1. The importance of building public water works & utilities from a dhArmika perspective
Let us start with a passage from the garuDamahApurANa
This wonderful passage is from a saMvAda (dialogue) between shrI kRSNa & garuDadeva. Please note the last shloka quoted (2.38.40), where the merit of arranging for the funeral rites of an orphaned corpse is stated. The mahAsvAmi of kA~nci maTha (the 68th shaMkarAcArya svAmi) made it a point to emphasize the importance of giving orphaned Hindus their due respects at least after their deaths. Those who can read tamizh may read here: http://kamakoti.org/tamil/3dKK64.htm… and http://kamakoti.org/tamil/3dKK65.htm
A brief summary of a paragraph from shrI kA~nci mahAsvAmi’s discourses:
I wanted to do a thread strictly on water works in the Hindu tradition but felt it wrong to not bring this to attention. In line with mahAsvAmi’s vision, there is an organization solely dedicated to rites for orphaned Hindus. Please have a look: http://dharmaa.org
The sponsoring of public water resources was especially adored in Hindu dharma; with teachers stating that its merit goes all the way back to the veda. Here is an excerpt from an article on various dAnas by shrI @/blog_supplement. The importance of kUpAdi (wells, etc) dAnas:
These water works & other public welfare activities were very important in preventing the onslaught of drought and famine in various parts of bhArata. A major reason for the proliferation of public water works & others is the growth of the shaiva & vaiSNava religions.
Again and again, one reads the great works of saiddhAntika shaiva gurus sponsoring water works for the public:
What happened to this glorious culture of public water utilities, nourished by our religion? The Demonic force from the Desert happened: Read: https://manasataramgini.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/mahasamanta-feudalism/… by shrI @/blog_supplement:
Nevertheless, this great culture was not to die from bhArata. Great AcAryas always endeavored to make water facilities available for the people. (this tweet inspired me to record, very briefly, the role of public water works in our dharma)
2. annadAna & the care for orphans & other vulnerable groups in the Hindu tradition.
A beautiful quote from the shivamahApurANa, umAsaMhitA, adhyAya 11, shloka 38:
Part of the instructions given by a shivAcArya to newly initiated disciples on conduct befitting a shaiva. This gem is from the kiraNAgama.
In the 266th अध्याय of the मत्स्यमहापुराण named प्रतिष्ठानुकीर्तनम्, it is said that after the स्थापन ritual of a deity is completed, apart from the priests, 3 categories of people must be given ornaments & clothes: दीन:-abandoned/helpless, अन्ध:-blind, कृपण:-indigent/poor man.
If one wrongly thought this was referring to only the helpless, orphans & distinguished among ब्राह्मणाः, note that after stating दीन, अनाथ, विशिष्ट, etc, the श्लोक ends with ब्राह्मणैः सह-“together with the brAhmaNas”, indicating that the helpless, etc are a separate group.
Also, note the term, “पूजयेत्”. The दीन (destitute) & अनाथ (orphan) must be as honored (given पूजन) as the विशिष्ट (distinguished: Eg: scholars, otherwise famed/worthy etc] or the ब्राह्मणाः (brAhmaNas who lead the prescribed life).
The orphans & helpless are given the same पूजन as the distinguished recipients & didn’t have the gold just thrown at them. But this is unsurprising because the donor, right before alighting from the scales, is asked to remember देवी as सर्वभूतात्मभूतस्थ & that’s the spirit here.
The पुराण explicitly has the donor contemplate देवी as abiding in the souls of all creatures (सर्वभूतात्मभूतस्थ) before he proceeds to donate to various individuals including orphans. But for a famed dharma-hater, our philosophy of ब्रह्मन् in everyone was utterly useless.
3. Some real-life examples of the Hindu legacy
3a. dharmapurI AdhInam: Providing food & oil to the poor:
dharmapuri AdhInam, a renowned shaiva maTha, is one of those few institutions which not only sustained shAstriya scholarship but also provided succour to the poor & hungry.
தருமை 25வது குருமணிகளின் அருளாட்சிக்காலத்தில்… ஆதீனத் திருமடத்து முகப்பில் தினமும் ஏழைகளுக்கு அறுசுவை வழங்குதல்.. உணவருந்திய பிற்பாடு அவர்கள் சந்தனம் பூசிக்கொண்டு குதூகலத்துடன் நிற்கும் அரிய காட்சிகள்…(1953) நன்றி: சிவா பி ஜி எஸ். முகநூல்
@Gopalee67
Indeed, this great maTha of siddhAnta shaivam is in line with the definition of a maTha in terms of its two-fold function as given by the divine kAmikAgama. Many Hindus often take a word like maTha for granted given its relative simplicity. But what is a maTha, really? A definition follows:
A maTha was essentially where both the diamond sword of scholarship & penetrating insights as well as compassion for strangers can be found.
