mutts, monasteries

January 12, 2002

Pranams,

Thank you for your reply regarding prasadam.

I have next question:

1.Different religious groups have for their followers

the vocation of the monk, like for instance Christians

or Buddhists. For them also they have special place to

live ie. Monasteries, Do the Sri Vaisnavas have

monasteries. When I was in India I have seen many

Temples like for instance Ahobilam Mutt or Sri Rangam,

but the only present were pujaris- grihasthas. I

have’t seen any monks.

2. What are the spirytual practices of Sri Vaisnavas.

Garga Rsib das

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January 15, 2002

Hari Hari,

Pranams.

I would not say that my answers to your questions are

very authenticated, but they may be near to the truth.

1. I thinks you are asking about Sanyaasis. If that is

the case, there are two types of Sanyaasas a) Ajagara

Sanyaasa b) Madhukara Sanyaasa stipulated in Vedas.

But I do not know, what is said about these types

specifically about your part of the Question. But I

do not think that Vedas specify any specific places of

shelter for Sanyaasis. What I know is that they will

have to be completely out of wordly activities and

hence will have to be quite away from the happenings

of this world, primarily mentally and also physically.

Probably they are expected to spend their time aloof

in forests, mountains or any such lonely natural place

doing Tapas. Please check with more learned members.

Now a days, Sanyasis are staying in Mutts. Usually,

each Mutt is headed by a Sanyasi who is esteemly

respected and worshipped by the followers of the

respective Mutt.

2) Spiritual practices fo Sri Vaishnavas : The

following is what I know :

a) Doing Trikaala Sandhyaavandanam every day.

b) Performaing Tiru - Aaraadhanam (worship) to Shree

Narayanan every day as per the guidelines of Aachaarya

Ramanuja. Of course, there is specific / unique way in

which this is done in Sri Vaishnava Sampradaayam which

involves both Sanskrit and Tamil. I am not very sure

whether there are minor differences in the ways

different Sri Vaishnavites perform this.

c) Performing Utsavams in Temples as per the Sri

Vaishnava Tradition. There are many of them, each with

its own great meaning and significance. Learned

members would be able to throw more light on this.

There could be much more, which I am not aware of. Any

of my mistakes in this reply may kindly pardoned by

the learned members of the group, and I may kindly be

corrected.

Hari Hari

--- greg michel <gregokrasz wrote:

> Pranams,

> Thank you for your reply regarding prasadam.

> I have next question:

> 1.Different religious groups have for their

> followers

> the vocation of the monk, like for instance

> Christians

> or Buddhists. For them also they have special place

> to

> live ie. Monasteries, Do the Sri Vaisnavas have

> monasteries. When I was in India I have seen many

> Temples like for instance Ahobilam Mutt or Sri

> Rangam,

> but the only present were pujaris- grihasthas. I

> have’t seen any monks.

> 2. What are the spirytual practices of Sri

> Vaisnavas.

>

> Garga Rsib das

Send FREE video emails in Mail!

http://promo./videomail/

January 15, 2002

Dear Sri Garga Rsi Dasa,

In response to your questions:

greg michel wrote:

>

> 1.Different religious groups have for their followers

> the vocation of the monk, like for instance Christians

> or Buddhists. For them also they have special place to

> live ie. Monasteries, Do the Sri Vaisnavas have

> monasteries. When I was in India I have seen many

> Temples like for instance Ahobilam Mutt or Sri Rangam,

> but the only present were pujaris- grihasthas. I

> have’t seen any monks.

Unlike Advaitic, Buddhist and Catholic doctrine, which place emphasis on

renunciation and cloistered life, SriVaishnavam is an outwardly directed

religious tradition in which love and adoration for Sriman Narayana finds

full expression in service to His devotees. Consequently, as can been seen

from the lives and contributions of many of our greatest scholars, one need

not be a sanyasi to achieve the SriVaishnava ideal.

Be that as it may, however, there are a few rare souls whose commitment,

dedication, and desire to serve the Lord and His World make them qualified to

renounce the secular obligations of married life such that they can serve as

beacons and guides for the community as a whole. These individuals are the

muthAdipathis, the Jeeyars, who are continuing in the scholarly lineage of

Bhagavad Sri Ramanuja and his fore bearers by leading the teaching centers,

the muthams, where they provide service to the community both as spiritual

guides and as intercessors between the Lord and those who seek to serve Him.

It is in this second role where our Jeeyars show a far greater self sacrifice

than monks in any other faith. Because, in the process of interceding on

behalf of a soul in the sacrament of self surrender, the teacher must be

willing to take on the burden of the individual's sins following his

surrender such that this individual is assured of the Lord's Lotus Feet.

