on important topics,
such as 'Youth, and Marriage' and
'Erosion Hindu culture and values in
movie, from Mumbai. I also helped in
arranging all-Hindu dances and
discussion on these topics. The
majority of Hindu temple officials gave
me a lot of problems in the beginning.
These influential, yet ignorant, told me
to arrange my talks and lecture outside
the temples as only religion could be
discussed inside the temples. This was
flawed and, suicidal thinking and I had
to go to individual devotee and families
to persuade the temple management
to relent.
Hindus should participate in the
financial decisions of their temple to
divert some money awakening Hindu,
in the West and back home. Hindus
should also fix a percentage of the
income to Dharma Raksha and related
project as perhaps we are the only
people who don't realize that to get
money from the average Hindus for
such projects seems more difficult than
hitting a California lotto Jackpot. But

that is very important. They should also
donate money to Institutions and
associations dedicated to awakening of
Hindu.
The parent should also start
reading about the religion and its
philosophy to convey the message and
knowledge to their children. They
should start discussion with their
daughters at early age on the topic of
religion and marriage. Also they should
not restrain their sons too much to the
extent, that they will not be aggressive
enough in developing positive and
natural relationship with Hindu girls.
Through inter-discussions we found
out that the Muslim boys contact the
young and innocent Hindu girls using
their own sisters for initial contact and
slowly trapping them into relationship. I
am told that several Muslim-Arab
countries give financial incentives for
such relationship and marriage. Hindu
boys should not turn their head the
other side when some undesirable try
to take advantage of the innocence of
Hindu girls to trap them in marriages.
This will ward off the unwelcome
and unwanted advances of boys from
other religions who cannot tolerate a
Muslim girl marrying a Hindu even in a
movie, let alone in real life. When a
Muslim boy approaches a Hindu girl
and tells her, 'You are the most
beautiful thing on earth etc. She
should be immediately alerted that he
is actually fulfilling the Islamic
commandment of grabbing and
converting non-believer women by all
possible means. It is not a reflection of
my personal bitterness, I remind you of
FATWAS (i.e. Muslim religious high
command issued from Muslim's high
religious authorities to Muslims) issued
by Mullahs in England for Muslim boys
in colleges and universities 'to marry
Page 32/40
Christian, Hindu and Sikh girls and

they specially ask to target Sikh girls.'
I want educated young girls in
England, and elsewhere to take pride
in themselves and their great Hindu
religion and if someone asks them to
convert to facilitate a marriage, ask
them instead to get converted to
Hinduism first. In genuine love there
should not be this religious angle.
The Hindu associations in USA
should arrange all Hindu youth dances
and other events to bring together
Hindu youth from all the states and
countries. They should also make
special videos to train and inform the
youth on various concerned topics
such as how to handle the new found
independence away from parents at
the universities and 'how to reject the
undesirable advances of boy of other
religions who have a hidden agenda.'
Another video can show the stories
of brave Hindu girls like Princes Surya
and Chanda of Sindh (daughter of king
Dahir) and story of the exemplary
bravery of the Mehta sisters of Gujarat,
Tana and Riri. We should remind our
youth about millions of Hindu martyrs
who sacrificed their lives, but did not
give up their religion before the
cruellest of the cruel, tyrant Aurangzeb.
We should learn from our Sikh
brothers who remember their martyrs
every day while doing prayers and
reading Shree Guru Granth Sahib. We
should also not forget traitors like Jai
Chand and Jai Singh and remember
the awful damage they did to India.
It is also very important for us to
analyse the historical decisions made
by leaders such as Nehru and Gandhi
and compare their performance with
revolutionaries like Subhas Chandra
Bose and the magnificent and
unparalleled Sardar Patel.
Page 33/40
HINDUISM PROMOTES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Ajit Adhopia
How did religion influence or shape our
attitude
towards
the
natural
environment? This is how UCLA
history
professor,
Lynn
White,
answered this question in his article
The Historical Roots of Our Ecological
Crisis (Published in Science in 1967),
He states that the Western worlds
attitude towards nature was shaped by
the Judeo-Christian tradition. (He
included Islam and Marxism in this
tradition, that involved the concept).
God planned all (of creation) explicitly
for mans benefit and rule: no item in
physical creation had any purpose
save to serve mans purposes.
According to Prof. White, Western
Christianity separated humans from
nature, and created a dualism, while
the older religions saw (divine) spirit in
every tree, river, animal and bird.
White claims this Western concept
encouraged
exploitation
and
domination of nature for the benefit of
man. This traditional, western exploitative attitude to ecology gave birth to the
protest movements like Greenpeace
that have gained strength over the last
four
decades,
to
protect
the
environment.
To Hindus, the concept of
environment protection is not a modern
phenomenon; they inherited it from
their ancestors. During the earliest,
formative period of their society,
Hindus first perceived Gods presence
around them through nature. The
natural forces that governed their daily
lives were considered as manifestations of an almighty creator they called
the Brahman (not to be confused with
the Brahmin caste).
Ancient Hindus felt Brahmans

