[Advaita-l] Importance of Ashram

[S Jayanarayanan]

There are some misunderstandings here.

1) I don't mean to dismiss business itself as being wrong or "evil" -
that would be hypocritical coming from someone who is presently
pursuing an MBA degree. I can well understand how Business can be
beneficial to the world at large in a certain sense. I personally
believe that the fierce competition in Capitalism is probably better
than complacency.

2) However, I do NOT delude myself into thinking that Vedanta can be
"used" for succeeding in Business Management. That would be akin to
making Vedanta servile to one's Business goals - which is
sacrilegious! There are significant differences between the
definitions of "success" in the two areas:
  Business: "Success" is equivalent to making profits.
  Vedanta: "Success" is not being perturbed by profit or loss.

3) A scholar of the Gita once told HH Chandrashekhara Bharati
Mahaswamigal of Sringeri Math that he had been teaching the Gita to
some rich people to get them interested in the scripture, and HH
immediately asked him if he recalled the Gita 18.67, to which the
scholar hung his head in shame. For quick reference, the quote says,
"This dialog (i.e. the Gita) is not to be taught to one who lacks
tapas, nor to one who lacks bhakti/devotion, nor to one who lacks
divine service, nor to one who is envious of Me."

Let me ask - are those to whom Swami Parthasarathy "reaching out" to
performing tapas, devoted to the Lord, or doing divine service? If
not, the best thing now is to encourage these people to first be
involved in tapas, bhakti, etc. BEFORE introducing them to the Gita
or Vedanta.

I'm quite sure that Swami Parthasarathy respects Vedanta more than
most people do, but IMHO, it is not flattering to Vedanta to reach
out to businessmen who lack tapas or bhakti. It is only cheapening
the Divine Scripture!

--- Mahesh Ursekar <mahesh.ursekar at gmail.com> wrote:

> Pranams!
> 
> I would only encourage those who think Swamiji is not teaching
> Vedanta in
> the true spirit to pick up some of his CDs/VCDs, etc (or better
> still,
> attend one of his lectures - he travels all over India) and get
> familiar
> with his teachings before casting aspersions.

Your reply above was to my posting, so I presume that it suggests
that I have cast aspersions on SP's character.

For the record: my statements were merely objective observations, and
not meant to denigrate anyone.

I definitely have, and will continue to hold the teachings of Vedanta
on high regard, and expect a teacher of Vedanta to adhere to the high
standards established by the past great teachers of Vedanta.

[..]

> On a lighter note - if at 81, I could work 12-14 hrs a day, travel
> the world
> without fatigue, play a mean game of cricket (he recently took a
> hat-trick
> in a game in South Africa) and have a happy disposition all day,
> even if I
> didn't care for Vedanta, I would follow his teachings for such a
> wonderful
> benefit! :-)
> 

Fantastic! Then feel free to pursue these "finer" aspects of life -
where is the need to link these achievements (such as a "hat-trick")
to Vedanta? Why not keep it disparate from Vedanta, and perhaps call
it "Balanced Teachings for Successful Modern Living"? If that were
the case, I would gladly listen to these teachings, but I'm turned
off by the very fact that the banner of "Vedanta" is simply
inappropriate for these teachings.

I enjoy eating Pastas, Playing the violin, Working in the tech
industry, etc. - but I see absolutely no reason to belive that my
enjoyment/skills/work is somehow connected to Vedanta!

> Best wishes in ur quest for the truth!
> 
> Pranams, Mahesh
> 

My penny's worth,
Kartik


      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Looking for last minute shopping deals?  
Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.  http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping