ADVAITA-L Digest - 5 Jan 2003 to 6 Jan 2003 (#2003-4)

[Ravi]

On Wed, 8 Jan 2003 15:49:26 +0530, D.V.N.Sarma <narayana at HD1.VSNL.NET.IN>
wrote:
>
>In addition to kADu, kaDaM also means forest.
>vEM means bamboo. So the name perhaps indicates that
>there were bamboo forests on the seven hills and  it got its
>name due to that. In sandhi vEmkaDaM becomes vEMgaDaM.
>

I like your explanation too. The vEm which I related to dry comes from
Tamil word "vemmai" which means hot (could imply dry).

>I would like to point out that telugu along with kannada and
>malayalam is a dravidian language and old tamil is a common
>property of all the four people. Claims such as tirupathi
>is ancient tamil land and it is in Andhra Pradesh are to say the
>least simplistic. Telugus, Kannadigas and Malayalees are as much
>inheritors of the Dravidianl cultureand land as the tamilians are.

The Lord belongs to the whole universe. In fact, vEnkaTEshvara is a popular
American deity among Hindus, most of the south indian temples in the US has
vEnkaTeshavara as their main deity (or the preferred fom of vishhNu). When
I said that tiruppathi was a part of ancient Tamil Land, I merely stated a
fact, in the context that vEnkaTam is a Tamil word. I couldn't care less if
it is now in Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu.


I appreciate your sentiment about inheritance, however, it is indeed
amazing that how the wealthy get so many zealous men willing to be heirs
and inherit, and the poor go unnoticed.  There are many ancient temples in
the Tamil land which really need people to help them. I hope people will
inherit these temples citing the common ancestry. This includes even some
vaishhNava divya deshams.

Personally, I have no problems or emotional attachments to these things. I
would not be worried   even if Klingons take away all our temples.
Anything external will be eventually taken away. Either time or kings or
conquerors will destroy them. The best temple one have have is in one's
heart, and it is a portable heaven.

ravi at ambaa.org