presence in everything around them.
Since these divine forces sustained all
living creatures and organic things on
this earth, to please God, they felt they
must live in harmony with His creation
including earth, rivers, forests, sun, air,
and mountains. This belief spawned
many rituals that are still followed by
traditional Hindus in India. For
example, before the foundation of a
building is dug, a priest is invited to
perform the Bhoomi Pooja in order to
worship and appease mother earth and
seek forgiveness for violating her.
Certain plants, trees and rivers were
considered sacred, and worshipped in
festivals. In a traditional Hindu family,
to insult or abuse nature is considered
a sacrilegious act. A Hindu mother
would severely scold her child for acts
like ripping the limb of a plant or
urinating or spitting on a tree or in any
body of water.
Hindus believed that humans, gods
and nature were integral parts of one
organic whole. Ancient Hindu writers,
later on, personified each of the divine
force as a Devata or deity worthy of
reverence
and
worship.
Even
Charvaka, the atheist philosopher of
ancient India, who totally rejected
Vedas,
the
Hindu
scriptures,
considered the principles of Vayu (air)
Bhoomi (earth), Jala (water), Agni (fire)
as important factors in regulating the
lives of humans, animals and plants.
This Hindu worldview of ancient Vedic
times became formalized into the
Samkhya system of philosophy that
promoted ecology-care in Hindu
attitude.

The Hindu prayer called Shanti
path recited to conclude every Hindu
ceremony,
reflect
the
Hindus
connectedness with nature: There is
peace in heavenly region; there is
peace in the environment; the water is
cooling; herbs are healing; the plants
are peace-giving; there is harmony in
the celestial objects and perfection in
knowledge; everything in the universe
is peaceful; peace pervades everywhere. May that peace come to me!
Alas!
in
the
process
of
modernization and mimicking of
western lifestyle and consumerism,
modern Hindus have forgotten their
ancestors view on ecology, and have
acquired the western exploitative
attitude towards nature. Lush forests
have been denuded, rivers, including
the sacred river Ganga (the Ganges),
have become polluted with industrial
wastes. Delhi has become one of the
most polluted cities in the world. Many
beautiful birds and animals have
become extinct. This devastation is
taking place in the name of progress.
The Indian environment-protection
movement opposing this ecological
destruction, is run by westernized
elites, and based on western model. It
has failed to become a mass
movement, for it is devoid of spiritual
foundation or content necessary to
inspire Hindus. Prof. David Frawley
(How I Became a Hindu), laments:
Unfortunately, Hindus have forgotten
this Vedic view of the earth and dont
protect their natural environment. They
have not added a (traditional) Hindu
point of view to the ecology movement
which is perhaps the main idealistic
movement in the world today, part of
the challenge of the modern Hinduism
is to reclaim its connection to the
earth.
Page 34/40
TRIMURTI AND GREEK

