Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Parthasarathy Koil Adyapakas’ arrogance to the fore

A ‘Go Slow’ Tactic by Adyapakas delay Lord Parthasarathy’s sleep

The Adyapakas showcased themselves in extremely poor light late this evening at the Parthasarathy temple in Thiruvallikeni on the 9th day of the Era Pathu Utsavam
A 45 minute Tiruvoimozhi recital that was extended to 2 1/2 hours as a mark of protest that stunned the devotees and the bhattars to a state of shock
Decked in Govardhana Giri Thiru Kolam, a form that has been extensively described by Periyazhvaar in his Thirumozhi (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2015/09/krishna-govardhana-mountain.html), Lord Parthasarathy made his way through the Paramapada Vaasal just after 6pm on Monday (January 16) evening for the ‘Periya Veethi’ procession along with Nam Azhvaar that was to precede the Tiruvoimozhi recital.  

For about 30 minutes or so, it all seemed normal until the Lord came to a standard ‘Shatari’ halt in front of the Thiru Maligai of Shri. Parthasarathy Bhattar, the lead Bhattar of the temple on the West Street. It is believed that it has been a practice of the Bhattar to present a range of prasadams to the Lord on one of the days of the Era Pathu Utsavam during the street procession. Only this time, the halt was a lot longer than usual.With the Lord standing there on the West street for half hour, one could feel a sense of uneasiness taking over the minds of the Adyapakas who were the leading the Lord with the recital of the sacred verses.

But what followed in the evening a couple of hours later left everyone in a state of shock inside the temple. The big street procession usually takes 75-90 minutes during this 10 day Era Pathu festival and the Lord was to be back at the temple by 7.30 pm. But with the extended halt in front of the Bhattar’s house, it took around 2 hours for the Lord to make his way back into the temple.

Brutal display of Intellectual Power
Aggrieved at this delay, the adyapakas in an ugly display of power decided to give it back to the Bhattars.
This evening was to be the 9th Canto of a 100 verses of Nam Azhvaar’s Tiruvoimozhi (on each of the 10 days of the Era Pathu utsavam, the big and celebrated Ghosti of Parthasarathy temple recite a 100 verses culminating in Nam Azhvaar Moksham on the final evening – one that is slated for Tuesday evening at around 10 pm)

Usually the set of 100 verses during the Era Pathu Utsavam is recited in a time frame of 45-60 minutes. And over the last few days, the Lord has headed back with his winter clothing well before 11 pm. However, this evening turned out to be different bringing back bad old memories from over a decade earlier.

GO SLOW Tactics
If one thought that the Go Slow tactics was an exclusive weapon of the workers in the manufacturing unity, the team of Adyapakas showed that it could be applied in a temple scenario as well to showcase one's anger.

Unhappy at the delayed return from the procession, the Venkatakrishnan led Adyapaka group took an impromptu decision to slow down the recital to an abysmally unheard of pace taking even their teammates by surprise.

As 10 verses passed and into decad 2, the rest of the Ghosti, who were not clued into this secret plan of Venkatakrishnan and co tried to speed up the recital to the usual pace but the senior Adyapakas slowed it down again. Into the 3rd and 4th decads, an attempt was made by the other members of the ghosti to get back to the normal recital but Venkatakrishnan would have none of it.

Half way into the 9th Canto, it was clear to one and all that there was something wrong. Most of the members of the Ghosti (the non adyapakas) were constantly looking at the clock and the roof above as the clock touched 10 pm and they weren't anywhere near completion!!! A few of them headed out in the middle of the presentation.

The devotees on their part too made their way out of the temple as the clock ticked past 11 pm. And still the end wasn't near!!!

Ameena Seshadri (the sacred time keeper) and Maniam Balaji turned silent spectators as the adyapakas seemed to showcase in Public to the devotees at large as to who had the final POWER that night.

However, a large percentage of the ghosti members who seemed to have been taken in by surprise at this sudden move of the adyapakas, later indicated that they were helpless and had to follow the 'Lead Speed'.

Over 2 1/2 hours to recite a 100 verses 
In a shabby display of intellectual arrogance and overcome by ego, that had been hurt by the longish wait during the procession, Venkatakrishnan and his adyapaka group slowed down the recital to such a pace that it took almost 150 minutes to complete the 90 verses (it would have taken around 40-45 minutes on normal days).

