[Advaita-l] True scholarship

[Raghav Kumar Dwivedula]

Namaste Kartik ji
You are fortunate to associate with a Mahatma like Sri R.K.Srikanta ji.
I was drawn to the following para in his obit in 'The Hindu' viz.,

"He was a man with liberal and rational outlook. He held women in high
esteem and taught them vedic mantras and performances of rituals".

Could this be taken as a precedent/pramANa for today's times w.r.t women
studying the Vedas given your Guruji's orthodoxy and scholarship?

Om

Raghav







On Fri, 13 Sep, 2019, 6:59 AM S Jayanarayanan via Advaita-l, <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> I had earlier posted a few letters from my Guruji, who was an esteemed
> Vedic scholar in Chennai, Mysore
> and surrounding areas. Only recently did I come across his obituary that
> appeared as a news piece in
> The Hindu a few years ago (see below).
>
> First, these were his letters, along with an explanation from me:
>
> https://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/1996-July/005165.html
>
> https://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/2001-September/001898.html
> https://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/2005-April/014452.html
> https://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/2011-June/027651.html
>
> An anecdote to reveal just how close he was to contemporary great
> religious pesonalities. Once when
> I visited him at his home (either in Mysore or Bangalore) around 2008 or
> so, the conversation went
> something like this:
>
>   Guruji: "When I went to see Bharati, I was saying, 'Bharati, why is it
> that...'"
>   Me (puzzled): "Who is this 'Bharati'?"
>   Guruji: "The Sringeri Mahasannidhanam Bharati Tirtha, I address him as
> 'Bharati' only!"
>
> The number of people who can openly call the Sringeri Mahasannidhanam by
> His first name, can probably
> be counted on the fingers of one hand!
>
> This year (2019), when I visited Sringeri to pay my respects to the
> Mahasannidhanam, I introduced myself
> as the disciple of My Guruji Srikanta Kumaraswamy. The Mahasannidhanam
> immediately recognized the name
> and enquired about him, using the Tamil word for reverence, "avar". I then
> conveyed that my Guruji had
> passed away.
>
> Anyway, here's the long obituary in The Hindu:
>
>
> https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/tribute-to-srikanta-kumaraswamy-who-passed-away-in-mysore-on-july-5/article6267688.ece
>
> FRIDAY REVIEW
>
> True scholarship
>
> K.R. MOHAN BANGALORE,  JULY 31, 2014 20:01 IST; UPDATED: JULY 31, 2014
> 20:01 IST
>
> Srikanta Kumaraswamy, a man who achieved excellence in science and
> spirituality, passed away on July 5 in Mysore
>
> Vedic scholar and an expert in making steel furnace, R.K. Srikanta
> Kumaraswamy passed away on July 5 in Mysore.
>
> Srikanta Kumaraswamy was born on May 20, 1928 at Nanjangud. After a
> brilliant academic career, he began his career as a lecturer
> in Basappa Intermediate College (now Renukacharya College), in 1947, at
> the age of 19. He joined Mysore Iron and Steel Works,
> Bhadravathi in 1952 and worked till 1965. He was responsible for many
> innovations and improvements in the quality and quantity
> of production in the iron-making and steel-making furnaces.
>
> His passion for teaching made him join the Indian Institute of Technology
> at Madras as a lecturer in 1965. Right from his school
> days, RKSK was much passionate about the Vedas and Sanskrit. He managed to
> learn them from reputed Ghanpatis at Bangalore, Varanasi,
> Shimoga and Madras. During his free time in the evenings, he devoted time
> to teaching of the Vedas at Bhadravati and Madras.
> Many of the staff members and students from IIT used to attend veda
> classes with total interest. In his 23 years of service at Madras,
> he might have taught about 200-300 students, irrespective of caste or
> creed and many women as well.
>
> After his retirement, teaching the Vedas became a full-time vocation. He
> gave a series of seven lectures to packed audiences on
> Vedic literature in 2007, under the aegis of Parampare at Nadabrahma
> Sangeetha Sabha Hall, Mysore.
>
> RKSK was an expert in both Valmiki Ramayana and Bhagavatam, and gave
> several lectures and participated in seminars on several
> aspects of our culture. Kasturi, a popular Kannada magazine, used to
> publish his illuminative articles in Kannada.
>
> He has written six books in Kannada and they are: Hridaya Sampannate (this
> is a compilation of his experiences with noble souls
> whom he had come across in his life. This has seen three editions.)
>
> Sraddha (Sraddha is the annual ritual performed in memory of one’s own
> parents. This booklet gives the basic concepts behind every
> ritual as envisaged by our Maharashis.)
>
> Sarala Vivaha (This is also a Vedic Samskara (sacrament). This booklet
> gives the real way in which the marriage should be conducted
> according to our Maharshis.)
>
> Samskaragalu mattu Maanaviya Maulyagalu (Samskaras and human values : All
> our samskaras are meant to result in Chittashuddhi,
> a cleaning of the mind, which is nothing but the practice of human values.
> The book gives the details of all the usual samskaras
> and its relationship with human values.)
>
> Upakarma (A small booklet about the annual upakarma (beginning of studying
> the Vedas) which is being observed on the full moon day
> in the Sravana month), Antyesti (Popular misconceptions and fears
> associated with the final rites are cleared in this work.)
>
> He was a man with a liberal and rational outlook. He held women in high
> esteem and taught them vedic mantras and performances of rituals.
>
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