Re: ARTICLE : The call of divine duty

Posted By Sandeep Sane (sane@cco.caltech.edu)
Fri, 05 Sep 1997 14:50:27 -0700

Krishnakant Udavant wrote:
>
> Title: The call of divine duty
> Author:
> Publication: India Today
> Date: August 11, 1997
>
> When it comes to foreign trips, poets and priests can rind themselves in
> the same predicament as politicians: in the eye of a storm. Though it
> lasted a little more than a fortnight-and ended rather tamely-the
> controversy this time was acerbic enough. The debate, on whether the Vedas
> permit priests to cross the seas or not, followed the London visit in June
> by priest Vishnu Narayanan Namboothiri of the Sree Vallabha temple in
> Thiruvalla, central Kerala. The punishment, served by head priest
> (thantri) Akkeeraman Kalidasan Bhattathiri on July 5, was prompt and
> severe: Namboothiri couldn't conduct pooja at the temple till he underwent
> a penance which included chanting the Gayatari mantra a thousand times and
> undergoing the punaravarodha (reinstallation ceremony).

It is interesting to note that the Indian media and Indian netizens only
pay attention to controversies. Meanwhile, other newsworthy events go
unreported.

Is India Today aware that more than 70 Vedic priests are currently in
the USA, in connection with the Atirudra Mahayagnam at the Sringeri
Sadhana Center in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania? A total of 121 priests,
including many settled in the USA, chanted the Satarudriya hymn of the
Yajurveda and performed Rudra homas for 11 days, from August 22 to
September 1, 1997. These priests are also going to perform a Maharudra
Yagnam in Maryland, at the Siva-Vishnu Temple, this weekend. The
overseas trip of these priests has been sponsored by the Sringeri Math,
the seat of an important Sankaracharya, and an institution which is
often considered to be a bastion of orthodoxy. But then, this does not
create controversy, as none of these priests have been threatened with
excommunication. So the Indian mediapersons do not even mention it! When
the priest of some temple creates problems, it promptly becomes news.

Vidyasankar
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