Ramanujacharya

[Guest guest]

Here is the artical I just submitted to for publication in a

temple magazine of Columbus, Ohio. As suggested by Mr. Krishna Prasad, I am

posting it. Any comments welcome.

-Sincerely, K. Sreekrishna.

ri Ramanujacharya (Longer version)

by Koti Sreekrishna, July 27, 1995

 

The system of Philosophy associated with Ramanuja is known as Vishistadvaita.

We should not think that Ramanuja started a new philosophy and he does not

claim that either.

If Vishishtadvaita can be likened to a lotus plant , then

Srutis are its roots, Smrithis are its stems and leaves,

Earlier Alvars and Acharyas are its nourishment , and

Ramanuja is that bright Sun-light that caused the lotus flower to fully

bloom.

 

Ramanuja's supreme effort resulted in a systematic presentation of the

Vishishtadvaita. His genius also led to the development of a complete system

which synthesizes concept of God with the philosophy of the impersonal

absolute. It is a matter of fact that the beauty of Lotus appeals to

everyone. The same was true of Ramanuja. Such were his attributes. His

scholarship coupled with humility, devotion, kindness, beauty, love,

compassion, pragmatism, and adventure left a strong impression on anyone who

came to know him. That is exactly how I felt after reading "Life of Sri

Ramanuja" by Swami Ramakrishnananda.

 

The followers of Ramanuja are called Sri-Vaishnavas. This term is not

exclusive to Iyengars (a major sect among Brahmins of South India). Also

among South Indians are a set of followers called Shattada Sri-Vaishnavas of

non-Brahmin origins. Followers of Ramanuja (or at least those who include

him in the lineage of their earlier Acharyas) can be seen far and wide in

different parts of India including Gaudia Vaishnavas of Bengal and the

Swminarayans of Gujarat.

 

During Ramanuja's time he appointed 74 Mudhalis (Leaders or Simhasanadipati)

of whom a good number were Shattadas(generally of non-Brahmin origin). It is

noteworthy that 5 among the 74 Mudhalis were women. All these fit well with

the character of Ramanuja. He freely mingled with true devotees of God,

irrespective of their caste. He washed their feet, ate food left over in

their plate, held them with great reverence, and popularized their works.

When Kanchi Purna, a great devotee of God, did not let Ramanuja to wash his

feet, saying that he is from a low caste, Ramanuja says, "pray , noble Sir,

is it the wearing of the sacred thread that makes one a Brahmana? He who is

devoted to God, he alone is a genuine Brahmana."

 

At another instance, Kanchi Purna refused to accept Ramanuja as his

disciple, stating that Ramanuja was a Brahmin well versed in the shatras,

while Kanchi Purna was just an ignorant old Sudra. To this Ramanuja replied,

" If the knowledge of the Sastras only brings about pride instead of devotion

to God, then it is false knowledge, better is ignorance than this. You have

verily tasted the real essence of the Sastras; other scholars merely carry

the burden, like the ass that carries the load of sandalwood. So saying, he

fell at the feet of Kanchi Purna and began to weep.

 

The tradition followed by Sri-Vaishnavas is called Sri-sampradaya, which is

perhaps best preserved among the Sri-Vaishnavas of South India. In this

tradition, the Goddess Lakshmi acts as the mediator of salvation on behalf of

the devotees of Vishnu. This sampradayam recognizes a host of Acharyas and

Alvars. The lineage up to Ramanujacharya is as follows:

 

Periya Perumal (Parabrahman, Sriman Narayana, Emberuman)

Periya Piratti (Lakshmi)

Senai Mudaliyar (Viswaksena)

Nammalvar (around seventh Century AD)

-also known as Shatakopan, or Shatari

Natha Muni (823 AD)

Yamuna Muni (918-1038 AD)

-also known as Yamunacharya, Alavandar)

Ramanujacharya (1017 AD-1137 AD)

- also known as Yeti Raja, Bhashyakara, Udaiyavar etc.

 

In this list the first three names, of course, are anhistorical. Nammalvar,

who belong to a non-Brahmin community is one among the twelve Vaishnavite

Alvars. Alvars lived between 100 AD to 900 AD. Alvars found God realization

through Bhakti-Prapatti. Bhakti means immense love of God and Prapatti (also

known as Saranagathi or Bharanyasam) means a single minded total surrender to

God. The Tamil devotional works of Alvars is known as Nalayirum (4000

verses) or Divya Prabhandam. Sri-Vaishnavas learn Nalayirum and other Tamil

works on par with the Sanskrit scriptures. Such practitioners are called

Ubhaya Vedantins. Ramanuja took responsibility to popularize the Tamil

scriptures. This was one of the oath he took at the site of the dead body of

Alavandar in Srirangam. Ramanuja also ensured that Tamil poems become part

of all Sri-Vaishnava style Puja. You may have witnessed this in the Dayton

Hindu Temple as well!. .

