Sri a-TB has written, fully justified in my opinion:-
The thread as presented and unfolded is hardly uplifting. It really comes across as repeating something without truly understanding the significance.
The reason for my sharing this is because of what Mr KRN said about the debate taking him away from his spiritual goals. I think I would better appreciate reading discussions that speaks to the wisdom of the teachings.
Sri thebigthinkg has not seen it fit to respond to a-TB. But that is his choice, cowardly as it may seem to others like me.
In an evasive response to my own analytical comments, he merely hides behind banal generalities. We do not need his verbal obfuscations and references to "brain development".
As for what he calls "the crux of Br. Up. 4.4.22", I did not care to read his translation as it seemed inferior to many which I have already read elsewhere. I merely mentioned two of many erudite translations and commentaries I possess.
It is surprising that he claims he did not understand what I meant by 'demeaning kAsi yAtra', 'arrogance' etc., that he wrote about kAsi Yatra formality in marriages, which he translated as being done to go for higher studies and not saMnyAsa, which is from a different thread totally. He is not sure what is demeaning in it.
Fine. Sri thebigthinkg started off his original presentation by boldly proclaiming:
"There are four Asramas. Brahmacarya, gRhasta, vanaprastha and saMnyAsa. These are natural development stages in our life."
He was not talking about Kaasi Yaatra formality in marriages, which he (erroneously) translated as being done to go for higher studies. No, sir. He clearly meant the aashramam of sanyaasa, the last of the four mentioned in the Vedas. Prevaricating now does not help burnlish his integrity in discussion or debate.
Let me refresh his memory a little. He actually wrote:-
Another problem I see is, the person going to kAsi yAtra is not having lack of passion. He is not leaving passion. So that's not what it is.
This clearly and indubitably meant all persons performing the Kaashi Yaatra, including pious adult grhasthga devotees like myself. He condemns passion -- utter devotion to God and the sacred Ganga, jata-ornament of Lord Rudra-Shiva at Kaashi -- in such pilgrims. This is demeaning, and shows arrogance on his part. He now seeks to evade the weight and purport of his own words by talking about marriage rituals.
Sorry, I have lost whatever respect I originally had for him.
S Narayanaswamy Iyer