AND ROMAN GODS
Trimurti,
the
three
principal
divinities, is Brahma, Vishnu, and
Siva. The word properly signifies
the three powers, vIz. Creation, the
special
attribute
of
Brahma;
Preservation, the attribute of
Vishnu;
and
Destruction,
the
attribution of Siva.
Many writers have asserted that
three gods are nothing else but the
three principal deities of the Greeks
and the Romans under different
names. Brahma is Jupiter, Vishnu is
Neptune and Siva is Pluto.
According to mythology of the
Greeks, Jupiter is the author and the
creator of all things; he is the father,
the master, and the king of gods and
men. Neptune makes the waters his
abode; the sea is his empire; there
he reigns, mounted on his chariot in
the form of a shell drawn by sea
horses and armed with his
formidable trident. He is attended
by Tritons, who make the whole sea
re-echo with the sound of their
conches. Pluto, the gloomy god of
hell, is the lord of the shades and of
night. Jupiter is borne by an eagle;
Vishnu rides a pretty eagle called
Garuda. Juno, wife of Jupiter, is the
goddess of wealth. Lakshmi, the
wife of Vishnu, signifies one who
gives riches. The Romans, in the
feasts which they celebrated in
honour of their gods, always
represented Jupiter in company
with his wife; and Hindus do the
same in the case of Vishnu and
Lakshmi.
Abbe J A. Duois, Hindu Manners,
Customs and Ceremonies
Page 35/40
INTERNAL MAN MANAGEMENT: PART I

A Vedantha Oriented Approach for the Corporate Man
Postman, The Rukmini Studies, Madras, India, 1989.
Chapter 1: Preamble
The Western School of thought on
Man Management has been widely
expounded by a multitude of writers
during the twentieth century. It is
essentially on managing others than
oneself.
But the adherents of Vedantha
school based on relentless logic
pursued to ultimate finality, consider
the western approach to the whole
issue as an exercise in mere surface
scratching on such topics like
Motivation, Performance Evaluation,
Job Satisfaction, Professional Pride,
Group Dynamics, Inter-personal Skills,
Leadership Style, etc. etc. which are so
inert-related and inter-woven that all
the topics can all be traced to a central
basic philosophy if pursued with total
dedication to the culmination of
ultimate truth. However, this booklet is
confined to a limited application of the
laws of Vedantha to our daily lives to
the extent possible by an average
executive or an office goer. Vedantha
literally means the culmination of
Vedas. It would be beyond an average
employee to go all the way up to the
very pinnacle of Internal Man
Management. Even limited application
of the principles of Vedantha school of
thought would be more beneficial than
the Western Schools of Man
Management and Motivation.
The Why of Self-Motivation or
Internal Man Management (IMM)
The Western School dwells extensively
on motivating others placed under
ones control in the official sphere. It is

silent on the issue of self-motivation or
personally motivating oneself. It is
generally taken for granted that the
motivating factors are universally the
same for the Managers as well as the
managed.
Money,
promotions,
security, perquisites, fame, admiration,
respect, prestige, praise, recognition,
professional pride and honours are
held to be motivating factors that goad
every one into action. A manager is
told to make use of these incentives
and
factors
to
motivate
his
subordinates and the Manager himself
is held to be susceptible of being
motivated by his Bosses by a particular
combination selected out of the same
basket of universal incentives, by yet
another suitable selection of which he
is to motivate his subordinate, the
selection being tailored to suit the
particular subordinate.
Is a Manager or a man to be
manipulated by his superior? Is
Management mere manipulation or
exploitation of ones desire? Is a
Manager to be weak enough to subject
himself to internal manipulation by his
superior? Is his superior to program his
mind? Is he to allow the environment to
program his mind? Cannot a Manager
program his own mind consciously?
Are the Universal motivating Factors
like money, perquisites, FARPPH
(Fame,
Admiration,
Recognition,
Prestige,
Praise,
and
Honour),
professional pride, job satisfaction etc,
the right goals, to attain which he has
to programme his mind? Or are there
other worthwhile factors and goals to

