[Advaita-l] Attack on Adi Sankara-by Dvaitins-what has been done to resolve this?

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

> I heard from one of my friends that Adi Sankara has> been attacked viciously by the dvaitins. I also read a
That is true.
 
> What has been done about this by the advaita (smartha)> community? This is character assassination, isn't it?> A debate has to take place with mutual respect, they> can attack the philosophy, if they want, but cannot> make nasty remarks about saints, just because they> belong to a different sect.
A whole lot of dispute and recrimination has taken place over the last six-seven centuries about these issues.
 
> Something has to be done about this, because this is> an attack on a certain religion, which Indian> constitution doesn't permit. Either dvaitins must> remove these objectionable verses from their texts, or> face action. Imagine what would happen if similar> comments have been made against muslims, there will be> an outrage. But why does no one care, when advaitins> are attacked?
The problem is, the dvaitins who live today are not the ones who wrote texts like the Manimanjari. As such, there is not much they can do. Don't you think what you are suggesting, about removing objectionable verses from their texts amounts to censorship? Moreover, should we really be comparing such issues in the dvaita-advaita disputes to Hindu-Muslim disputes?
 
In general, in any dispute, when one party resorts to name calling, it is a sure sign that they are losing the argument. It should be a matter of pride, therefore, that the advaitins have not had to write texts that stoop to such a level. Many have cared in the past and have taken issue with the dvaitins about these issues.
 
> Many advaitin friends have contacted the dvaita list> moderator, someone named Rao, but he didn't have the> decency to respond properly. In fact, he hurled abuses> at people who expressed concern. 
See above :-). On a more serious note, I think Shrisha Rao, the moderator of the dvaita list is still a member of this list, so he may be reading this. As the dvaita list and its functioning are not the concern of this list, I hope you can take it up with him separately and get your concerns addressed.
 
> Goes on to show people will never respect us, as long> as we crawl and beg. So the question still remains,> what can we do about this? Swallow these insults and> move on, or take action?
I don't see holding one's head high and refusing to resort to similar tactics of insulting and mud-throwing as crawling and begging. Look at the larger picture - advaita vedAnta is spread all over India while dvaita is identified with a much smaller community of people in south India. Although dvaita has influenced a few other Vaishnava groups, such as the Gaudiyas, it is not present as dvaita in these other sects. Over the last century or so, advaita and Sankaracharya are also known, respected and admired all over the world, not because smArtas have emigrated to other parts of the world, but because independent students of Indian philosophy are able to the truth and worth of advaita and the greatness of Sankaracharya. I don't think this is a sign of people not respecting us, is it?
 
Best regards,
Vidyasankar
 
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