Re: VISHNU SAHASRANAMA- BIG DOUBT
Originally Posted by
hinduism♥krishna
[FONT=Georgia]And even if we consider there was really a discrimination, then why shri krishna didn't oppose this? We don't get ANY opposition on such discrimination in any purana. In fact purana itself supports that so called discrimination. It is the purana who say women should not hear veda.
But, there as we see, there are many women seers who composed a handful of the Vedic Rica-s. But I agree that in the Kaliyuga PurANa-s have authority that supersedes that of Veda.
Let us think this: PurANa-s are the preservers of Dharma, and Veda-s are the creators of it. As it happens today, the preservers override the creators.
I think this is not a matter of discrimination. It's the matter of Duty. What shastra prescribes we should follow it according to our varna & sex. It's just so simple.
I'm not saying women can not chant vishnu's names. I said there are many restrictions over women about vedic rituals & mantras. And one shouldn't forget that there are many rituals & mantras prescribed for women in our Puranas.
PurANa-s know the territory and people of India and also how they will continue to evolve over a period of time. Vaishnavism, as I see it, is a male-dominated endeavour, and has prospered in certain parts and sections of India.
Why doesn't dharma say Varna dharma should be scrapped as everyone has one soul?
Even among the ritvija priests of Vedic Yagna, for example, the Udgatr is supposed to do his work and not assume Hotr priest's work. So everyone's duty is prescribed.
Today some say, only Brahman priest has survived (as BrāhmaNa who preserved Yagna ritual) and Hotr, Udgatr and Adhvaryu have vanished.
But did they really vanish? No, they are among us, silently waiting within their subconscious for a time to come when the creator will again assume power and importance over the preserver, and they will be back to business and Yagna will again become more than mere ritual: it will again become the factory that converts on a mass scale the Dasyus into the Aryas.
This is a narration that has parallels in the Varna-s story.
Why there's distinction of four varna? Why there's distinction between rakshasa & aryas though they have one soul? Why doesn't dharma praise the Rakshasas varna in high esteem like that in the case of Brahmana varna?
In the Veda the Asvins are praised as Devatā-s who have the power to transform the fallen, the dasyu, their whole being, upto the enlightened state, apparently that of an Arya.
But as I said earlier, the issue is the question of preservance or creation of Dharma. The question is: has the average man there, in this age of democracy and science, become conscious enough of his own spiritual advancement that cannot be delayed any longer anymore, or the rise of materialism has only meant that we need to preserve Dharma with even more rigour?
Frankly, I don't have an answer. I guess we should just do our best. Further, it will be better if we stopped taking offense at differing stances of our own fellow Hindus on this. Dharma is large enough, and everyone has all the freedom to pursue their paths. I don't think liberalising the conservative sections among us will do any good. Who knows, the liberals are in the wrong, and in their zeal inadvertently actually end up finishing what remains of Dharma?
What I am saying is:
"If A says I cannot recite a mantra, I shouldn't be offended by it."
"Then what should I do?"
"Ask the Devatā you are bhakta of."
Things to remember:
1. Life = yajña
2. Depth of Āstika knowledge is directly proportional
to the richness of Sanskrit it is written in
3. Āstika = Bhārata ("east") / Ārya ("west")
4. Varṇa = tripartite division of Vedic polity
5. r = c. x²
where,
r = realisation
constant c = intelligence
variable x = bhakti
Bookmarks