attain which a man shall program his
mind?
Internal Man Management is selfmotivation by programming ones own
mind while motivation is programming
the subordinates mind.
Internal Man Management is selfmotivation. The mind is programmable.
It is a stupendous collection of
Gigabytes initially blank at birth save
for that part connected with the
biological programmes transmitted
through the gene or the sperm or
chromosomes.
Internal
Man
Management is programming ones
own
mind.
But
the
question
immediately arises, who is to program
the mind. Who is to write into these
gigabytes? Who is to write the
programme
into
the
mind
so
susceptible of being programmed?
Parents? Friend? Peers?
Teachers? Political leaders?
Boss? Poets? Novelists?
Scriptures? Movie stars & directors?
Indulger? Or shall it be the
Abstainer?
External environment as detailed
above?
Shall he not himself decide the
norms that shall be coded into him in
this life?
Shall he allow the External
Environment to write freely into the
mind after which the written part
becomes Read Only Memory (ROM) of
mind. The information or programmes
written into the unerasable bytes
cannot be voluntarily or readily erased,
the way a computer programme can be
erased. It is easy to write into the mind
but difficult to erase what is written into
it. Beware what you write into your
mind because once written it is difficult
to erase it out.
Page 36/40
A computer programme is easily

erased because the programmer and
the programme are two distinctly
separate entities. But when it comes to
Internal
Self
Motivation,
the
programmer ad the program are parts
of the same consciousness or mind
which is a sort of self programming
package. Internal Man Management is
internal self-motivation and internal
self-programming of the mind, the mind
or consciousness programming itself.
The programs or the software reside in
what is known as the mental sheath
while the programmer resides in the
Intellectual-sheath of the multisheathed ego consciousness.
Hence, a detailed analysis of the
Universal
Motivating
Factors
becomes
essential
before
one
embarks on conscious programming
his mind which is the essence of
Internal Man Management (IMM).
These Universal Motivating Factor
have been analysed in the past by a
galaxy of eminent men ranging from
poets to practitioners of Vedantha
system. This write up is mainly on the
application of Vedantha to IMM though
here and there a few references are
made to those poets who came close,
but missed out the truth in the final
analysis. The basis postulates of
Vedantha School of IMM are not laws
that were discovered like Newtons
Laws of Motion or Keplers law of
Planetary Dynamics. They are eternal
truths that are explained by Gurus from
time to time to enquiring disciples. The
laws are attributable to Grace that is
Providence and not to mortal men.
An animal is entirely a creature of
the environment. The mind of an
animal is entirely programmed by the
external environs. But a man can block
the external environment from freely

programming his mind in an unbridled
way. The IMM is all about conscious
choice of motivating factors and
developing an ability to resist the
environment and block it from
unbridled programming of his mind by
external environs is abetting and
colluding with the environs. IMM is all
about motivating oneself out of the
clutches of the External Environs,
motivating oneself out of slavish
dependence on the environs, at least
partially.
While the Vedantha school of
thought is an elaborate system of logic,
this write-up presents a part of
Vedantha system of Internal Man
Management in a simplified form, in
the form of Laws of Vedantha though
it is almost a sacrilege to project
Vedantha as capsuled theorems in the
same manner as Newtons laws of
Motion or Keplers Law. But such an
approach has been adopted in this
write-up for the benefit of the
adherents of Western School who are
more at ease with such capsuled
theorems
and
laws
simplified
conveniently into brevity though the
more serious pursuer has to seek
guidance elsewhere for greater
elaboration. The Western gurus of
Business Management, if they look into
the Vedantha system of Man
Management
may
find
some
inspiration that would enable them to
take a fresh look at their beaten track
and find newer lines more congenial to
the corporate humanity.
In the next chapter, we shall
consider the basic laws and postulates
of Vedantha school to the extent they
throw light on the motivating factors, so
unquestioningly accepted as universal
and desirable by Western Schools of
Man Management.
Page 37/40
Chapter 2: Fundamental Postulates