 

Nammalvar, is placed first among the Historical personalities revered in the

Sri-sampradayam. He rescued the works of previous Alvars , added his own

contribution of1296 verses and passed it on to Natha Muni, who is a great

scholar and a devotee. Natha Muni's grand son is Alavandar, who at a tender

age of 14, won half the Kingdom by defeating a great scholar in a debate.

Among Alavandar's grand children are Ramanuja's mother and Ramanuja's uncle

Periya Tirumalai Nambi (or Srisaila Purna). At this point, I have a

confession to make. I am the (great x 29) grand son of Acharya Natha Muni.

I request the readers to take note of this and pardon me if I sound too

sensational

 

Ramanuja (1017-1137 AD) was born to a pious Vaishnava Brahmin family in

Sriperumbudur, 30 miles South West of Madaras. His parents were Aasuri

Sarvakrutu Keshava Somayaji Dikshitar and Kantimati (grand daughter of

Alavandar). The couple gained progeny after they performed an Yagna at the

Parthasarathy shrine in Triplicane, Madaras. The Lord Parthasarathy appeared

to Keshava in his dream and promised that the Lord himself would be born as

his son for the purpose of redeeming the misguided souls. (Many had mistaken

the Shankara's exposition of the vedantic mantra "Aham Brahmasmi" to apply to

their physical body and had thus turned arrogant, wicked and perverse).

 

Srisaila Purna (Periya Tirumalai Nambi), the maternal uncle of Ramanuja came

from Srirangam for the child naming ceremony. He saw the divine traits in his

nephew and was reminded of what Nammalvar had foretold as the divine messiah

of Srivaishnavism in his Tamil work Thiruvoymoli. Nambi was totally

convinced that his nephew was none other than Lakshmana, the Ananta or

Adishesha of Kali Yuga. Thus, he gave the name Ramanuja (meaning brother of

Rama) to his nephew..

 

Interestingly, Ramanuja's birth month(Chaitra) and Zodiac (Cancer) sign are

same as that of Sumitra's sons Lakshmana and Shatrugna. Ramanuja is generally

regarded as the manifestation of both Adishesha (just as Lakshmana). as well

as the five ayudhas of Vishnu.

 

Ramanuja was a good student loved by his teachers. He was able to grasp

even complex ideas by hearing just only once from his teacher He also loved

to associate with holy men. Ramanuja at age 16 was wedded to an exquisitely

beautiful girl in a rather grand week long wedding ceremony. The whole town

rejoiced. The joy did not last long as Ramanuja's father severely fell ill

and died shortly after. Ramanuja with his wife and mother moved to the holy

city of Kanchipuram and therein became a disciple of Yadavaprakasha, the most

renowned scholar of that time. Yadavaprakasha was a great champion of Advaita

Philosophy. His doctrine is known even today as "Yadaviya Siddahanta." He was

such a rigid Advaitin, that he would not acknowledge God with form. Unlike

Shankaracharya, he would not even regard this universe as a maya. To him it

was totally insignificant. Ramanuja was all devotion. The doctrine of Yadava

did not at all appeal to Ramanuja. Mostly out of respect, Ramanuja did not

challenge his guru until one day when he could not take it any more.

 

Ramanuja humbly, but firmly disagreed with Yadava Prakasha on the

interpretation of one of the rather confusing mantra from the Chandogya

Upanishad. The mantra was "tasya yatha kapyasam pundarikamevamakshini."

Taking "kapyasam" to mean the "nates of a monkey" as interpreted by the

venerable Shankaracharya, Yadavaprakasha explained the passage as follows:

'The two eyes of that golden Purusha are like two lotuses which are red like

the nates of a monkey." Hearing this interpretation, tears rolled down from

the corners of Ramanuja's eyes likes flames of fire and fell on the thigh of

Yadavaprakasha. Yadava understood that something troubled his dear disciple

Ramanuja. When asked for the cause of his anguish, Ramanuja politely

answered, " Revered Sir, from the mouth of a wise person like you, I never

expected to hear the comparison of the eyes of the Supreme Godhead with the

posterior of a monkey."

yadava considered this as a display of arrogance by Ramanuja and challenged

him to give his interpretation. Ramanuja proceeded to give his

interpretation of Kapyasam, the troublesome word in the mantra.

