Differences in the philosophies/traditions of brahmin subsects/paramparas in TN

[confused16]

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Hello, so this post was the result of some of my thoughts, and a conversation that developed in another thread with @OKO ji that I encountered.
As a Gen Z hindu, I was looking for resources on the various brahmin sub-sects in and around Tamilnadu, their individual practices, beliefs, and their system of authorities they look to for religious guidance - acharyas and peethams.
I shall start with the example of myself, first. My parents belongs to the Vadama, and SV-VK sects and their respective famillies followed -Kanchi Matham, Ahobila Matham and Munitrayam parampara. I live in a world where my parents or even my grandparents admit possessing very superficial knowledge on their respective paramparas, with 2-3 generations focusing purely on trade/livelihood-based education.
As a layperson, I have only heard the teachings of Kanchi Mahaswami who, again to a layperson ears, appears to be a very generic version of hindu teachings (I talk only of the concepts of vedanta/philosophy I have heard, I do not possess knowledge of any rituals/practices to comment on differences) . All this made me wonder, ( again, I consider only vedanta/philosophy) how different are the teachings of the lesser known peethams/paramparas, and how can someone like me (who does not even live inside TN at the moment) go about, if one is curious.

Also, if my post appears too vague, I will clarify that this train of thought started with some very grounded difficulties I faced while attempting to relearn/restart sandhyavandhanam - questions about the poonal thread, the practices etc that went unanswered for a while due to none of my immediate family members appearing to know where to look - who can be considered the authority on such matters.

 

[a-TB]

Hello, so this post was the result of some of my thoughts, and a conversation that developed in another thread with @OKO ji that I encountered.
As a Gen Z hindu, I was looking for resources on the various brahmin sub-sects in and around Tamilnadu, their individual practices, beliefs, and their system of authorities they look to for religious guidance - acharyas and peethams.
I shall start with the example of myself, first. My parents belongs to the Vadama, and SV-VK sects and their respective famillies followed -Kanchi Matham, Ahobila Matham and Munitrayam parampara. I live in a world where my parents or even my grandparents admit possessing very superficial knowledge on their respective paramparas, with 2-3 generations focusing purely on trade/livelihood-based education.
As a layperson, I have only heard the teachings of Kanchi Mahaswami who, again to a layperson ears, appears to be a very generic version of hindu teachings (I talk only of the concepts of vedanta/philosophy I have heard, I do not possess knowledge of any rituals/practices to comment on differences) . All this made me wonder, ( again, I consider only vedanta/philosophy) how different are the teachings of the lesser known peethams/paramparas, and how can someone like me (who does not even live inside TN at the moment) go about, if one is curious.

Also, if my post appears too vague, I will clarify that this train of thought started with some very grounded difficulties I faced while attempting to relearn/restart sandhyavandhanam - questions about the poonal thread, the practices etc that went unanswered for a while due to none of my immediate family members appearing to know where to look - who can be considered the authority on such matters.

In your earlier thread I responded to you.

In today's age, resources are plentiful no matter where you have chosen to live

The hard part is getting clarity on what you want in life and what you are searching for,

If it is about knowing the truth of life, then drop all the identities you claim to own. That is a start

Or you can continue reading the books of Kanchi Swamigal who provides mix of dharma and some vedantic underpinnings

Or if you want to be a ritualist, you have to find a teacher to learn to chant properly

Or if you want to know meanings while chanting you have to find the right teacher. You can learn over conference calls

It does not matter if you are Gen z or oldie or whatever generation. In learning there is no age

Right teaching environment will present itself when you have clarity on what you want and why you want that .. Best wishes

 

[OKO]

Hello, so this post was the result of some of my thoughts, and a conversation that developed in another thread with @OKO ji that I encountered.
As a Gen Z hindu, I was looking for resources on the various brahmin sub-sects in and around Tamilnadu, their individual practices, beliefs, and their system of authorities they look to for religious guidance - acharyas and peethams.
I shall start with the example of myself, first. My parents belongs to the Vadama, and SV-VK sects and their respective famillies followed -Kanchi Matham, Ahobila Matham and Munitrayam parampara. I live in a world where my parents or even my grandparents admit possessing very superficial knowledge on their respective paramparas, with 2-3 generations focusing purely on trade/livelihood-based education.
As a layperson, I have only heard the teachings of Kanchi Mahaswami who, again to a layperson ears, appears to be a very generic version of hindu teachings (I talk only of the concepts of vedanta/philosophy I have heard, I do not possess knowledge of any rituals/practices to comment on differences) . All this made me wonder, ( again, I consider only vedanta/philosophy) how different are the teachings of the lesser known peethams/paramparas, and how can someone like me (who does not even live inside TN at the moment) go about, if one is curious.

Also, if my post appears too vague, I will clarify that this train of thought started with some very grounded difficulties I faced while attempting to relearn/restart sandhyavandhanam - questions about the poonal thread, the practices etc that went unanswered for a while due to none of my immediate family members appearing to know where to look - who can be considered the authority on such matters.

From your post I can only assume that you wish to learn about all forms of vedanta, do correct me if I am wrong.

Vedanta is quite broad and is split into nine different sub-schools:

1. Advaita Vedanta
2. Vishishtadvaita
3. Tattvada or Dvaita
4. Dvaitadvaita
5. Shuddhadvaita
6. Bhedabheda
7. Achintya Bhedabheda
8. Neo-advaita

Personally, I would encourage you to approach from pure dvaita to advaita, however, if you wish to learn only one of the sub-schools then do go for it.

I am unsure if you are behind a guru or gnyanam, if it is the former then you may never be satisfied. If it is the latter then all you need to do is to look around you.

All sermons will be generic and not detailed, it is the introspection that allows for it to gain dimension. You can start out with any translation of the BG based on the particular vedanta school you want or even something like the Kathopanisad. Personally, I would recommend the kathopanisad as it is quite small but the amount of introspection required is quite vast (for shankaracharya's comments: https://shlokam.org/katha/). For the BG, kathopanisad or any other written source you may loo up study circles or online classes that are ongoing (most are free but some may be paid, IMHO do not discriminate against the free sessions as those are the ones where you usually end up learning more, at least in my experience).

Furthermore, there are many great online lectures on various topics (especially in regional languages) but you have to be quite specific when looking for them.

As mentioned before, for queries regarding sectarian practices, reach out to your madam or ghoshti/shastrigal mamas for guidance.