Letter to Kanchi Shankaracharya sent in May 2003

The following letters were presented on behalf of Navya Shastra at Acharya Sabha held in November 2003 at Chennai under the auspices of Swami Dayananda of Arsh Vidya Gurukulam.
• Ambassador O.P. Gupta (in personal capacity)
  • ...Let us restore the primacy and supremacy of Vedas. Let us stop incorrect practice of superseding Vedas by secondary sources or commentaries as risi Veda Vyasa has himself instructed that Vedas are supreme and take precedence over everything:....
• Dr. Arun Gandhi
  • ...Hinduism, which is thousands of years old, has never had a significant reformist movement. I believe the new millenium now offers Hinduism an opportunity to change its ancient and orthodox ways to bring unity and harmony among its believers.....
• Prof. Vasudha Narayanan
  • ...Please permit our women to safeguard our tradition in the ways that they think they are best suited to do. Our women are well aware of western culture and even western religion--can we not open the doors of our own scripture and our own tradition to our women? Sometimes, we even praise western scholars who study our Vedas; yet we do not want to share it with our women. Those women who are inclined to bhakti can follow that path; those who want to surrender to the Lord can do that. But can you, with your wisdom and compassion, also encourage those women who have a propensity for learning our eternal Vedas to do so?....
• Prof. Deepak Sarma
  • ...How should the esteemed leaders of the Hindu traditions rise to this challenge posed by their devotees? Should the anadhikarins be offered diksa? Should their pleas be ignored? Does granting diksa conflict with age-old doctrines?...
• David Frawley
  • ...This means that all dharmacharyas should offer their teachings to all sincere and qualified individuals regardless of their place or status of birth. All Hindu temples should be open to anyone who wishes to worship in them....
• Prof. Subhash Kak
  • ...I believe the time has come to declare unequivocally that all jatis are equal in all ways in receiving initiation into Vedic wisdom and in this there is no disability based on community of birth and gender....
• Rajarathina Bhattar (Priest Emeritus, Meenakshi Temple)
  • ...In Navya Shastra, we wish to see the following changes. [1] Without looking into the family of birth, everyone from any Varna who desires to study should be given the privilege to get Upanayanam and Brahmopadesam....
• Prof. Ramdas Lamb
  • ...The Ramnamis are all vegetarian and exhibit a very high level of devotion that is both heartwarming and inspiring. Such individuals should be praised and encouraged, rather than oppressed. Navya Shastra is working to open up the Hindu tradition to all such people, for it is in the heart of these very individuals that the soul of our tradition rests....
• Prof. Sita K. Nambiar
  • ...Revered acharyas, if you do not give access to our scriptures to our youngsters (both men and women, irrespective of their caste), they will drift away. In my fifty-five years of experience of teaching Vedanta, I find that there is an urge in our youngsters to know more about their heritage....
• Prof. V. V. Raman
  • ...I join many other well-wishers of our tradition in a request to exert your moral strength, spiritual stature, and the esteem you enjoy among Hindus to give your willing and enthusiastic support to the Navyashastra movement whose goal is to ensure that every Hindu, irrespective of caste-affiliation, enjoys equal religious rights and spiritual dignity....