Vagbhatananda Guru (1885 - 1939)
Conversations – 3
Krishna : Agreed. We take the
meaning of Shivalinga as Shiva’s
identification mark. Does it represent his whole body or any particular organ? Tell
me its name.
Rama : No, I can’t.
However, I have a feeling that
great men in history like Adi Sankaracharya would not have praised Shivalinga if it had obscene
connotations.
Krishna : Adi Sankara only introduced the ‘Shakteya’ in Shiva
worship. Shakteya is sort of coitus
with prostitutes, you know! Please read Vamatantra
which details Shakteya. Ask any vaidik about the installation process.
It is thoroughly obscene. I am
restraining myself to tell it in the open. What’s more, if you understand the
idea behind seeveli with the thidamb atop an elephant during the
festival season of Shiva temples, you’ll be amazed. The same bunch of bhakts are spreading the bed for Shiva
and Parvati to sleep together. People with distorted mindset start up a ritual
with vulgar undertones and even the learned men follow them. If
anybody tries to question them, they are resisted tooth and nail. Take the
instance of Lingapooja performed by
child-seeking women in Shiva-temples of North India. The act is lewd and
explicit.
Rama : Yes you’re right. Right
here in Kerala, we have the Kodungalloor
Bharani where we slit the rooster as an offering to the deity, get
piss-drunk and call Her bad names! Your bhakti stands upside down! The songs
that you sing in praise of the Bhagavati
are utmost vulgar. Do you think these mad rituals have
any place in the Hindu religion? I am with you that the so-called customs
lessen our standing among other religions earning only ridicule.
Krishna : My friend ! Please note that the bewildering
rituals that we talked about are not a part of our religion. They are not
prescribed anywhere. For example, I shall explain the history of Kodungalloor. A king named Kudakan ruled the place and his Ooru
eventually became Kudakannoor. Over
the passage of time, evolving to Kodungalloor! Kudakan
was a Buddhist and he built a monastery exclusively for ladies. He had a sister
named Pathini and she was entrusted
with the propagation of ideals like Ahimsa,
teetotalism, pativrutya etc. in his
dominion. It went on well till Pathini
expired and the grief-stricken Kudakan
installed a massive statue in her remembrance which eventually became the Bhagavathi of Kodungalloor. Even after the passage of Pathini, the monastery went ahead under the leadership of other
female-prefects. However, the hard-liners of the Hindu religion had other ideas
in mind and they directed their ire towards the hapless lady-monks. They
carried out animal sacrifice in front of them, took booze and unleashed a
litany of unspeakable words. They wanted to scare away the Buddhist monks. As
time went by, this shameless act of hate became yet another ritual!
 |
| Sayed Haider Raza - St.Fargeau - 1957 |
People are fools, it seems!
Think of that lunatic who used to freak out by Badagara road begging around for food. He was a
Tamilian who couldn’t communicate with the Malayalees and kept aloof mostly.
Some folks mistook him for a Siddha
and started approaching him for prosperity as well as faith-healing. He used to
beat them!
Rama : I remember him. He died
sometime back after eating lime-stone powder for food.
Krishna : Exactly. He was
elevated as a god-man after his death. A temple too was built! You can see a vast
crowd worshipping and doing poojas in
front of his portrait every day. People are busy composing bhajans in his honour!
Rama : That may be right. You
still have to agree with me that temples are a must. The devotees cannot conceptualize
God without any form. They can’t imagine anything abstract.
Krishna : Okay! Still, your
reasoning cannot justify retrogressive rituals going on in temples even young
lads are subjected to various kinds of torture. The tongue is pierced, the torso is hanged on
hooks and what not! At Palani, there
is an offering to the deity using prostitutes. A pair of foot-wear is kept
outside the sanctum-sanctorum after athazha-pooja
for the exclusive use of the Lord! Simultaneously three to four prostitutes are
kept ready and they are waiting for Him! What sort of ritual is this?
You should have the guts to
call a spade a spade.
Source
– The Selected Works of
Published
by Mathrubhumi Books (pages 464 –
488)
Originally
published in 1930
******************