SrI UttamUr SwAmi : A Legend in His Lifetime

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SrI:

SrI PadmAvati samEtha SrInivAsa ParabrahmaNE namaha

 

SrImad abhinava dESIka UttamUr VAtsya VeerarAghavArya -

mahAdESikAya namaha

 

SrI Lakshminrusimha divya pAdukA sEvaka SrIvaN SatakOpa SrI -

nArAyaNa yateendra mahAdESIkAya namaha

 

Dear devotees,

namO nArAyaNa.

 

First of all, adiyEn would like to convey my sincere thanks

to all the devotees who have kindly come forward to support

this very important project of republishing the invaluable works

of SrI UttamUr swAmi. adiyEn requests those who have missed

the earlier appeals, to kindly gothrough the archives

starting from later half of March, 2000.

 

In the forthcoming days, adiyEn will post some very interesting

articles on the Life and Works of SrI UttamUr swAmi. Please

don't miss it and you will certainly enjoy those articles

written by eminent scholars and devotees. Its highly inspiring.

Kindly take time to relish the forthcoming series of postings.

 

There can't be a better auspicious day to start the series of

postings than the most auspicious day of thirunakshatram (birth-

star/birthday) of our most beloved Bhagavad RAmAnuja.

 

Following is the edited version of an article that

appeared in the daily "The Hindu" on 17th Jan 1997,

on the eve of the centenary celebrations of SrI

UttamUr SwAmi. This is a very short article to just give a

feel about SrI UttamUr SwAmi. More in the future ....

 

UTTAMUR SWAMI : A LEGEND IN HIS LIFETIME :

**********************************************

 

Among the contemporary scholars of the ViSishtAdvaita

tradition, SrI UttamUr VeerarAghavArya MahAdESIkA Or

UttamUr SwAmi as popularly known, achieved the unique

distinction of being hailed as "abhinava dESIka" and

undoubtedly earned the respect and gratitude of both the

scholars and layman alike, for the signal service he has

rendered in the cause of SrI-VaishNava religion and

ViSishtAdvaita Philosophy. He became a legend in his

lifetime (1896 - 1983) a name to reckon with, both in

the religious and academic spheres, which earned him

laurels not only from the religious heads of the various

SrI VaishNava Muths, but also from the AchAryAs of other

traditions including SrI ChandrasEkharEndra Saraswati of

Kanchi Muth (who followed the philosophy of advaita).

 

This attests to his profound scholarship in the various

philosophical traditions, proficiency in sanskrit and

other languages, and polemical skills which he applied

with great elegance in his original writings and also to

publish the works of the AchAryAs and the literature of

the Ubhaya-vEdAnta tradition, which alltogether number

more than 160 - a stupendous feat for an individual.

 

Hailing from UttamanallUr, a village near MadhurAntakam

in chingleput district of Tamilnadu, the swAmi belonged

to the nallAn chakravarthi lineage. He mastered the tarka

SAstra, vyAkarana, pUrva and Uttara mImAmsa with

remarkable ease and the turning point in his carrier was

his training in the Ubhaya-vEdAnta under the guidance of

SrI RangarAmAnuja MahAdESIkan, popularly known as SrI

KOzhiyAlam swAmi, which made him blossom into a full

fledged AchArya.

 

He travelled during the course of his career which took

him as far as Pushkar (RAjasthAn) until he retired from

SrI VEnkatESwara Oriental College, Tirupati. He started

writing right from the beginning of his career and after

retirement, he took upon himself the dissemination of

Ubhaya-vEdAnta through KAlakshEbams, UpanyAsams and

Publications. The establishment of Ubhaya-VEdAnta-

GranthamAlA in Chennai was a landmark in his publishing

efforts.

 

It must be said to UttamUr SwAmi's credit that his works

have received unqualified praise from all quarters. His

magnum opus "ParamArtha BhUshanam" was prescribed as the

textbook of advanced study in VEdAnta by Beijing

University. SwAmi was the first recipient of the President

of India's Award for proficiency and contribution to

Sankrit, in 1960.

 

Some of the titles that were conferred on him are

TarkArnava, Pandita Ratna, Pandita MArtAnda, Pandita

BhooshaNa, PoorvOttara MImAmsa Pradeepa and Ubhaya mImAmsa

vallabha. The title "abhinava dESIka" (newer VEdAnta dESika)

was conferred upon him on his Sashtiabdapoorti (60th birthday)

in 1957 and also "Ubhaya VEdAnta Vijaya Dwaja" and "SarvAtma

RakshAmaNi" on his SatAbhishEkam day (80th birthday) in 1977.

 

Poised as he was in tradition both by precept and practise,

he was the natural successor to SrI KOzhiyAlam swAmi in the

Munitraya AchArya parampara. It is significant to note that

he remained in GruhastAshrama (as per the instructions of his

AchArya, in order to mainly carry out the books publication

work). Such was the respect he commanded from his contemporaries.

 

As the oft quoted saying, lives of great men must make ours

sublime, that of one who has lived amongst our midst not so

very long ago must indeed inspire us to tread the path he had

blazed. One way to do so would be to show our gratitude and

compensate atleast in a small measure for what such AchAryas

have bequeathed to us by remembering them atleast during their

thirunakshatrams (and supporting the republication of their works

etc).

-------

 

adiyEn humbly requests other devotees also to join this series

of postings, by offering comments etc on these articles and

share their feelings regarding SrI UttamUr SwAmi and his

works, and the importance of this reprinting project. It would

be great if the devotees can also post their independent

articles about SrI UttamUr swAmi and their personal experience

upon reading his works. Thanks a lot in advance.

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

anantapadmanAbhan.

krishNArpaNam.