Kapyasam=Kapih+Asam

Kapih= Kam jalam pibatiti Kapih: he who drinks water= Suryah, Sun

Asa=blossomed

Thus, Kapyasam=Sun blossomed or blossomed by the Sun

 

Now the mantra can be translated as : The eyes of the golden Purusha are as

lovely as the lotuses blossomed by the rays of the Sun. Hearing this Yadava

said that it is not a direct meaning but only a derived meaning.

Nevertheless, he recognized the skill of his student.

 

The trend continued. One of the famous Upanishadic mahavakyas "Satyam Jnanam

anantam Brahma" was interpreted by Yadava as Brahman is truth, Intelligence

and Infinitude.

Ramanuja, again disagreed with Yadava and interpreted it as Brahman is

endowed with the quality of truth, intelligence and infinitude. It is not

correct to hold that all these qualities are He Himself. These qualities are

His, but not He, just as the body is mine, I am not the body. At this point

Yadavapraksha grew jealous of Ramanuja. He plotted to kill Ramanuja and wash

off his sins at the sacred Ganges. Yadava with Ramanuja and the other

disciples set out on a pilgrimage to Kashi. Ramanuja, came to know his guru's

wicked plan through his cousin Govinda and returned back from the Dandaka

forest without finishing the so called pilgrimage.

 

Ramanuja returned to his studies under Yadava. Everyone concerned pretended

as though nothing happened. The mantra being discussed this time was "sarvam

khalvidam brahma" - All this is verily Brahma and "neha nanasti

kinchana"-there is no diversity whatsoever here.

Yadava, had his class spell bound with his discourse on the oneness of Atman

and Brahman. Ramanuja disagreed and expressed his position. As the universe

is born of Brahman, is sustained by Brahman, so it may surely be said to be

permeated with Brahman(not verily Brahman). For instance, fish is born in

water, lives in water, and dissolves into water; so it may be said to be

surely permeated with water. But as fish can never be water, likewise the

universe too can never be Brahman.

 

And "neha nanasti kinchana" does not mean that there is no diversity

whatsoever here; the various objects do not exist separately, but are like

pearls strung on a thread form a garland, so the various objects threaded in

Brahman have formed this universe. Many have united and give the appearance

of oneness, but by this the distinctiveness has in no way been impaired. At

this Yadava expelled Ramanuja from his school. (Many years later, Yadava

became a disciple of Ramanuja and took sanyasa under the name Govinda Jeer.

He composed the incomparable work Yatidharmasamuccaya).

 

Alavandar, who was of ripe age thought his prayers answered when he heard

that Ramanuja was no more associated with Yadava.. He sent words for Ramanuja

so that he could place the responsibility of spreading Vishishtadvaita on

his shoulders. . By the time Ramanuja arrived in Srirangam, to his dismay the

old sire Alavandar had just passed away. Ramanuja noticed that the three

fingers of the Maharshi's right hand were folded and clenched. Disciples of

Alvandar vouched that they had never seen the fingers of Alvandar that way

before. Hearing that Ramanuja made three promises on front of the dead

body: "I will popularize the Tamil Veda, I will write Sri-Bhashya (detailed

treatise on Brahma Sutras), and I shall give the name of Parashara to an

accomplished Vaishnava(as a mark of respect to sage Parshara, the father of

Vyasa)". As he made these promises one by one, so also the folded fingers

became straight one after another!

 

(Later, Ramanuja fulfilled all his promises and more. He made sure the Tamil

Veda remained as a part of Sri-sampradaya. He entrusted many of his

disciples to expound on the message of the Nalayirums. He wrote

Sri-Bhashyam, writing of which required a study of the Bodhayana-Vritti. He

obtained the only copy of it at the Sarada Peetam of Kashmir established by

Shankara. The library attendants refused to give him that book, however, it

is believed that Ramanuja had the vision of Sarada there and got the book in

a mysterious way. His other literary works include: Vedanta Sangraha-a

treatise on the principles of Vishishtadvaita elaborated from the Srutis;

Gita Bhashya-a detailed commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita; Vedanta dipa-a brief

commentary on the Brahma sutras;Vedanta sara-a brief commentary on the Brahma

sutras and intended for beginners; Saranagati gadya and Sriranga gadya-tell

about saranagati or prapatti; Sri Vaikunta gadya-describes Sri Vaikunta and

the state of the liberated; Nitya grantha- a short manual to guide devotees

in their daily life. As promised, he also named a great disciple of his as

Parashara Bhattar and instructed him to write his famous commentary on the

Vishnu Sahsranamam).

 

Ramanuja studied under numerous disciples of Alavandar and other Vaishnavite

scholars. He left his wife, who was never in phase with Ramanuja. He took

Sanyasa, studied further and under Goshti Purna, after much fuss, received

the moola mantra of Sri-Vaishnavas, "Om Namo Narayanaya." However Ramanuja

even before leaving Goshti Pura, assembled the whole town with the promise

of a great gift, claimed the top of the Temple, and gave the moola Mantra

to the entire town that had assembled . Such was the nature of Ramanuja. Both

preserving and spreading his creed.

