Tamil Nadu Temple Ride Diaries

Temple Darshan Ride, Day 1:

The Ranganayaka Swamy Temple, Nellore

The Ranganayaka Swamy Temple, 

also known as the Talpagiri Ranganathaswami Temple or the Ranganayakulu Temple, 

is an ancient temple in Nellore. 

It dates back to the 7th century CE and was founded by the kings of the Pallava dynasty, who ruled over this region for many centuries. In the 12th century CE, it was renovated and expanded by King Raja Mahendra Varma, who belonged to the Chola dynasty.

There is a beautiful story behind the name “Talpagiri.” It is said that when Lord Sri Maha Vishnu came to Earth, he wanted to rest alongside his wife, Sridevi. He asked the serpent deity, Adisesha, to be his dwelling during their stay on Earth. Adisesha then transformed into a mountain at a special location, which we now call “Talpagiri Kshetram.” The name “Talpa” means the divine bed of Adisesha, which is where Lord Maha Vishnu rests. 

According to legend, the great Sage Kashyapa conducted a sacred ceremony called the Poundarika Yagna at this location on the day of Ekadasi. As a result, Lord Maha Vishnu appeared and blessed the sage. 

This is why Talpagiri Kshetram is considered a very special and holy place.

The main deity worshipped at the temple is Lord Ranganatha, who is depicted lying on a serpent bed named Anantha. 

The Lord Ranganatha vigraha is a beautiful black stone sculpture that measures about 10 feet long. It features the goddess Sridevi sitting on the Lord’s chest, while Lord Brahma sits on a lotus that rises from the Lord’s navel. At the Lord’s feet, you’ll find smaller statues of Sridevi and Bhudevi. In front of the main deity, you’ll see the Utsava murtis, which are festival deities. There’s also a lovely sitting statue of the goddess Sridevi, known as Ranganayaka Devi.

One unique thing about this temple is that the idols face west, towards the Penna River, which is different from most temples where the deity faces east.

Secularism

Secularism ..the most maligned word in India:

The meaning of secularism as per the dictionary,  

--- the belief that religion should not be  involved with the ordinary social and political activities of a country

---- not having any connection with religion

But,

Secularism in India means equal treatment of all religions by the state. With the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution of India enacted in 1976, the Preamble to the Constitution asserted that India is a secular nation. 

However, neither India's constitution nor its laws define the relationship between religion and state.

This is how , in 1976 our Politicians changed the meaning of secularism to take advantage that arises from the confusion of the definition.  Inserting the meaning - as equal treatment to all religions for secularism is a sham in itself. Its an excuse and a license to appease the Minorities for political gains. The original meaning of secularism says  - not having any connection with religion and religion should not be involved with the social and Political activities of a country. Because of the narrow sense of the definition given to the word, now,  the majority  people have been sidelined and trampled of their rights to express  views contrarian to the views of minority religions. This the result for  the number of bans ..books, film, shows etc., which in a secular and democratic environment ..shouldn’t have happen. And may be , this is one of the reason , for the rise of the so called right wing organisations to prosper. I don’t think any democratic country has separate rules for its Minorities, apart from India. 

In a secular country every individual  is free to practice, propagate  their own religion and beliefs, And the government duty is to see to it , that both majority or minority people do not infringe over the right of others, and strike a balance. But, what we see, in India is , minority rights are given prime importance over ruling  the rights of the others. Individual rights should take precedence over the religious rights. 

“The phrases ‘religious liberty’ and ‘religious freedom’ will stand for nothing except hypocrisy so long as they remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance,” 

“Religious liberty was never intended to give one religion dominion over other religions, or a veto power over the civil rights and civil liberties of others, said Martin R. Castro, a Chicago Democrat named USCCR chairman by President Obama in 2011

How the US does it and would be an ideal for us also…

HOW DO YOU KNOW THE GOVERNMENT IS "ESTABLISHING RELIGION"?

In 1971, the Supreme Court of USA  decided Lemon v. Kurtzman which created three tests for determining whether a particular government act or policy unconstitutionally promotes religion. 

The Lemon test says that in order to be constitutional, a policy must:

1. Have a non-religious purpose;   

2. Not end up promoting or favoring any set of religious beliefs; and   

3. Not overly involve the government with religion. 

The same should be ideal for any country, which declares it as a democratic and secular.