The above definition speaks volumes for the noble-mindedness of the text, the tradition the text comes from & followers of that tradition. The above verses are from the kAmikAgama, the text which governs a large number of shivAlayas in Tamil Nadu even today. The attached pictures are of dharmapuri AdhInam’s great legacy of feeding the poor & giving them sacred vibhUti to smear on their bodies. Never say that Hindu maThas did not do anything for the poor or that only others do it.
3b. The temple of ErnakuLam mahAdeva providing food for flood victims:
The servants of महादेव/മഹാദേവ are true to his word given in the किरणागम/കിരണാഗമ: अनाथं दुर्बलं भीतं दुर्गस्थं न परित्यजेत्। / അനാഥം ദുർബലം ഭീതം ദുർഗസ്ഥം ന പരിത്യജേത്| “One should not forsake/abandon an orphan, a weak person, a timid one and one standing in distress/difficulty”. Never say that Hinduism is a religion that does nothing for people in distress.
3c. shrI kumArasvAmi maTha :
Founded by that great devotee of skanda & famed tamizh shaiva siddhAntin, shrI kumaraguruparar (कुमरगुरुपरर्); feeding pilgrims in kAshi for more than 300 years. The kumArasvAmi maTha’s parent org is tirupannantAL maTha in TN.
3d. केदारेश्वर (kedAreshvara) temple in Karnataka
This is a record from the केदारेश्वर (kedAreshvara) temple in Karnataka, from the year 1162. See how the temple not only functioned as a site of vedic studies for कालामुख-शैव ascetics but also how the vulnerable were all fed, given medical treatment & safety.
Let us see some of the categories given: दीन/dIna (poor), अनाथ/anAtha (orphans), पङ्गु/paGgu (crippled), अन्ध/andha (blind), बधिर/badhira (deaf), नग्न/nagna (naked/without clothes), भग्न/bhagna (one with broken limbs); this was a place where all these received food & treatment.
Note: अन्नदान-स्थानम्, नानानाथ-रोगिजन-रोध-भैषाज्य-स्थानम्, सकल-भूत-अभय-प्रदान-स्थानम् (annadAna-sthAnam, nAnAnAtha-rogijana-rodha-bhaiShAjya-sthAnam, sakala-bhUta-abhaya-pradAna-sthAnam). A place of medicines for many orphans & sick ones; a place granting safety to all creatures.
This is our dharma. These were not schemes of revolutionaries. The ones behind these welfare works were all traditional institutions, which believed in scriptural study & orthodoxy. Helping one suffering is a deeply entrenched part of our dharma; not something revolutionary.
The 19th पटल of कामिकागम-उत्तरभाग instructs the आचार्य of a शिवालय (head-priest) about the नवनैवेद्य: Offering (नैवेद्य) of fresh/new grains, the 1st fruits (नव). After specifying how the fresh crop-yield should be cut & brought back to the temple, the आगम says:
The offering of the fresh crop-yield is a ritual as well as temple-festival. However, the divine आगम always adds an element of kindness. Having presented the 1st fruits of the harvest to the deity, the आचार्य leading the temple distributes them to temple visitors. Do keep in mind that for this wonderful institution to actually work today, temples need to have something called, “lands” & more importantly, in the control of devout Hindus. The undermining of temple ownership of land will affect such charitable works adversely.
The single most important ceremony/festival at the very heart of a शिवालय is the annual महोत्सव. This is a complex & lengthy ceremony with numerous rites. Here too, following the procession of the deity, there is a distribution of food to all, including strangers & others.
On the विशाख-नक्षत्र of वैशाख मास, शीतकुम्भ-उत्सव is commenced, to pray for rain, food & health during the brutally hot season that brings drought & drought-related diseases. The king himself sponsors the festival & at the end the helpless (दीन) & orphans (अनाथ) are fed.
The धर्म places a lot of emphasis on the well-being of servants & others who do various works for us:
कामम् आत्मानं भार्यां पुत्रं वा उपरुन्ध्यान् न तु एव दास कर्मकरम् / – आपस्तम्ब-धर्मसूत्र, (प्रश्न २, खाण्ड ९, सूत्र ११)
“If he (a householder) so desires, he may interrupt [the apportioned food] for himself, his wife or children but never indeed [he must deprive] a servant who does works for one.”
The verse may look like an exaggeration but it reflects the importance attached to the proper care & well-being of one’s domestic helpers or other workmen under one’s care.