Update : Just spoke to Mr. Mohanaruben, the President of the temple whom I have known for 20 years. I truly appreciate his immediate intervention to straighten the Brahmin priests to show respect for Tamil hyms( Thevaram) by observing dignified slience when the Tamil hyms are sung by the Tamil priest( Othuvar)❤. Looking forward to evening prayers.
It is sad to see that the high caste Brahmin priests have been allowed into the temples in Singapore to only profit from largely true blue Singapore Tamil Hindus and to be further disgraced and discriminated. These Brahmin priests are not interested in spirituality. Half the time whilst they chant hyms in Sanskrit language ( a dead laguage of India like Latin in Church which is dead)which sounds Greek to the Tamils, their eyes are roving around the ladies present. They invented many poojas or prayers to extract money from ordinary people who happen to be local Tamils who feed them and pay them handsomely.This explains why the Chief Priest of Sri Mariamman Temple is alleged to have stolen Mariamman's jewelleries and is currently under investigation. I hope he is charged in court.
Actually Tamils traditionally have their own priests called Pandarams who sing the hyms in Tamil. This morning i told 2 Brahmin priests at the Ganesha Temple opposite my house to stop their loud chats whilst Tamil hyms were sung. I asked them" how is it that you keep absolute silence when you chant in Sanskrit which I don't understand but you talk so loud in utter disrepect to the Tamil Hindus by talking so loudly when ancient Tamil Hyms( Thevaram) are sung." They looked at me like sotong and the congregation in utter contempt. However I lodged a compaint to the Temple president Mr.Moganaruben to investigate and report on this. I need an answer. I am a local devotee and we built this country over 3 three generations. We can't go on being humiliated by the Brahmin caste system which is against the Singapore constitution, namely, the right to equality read with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that calls for human dignity. I have also attached my voice message to the President that i sent this morning where i made it very clear that if i experience this sort discriminatory casteist treatment, what about other Singaporeans.
Honestly, many who come under CECA bring caste system into the temples and Tamil Hindu society has revolted against the imposition of the caste system by the Aryans for more than 10,000 years.
The Ceylon Road Temple I go catered to the once elite Ceylon Tamils who belonged to the professional class from Jaffna employed by the British as Judges, doctors, civil servants, teachers etc. They once looked down on local Tamils who immigrated to Singapore as indentured labourers like my grandfather. Then you have the Chettiar Temple which belongs to the moneylender caste that controls Thaipusam. Traditionally Chettiars lend money but they charge decent interest unlike the Ah Longs and Chettiars observe ethical practices. However they discriminated the local Tamil Hindus as well and looked down on them. I have always asked since young, why is it that the Ceylonese Tamils and the Chettiars and the rich Indians have not built one college or hospital when they were even more wealthy than the Chinese immigrants who came with almost nothing as they were fleeing from China during the Ching dynasty and natural calamities. At least the Tamil Muslims who run the Mama shops built a school( Umar Pulavar Tamil School) whoch is now at Bartley Road.
I admire the Chinese Clan associations who built many schools and hospitals to help the community.
We need to get rid of the Brahmin priests in Singapore and we dont need expensive rituals and all prayers should be in a language that the local true blue Tamil Hindus understand. CECA Hindus can bring their caste system back to India. I am not anti Brahmin or Sanskrit but I am anti caste system. I do chant mantras daily in Sanskrit which I regard as father and Tamil as mother since young.
I am going to produce some videos on this topic both in English and Tamil to make it accessible for everyone especially the millenials.
I feel sad that most of us have been silenced and have become a slave in our own country..And i don't blame when many Hindus convert to Christianity where the pastors teach bible in Tamil and make the new adherents knowledgeable in scripture and treat them equally and give them dignity. SAY NO TO CASTE SYSTEM and Brahmin priests and their crap and bullshit to make money and mock us.For the record, caste system is not advocated by Hinduism and not to forgot that the local and Indian Tamils have been revolting against it for thousands of years.
I look forward to building my own temple one day. Om
It is sad to see that the high caste Brahmin priests have been allowed into the temples in Singapore to only profit from largely true blue Singapore Tamil Hindus and to be further disgraced and discriminated. These Brahmin priests are not interested in spirituality. Half the time whilst they chant hyms in Sanskrit language ( a dead laguage of India like Latin in Church which is dead)which sounds Greek to the Tamils, their eyes are roving around the ladies present. They invented many poojas or prayers to extract money from ordinary people who happen to be local Tamils who feed them and pay them handsomely.This explains why the Chief Priest of Sri Mariamman Temple is alleged to have stolen Mariamman's jewelleries and is currently under investigation. I hope he is charged in court.
Actually Tamils traditionally have their own priests called Pandarams who sing the hyms in Tamil. This morning i told 2 Brahmin priests at the Ganesha Temple opposite my house to stop their loud chats whilst Tamil hyms were sung. I asked them" how is it that you keep absolute silence when you chant in Sanskrit which I don't understand but you talk so loud in utter disrepect to the Tamil Hindus by talking so loudly when ancient Tamil Hyms( Thevaram) are sung." They looked at me like sotong and the congregation in utter contempt. However I lodged a compaint to the Temple president Mr.Moganaruben to investigate and report on this. I need an answer. I am a local devotee and we built this country over 3 three generations. We can't go on being humiliated by the Brahmin caste system which is against the Singapore constitution, namely, the right to equality read with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that calls for human dignity. I have also attached my voice message to the President that i sent this morning where i made it very clear that if i experience this sort discriminatory casteist treatment, what about other Singaporeans.
Honestly, many who come under CECA bring caste system into the temples and Tamil Hindu society has revolted against the imposition of the caste system by the Aryans for more than 10,000 years.
The Ceylon Road Temple I go catered to the once elite Ceylon Tamils who belonged to the professional class from Jaffna employed by the British as Judges, doctors, civil servants, teachers etc. They once looked down on local Tamils who immigrated to Singapore as indentured labourers like my grandfather. Then you have the Chettiar Temple which belongs to the moneylender caste that controls Thaipusam. Traditionally Chettiars lend money but they charge decent interest unlike the Ah Longs and Chettiars observe ethical practices. However they discriminated the local Tamil Hindus as well and looked down on them. I have always asked since young, why is it that the Ceylonese Tamils and the Chettiars and the rich Indians have not built one college or hospital when they were even more wealthy than the Chinese immigrants who came with almost nothing as they were fleeing from China during the Ching dynasty and natural calamities. At least the Tamil Muslims who run the Mama shops built a school( Umar Pulavar Tamil School) whoch is now at Bartley Road.
I admire the Chinese Clan associations who built many schools and hospitals to help the community.
We need to get rid of the Brahmin priests in Singapore and we dont need expensive rituals and all prayers should be in a language that the local true blue Tamil Hindus understand. CECA Hindus can bring their caste system back to India. I am not anti Brahmin or Sanskrit but I am anti caste system. I do chant mantras daily in Sanskrit which I regard as father and Tamil as mother since young.
I am going to produce some videos on this topic both in English and Tamil to make it accessible for everyone especially the millenials.
I feel sad that most of us have been silenced and have become a slave in our own country..And i don't blame when many Hindus convert to Christianity where the pastors teach bible in Tamil and make the new adherents knowledgeable in scripture and treat them equally and give them dignity. SAY NO TO CASTE SYSTEM and Brahmin priests and their crap and bullshit to make money and mock us.For the record, caste system is not advocated by Hinduism and not to forgot that the local and Indian Tamils have been revolting against it for thousands of years.
I look forward to building my own temple one day. Om