 

Ramanuja lived in Tirumalai for a while and studied Ramayana under his uncle

Sri Saila Purna. At a later time he returned to Tirumalai and reestablished

it as a Vaishnavite shrine. Ramanuja basically returned to the shrine the old

glory as elaborated in the works of Alvar about Tiruvengadam. He also

founded the town of Govinda Raja Puram (Tirupati) at the foot hills of the

mountain and installed the Govinda Raja's idol which he rescued from a nearby

abandoned town. This town initially used to be called Ramanuja Puram. He

also established the flower gardens at Tirumalai and entrusted its care to

Shattada Sri Vaishnavas.

 

His digvijayas included many other holy places such as Thiruvanantha puram

in Kerala, Dwaraka, mathura, Brindavan, Salagram, Saketa, Badarikashrama,

Naimisha, Pushkara, Kashmir, where he had the vision of Sarada. It is said

that, Sarada, particularly impressed by his previous translation of the word

"Kapyasum" to mean blossommed by the Sun instead of nates of a monkey (as

translated by Yadava and other scholars) gave him the title Bhashyakara. From

Kashmir he proceded to Puri and established a monastery there and called it

Embar Math after his cousin Govinda, his own disciple. From here he went to

Ahobila and established a math there also which is still very well known.

Finally he returned to Tamil Nadu via Thirupati.

 

 

There were two other murder attempts on Ramanuja. The high priest of the

Srirangam temple tried to poison him out of jealousy. However, the priest's

wife let the cat out of the bag. Later this priest became one of the

greatest devotees of Ramanuja. His Tamil poetry on Ramanuja is held at great

esteem.

 

The other threat to Ramanuja's life came from king Krimikanta. This Chola

king residing in his capital Kanchipuram desired to have his entire kingdom

embrace the Shaiva doctrine. He saw Ramanuja as a threat to his plan. He

sent for Ramanuja with the intention of forcibly converting him in to a

Shaivaite, if that is not possible to execute him. This king remembered

very much the service rendered to his family by Ramanuja who had exorcised

the ghost out of his sister many years ago. Nevertheless, the king's mind

was made up. When the king's order came, Ramanuja switched his sanyasi robes

with one of his devout disciple Kuresa and exiled out of Chola empire into

Karnataka. Kuresa did not become a Shaivite either, the king had his both

eyes plucked and sent him away.

 

In Karnataka, Ramanuja brought the Jain king Vittala Deva (Bitti Deva) under

the Vaishnavite fold. He reestablished the temple in Yadavagiri(also known

as Thirunarayana Puram or Melkote) near Mysore. A Moslem chieftain had

earlier raided this town and made it away with the Utsava Murthy of Sampath

Kumara (Cheluva Narayana). The Moola Vigraha lay buried under an ant hill

(perhaps it was hidden there by the town's people). Ramanuja went all the way

to North India and rescued the Sampatkumara's idol from the Sultan. Sultan's

daughter Bibi Lachimar, loved that idol very much and so she followed it to

Melkote. She lived there for many years serving that idol and when she

passed away, the SriVaishnava's impressed by her love, made a staute of her

and placed it at the foot of the idol which can be seen even to day. The idol

of Lachimar is revered as Bibi Nachhiar. The Bibi Nacchiar idol has been

duplicated in many other temples in South India. Because many untouchables

helped Ramanuja in carrying briskly the idol from North India to Melkote, he

assigned three days in a year in which the untouchables were allowed to

enter the temple. Ramanuja lived for many years in Melkote and with a heavy

heart left to Srirangam The people of Melkote were deeply grieved at his

departure and learing this Ramanuja made a stone image of his, invoked his

life into it and gifted it to to people of Yadavadri. .Melkote enjoys the

status of Abhimana sthanam in the Srivaishnava tradition. It is one of the

greatest Srivaishnava centers in Karnataka.

 

Ramanuja spent his last 60 years of life at Srirangam. He left this world at

a ripe age of 120 years, after delivering his last sermon to scores of

Shishyas who had gathered with a heavy heart to listen to his last sermon.

 

The life and message of Ramanuja could best be summarized in the words of

Swami Vivekananda, thus: Ramanuja, with his sariri-sharira Bhava of God and

worlds, a most practical philosophy, a great appeal to the emotional and

entire denial of birthrights before spiritual attainments and its appeal

through the popular tongue, completely succeeded in bringing the masses back

to the Vedic religion.

 

Submitted to the feet of Ramanuja