and Laws of Vedantha
The fundamental postulates and laws
of Vedantha are not labelled or
numbered. In some Vedantha texts,
each verse is presented like a theorem
perfect in brevity and conviction. The
postman is impelled to elaborate in
greater detail, only some of the
fundamental postulates pertinent to the
limited objective of IMM by an average
executive or an office goer who need
not postpone it to post-retirement
vanaprastha. Even a limited application
brings in a great change in quality of
professional life.
FIRST LAWS OF VEDANTHA
THE
LAW
OF
PAIRS
OF
OPPOSITES AND THE LAW OF
EQUAL PROPORTIONS
PLEASURE AND PAIN CAN BE
CREATED ONLY IN PAIRS; FOR
EACH SPECK OF PLEASURE, AN
EQUAL AMOUNT OF PAIN IS TO BE
ENDURED.
A single magnetic North pole or single
South pole cannot be created in
isolations. Only a pair of poles, North
and South can be created together.
A positive electric charge cannot be
created without a negative chrage. The
moment a positive charge is created, a
negative charge also comes into
existence at the same instant
somewhere else. There is a space gap
between the two poles (or between the
two
charges)
created
together.
Similarly pleasure and pain can only be
created as a pair but the gap between
pleasure and pain is one of time. The
pleasure and pain referred to are

sensual and ego based pleasure-pain
pairs.
There is no sensual pleasure which
does not cause a consequence an
equal amount of pain. There is no
pleasure at all in our life which is not
neutralised by an equal amount of pain
which is an inexorable and inevitable
consequence of pleasure. You can
have them together or avoid them
together. But one can never separate
pleasure and pain and enjoy pleasure
alone and yet avoid the inevitable
backlash of pain. An effort to get
pleasure outside the purview of the
Laws of Pairs is a futile effort. Sensual
pleasure may be planned into
existence; but pain also would creep in
though not planned for.
Man does not see the link between
the sense and ego based pleasures
and pains and hence he hunts for
pleasure as long as he believes that it
is possible to enjoy pleasure alone and
yet avoid the pain by a skilful management of the external environment. He
spends a stupendous amount of
energy trying to control, scheme, edit,
manipulate, manoeuvre, rig, organise
and re-arrange the external environment and circumstances, an exercise
in futility. Even a totalitarians of George
Orwells 1984 cannot exercise total
control of the environs. Man spends his
entire wakeful sate (Jagrat state) in a
massive and sustained effort to evade,
elude and avoid the inexorable Law of
Pairs of opposites.
At last when he realise that pains is
the
inevitable
consequence
of
pleasure, he stops the Great Hunt for
pleasure and stops the massive effort
to rearrange the environment and
circumstances. At the end of life, the
amount of pleasure enjoyed over the
life span is exactly equal to the pain
Page 38/40
suffered irrespective of whether the

man is a king or a beggar. The
pleasure pain ratio is exactly 1:1 in the
case of all individuals whether they are
the mighty rulers or humble citizens.
When one is yachting in the calm
and placid waters of the Mediterranean
or dining in the opulent Pullman car or
sipping fluids at a Rural French
pavement Caf or boating languidly in
a French canal, it all appears to be
pain-free pleasures, moments of
pleasure that leaves apparently only
pleasant residues. But alas it is not to
be that way at all. When one is unable
to repeat the holiday either due to age,
ill health or lack of funds, one is
tormented by these very memories of a
splendorous holiday of the past.
Indulgence kindles appetites and the
mind craves for more and more of it,
craves
for
repetition
of
such
experiences to a greater depth, for a
greater spell of time. When one is
unable to cater to the renewed and
escalated
appetite,
inevitable
disappointment and suffering results as
a backlash.
Even indulgence in fine arts is not
pain-free. When one relishes a superb
Semmangudy performance in Carnatic
music or listens to a Brahms
symphony, it appears to be a pleasure
that possibly cannot cause any
subsequent pain. And yet it does.
Someday one is unable to attend a
Semmangudy performance in town
due to lack of time or money or one
has been transferred away or one has
gone deaf or ageing great master
himself is unable to repeat the quality
of his earlier performance that thrilled
one so much.
The Laws of Pairs and the Laws of
Equal proportions are inexorable selfadministrating laws that need no

