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Even
those who respect the Puranas are not prepared to accept that the
Sthala Puranas, that is the short Puranas pertaining to
particular places, are authentic. If educated people think the
[major] Puranas to be nothing but lies, they go so far as to
treat the Sthala Puranas as nothing better than rubbish. "It
was here that Indra was freed from his curse. . . " "It
was here that Agasthya witnessed the marriage of Siva and Parvati
". Such statements give rise to scepticism about the Sthala
Puranas. "How are such things possible? " they ask.
" These Puranas must have been made up. They must have
originated in the desire of some individuals to give a certain
importance to places to which they belong. "
People with faith who are acquainted with
our traditions will tell you; "Kalpa after kalpa, the same
stories are repeated, but sometimes with slight differences.
Astory associated with one place in one kalpa may recur in
another place in a different kalpa. "
It is natural for people to take pride in claiming
that their birthplace is associated with the great men mentioned
in the Puranas. This is a fact that all of us must recognise.
Ordinary unlettered folk like to believe that Rama or Krsna had
once visited their village, also great sages, and that they were
freed from terrible sins. Encouraged by such belief they conduct
the festivals of the local temples with great enthusiasm and are
rewarded with faith and devotion. We should view this attitude
with sympathy and understanding. Why should we who claim to be
"intelligent" disturb the faith of these people of
innocence and deprive them of their sense of fulfiment? The Lord
himself says in the Gita
that in such matters you must not produce some information as
"fact"and create agitation in the minds of ordinary
people. "Na buddhibhedam janayed ajananam karmasanginam.
"
By this you should not take it that I am one with
the critics who hold that the Sthala Puranas are not true, nor
should you think that I accept them [these Puranas] only for the
reason that, notwithstanding the fact that they are not true,
they do some good to the people. I believe that the Sthala
Puranas are by and large authentic. Some of the stories told in
them may not be so, but for that reason I would not maintain that
all Sthala Puranas are false.
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"Hindu Dharma" is a book
which contains English translation of certain invaluable and
engrossing speeches of Sri Sri Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi MahaSwamiji (at
various times during the years 1884 to 1994).
For a general background, please see here
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