Since time immemorial, Hindu mandirs have never been mere places of worship; they are the living centres of Dharma and the true Shaktikendras of an interdependent Bharatiya society. However, centuries of Islamic invasions and colonial influence disrupted this ecosystem, limiting mandirs’ role in public life and widening the gap between mandirs and society.
Fillip to Sanatan Dharma
In a move to revive this Dharmic connection and strengthen grassroots spiritual engagement, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) recently announced a plan to construct 1,000 Sri Venkateswara Mandirs in Dalit colonies across Andhra Pradesh. The initiative, unveiled in September, forms part of TTD’s Dalit outreach programme aimed at reconnecting Scheduled Castes and tribal communities with Sanatan Dharma traditions and curbing religious conversions.Pointing out that mandirs would be built in Dalit colonies specifically to prevent religious conversions, TTD Chairman BR Naidu said six mandirs would be established in each Assembly constituency, with financial assistance from the Srivani Trust.
Contours of Cong’s Evangelical Plan
As soon as it became news, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee President YS Sharmila chose to oppose the TTD funded mandir building scheme in the Dalit colonies. The reasons are simple to be decoded as she and her late father, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Rajashekhara Reddy, his brother and former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, husband Pastor Anil Kumar and her extended family have built a vast evangelical eco-system and mafia in the State. They allegedly control and run a large scale foreign funded Church and are actively engaged in religious conversion activities.
Despite enlightened voters rejecting Congress in Andhra Pradesh, the decision to oppose temple construction reveals the Congress party’s established anti-Hindu attitude.
Analysts believe that TTD’s outreach to Hindu SC/ST population is bound to hit their religious conversion eco system and religious transactional business activity as well as inflow of dollars. Leaders of the NDA allianceSanatana Seva Foundation including the TDP, Jana Sena, and BJP have rightfully condemned Congress leader YS Sharmila’s opposition to TTD’s plan. The condemnation also came from the Chandrababu Naidu-led State Government, prominent mathadipatis, and the Sanatana Seva Foundation (SSF), a respected NGO working towards fostering social harmony within Hindu society and among the general public.
Unwarranted Criticism
Congress Party’s objection to the use of TTD funds is untenable as the TTD funds are the contributions of the Hindus and the temple construction is a Hindu Dharma act. Such religious actions are mandated by the TTD Act. The Congress Party State chief’s criticism is to garner Christian votes and also to stop the outreach among the Scheduled Caste sections initiated by the Hindu society with the help of TTD funds.
Tackling Missionaries
Today, times have changed. In many Scheduled Caste (SC) colonies, with the awareness created by the Sanatana Seva Foundation (SSF), residents are now resisting the entry of evangelists attempting to convert innocent Hindus. Several Dalits, who had converted, are returning to their original roots after realising their mistake in changing their faith. These reactions from the Dalit community have become a cause of concern for YS Sharmila and her preacher husband, Pastor Anil Kumar, as their profit-driven conversion enterprise now faces a serious threat.
Spreading Awakening Among Dalits
All this was because of the awakening of the Samarasata Seva Foundation (SSF). It took up Dharmika Vikasam through Dharma Pracharam, a decade back, with a twin objective of taking the greatness of Sanatan Dharma to the SC colonies and also to tackle the conversion activities of the Christian missionaries. SSF was the outcome of the historic conference on Hindu Dharma held in December 2015 at Tirumala, the abode of Bhagwan Venkateswara. The Dharma conference was attended and blessed by the heads of Kanchi, Udipi, Mantralayam, Chinmaya Mission and many others. It gave direction to Hindu society on what it should do to spread the message of Sanatan Dharma in Andhra Pradesh.
True to its self-correcting nature, Hindu society has plunged into action to reach out to their brethren, who were socially kept outside temple activities. Earlier, the TTD had initiated a programme named Dalit Govindam, where chariots of Bhagwan Venkateswara were taken to SC colonies across the State. The chariots stayed in the SC colonies overnight thus giving that social groups scope to understand the significance of rituals and the way poojas are conducted and the meaning behind the mantra chanted. With these SC colonies reverberated with ‘Namo Narayana’ slogans and bhajans.
Creating a Bond among Sanatanis
This successful Dalit Govindam initiative has addressed misunderstanding between the priestly class and SC Hindus. It build congenial relationships between SCs, who were till then shy of entering temples, and be a part of Hindu rituals. The Dalit Govindam has created a bond among Hindus, irrespective of caste and other social divisions. Since then, the SSF spread throughout the State with a structured Dharma Samithi Committee at all levels down to panchayat level. The foundation of Hindu renaissance in the village and 20-member committee was entrusted with Dharmic activities. Their activities are now in progress in over 5,000 villages of Andhra Pradesh. Hindu society has extended its support to the ongoing Sanatan renaissance through both material and physical contributions, particularly in the formation of Dharma Pracharaks.
It’s a unique initiative where individuals, young and old, committed to Sanatan Dharma, are trained in Hindu philosophy through a 20-day residential programme. These Pracharaks receive guidance from established preachers who impart scriptural knowledge and teach effective methods to communicate these principles to ordinary men and women. The door to door campaign on Hindu Dharma and community celebration of festivals by these Dharma Pracharaks has been well received since the past decade.
Impact of Mandir Construction in SC Colonies
Self-reform is the undeniable greatness of Hindu societies. Whenever there was trouble as far as Dharma is concerned, either internally or from external sources, history is replete with someone coming out and setting the right path for the Hindu society. This time around in Andhra Pradesh where the foreign funded Christian Missionaries, first under British followed by Congress, had a field’s day in the conversion of gullible through financial inducement and fabricated stories on untouchability, the Samajika Samarasata Vedika took up the burden of retaining and bringing back SC’s to the Hindu fold. One such monumental activity is not only the building of temples in the SC/ST colonies but training those youths from the Dalit community as temple priests. When this project was conceptualised, there were not many who believed its viability and success. The committed Hindu cadre of SSF proved those doubters wrong by successfully constructing 502 temples in Phase I and another 320 temples by March this year in the fishermen colonies, SC and ST colonies.
The other highlight of the self-reform movement is the training of those SC, ST and fishermen youth in the temple priest duties. The TTD priest trained the selected youth from those identified communities and taught them the nuances of pooja in the temple. Those 500 and odd trained first batch SC, ST community priests are now successfully maintaining the traditional poojas to the fullest satisfaction of the Dalit communities. It is a new and never thought of experience to the Dalit youth. There was a perceptional change in their lives as conceded by the trained priests. Their belief in the Hindu way of life multiplied many folds.
The sea of change is threatening the established business of conversion and erosion of their vote bank. Perhaps worried over this change in Andhra society, Congress high command directed the State chief YS Sharmila to start a tirade against the holy shrine of Tirumala, the TTD board. It wanted to boost the confidence of evangelists. This time around with the awakened Hindu society, thanks to the SSF, tricks of the past of the Congress will not be allowed to fructify in Andhra Pradesh.
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