And then they came back a few minutes later to complete final decad of 10 verses where Nam Azhvaar praises the Lord of Thiru Kannapuram. By then the clock had ticked to almost mid night.
Angered at this ugly treatment meted out to them, the Bhattars now slowed down the presentation of the Theertham, thus making the Ghoshti wait for the Thaligai.

Everything just seemed in poor taste this evening, when everyone seemed to have forgotten that there was one man who was watching all their action from just a few yards away. In fact, his Thiru Kolam of carrying the huge mountain in a single hand showcased that he was there ever willing to protect the true devotees. But to those who forget his presence and take law into their hands in an unjust manner, he always reminds them as to who the real BOSS is.

Finally, the Lord headed back to the mandapa at 0.30am, almost two hours later than on the previous day (the 8th evening).

Prof Venkatakrishnan’s message to his Vaishnavite Students!!!
MA Venkatakrishnan had been a professor of Vaishnavism dept of the University of Madras for well over two decades and retired as the Head of the Department a couple of years ago. He is now anchoring the Correspondence course in Vaishnavism of a private University in Tamil Nadu. He also presents the verses of the Azhvaars on TV Channels explaining the inner meaning of the verses.

Is this the message he wants to give to the students of Vaishnavism - 'Teach others a lesson by using such low handed tactics' inside the temple making the Lord wait for 2 hours in a vulgar display of power.

Is this how he will explain Periyazhvaar’s verses of Krishna holding on to the Govardhana Mountain to protect the true devotees on earth. Is Venkatakrishnan’s message one of taking revenge for a seemingly unintended delay in procession. Is he advocating such a path to his students of Vaishnavism and to the viewers of Television  through his upanyasams. 

His wife too was a lecturer at the Madras University and she too had been quoted in a column in The Hindu about the route to Moksham. Mrs. Venkatakrishnan should be asking him if this abject display of power in front of the Lord is the route that Thirumazhisai Azhvaar (that she quoted a year and a half ago) suggested as the route to Moksham.

Adyapakas making the Lord wait during processions
Over the last few years, he and the lead row of adyapakas have repeatedly made the Lord wait during street processions by not moving on despite the loud requests from Amena Seshadri from behind. Repeatedly Venkatakrishnan has tried to show as to who the BOSS is on the street. On a number of occasions through the year, Venkatakrishnan is seen meddling with his smart phone during the recital of the sacred verses.
  
It is time for Venkatakrishnan to take a re-look at the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham and the inner meaning of the verses. Nowhere in the 4000 verses have the Azhvaars advocated revenge as a tactic of life. Does the Adyapaka group realise that they have committed a sin this evening by delaying the sleep of the Lord by two hours. Do they think that Lord Parthasarathy would have shut his eyes off tonight forgetting their wicked deed of the evening.

While the Ghosti of the Parthasarathy temple ranks among the best in temples in Tamil Nadu (they always turn out in large numbers and many of them present with great devotion before the Lord), it is time for them to realise that they have been presented an exclusive opportunity in this life to present the sacred verses day in and day out in front of the Lord. 

At the moment, they seem to be blinded by an intellectual arrogance that they have repeatedly been taking ‘law’ into their hands.

There was at least one strong voice (from the Ghosti) of dissent at the end from one who had been part of the Ghosti for four decades at the way the evening had been conducted albeit well after the temple had closed for the night. But at least he seemed to have realised very soon that the Adyapakas had not been fair to the Lord on the night.


Time will tell if the Lord’s eyes were indeed open tonight and if he indeed listened to this arrogant recital of the verses on Thiru Katkarai, Moozhikalam and Navai by Venkatakrishnan and his team of adyapakas.

33 comments:

Dog said...

Wow Prabhu never seen u this angry... your words and the time u had posted tell it all...

Anonymous said...

Fantastically written. Arrogance & Ego got to be shunned. People around him should wake up.

I am sharing with 25+ members of vashnavites of which some have very big vaishnavite network.

Keep up your good work.

(from the US)

Anonymous said...

Dear Prabhu,

I think such people are working towards destroying themselves in the coming Janana!!! That is all we can state…

(Legal Corporate Counsel)

Anonymous said...

Good article.

Take it from me they will never change. It's arrogance. But Ameena and Balaji show great respect to DC much beyond their call of duty. But that is for maximum 3 minutes. Not two hours.

