I. The end of Foreign rule should be acceptance of our hair
II. Why so many Rules in our religion?

Sri Chandramoulisvaraya Namah:
VEDA DHARMA SASTRA PARIPALANA SABHA (Regd.)
Kumbhakonam
Publication No. 8 Friday, 10th Purattasi (26.9.1947)

I. The end of Foreign rule should be acceptance of our hair

The foreign rule is coming to an end. Our people are renouncing titles of foreign government. They are also bringing down their regard for foreign languages. Of all the ghosts that have caught hold of us in the foreigners’ rule owing to excessive foreign influence, the most violent is the ghost of foreigners’ conduct. We are celebrating the foreign influences because of foreigners’ conduct. Let us consider one of them now.

Our people caught in the Nizam’s kingdom in Muslim rule abandoned our national headgear and wore the Turkish cap with hanging threads, thus copying the Muslim culture. The Hindu citizen in Nizam’s kingdom has stopped with satisfying the king by wearing the cap of foreign civilisation. But we, who were citizens of the Whites, have given to the foreign civilisation a portion of our body itself below the cap. We praise the foreign civilisation with our head.

We have given up sikha (tuft of hair on head). The ghost of foreign civilisation has become a part of our body itself. Unless we exorcise this ghost, the slavery under foreign rule would not have completely disappeared. Think with courage, ‘Do we still need ‘crop’ (cropped head)?’ You come to a conclusion yourselves. Let Mother Bharat attain true freedom. Let her enter into your minds and inculcate the true freedom of svadharma and let the last ghost be exorcised.

Hereafter let no Hindu abandon his self-respect and svadharma and take to the evil path of copying a foreigner.
JAI HIND

Why should sikha not be removed?

  1. For ensuring that auspicious observances to be done with tied sikha and inauspicious observances to be done with loosened sikha do not become fruitless.
  2. For avoiding accumulation of impurities on account of relatives’ deaths. Impurity goes off only if shaving the head and tarpanam are done as prescribed.
  3. For avoiding treachery against Veda and God arising out of removal of sikha at will, as sikha kept to the chant of Vedic mantra in Choula karma with God as witness can be removed only at the time of sanyasa to the chant of appropriate Vedic mantra.
  4. After a man takes bath, the water squeezed out of his upper cloth and water let down in front from the tip of sikha alone reach in the form of tarpanam, his forefathers who might be in narakas as a result of great sins. Hence sikha should not be removed in order not to spoil the little comfort these forefathers would receive this way.
  5. Finally, for not celebrating with our head the western civilisation.

 

II. Why so many Rules in our religion?

Question: Who are the officers in the government of Iswara?
Answer: Thirtythree crore Devas and Pitrus.

Q: Which is their abode?
A: Vedas state that the abodes are respectively Devaloka in the north and Pitruloka in the south.

Q: What is the tax we pay to this government of Iswara?
A: Fulfilment of our debt to Devas and debt to Pitrus.

Q: What has Iswara created as livelihood for these officers for protecting us all?
A:  Deva yagnas and Pitru yagnas only. Tiruvalluva Nayanar also states in his Tirukkural in the context of Grihastha (householder) asrama:
“Tenpulathar Deivam virund-okkal tan endr-aangu
Eimpulathar- ombal talai”.
Q: Who are ‘Tenpulathar’?
A: Pitrus who reside in the world in the southern direction. That is why brahmanas wear the sacred thread on the southern right shoulder while doing rituals for Pitrus and on the northern left shoulder while performing Sandhyavandanam, yaga and other rituals for Devas.

Q: Among the duties to be performed by all varnas for public good, what are the duties to be carried out by brahmanas?
A: Chanting Vedas, protecting the power of mantras with strict discipline and as the representative of all creatures in the world, doing the prescribed duties towards Devas like Indra, Varuna, Vayu, Agni et al, who have been appointed and empowered by Iswara and thus obtaining the grace of Iswara for the world. Dharma Sastra prescribes for other varnas including Anuloma and Pratiloma jatis, duties like handicraft, trade, agriculture, governance and similar worldly activities. In the same way Dharma Sastra prescribes for brahmanas, duties centred on the power of Vedic mantras, including paying taxes to Iswara in the form of Deva karmas and Pitru karmas and thus being of service to the entire world.

Q: If these duties are not properly carried out in the world, what will happen?
A: The condition of citizens who have not paid taxes to the government will befall the world. That is why nowadays immoral wars, diseases, destruction, famine and many other miseries beyond the control of human power have grown manifold.

Q: For whose welfare are the rituals for Devas to be done by brahmanas?
A: For the welfare of all creatures in the world including flies and ants and humans belonging to all religions.