external
enforcing
agency.
The
creation of one half of any pair leads to
the automatic creation of the other
opposite half of the pair in due course
of time. Hence pleasure is to be
eschewed, not because it is not sweet,
but because it is followed up by a
backlash
of
pain.
The
selfadministering law allows a man to
enjoy pleasure and then inflicts pain on
him as a consequence. The man, who
sacrifices pleasures, actually sacrifices
pain too and hence it is no sacrifice at
all as he is a beneficiary!
This applies to all sensual and
egoistic pleasures be it an indulgence
in roasted chicken or Masal Dosa.
Beethoven or Thyagaraja; or be it an
indulgence in egoistic pleasures, the
self-administering Law of Pairs can
never be evaded or avoided.
Pleasure depends on positive
continuous rate of change (dE/dt in
mathematical terms) in the environment (E). Such a continuous positive
rate of change in environment cannot
be sustained even by an emperor.
There has to be periods of material
stagnation (dE/dt = 0) or when the
change is negative (dE/dt is ve).
When a man with 1 million wealth
attains wealth of 10 millions he is far
happier than a man whose wealth is
reduced from 100 millions to 75
millions, who is consequently unhappy
at the reduction. If the wealth remains
stagnant at 100 millions there is neither
pleasure nor pain! A slight decrease in
discomfort brings great joy to a person
living in a slum or concentration camp
while a minor decrease in luxury brings
immense agony to a man wallowing in
opulence and luxury. Thus in the end
the pleasure-pain ratio is 1:1 in the
case of slum dweller as well as in the
case of an emperor. One may plan a
Page 39/40
panorama of splendour and achieve it

also. But the opposite pair half
squalor will also materialise though
unplanned.
Super panoramas of pleasure
conjured up by men are really super
painoramas superimposed on the
pleasure-panorama. Man may create
pleasure by planning; but an equal
amount of pain comes into existence
without his planning for it and without
invitation; when a man plans panorama
of pleasure, he is really planning a
plea-painorama
or
a
painpleasuroma
an
archipelago
of
pleasure Islands in high seas of
misery. During nostalgia, he recollects
the pleasure Islands of the Archipelago
but conveniently and myopically over
looks the seas of misery surrounding
the Isles of Sensual and egoistic
pleasure. He recollects the oases but
overlooks
the
squalor
of
the
surrounding desert. Squalor free
splendour is a contradiction in terms.
Nostalgia is a lop sided selection of
the past as it tends to remember the
happy islands, overlooking seas of
misery through which one had to wade
though. Once the sensual and egoistic
pleasure and pain is seen as an
inseparable pair (separable in time but
not otherwise) one would give up
attempts to rearrange the external
phenomena. The internal changes
require less effort than what is needed
for massive rearrangement of external
environment to suit ones personality
which is a package of programs. The
mismatch between the internal mental
software package and the external
environs can be ended by programming the mind so that one is less
dependent on the environment of
maintenance of inner peace. Change
yourself and the world will change