What if God stood for 15 minutes in front of Bhattar's house. Don't they stop during Eekattuthangal trip in front of VT Gopalan's house waiting for judges. There MAV will be sheepish.

Meesaikaran will have the final word.

Anonymous said...

Very beautifully written.
Brahmana Thimiru..... that is why people
hate us today as a community.

Deivam Ninru Kollum!!!


(a dancer in ancient temples in Tamil Nadu)

Sundu Raman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Very well written Prabhu. Sad that ego of human beings gets showcased even in front of Lord

(from the Middle East)

Anonymous said...

Being a member of adhyapaka goshti myself, i am able to understand the issue better. i feel really ashamed as a goshti person and more as a srivaishnava to trouble other fellow srivaishnavas like this.

"Adiyar adiyar tham adiyar adiyar thamakku adiyar adiyar tham adiyar adiyongale" (Thiruvoimozhi 3-7-10)
"Selva than serai emperuman thaal thozhuvaar kanmin en thalai melaare" (Periya thirumozhi 7-4-1)
"Imayorgal kuzhaam thozhuvadum soozhvadum......undo kangal thunjudale" (Thiruviruttam 97)

These are the verses sung by aazhvars for bhagavatha seshatvam (service to sriman narayana devotees).

What is the basic concept of bhagavatha seshatvam proposed by our aazhvars and our great aacharyas?

It is to signify that there is only one master. Others are for doing kainkaryams. It is also to signify that no kainkaryam is inferior to other. That's why in Srivaishnava ideology it is said to worship Thirumaal Adiyaars. This in turn will kill the ego which is one of the main enemy to attain the Lord's feet.

But what happened yesterday at triplicane (with so called the best adhyapaka goshti) is very saddening. This is not the first occasion. Many times i have seen their defiance. In the true spirit of vaishnavite tradition, this is not proper.

But this practice doesn't happen in triplicane alone. this happens in all temples where there is a sizeable population of srivaishnavas.

The srivaishnavite value system has depleted completely and people want to exhibit more power by show of wealth and influence. couldn't understand perumals sankalpam in this....

But public display of such disagreement that too keeping the lord at stay is totally unacceptable. If there is delay of 10 to 15 minutes, that's fine. But keeping the lord waiting for 2.5 hours is appalling!!!

The issue that's still burning inside me is 'is there no one at triplicane to question MAV and these kinda practices?'

Anonymous said...

Whats written here is not completely true. There seems to be a bias in the article and and a clear hatred & vengence towards DrMAV. How it is possible for one person to control 200 adhyabakas?

You are talking about lords sleep delayed. The lord didnot sleep for 2 complete nights during Vaikunda ekadasi and dwadasi and helped Archakas earn lakhs of Money. were you not bothered about Parthasarathy 10 days Before? Only now you seem to cry about lords sleep.

Its a regular practise in Triplicane that Thiruvaimozhi ghosti happens for 60 mins and a bit. Yesterday it got dragged to 90 mins. The matter has been discussed & resolved by Temple authorities already. Please do not use this occassion to settle your personal vengence.

The only thing you said correctly was...the person sitting inside knows everything...Lets wait and watch

Anonymous said...

Not true information. Please check with temple authorities/ persons involved in temple for correct information. Please delete the post and do not publish unverified information and mislead public.

Anonymous said...

This is not new at triplicane. This had happened during thelliasingar utsavam before. The goshti refused to move at time when the lord was just behind them.
This reminds me of an occasion at theve perumal sannadi at kanchi. Once the adhyapakas were rude to the archakas and passed ill comments about them. What happened later was that anyone could have ever imagined. The archakas immediately ordered sripadam to take the lord to hasthigiri and ordered there will be no sevakalam for the day. Everyone was shocked. Then EACH AND EVERY adhyapaka apologised to archakas and then sevakalam happened. Basic quality of asrivaishnava is to not have ego. But it is very sad that it is coming to the fore. It should not be forgotten that the archakas is the authority. They are the ones who do continuous kainkaryam. All other kainkaryams are happening because the archakas allow it to happen. If they decide the other way, nothing can happen. First people should know who the real boss is.... If they continue to play with ego, the lord always has the mountain in his hand(govardhan girl) to bring you down....

Anonymous said...

Well written, Prabhu. Hope some good comes out of your speaking up.

Anonymous said...

Being a temple coming under HR & CE, the temple timings are not decided by the archakas. Thiruvoimozhi sevakalam happening for 75 mins daily extending to 150 minutes suddenly in a day!! What other factor could be the reason other than delibrate action of adyabakas?

