On Jun 1, 2009, at 12:36 PM, Randy Meltzer wrote: >> >> Depends on a number of things really Lurk. A big one for me is 'what >> do I perceive as their underlying intention?'. Another is 'is this >> just another "pile on" post? I'm not a fan of digital rugby. Do I >> have enough time and is it worth it? It's also good to feel people >> are interested in responding to the topic, not just shooting off some >> obtuse remark. >> >> For any of these reasons I may decide not to waste my time. >> >> Randy seems like a guy interested in actually having an intelligent >> conversation and he's had some interesting things to share as well. > > Thanks Vaj for saying that. I am not here to do the "pile on Vaj" > thing. Its just when you make statements like "the shankaracharya > order is Vaishnavite" and my experience is soooo the oposite I had > to chime in. And yes, I did have a small axe to grind about you as > someone pointed out in a previous post, because I felt your comments > in the past about my experiences were disrespectful. In any case, > its nothing personal. Just trying to keep the facts staight
I think the crux of the issue Randy is that you saw Shiva worship going on at the Maths and so assumed the lineage was Shaivite (even though it's not), but it's more accurate to say the Smartas had a very all-embracing view of Hinduism, and that's also probably why Shankara's line was so incredibly popular, eventually helping to dowse Buddhism's spread (although I'm sure the invasions also helped create a surge in Hindu nationalism and an appreciation of Hinduism's own diversity). They later even integrated Shakta practices, so it's rather profound what they did. I was hoping now that you've shared that you've been to a number of the Maths, you'd also share some of your experiences there. Seriously.