These great souls are willing to do so without the slightest hesitation.

The doctrine of self surrender is a unique one, as it can be provided to

anyone who has the simple inclination to do so, irrespective of race, caste,

or gender. Consequently, many of the Jeeyars are constantly traveling,

bringing this message to every corner of India, and in some cases, many parts

of the world. As a result, to find the Acharya in his mutham would be a rare

event.

Instead, the muthams are generally under the care of dedicated students who

are appointed by each Jeeyar to take care of a local mutham until they

return. And, as you have observed, many of these students are householders.

>

> 2. What are the spirytual practices of Sri Vaisnavas.

What a SriVaishnava should do on a daily basis is covered in great detail in

several works of our scholars. I am far from qualified to even begin to list

all these works or to even begin to try and summarize them. But, in an effort

to try and answer your question, my understanding is that for a householder,

SriVaishnava spiritual life is along the lines of the following:

1. Rise before sunrise and chant the name of Hari

2. Bathe with appropriate purificatory mantras

3. Perform the early morning sandhya vandanam (Brahmin SriVaishnavas) and

meditation on the three rahasya mantras

4. Collect alms for the day

5. Collect flowers and tulasi for the Lord

6. Perform the mid-morning sandhya vandanam

7. Perform thiruvAradhana to the Lord in the home

8. Offer and partake of prasadam

9. Study the scriptures under the tutelage of a qualified teacher

10. Bathe and perform evening sandhya vandanam

10. Visit the temple and join in group worship

11. Preach or join in satsangam with other SriVaishnavas

13. Recite prescribed evening verses

14. Partake of prasadam

By the time this is completed, it is normally around 8:00 PM, so the

SriVaishnava should then rest, meditating on the feet of His Acharya.

Of course, the pressures of modern day life have greatly diluted the ideals

described above. What is generally done among mainstream city-dwelling

SriVaishnavas is to serve the Lord in the home with sandhya vandanam and

worship in the morning and evenings, with weekends being reserved for visits

to the temples, learning, and satsangam. The rest of the time, they live like

everyone else, fighting traffic to and from jobs that they must keep in order

to pay the bills and raise a family.

It is important to recognize, however, that SriVaishnavism is as much

spiritual and psychological attitude as it is ritual and tradition.

Consequently, the SriVaishnava sees even secular obligations as a means to

serving the Divine, and makes every possible effort to do his/her job in a

way that is conducive to the world.

I hope this helps.

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

Mohan

January 15, 2002

Hi,

We have Four Ashrams in a life.

1) Brahmacharyam : Early part of life (Childhood)

2) Grihastham : Married life

3) Vanaprastham : Leaving Worldly pleasures

4) Sanyasam : Ascetic life

According to ancient texts, a person who has been in all these 4 ashramas

does surely know what life is and has a fair knowledge of Vairagyam

(Renunciation).

Vijay

-

"Mohan Sagar" <mmsagar

"greg michel" <gregokrasz

Cc: <bhakti-list>

Tuesday, January 15, 2002 6:31 PM

Re: mutts, monasteries

Dear Sri Garga Rsi Dasa,

In response to your questions:

greg michel wrote:

>

> 1.Different religious groups have for their followers

> the vocation of the monk, like for instance Christians

> or Buddhists. For them also they have special place to

> live ie. Monasteries, Do the Sri Vaisnavas have

> monasteries. When I was in India I have seen many

> Temples like for instance Ahobilam Mutt or Sri Rangam,

> but the only present were pujaris- grihasthas. I

> have't seen any monks.

Unlike Advaitic, Buddhist and Catholic doctrine, which place emphasis on

renunciation and cloistered life, SriVaishnavam is an outwardly directed

religious tradition in which love and adoration for Sriman Narayana finds

full expression in service to His devotees. Consequently, as can been seen

from the lives and contributions of many of our greatest scholars, one need

not be a sanyasi to achieve the SriVaishnava ideal.

Be that as it may, however, there are a few rare souls whose commitment,

dedication, and desire to serve the Lord and His World make them qualified

to

renounce the secular obligations of married life such that they can serve as

beacons and guides for the community as a whole. These individuals are the

muthAdipathis, the Jeeyars, who are continuing in the scholarly lineage of

Bhagavad Sri Ramanuja and his fore bearers by leading the teaching centers,

the muthams, where they provide service to the community both as spiritual

guides and as intercessors between the Lord and those who seek to serve Him.

It is in this second role where our Jeeyars show a far greater self

sacrifice