Tuesday, January 30, 2024

A big quandary.

"According to Korean legend, a teenage princess from Ayodhya crossed the ocean in a boat some 2,000 years ago, sailed 4,500 kilometers to Korea and married King Kim Suro who founded the Gaya Kingdom in the north Asian country. The princess, Suriratna, then became Queen Heo Hwang-ok." "Many members of the Karak clan visit Ayodhya every year to pay tributes at the memorial of Queen Heo Hwang-ok at the Queen Heo Memorial Park, which was set on the banks of the Surayu river in Ayodhya in 2001 in a partnership between the Uttar Pradesh government and the Gimhae city in South Korea." HT. In Korea, the Family name comes first and is followed by the given name. There are various family names in Korea, such as: Kim, Lee, Pak, Choi, Jung etc." Future Learn. Does that mean that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could well be a descendant from King Kim Suro, which would make him an in-law of Ayodhya? "Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated a grand temple to Hindu god Ram" in the city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, "But, some Hindu seers and most of the opposition boycotted it, saying Mr Modi was using it for political gain." BBC. Which is absolutely correct because the temple is not yet complete. "With the consecration ceremony of Ram temple done, preparations are being made to restart the stalled works of the temple." "The work on the first floor of the temple is almost completed and now work will start for the second floor." TOI. The word 'prayer' means "a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or another deity". Dictionary. The Hindi word 'mannat' means 'an act of prayer or devotion carried out is a wish is fulfilled'. The Tirupati Balaji temple is where Lord Vishnu is said to reside and "is the most popular temple on earth today inviting the maximum number of devotees on any given day"  where "Devotees pray the Lord to fulfill their wishes and upon their wishes getting fulfilled, it is customary practice to offer their donations at the temple Hundi (a promissory note of payment)." TOI. Ram is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and is said to be "the embodiment of chivalry and virtue". Britannica. It would be no wrong to ask for a boon at the temple, but to consecrate the temple as a political spectacle to win the general election (wikipedia) is sacrilegious. The four Shankaracharyas did not attend the consecration ceremony because the temple was incomplete and proper rituals were not followed. ET. Will Ram punish this act of gross sacrilege? If it goes unpunished, Christians will claim that Hindu gods don't exist and Hindus are idol worshipping heathens (dictionary) and may be punished with death as during the Inquisition in Goa between 1561 and 1812 (wikipedia). And Muslims may claim that Hindus are Kafirs to be killed (Sunnah). If, on the other hand, this act of sacrilege is punished severely, all the devotees who traveled to Ayodhya and piously prayed at the temple will feel that their prayers were void and will have to be repeated. A big quandary for us Hindus.

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