Usha said...

Very well written. To attain mukthi, one must develop an attitude of humility. What is the use of being a reciting divya prabandam & and doing service to perumal.

Unknown said...

Swamin

your report is TRUE, people should change their mindset and learn sathvika --- due to immaturity and surrounded by useless youngsters --- elders behaving like this. sri emberuman knows everything . somebody mentioned that your text is not true in their comment --- sorry to say that its absolutely true.

Anonymous said...

On one side a few of our people are fighting the system to have control over our temples and run it the way they should be.

And we have such arrogant display of ego & power on the other hand.

What beautiful message we are sending out. When will we change ? Will we ever ??

Anonymous said...

How unfortunate for our traditions !!

Anonymous said...

The society has seen the true colour of contemporary vaishnavaites
If it is true then it is total disgrace

Ramanuja Dasan said...

Ha ha... the wolf is crying for the goats.... How beautifully Prabu has disguised himself like a real bagavatha and tried to twist the things and made ppl believe as everything is true.

The kainkaryaparas in triplicane temple clearly know about our dear Prabhus evil intentions. Now he is trying to create chaos in an otherwise peaceful enviroment.

ஊர் ரெண்டுபட்டா கூத்தாடிக்கு கொண்டாட்டம்!

PS Krishnan said...

Whatever has happened is known to the lord. We the onlookers need not judge. The aggrieved parties if any will settle and apparently have settled the matters. Already the impression amongst majority of the vaishnavaites is getting to be indifferent and these occasions of fishing in troubled waters is not going to help anyone least of all those few having faith. So please stop all this and do not seek publicity.
PS Krishnan, Bangalore

Anonymous said...

Some commenters have criticised the author without offering any defence for or rebuttal of what the author has described. Simply indulging in name-calling serves no purpose other than to establish the commenters' prejudices.

A person's stature is as much a function of their conduct as it is of their knowledge / scholarship. If the events described in this blog post are true, it reflects poorly on everyone involved, specifically those in positions of influence. One hopes they'll always remember that everyone is equal in front of the lord and prevent a recurrence of such unpleasant events.

Anonymous said...

Read your article, Not worth wasting time on these hypocrites, good idea to focus being alone to achieve your objectives.

regards
Shiv

Ramanujam Sarathy said...

Got to see the article today and seems the author is trying to blow a simple matter out of proportions. Of course on the 9th day things happened slowly but the allegations made by the author are totally baseless and unverified.
Partha sarathy temple is famous for the harmony between various kainkaryaparars like Archakas adhyabagas, sripadham and madapalli etc. Even yesterday(10th day) utsavam happened in a every harmonious and timely manner. Author seems totally biased and trying to fish in mud water..

Lord knows everything.

Anonymous said...

what a ridiculous article .. and people who are supporting this clearly seem to be biased towards ''the sudden bhaagavathan'' Mr. Prabhu.. we know your evil intentions. where did you go when the lord didn sleep during vaikunta ekadesi and during that mysterious opening of temple in the mid night.. and where did you go when the so called 'time authority' in koil did facebook live standing in the middle of the arulicheyal goshti without any shame.
And why are you not questioning the long stay of emperumaan near the so called 'lead' battar's home.. doesn't that make perumal wait.. isn't is apachaaram..if many prasadham's are being offered to emperumaan it should be done quickly or inside the temple during the thiruvaimozhi goshti..doing it on the road is not fair.
from all this, it clearly seems you have personal vendetta against MAV svamii and against arulicheyal goshti. SHAME on you.. dont be such an opportunist. looking so pathetic.

- adiyarrku adiyaan..

madhurakavi said...

most biased article i have ever seen.. why are you being against only MAV svami and arulicheyal goshti.. what about times when administration in koil were crossing the limits like vaikunta ekadesi day , mysterious midnyt opening of koil etc ,etc.. doesnt look good on you Mr Prabhu..

-adiyarkku adiyaan.

janardhanan said...

this is bad svami. you should not use this opportunity to show your personal vendetta against venkatakrishnan svami. he has done many kainkaryam and service in and around many divyadesams.

dasan.

Anonymous said...

To Sri. Adiyarrku Adiyaan:

It looks like you have neither been following this blog nor made an attempt to find out past articles written about the happenings at the Temple. The author has written in full detail about the post midnight Samprokshanam as well as poor handling / accounting of devotees' contributions and other topics.

