Temple, Church, and University: The Sacred Institutions of Eelam
Ruben Nagesparan Chandrakumar, BS
The role of the temple, the church, and the university in reviving the soul of Eelam is fundamental. It is irreplaceable and the primary mechanism through which we delve deeply into the core aspects of our culture. The temple and the church are the houses of God; they are the product of thousands of years of contemplation, design, and revision. They are the hallmark of beauty—where the wisdom of the past is stored.
Within the temple and church, we find community in its ideal form—where everyone is striving to reach their highest self and realize their spiritual potential. They are the places where communities act in their best form—where individual enlightenment and community ethics merge. Within the university, individuals reach into the depth of the culture—exploring the traditions, the canonical texts, the spirit of revelation and reformation, the role that individuals play in society, the potential of one’s own self, the call to their destiny, and the utilization of knowledge for goodness.
How else may we survive as we face existential angst, the sense of meaninglessness, despair, hopelessness, resentment, envy, hatred, and evil within our own hearts and psyches? How else may we be equipped for the cosmic battle that our life entails? How else will we realize and give the seriousness of attention to the immaterial nature of reality? How else may we guide the youth in the direction of goodness and aim them towards Heaven? How else may we establish the structures that are prerequisite for enlightenment?
It is these institutions on which we depend to give us the structure of religion and the process through which it may be inculcated within the individuals of our culture. While there is room for a multitude of interpretations and pathways to enlightenment and living a good life, the temple, the church, and the university are the necessary structures—the known and established order—that allow for the culture to be expressed and changed in accordance with the environment and our realization of divinity.