There are two types of Culture in this world. One is related to soul and divine and another one which is materialistic in nature. Our forefathers have named them as Aloukika [Atmanishta] and Loukika [Dehanista]. The very purpose of materialistic culture is to enjoy all kinds of worldly happiness until the end of bodily energy and capacity. The epicurean System of life endorses the materialistic approach. The ‘happiness’ got through materialistic approach does not concern with the durability or the ultimate peace. Beyond the bodily senses and ultimate happiness, there is ‘Atma’. Within ‘Atma’ there is the presence of Paramathma. Dharma knits Atma to Paramatma. The materialistic culture totally discards those ideas. Culture which is founded on the basis of bodily senses and sensations, which has bodily satisfaction as parameter for gauging ‘happiness’ is foreign in it’s origin and purely Loukika in nature.
Indian tradition and culture has dealt with cultures of both types – Atmanishta and Dehanishta. Each individual has got a Soul – and controller of that soul is ‘Paramatma’. Therefore consequential end must be the emancipation of soul [Moksha]. ‘Dharma’ is the path towards that ultimate end to achieve Moksha. An individual has to follow ‘Dharmamarga’. Body is the tool to achieve the end. Therefore the very purpose of worldly living is to practice Dharma. Our ancestors have taught the universal truth, ‘Shareeramaadyam Khalu Dharma Sadhanam’. It implies that, our tradition has not fully negated the ideas of enjoying worldly pleasures. At the same time it does not mean absorb ourselves fully in worldly pleasures, without giving importance for ‘Atmodhara’.
Within every individual soul there is existence of ‘almighty soul’ or Paramathman. ‘Uddhareth Atmanathmanam’ – Every individual soul needs to be elevated and should strive towards elevation on his own or through the grace of ‘almighty’. After finding the existence of these things our forefathers have given utmost importance to religious practices.
Our Hindu Dharma insists upon four domains of living for every individual – called purusharthas. Namely – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Out of these ‘Dharmas’ Paramounts, ‘Moksha’ follows other three Purusharthas. Individual is bound to enjoy – Wealth [Artha] and Kama [Worldly Happiness] within the framework of Dharms and Moksha. As society without no bounds has no existence, the man’s life on this earth has ‘divine value’ only when he is guided under ‘Dharma’ and leads towards ‘Moksha’. Every individual must enjoy Artha and Kama on the basis of Dharma and with the firm purpose of Moksha. This very value is instilled by our forefathers through various traditional conventions.
Here we can easily find out the basic difference between our Traditional Culture – which is secured by ‘Dharma’ and ‘Moksha’ and the culture of foreign countries which is oriented towards ‘Artha’ and ‘Kama’. Hence we must understand the very purpose of our wealth [Artha] and enjoying worldly happiness [Kama]. It must be our motto that our earned wealth and joyous things should have ‘Dharma’ as the foundation and ‘Moksha’ as the purpose. In other words, wealth should be redefined as wealth of Dharma and Kama or enjoyment of worldly happiness as enjoyments for Dharma.
We need not discard our religious values no matter where we live may it be in a foreign country. Foreign culture which is purely materialistic in nature has failed to elevate the individual souls. We, the successors of our age-old tradition, should not sink with the foreign culture but instead we must facilitate the elevation of people who hail from that culture. We can become competent enough to facilitate the emancipation of soul only when we master in cultural traditions. Our rich traditions have been framed since time. Immemorial must be passed on to the next generation though present generation. Identity of our rich religious civilization should not be lost under the current of modern hi-tech civilization.
Nowadays young men and women from Dakshina Kannada are earning lakhs together living luxurious life, in various parts of the world. The reason for their excellence may be many. But we should keep in mind the role of their parents/ancestors in building a ‘divine foundation’ for the future of their offspring through prayers and pujas performed in a temple or an abode of ‘Naga’ [Nagabana] by offering a handful of rice with a pot of water and a tiny lamp. By these religious practices, they did not get immediate benefit;but they performed all these with out longing for returns. Ultimately it is evident that we are reaping the benefits that our forefathers had sown.
We must remember the very sacrifice of our forefathers in building a strong religious, cultural foundation for our present life. We can show our gratitude by adopting their valuable religious practices at least to some extent. Our children and grandchildren will lead a happy life. Otherwise they may not reap the benefits of our earned punyas. We must facilitate the transfer of these earned virtues to our grand children. Therefore we have a ‘divine responsibility’ of preserving our cherished traditions. We, the present generation, must strive towards adopting the minimum necessary traditional identity.
The Shivalli Brahmin Diaspora must understand the importance of their ‘self history’. There is an urgency to reestablish our family biographies. After tracing our family histories, there is a need to have the knowledge of the tenets of ‘Dwaita’ philosophy of our ‘Acharya Madva’. The purpose of this website is to rekindle the faith in our Madwa philosophy. Hope you would now have understood our feelings. You have within you, an inbuilt enthusiasm and energy to develop our society. At the same time, you are competent enough to excel in your field. If you are haunted by any unsolved educational or religious problem, may it be personal also; we are ready to help you to find out possible solution from our side. Remember our Mutt is meant for the benefit of its disciples. You can have access to various other Mutts, seers and other scholars in a very liberal manner through us. We pray for the grace of almighty for the benefit of everyone.
Invoking Shrimannarayana Smaranas,
Sri Sri Sri Vidya Prasanna Teerthaa Swamiji,
Srinajjagdguru Sri Madvacharya Maha Samsthaanam,
Sri Samputa Narasimha Subrahmanya mutt,
Subrahmanya, D.K. District, Karnataka.