has been the cry of all religions down
the ages.
The law of unenjoyable ends is a
natural corollary of the Law of Pairs
(LOP). The ends or fruits can be
enjoyed only in accordance with LOP
and not outside its purview and
jurisdiction. The fruits (ends), if
enjoyed, attract the penal provisions of
the LOP. The fruits have to be
discarded to avoid invoking the
tyrannical provisions of the LOP. When
the fruit is discarded pain is discarded.
The only exception to the LOP is the
Pure Eternal Inner Bliss (Sat-ChitAnanda) which is the only Pain-free
Bliss that one can enjoy without a
backlash. This bliss (SCA) is not a fruit
of action. SCA is also possible amidst
anxiety-free
disinterested
action,
irrespective of the success or failure.
Modern Man is educated about the
laws discovered by Newton, Faraday,
Kepler and a thousand other scientists.
But alas, he is not briefed at school
about the most important Law of them
all, namely the Law of Pairs pertaining
to human consciousness
A person, who has fully accepted
the LOP is freed of all regrets about
past Mistakes since the LOP cannot
be evaded whatever be the past
action. Similarly such habits like
building castles in the air, daydreaming
and conjuring visions of future etc. are
all eliminated.
Once the linked nature of the
pleasure-pain pair is recognised, fear
of losing the object of attachment is
also lost. Fear is about a possible loss
of an object of attachment. Fear is also
about possible failure to obtain an
object craved for. But if the enjoyment
of such objects is seen to lead to
pleasure-pain pairs, then there is
revulsion and a reduction in the
Page 40/40
intensity of attachment to the material

objects and egoistic objectives. The
fear also gets reduced in direct
proportion to the reduction in the
intensity of attachment to the sensual
and ego-based pleasure-pain combinations that are inseparable except for a
time gap between the two. When the
desire for pleasure-pain combination of
pairs totally disappears, fear also
disappears in toto.
Next issues will discuss: The Law of
Deceptive Perceptions (Maya); The
Law of Unenjoyable Ends (Fruits of
Action); The Law of Inner Bliss or SatChit-Ananda (SCA); The Law of
External Scape-goats; The Law of
Karma Programmes (Agami Software
and Praarabda Software).
Arunagiri in Kandar Anubhuti says,
Think of the Lord, give up
ignorance (that objects can give
happiness),
be
freed
from
suffering
and
enjoy
Lords
grace. We suffer because we have
not obtained His grace, which is due
to our not thinking of Him. This is
because of our ignorance, which
takes the things of the world real.
Hence, giving up ignorance, that is,
turning away from the objects;
meditating on the Lord, that is,
turning
our
attention
within;
obtaining His grace, that is
establishing Wisdom; we should be
saved
from
the
misery
of
transmigration, is the advice of the
saint Arunagirinathar. Though the
aspirant seemed to be successful in
his meditation initially, it does not
last long. At times the mind cannot
be concentrated at all in spite of his
best efforts because of ignorance.
N.V. Karthikeyan, Kandar Anubuthi

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EDITORIAL

For a number of years, Hindus getting converted to Christianity is an issue

AUM MURUGA JOURNAL No. 23: July/September 2003

Editor: Dr. R. Sri Ravindrarajah

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

WE HAVE THE BEST GODS! THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN

island that is resulting in a

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

highlighting the authoritarian and

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

former, stable world-view with its ideas

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

son Murugan. More occasionally some

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

About the ancestor cult, what can

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

criterion of integration and acceptance

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

emotional commitment that can hardly

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

specificities of the island. The striking

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

of a society that is no longer a host

July - September 2003

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

THE RELIGION OF SAIVAISM

Late Mr. K. Ramachandra

According to the Sanskrit work,

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

devotee from very ancient times to the

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

student of the priest, who used to

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

further unanalysable cannot undergo

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

(the great Puranam) dealing with the

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

State, by being truthful, honest and

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

on a trade mission to distant foreign

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

Cosmic Dance of Siva

Maheswara and Sadasiva. The five

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

now I know that dancing and praying

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

known as Vinayaka. He must also be

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

world from evil and doom. Six sparks

Quarterly Journal of the Aum Muruga Society

must be taken direct from the rays of

HINDU TAMIL PROVERBS 3

5. Mw;wpNy tpl;l njHg;ig Nghy;

1. MwpYk; rhT EhwpYk; rhT.

6. MdKjiy mopj;jtd; khdk;

Death may occur at six, or at a

Can a six months journey be

Aum Muruga Journal No. 23

I am tossed about like a tuft of sacred

Having lost his capital. It will not be

Do not begin to build in June; nor set

8. Mid mire;J jpd;Dk; tPL

9. Mid xU Fl;b Nghl;Lk;