Hinduism: Details about 'Iyengar'
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Iyengar (or Aiyangar) is the name of a community of Tamil Brahmins of South India whose members profess the Visishtadvaita philosophy codified by Ramanuja. The word Iyengar (Anglicised from the Tamil ஐயங்கார்(Aiyaṅkār)) means "people entrusted with five tasks", referring to the five duties that traditional Iyengars perform (see ). The most common spelling is "Iyengar", but "Aiyangar" is the phonetically correct spelling. Sometimes although rarely "Iengar" is also used . Iyengars along with Iyers are known as Tamil Brahmins. Traditionally Iyengars have been found in the state of Tamil Nadu, with large communities in the neighboring states of Karnataka (popularly known as Mysore, Hebbar, Mandyam, Hemige Iyengars); and Andhra Pradesh. There is also a sizeable community of Iyengars in the Purulia district of West Bengal who had migrated from Tamil Nadu by invitation of the King of Bengal around 1100 AD. Today iyengars are widely spread all over the world and are distinguished not only for their knowledge of the vedas but also for excellence in various fields such as science, technology, law etc. Most Iyengars speak Tamil. However Iyengars in Karnataka speak Kannada or a dialect of Tamil highly influenced by Kannada, while those in southern Andhra Pradesh speak Telugu. Iyengars are primarily Vaishnavites, and as is the case with the majority of Brahmins, are also vegetarians. Today, Iyengars are taxonomised into two sub-sects of Thenkalai and Vadakalai based on the different stresses in religious literature. The Thenkalai community ascribes more importance to the Tamil works while the Vadakalai community deems the Vedas, written in Sanskrit to be more important.
ReligionIyengars follow Visishtadvaita, a system of thought embodied by the Vedanta, the philosophical portion of the Vedas, Hindu's ancient scriptures. The central idea of Visishtadvaita is this: there exists an Ultimate Reality, an Absolute Being that is the source and substratum of all that exists. This immanent spirit is the inner guide and controller of the whole universe with all its diverse animate and inanimate elements. Communion with this gracious, omnipotent Supreme Being constitutes the supreme end of existence or Moksha. Such communion is attainable exclusively through complete self-surrender and undivided, loving meditation (Bhakti). The Vaishnavite tradition began during the Vedic period. Most Iyengars follow Ramanuja's and Vedanta Desikar's school of philosophy. The objects of worship are the images of Vishnu and His incarnations and the saligramas - small stone pebbles of different colors (predominantly black) recovered from the bed of the river Gandaki in Nepal at Mukti Kshetra. Saligramas are fossilized ammonite shells formed 140 million years, having several spiral grooves resembling the chakra of Narayana which are formed by the river worms called Vajra-keeta. The priests at Tirupati Balaji temple, the most famous and important of Hindu Temples are Iyengars. Although most priests at south indian temples are iyengars. The 108 holy temples of Vishnu called 108 Divya Desams are important to the Iyengars. The 108th Divya Desam is Vaikuntam which is the Mythical abode of Lord Vishnu. 'Gotra's and 'Nakshatra'sAll the Iyengars trace their origin to one of the eight major rishis or sages. Iyengars classify themselves under different Gotras (also referred to as Gothram), those of the same Gotra share common ancestors. Thus in the Iyengar community, marriage among people of the same Gotra is prohibited. This is generally cited as an example of scientific practices followed even in the distant past. A plausible explanation for the term gotra being used to indicate ancestry from a certain sage, would be the use of this term to refer to the cowpens in which the sages used to keep their animals. Another terminology which is used in conjunction with Gotra is Nakshatra (or Nakshatram). The superiority/inferiority of the various gotras and subgroups with reference to each other and their stereotyping is the subject of many debates, often amusing to the current generation. Iyengars today are found all over the world and are an extraordinarily visible community with relation to their population. Iyengars TodayIyengars today have diversified into a variety of fields—their strengths particularly evident in the fields of law, mass media, science, engineering, mathematics and computer science. However even today, a few Iyengars choose to pursue the vocation of priesthood. Iyengars have been active in the cultural field too. Music has always been integral to the Iyengar community; Carnatic music has a great tradition within the community. Apart from vocal music, instruments such as mridangam, naadaswaram, veena, ghatam, etc., Bharatanatyam were also patronized. Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam together enjoy a rich patronage in the cultural festivities in and around Chennai during the months of December and January. A large numbers of Iyengars also work in the movies, particularly the Tamil movie industry in southern India. Some famous iyengar actors are Kamal Hassan, Hema Malini ,Vyjayanti Mala and Jayalalitha. Some Famous Iyengars in Recent Times
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