Friday 4 July 2014

Hinduism in its many interwoven colours.

A community, non vegetarian and having animal sacrifices built into its worship ... is also able to incorporate myths and saints that question non vegetarianism and animal sacrifices ...

Many from the village have gone to Brahmayya gari’s mutt in Kandimalaayapalle, beyond Kadapa, where his samadhi is located. The mutt is called Pothuloori Veera Brahmam Gari Matam and is well known through the state. The seer belonging to the seventeeth century is known for his predictions about the future. Sukanya said that her grandfather would tell her the stories  of Brahmayya gari through the nights. Kalpana said that in Dinapeta, people gather every Monday and sing his songs. People have the ‘Brahmayya gari jeevitha charitram’ which they listen to and also have tapes of. It is a five hour hearing. 

‘Brahmayya gari in his childhood decided to leave home. When his mother protested, he sang out the Hitopadesha. He told her that there is no mother, no son, and that in reality, nobody was related to anybody. He told her that he had been  born only to spread truth among people. He received permission from his mother to leave and left. According to another version, as he was god himself, he had no parents. As he wandered a woman named Achchamma called him and asked him which family he belonged to. He told her that he belonged to whoever considered him theirs. She offered him food, but he said that he could not accept food without work. She then gave him a hundred cattle to graze, and gave him sangati, a ball of rice, to take along for a meal. He would take the cows up the forest and leave them to graze after drawing a big circle around them. They would never go outside of the circle. He would go into a cave and write his writings on palmyra leaves. He is said to have thrown the sangati into a water enclosure called gavee there. Even today the sangati are seen as rocks in that enclosure, which is now surrounded by a wall. People from the village who have been there mention a palmyra tree near that well. When Brahmayya gari was in the cave, once some people saw the untended cows and decided to take them away. But when they stepped into the circle they lost their eyesight, and regained it only when they stepped out. They realized the greatness of Brahmayya gari, and that he was an avataara purushudu or incarnation of god. He is said to have facilitated many cures and also gave eyesight to Achchamma’s son.

Brahmayya gari married and had four sons. He worked as a carpenter. When the village people came around for chandaalu or contributions for buying sacrificial goats for the ammavaru, mother goddess, festival he refused saying that animal sacrifices were wrong. During the festival he saw a number of buffaloes lined up for the sacrifice and went up and questioned the need for killing. The people told him that the sacrifice would pacify the goddess and then she would appear in the village. They then angrily asked him why he had come there at all.  He said he had come for  fire to light his smokeing rope. He called out to the goddess Poleramma, 'Poleru bring live coals' , and at that Poleramma came with her anklets tinkling with live coals in a tray. Thus he showed the people that the goddess does not require sacrifices, and also that she was indeed there in the village all the time.... ?
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