Book Review - CONTRIBUTION OF YAMUNACHARYA TO VISISHTADVAITA:

[Guest guest]

[THE HINDU]

 

Tuesday, June 02, 1998

SECTION: Entertainment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books

Section Index | Previous Story | Next Story |

 

Core tenets of Visishtadvaita

 

02-06-1998 :: Pg: 28 :: Col: d

 

CONTRIBUTION OF YAMUNACHARYA TO VISISHTADVAITA: M.

Narasimhachary: Sri Jayalakshmi Publications, Hyderabad.

Distributors: Sri Gopal Publications, 3-3-860, Lane

Opposite Arya Samaj Mandir, Kachiguda, Hyderabad-500027.

Rs. 300.

 

There is a pleasant irony in the title of this book

which discusses Yamunacharya's contribution to

Visishtadvaita. The term Visishtadvaita is never used

either by Yamunacharya or Ramanuja. It is a

post-Ramanuja expression coined, we do not know by whom,

to bring out the distinctiveness of Srivaishnavism

nurtured by the ecstatic outpourings of the

God-intoxicated Azhvars.

 

It was Nathamuni who collected the floating psalms of

these mystics into the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, set it

to music and introduced its recitation as an integral

part of Srivaishnava temple worship in South India.

Since none of the original works of Nathamuni himself

has come down to us we have to consider his grandson,

Yamuna, as the earliest Acharya who systematised the

philosophy underlying Srivaishnavism. And on the solid

foundation laid by Yamuna, his brilliant grand-disciple

Ramanuja, raised an edifice that tantalises us by its

exquisite format.

 

The appellation of Visishtadvaita must have become

necessary later on to underline the difference of

Srivaishnava philosophy from those of monistic Advaita

and pluralistic Dvaita. Visishtadvaita steers a smooth

middle path between Advaita and Dvaita. But the term

itself is not easy to translate into English. The usual

translation, qualified monism, does not do justice to

the subtlety of its insight into the organic unit of

God, the individual soul and the universe.

 

Scholars split the word in two ways. ``Visishtasya

Advaitam'' means the non-duality of One who is

qualified. The One is Lord Vishnu and His qualification

or characteristic feature is that the sentient (Chit)

and insentient (Achit) entities are His body. He

supports, controls and makes use of them. Another

interpretation would be ``Visishtayor Advaitam,'' the

Oneness of the Lord, who exists in two different states

- the causal state and the effect state. In the causal

state, God has the subtle Chit and Achit as His body,

whereas in the effect state He has the gross Chit and

Achit as His body. Either way the ``Sarira- Sariri

Bhava,'' the cornerstone of this philosophy, is

forcefully presented. Yamuna, no less than Ramanuja,

staunchly upholds this concept. So, though he does not

use this term there is no denying the fact that Yamuna's

contribution to the Visishtadvaitic view of life and

Reality is substantial. ``A rose, called by any other

name, would smell as sweet''.

 

The amount of spade work the author has done to unearth

the gems embedded in Yamuna's composition is quite

remarkable. He has gone through all available writings

of Yamuna with a fine tooth comb and wherever there are

gaps he has tried to cement by reference to obiter dicta

made by later commentators like Vedanta Desika. He has

given a detailed analysis of the contents of Sristuti,

Stotraratna, Gitarthasangraha, Agamapramanya and the

Siddhitraya and traced the evolution of thought in these

masterpieces. Visishtadvaithins take pride in declaring

that theirs is not just Vaishnavism, but Srivaishnavism

because of the unique position accorded to Sri or

Lakshmi in their theology. This aspect is well brought

out by Yamuna in his Chatussloki wherein he has

explained the crucial role played by Sri, who is

literally the bosom companion of the Lord. Eternally

associated with the Supreme Being, Sri represents the

most exalted quality of God - Daya or mercy. The Lord

rules by law and Lakshmi by love. She wins the Lord by

Her natural sweetness and beauty and acts as the

compassionate mediator between God and the Jiva.

 

The Stotraratna, the sequel to the Chatussloki,

establishes Lord Narayana as the means (Upaaya), the end

(Saadhya) and the goal (Praapya) of all human endeavour.

Yamuna bows down in all humility before the paradox of

the supremacy (Paratva) of the Lord riding in tandem

with His easy accessibility (Saulabhya). This `gem of a

hymn' highlights in a set of mellifluous verses the

unfailing efficacy of total surrender to the Lord

(Saranagati or Prapatti).

 

The thirty-two verses of the Gitarthasangraha give an

epitome of the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita which in

turn is the essence of the Upanishads. Ramanuja

acknowledges that his own masterly commentary on the

Gita was inspired and guided by this work of Yamuna, who

stresses that loving devotion to the Lord (Bhakti) is

the saadhya while karma and jnana, selfless service and

realisation of one's subordination to the Lord, are the

saadhanas.

 

The Agamapramanya is devoted to establishing the

revealed character (Apaurusheyatva) of the Pancharatra

Agama literature. Yamuna revels in crossing swords with

the Bhattas, Prabhakaras and Advaitins regarding the

validity of Pancharatra.

 

The Siddhitraya, the longest and most important of all

the compositions of Yamuna, is the source book of

Ramanuja's Sri Bhashya, for Ramanuja freely quotes or

adapts many of the arguments and points of philosophic

importance employed by Yamuna. The Atmasiddhi discusses

and establishes the true nature of the Aham; the

Isvarasiddhi establishes the existence of the Supreme

Being; and the Samvitsiddhi refutes the Advaitic

conception of Maya and the Buddhist conception of Samvit

or consciousness.

 

The author has thus succeeded in bringing out the

immense impact of Yamuna's works in moulding the core

tenets of the charming philosophy that has come to be

known as Visishtadvaita.

 

C. S. Ramakrishnan

 

------------------------

Section Index | Previous Story | Next Story |

------------------------

 

Front Page | Lead Stories | National | International |

Regional | Opinion | Sport | Entertainment |

Miscellaneous | Classified |

 

Home | Site Map | Search | Archives | Advertisers |

What's NEW | About HOL | Feedback |