The author doesn't come across as a blind critic of the temple / administrators. He could be a traditionalist who wants things to happen as per laid down rules and doesn't like the use of phones, cameras etc.

People should be free to objectively criticise the actions of someone (like Dr.MAV) while also admiring their knowledge / accomplishments. Blindly following influential people and justifying their actions reinforces their belief that they are all-powerful and is bad for everyone in the long run.

Anonymous said...

Ok..let it be he didn't follow the blog..who gave the rights to make emperumn wait fr long tym near anyone''s home..Jul bcoz u r upayakaar u cannot make perumal wait near your home.. if any other upayakaar asks like this will thy do it.. mathavaalukkuu oru nyaayam ungalku oru nyayamaa. . Adhyayana utsavam erpattadhe pasuram kekarthukku daan.. stop blaming arulicheyal adhikaris wen other things in koil are not happening properly. ..

Ramanuja dasan..

Ramanuja dasan said...

Sorry Mr prabhu you cannot have any rights to oppose azhwar ghoshti (arulicheyal ) one thing please keep in your mind these both pagal pathu and irapathu utsavam (adhyayana utsavams )
are only for arulicheyal ghoshti. And the thirukolams are made for these past 20 days for the pasurams on that day.
So the entire utsavams is only due to arulicheyal ghoshti. Without arulicheyal ghoshti no utsavams can be performed. And these 20 days perumal enjoys the arulicheyal ghoshti so this can't be a disturbance for his sleep as you mentioned in your dirty article Mr prabhu. Iam not sure that whether you know about the order (pattolai) given by perumal to sadagopan (nammazhwar)
So without knowing these informations in which manner you posted Your stupid article Mr prabhu.
If the above informationns mentioned by me are not known by you ,you are unfit to post this article.

Anonymous said...

Era pathu uthsavam is basically for thiruvaimizhi...and called thiruvaimozhi thirunaal...what's wrong in a sevakaalam for 2 hrs for 100pasurams...its emperumaan's plan to listen to azhwars verses leisurely. Dont bring personal hate /vendetta to this. Whatever be the issue,its all sorted out and smooth now.

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir – I have read your posts earlier too .. this one so saddening for you have tried to personally attack one person trying to sound ‘holy’. First admit from your heart, it is difficult to selflessly devote oneself and do kainkaryam – it is always easier criticizing people.

If you are really a fighter willing to expose audacities – can you voice against politicians and powerful those throng the temple or the HRCE authorities. I have seen people with criminal record under the garb of political posts – pompously cold-shoulder others and stand before everybody – standing, posing from Perumal. This happens every Vaikunda Ekadasi and every other important festivals – be it in the glorious Thiruvallikkeni divyadesam / ThiruKachi / Thiruvarangam, not to mention the various smaller (not by religious sanctity) temples under HRCE. There people will willing cow down and people like you would feign ignorance.

Divyadesa kainkaryam / kainkaryam to Emperuman is our primordial duty – be it Archaga , Arulicheyal, Sripadamthangi or seemingly simple looking ones like theevatti. Accompanying battar holding Sri Sadagopam, itself becomes a requirement in these days, where whirling vehicles, cattle and people care little and give no way for the Perumal purappadu. Would you try doing any of these service at least for a day before doing bagavatha apacharam.

Please restrain from badmouthing – fall at the feet of Sriman Narayana – learn and recite Nalayira divyaprabandham and we pray that our Emperuman shows the right path to all of us.

Adiyen dhasan with pranams for a Srivaishnavaite.

Anonymous said...

ஐயா - இந்த அநியாயத்தை தட்டி கேட்பாரில்லையா !!
பக்தனை தள்ளி விடும் அற நிலையத்துறை - கடத்தல் காரன் அதுவும் கடவுள் சிலைகளை கடத்தியவனுக்கு பரிவட்டம் கட்டுவது ஏன் ?
நம்மில் எவருக்கு இதை கண்டிக்க தைரியம் உள்ளது ? : படிக்க தினமலர் :
http://www.dinamalar.com/news_detail.asp?id=1694408

Anonymous said...

Please see that the author allowed free expression of thoughts including of those who used expletives to criticize him (he did not delete those). That shows a high level of maturity. adiyen is not present at the utsavam to know what happened but the I like the author allowing opinion from both aisles.