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NEWS : Sages call to combat hunger at Tirumala conclave
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To: GHEN <ghen@netcom.com>
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Subject: NEWS : Sages call to combat hunger at Tirumala conclave
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From: ashok <ashokvc@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in>
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Date: Fri, 11 Oct 96 18:25:06 PDT
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ReSent-Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 12:24:40 -0400 (EDT)
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Title : Sages call to combat hunger at Tirumala conclave
Author : Express News Service
Publication : The Indian Express
Date : October 11, 1996
Sardar Manjit Singh, chief of the Akal Takht, Amritsar,
has called upon Dharmacharyas and Peethathipathis to come
out of their shells (peetam), and go to the masses to
revive the age-old venerable custom of annadanam (giving
food to the hungry).
Addressing a two-day Dharma Sadas on the dharma of anna-
bahulya and annadana organised jointly by the Centre for
Policy Studies, Chennai, and the Tirumala-Tirupati Devas-
thanams (TTD) at the Asthanamandapam here yesterday,
Manjit Singh said religious leaders should not remain
silent spectators to people's miseries but must shoulder
the responsibility of solving their problems.
He blamed politicians of all shades for the problems
confronting people today and took a dig at fake sadhus
who joined hands with politicians and blessed them for
their own selfish ends.
When thousands of people were struggling for a loaf of
bread, these politicians and fake sadhus were on the
look-out for a suitable place to stash away their wealth
in Switzerland and other countries as they were afraid to
hide their wealth in India.
He appealed to the religious heads to use their ankusam
on the politicians without any hesitation and put an end
to the people's miseries.
Sri Tridandi Sriman Narayana Ramanuja Jeer Swamy strongly
objected to the use of temple lands for housing and
industrial purposes.
He said the endowment department of the government, which
was looking after the temple managements, had miserably
failed in protecting temple properties and left them in
the lurch. Except a few, almost all the temples were
left in such a pathetic situation that they were unable
to meet even the burden of daily rituals. He likened the
endowment department to Bhasmasurastram as it reduced the
temples to mere 'ashes'.
The temples should be spared of government interference
to enable them to regain their past glory and fulfil
their traditional role, he said.
Srimat Paramahamsa Kaliyan Vanamamalai Ramanuja Jeer
Swami asked the politicians to distance themselves from
religious and educational institutions in order to ensure
their smooth and efficient functioning. Religious insti-
tutions should not shut their eyes to human miseries. He
said religious institutions, besides meeting spiritual
needs, should also give importance to the basic needs of
food, clothing and shelter for mankind.
Earlier, welcoming the Dharmacharyas and Peethathipathis,
Tirumala - Tirupati Devasthanam's (TTD) executive officer
M K R Vinayak said annadanam was considered a most sacred
act but this practice was discontinued at a later period.
This, he said, was not due to lack of foodgrains but lack
of moral values. The TTD, on its part, had introduced
the Nitya Annadana scheme on a big scale, providing food
to 15,000 to 20,000 pilgrims every day at Tirumala. Sri
Maharaja Marthanda Varma of Travancore and Sri Jagadguru
Ramanujacharya Vasudevacharya of Ayodhya also spoke.
Jitendra Bajaj of the Centre for Policy Studies said the
main objective behind the two-day conclave was to instil
and motivate the idea of giving food and increasing the
food production in accordance with the ancient tradition
enunciated in the scriptures.
Other prominent persons attending the conclave were
former Maharaja of Thanjavur, Sri Tulasendra Raja Bhon-
sale and Virendra Heggade, Dharmathikari, Dharmasthala
Manjunatha Kshetra.
Before converging into the Asthanamandapam, the Swamijis
led a procession which started from Varahaswami temple,
followed by hundreds of disciples, to the Mandapam. All
along the route, pundits chanted hymns on the importance
of annadanam as described in Upanishads and Vedas. An
attraction of the meet was the presence of two former
Maharajas - Raja of Travancore Marthanda Varma and Raja
of Thanjavur Bhonsale.