Q: What is the meaning of the term ‘Marai vazhakkam’ in the verse ‘Parida kaakkaiyar, payudukkaiyar’ of Tirugnana Sambandamurthy Nayanar?
A: In the Karma Kanda of Veda, two types of dharmas called Aachara (conduct) and Anushthana (observance of rituals) have been stated. Of them, Aachara is conduct that would bestow divine purity on one’s body and mind. Anushthana is performance of rituals as per rules of Vedas for Devas, Pitrus, mother, father, teacher, elders and guests. The Tamil dharma texts call Aachara as ‘ozhukkam’ and Anushthana as ‘vazhakkam’. Hence ‘Marai vazhakkam’ is Vedic Anushthana.
Q: If one does not purposely do duties towards Devas and Pitrus and transgresses Vedic instructions and says he is otherwise rendering bhakti to Iswara, what is his state?
A: His state is the way the master would treat a servant who does not carry out the orders of his master, but only keeps praising him.

Q:  Can anyone render bhakti and gnana alone to Iswara, without doing the duties laid down in Vedas?
A: Yes, it can be done.

Q: Who can do so?
A: Sanyasi.

Q: How can he alone abandon his duties?
A: Among our citizens, one who wishes to retain his house has to pay house tax. One who wishes to retain his lands has to pay land tax. One who desires interest and profit should pay income tax. One who has surrendered house, land, interest and profit need not pay any taxes and can go and sit in front of the government officers without fear. In the same way, one has to pay his debt to Devas as long he has desires for himself and his dependants including shade, materials, Sun’s heat, Agni’s heat, Varuna’s water, leaf for taking food and vegetables for consumption. The humans in this world cannot create even a leaf or a foodgrain despite the cumulative efforts of many chemical scientists. Just as municipal tax has to be paid for living in a municipality, zilla board tax for living in a district and government tax for living in a country, we are obliged to pay our debt to Devas for living in this world. This is the special principle of the Vedic path of Hindu religion. A Paramahamsa sanyasi does not need for himself a house, children, relatives; whether he gets food or not, he does not cook; whether he gets cloth or not, he does not buy; he does not bother whether his body lasts or falls; he does not pluck a leaf. As he has thus renounced everything, there is no debt to be repaid by him to Devas or Pitrus. He has no duty other than meditating in order to attain union with Iswara. The service to world which he renders is also the same. If there is one in this world, who seeks Iswara alone day and night, does not have any other desires and has obtained Iswara’s grace, the benefit that accrues to people of the world by having darshan of such a person is superior to wealth etc. That is why Paramahamsa sanyasi renounces yagnopavitam, sikha and Panchakachcham (way of wearing dhoti) required for yagnas of Devas and Pitrus and attains a state of complete cessation of all desires and corresponding duties.
As per Vedic instructions, there are certain distinct changes in sikha and kachcham in Pitru karmas from Deva karmas.

Q: Why should grihastha asrami wear sikha, kachcham and upavitam?
A: As these three are instruments for Deva and Pitru karmas as per Vedic rules.

Q: Why should he perform Deva and Pitru karmas?
A: As he has desires for water, heat, shade, food, child and woman.

Q: Why to do duties to Devas for these requirements?
A:  Man cannot create any one of these objects. Enjoying objects created by powers of Devas beyond the power of humans, if we do not do our duties to them in return as per Vedic laws governing the world, we will become thieves. Bhagavan Krishna tells the same truth in Bhagavad Gita, 3rd chapter, 12th sloka:
“Devas worshipped through yagnas feel satisfied and bestow on humans, pleasures through air, heat, water, plants, creepers etc. One, who enjoys all such objects himself without giving Devas back their rights, verily becomes a thief.”
Further Bhagavan says in the above referred chapter, 10th and 11th slokas:
“Bhagavan created humans together with yagnas at the beginning of creation. He said to humans at that time: You grow through this yagna. Let the yagna, like Kamadhenu, grant you all the objects you need for your growth. You do acts that are conducive for Devas through the yagna. Let them do acts conducive for you (through water, fire etc.). (Thus do acts mutually beneficial right upto worship of Iswara, like a good king’s officers and citizens) and attain great fortune.”

In order that power of mantra required for Deva karmas  as per Vedic stipulations and purity of food are grounded at least to some extent, rules of dharmas of varnas and asramas have been laid down at the age of eight itself, prior to rise of lustful feelings.

In order to maintain purity of lineage, which is the foundation for Pitru karmas, practices like pre-puberty marriage, disciplined life for widows etc. have been laid down specially in our Vedic path. Just as any payment made as per rules in any government treasury is the property of the king alone, whatever is offered to any Devas, any Pitrus or any elders as per Vedic rules, it is offering to the Almighty Iswara only.

The world kingdom will prosper through the yagna called homam performed by brahmanas in a disciplined manner as per Vedic rules with chant of mantras aimed at Devas, employing materials like cow’s milk, ghee etc. The fame of the king will resound through the chant of ‘Hara Hara Mahadeva’. Hence Tirugnana Sambandhamurthy Nayanar, who is an aspect of Bhagavan Kumara (Subrahmania), has celebrated brahmanas acting as per Vedic path and cows giving ghee for homam in the following hymn:

“Vazhga andanar vanavar aaninam
Vizhga tanpunal vendanum ongugha
Aazhga teeyadellam arasan namame
Suzhga vaiyagamum tuyar tirghave.”

VEDA DHARMA SASTRA PARIPALANA SABHA

Translated by: P R Kannan, Navi Mumbai

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