Indian Express report on Sri Velukkudi Krishnan
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-hitech-guru/983959/The
Hi-Tech Guru
Indira Kannan Posted online: Sun Aug 05 2012, 03:31 hrs
New
Delhi : State-of-the-art technology aids Vedic scholar Velukkudi Krishnan in
being the preacher of the moment
There were witticisms on the upcoming US
presidential elections and about Tamilians’ addiction to filter coffee ��" but
Toronto’s Tamil community was not at a stand-up comedy show; instead, it was
part of a religious discourse about the teachings of the Vaishnavite saint
Nammazhwar by Vedic scholar and orator Velukkudi Krishnan. For over seven years,
hordes of Tamils have been waking up to Krishnan’s lectures every morning on
Doordarshan’s Podhigai channel and Star Vijay. Many in Toronto knew of his
ongoing 14-city tour of Canada and the US from relatives back in India.
Elsewhere, his followers ��" largely Tamil speakers ��" were busy tweeting and
posting Facebook updates on his latest lectures and travel schedule.
At
the end of his discourse came a reminder that MP3s and CDs of his lectures were
available at the venue; those who wanted more content could order flash drives.
Nobody found it incongruous that a religious scholar dressed in a dhoti tied in
the orthodox way and sporting the traditional tilak on his forehead, was giving
them a choice between 8GB and 16GB drives. He has released around 4,000 hours of
recorded lectures. His talks are also available at online music stores such as
iTunes and emusic.com. “But for these mediums or modern gadgets, it would have
been difficult to reach the message to a large number of people,” says Krishnan.
In an interview in Toronto, Krishnan said that television had provided him with
his widest and most varied audience, whereas live discourses still tend to
attract a predominantly Tamil Srivaishnavite crowd.
Krishnan’s discourses
are mostly about Vedic scriptures and the 4,000 Divya Prabhandams (considered to
be their Tamil equivalent), ancient epics, and the Visishtadvaita philosophy
taught by saint Ramanuja and other Vaishnavite saints and scholars. In today’s
spiritual scene often characterised by noisy spectacle and emotional overkill,
Krishnan stands out as a serene voice, relying on a listener’s sense of
responsibility to do the right thing.
His comfort with technology has
helped him make use of various media platforms and sets him apart from several
fellow scholars. Dr V Raghuraman, a Toronto-based psychiatrist and Krishnan’s
host in Canada, says his 49-year-old guest diligently answers questions, uploads
his latest lectures online, and supervises projects in India every night. En
route to an event, Krishnan borrowed his host’s smartphone asking, “Does this
have WiFi?”
The comfort with technology and contemporary issues comes
from Krishnan’s background. He was born and brought up in Chennai, the son of
well-known Vedic scholar Velukkudi Varadachariar. He became a chartered
accountant and worked with multinational corporations in Chennai. He had trained
in the scriptures with his father from the age of seven, and started giving
discourses at 28, when his father passed away. Initially, he tried striking a
balance between his work and lectures but realised he was doing justice to
neither. He quit his job in 1996 to focus completely on giving
discourses.
He gently chides anyone who suggests he “sacrificed” his
career, insisting his current vocation is far more fulfilling. “To build a
bigger home, have a bigger car, or opt for a software or engineering job is not
natural for the atman (soul). To eat food by hand, to drink water from a well,
to meditate, all this is quite natural. The moment you realise it, whatever is
natural becomes easier,” he says.
Krishnan is famous for his mastery of
the scriptures, fluent delivery, deadpan humour and his measured voice,
eschewing any histrionics. “He uses anecdotes to explain the common man’s
plight,” says Jay Srinivasan, secretary, Madras Arts and Cultural Association,
Toronto. While he is willing to incorporate contemporary references to help
audiences relate better, he refuses to alter his core message. “I am willing to
use any medium, that’s no issue. But if I have to reach someone by changing the
message, I would not do that,” says Krishnan. He admits he is orthodox in his
personal habits as well, explaining it’s important to practise what he preaches
to earn the respect of his audience. Yet he has compromised, he says, by
travelling to a dozen countries, including the UK, Singapore and even Bahrain
and Oman, to give lectures. He says his father conformed to tradition and never
crossed an ocean.
But Krishnan’s openness on some issues may be a factor
in his popularity across various segments. He laments that his audiences in
India don’t raise any questions at all, unlike those abroad. In Toronto, Dr
Raghuraman’s son Harsh Raman, a 29-year-old psychotherapist brought up in
Canada, said he had spent time talking to their guest. “He was very open to
answering my questions. His English is very good, so there were no disruptions
to our conversations,” says Raman, though he felt Krishnan was often “biased” in
favour of Vaishnavite traditions. The scholar is unapologetic, “Anyone who is
interested in the ancient scriptures ��" undiluted ��" is my audience. He may be
60, 80 or 20.”
Krishnan who moved to the temple town of Srirangam, Tamil
Nadu, a few years ago, runs Kinchitkaram, a charitable trust engaged in
education and restoration of neglected temples. He is personally tutoring a
batch of 30 students to become orators. He believes faith is still strong in
India, regardless of a follower’s religion.
He cautions against practices
such as numerology, astrology, use of crystals or even rituals for prayaschita
(penance). “I don’t believe in them, nor do I tell others to. It should only be
pure love and devotion towards god.”
Krishnan’s popularity has grown even
though, ironically, he shuns the limelight. “I’m totally against any personality
cult,” he says. His message to his audience is to pay attention to his message,
and not to him.
