ADMIN: A Restructuring of the Bhakti List -- A Return to Ramanuja

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SrI:

SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH

 

Dear Members,

 

I had long ago promised a restructuring of the Bhakti List.

This is long overdue, and I have missed my own deadline

several times. At long last, I have prepared a new set of

guidelines for the group. Please read it below.

 

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The Bhakti List is a moderated email discussion group

for serious discussion of Sri Vaishnava philosophy

and religious practice. Specifically, this list is

dedicated to exploring the meaning and relevance of the poems of

the Alvar saints (Divya Prabandham), the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Srimad

Ramayana, and related core texts, as understood through the works

of Sri Ramanuja, who is the central philosopher of this

tradition.

 

For quite a while, this list has tried to be all things to everyone.

All topics were allowed, as long as they were somehow related to

the Sri Vaishnava tradition. As many of you have noticed, this

has proved unworkable in recent months, and the list has totally

lost its coherence. Many threads of discussion end up in minutiae,

bearing little relevance to both practical or serious philosophical

concerns. There are many posts of purely local importance, announcing

some event or lecture. And there are of course the parochial, emotional,

and sectarian outbursts, from which little is learned and nothing is

gained.

 

However, what has disturbed me most is that today there is little or

no discussion of the works and philosophy of Sri Ramanuja himself,

at any level. The works of the greatest and most revered philosopher

are often left in the rubble of other discussions. What discussions

do go on often demonstrate a patent ignorance of even the basics of his written

words, or of the ideas contained in the texts upon which he drew for

inspiration. It is painfully clear to me that if all our members studied the

works of Sri Ramanuja in even the most elementary fashion, our level of

discussion would rise a hundredfold and all of us would be the better for it.

 

Given all of this, I am now announcing a radical restructuring of the

scope of discussion in the Bhakti List. The Bhakti List will now be

dedicated strictly to the discussion of the works of Sri Ramanuja and the

Alvars, and the texts upon which they based their works. That is

to say, it will be a forum to explore and share the written ideas

of Sri Ramanuja and the Alvar saints and their predecessors, and how

to put them in practice. What exactly this means I hope will

become clear below, and will become clearer as this new moderation policy

is put into practice.

 

I understand there is a need to discuss other more general issues.

For other related Sri Vaishnava topics, I have created several other

forums which you are invited to join. All together, on ,

we have:

 

bhakti-list : For discussion of the Vedanta philosophy embodied

in the works of Sri Ramanuja and the Alvars

sv-rituals : Discussion of daily and occasional rituals,

household and temple worship, festivals, feasts,

and "how to" questions

sv-poetry : For discussion and presentation of Vaishnava poetry

with a Sri Vaishnava focus, but not restricted to

strictly Sri Vaishnava poets (unlike Divya

Prabandham

which is to be discussed in bhakti-list)

sv-lectures : Announcement of Sri Vaishnava telephone and live

lectures

sv-general : General discussion of Sri Vaishnava topics,

including

biographies of saints, legends, etc. Announcements,

requests, doctrinal debates generally permitted as

long

as they are conducted with decorum.

 

There are also several other forums such as where one may learn a

great

deal about these other topics.

 

The rest of this email will discuss the new moderation policy of the Bhakti

List.

 

 

What topics and texts can be discussed on the Bhakti List?

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

I wrote above that the primary focus will be the works of Sri Ramanuja

and the Alvars, and the texts upon which they based their works.

This means that discussion should focus directly on the words

of the Alvars and Sri Ramanuja, on the texts upon which they

take for elaboration, or on topics which fall *directly* from

their words. This includes the following:

 

o Veda and Vedanta, particularly the principal Upanishads

o Bhagavad Gita

o Brahma-Sutras

o Sri Ramanuja's commentaries on the above

o Sri Ramanuja's Three Gadyas and the Nitya

o The Alvars' Divya Prabandham and, secondarily, their commentaries

o The works of Yamunacharya (Alavandar)

o Sri Vishnu Sahasranama and other important parts

of the Mahabharata

o Sri Ramayana

o Vishnu Purana

o Other related ideas such as yoga, meditation, and

daily life as a Vaishnava which arise *directly* out

of the above texts

o How these ideas contrast with those of other philosophers

 

The key is that discussion should primarily center around philosophical

or poetic ideas drawn *directly* from the above mentioned authors

and texts. In our list, I want us to focus on learning what Sri Ramanuja and

the Alvars *themselves* said, and not on later formulations or reformulations.

The later doctrines may or may not be faithful to the original; that

is not the point at hand. Too often the core texts, the Alvars' words,

and the expositions of Sri Ramanuja are neglected in their original and

are viewed and straightjacketed through the colored glasses of subsequent

doctrinal formulations. The end-result is that the original ideas are lost

in the shuffle.

 

We need to return to studying the Vedanta, Sri Ramanuja, and the Alvars

directly.

 

Explanations of subsequent acharyas and their works are welcome

provided they are directly elucidatory of an Alvar paasuram, and idea

of Sri Ramanuja, or an idea from a core text. Otherwise, they are

probably more relevant in one of the other forums.

 

What may *not* be discussed on the Bhakti List

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

For that reason, I am going to disallow the following:

 

o Expositions of teachings of later acharyas -- Kurattalvan,

Bhattar, Pillai Lokacharya, Vedanta Desika, Manavala Maamuni

included -- unless *directly* explanatory of the above texts or topics

will unfortunately no

 

In other words, just for the sake of circumscribing discussion,

discussion of the poetry/stotras or the 'rahasya' works of these saints

will *not* be allowed. But things such as Bhattar's sahasranAma

bhAshya, Desika's Upanishad Bhashya or amalan Adi pirAn vyAkhyAnam,

or Manavala Maamuni's Periyalvar Tirumozhi vyAkhyAnam is more than

welcome. Remember, the focus should be on the core texts.

 

o Discussion of rahasyas and prapatti (self-surrender or saranaagati)

and the corresponding doctrinal differences and debates will be

very restricted. I strongly feel that these topics should be

discussed in private with learned people and in small study groups

with a lot of self-reflection. What we discuss in the Bhakti List

should arise clearly and directly out of the works and words

listed above.

 

o Posts centering on hagiologies, traditional histories (sthala-purANa),

etc., will not be allowed unless their content is placed in philosphical

or poetic context or they are drawn directly from Divya Prabandham, etc.

These should go to one of the other forums.

 

o In general, biographies and tributes, particularly of later-day acharyas and

institutions, are not within the Bhakti List's charter.

 

o Please, no general questions, such as "Why vegetarianism?Why shouldn't

we cross oceans?", etc. Please move these to one of the other forums.

 

o No personal attacks

o No emotional outbursts

o No messages of a purely personal nature, including compliments

o No advertising of any form

o No self-promotion of any form

o No fund-raising of any kind

o No repeat postings

o No announcements of a regional nature

o No lecture announcements

o No politics of any kind

o No "current events" postings

 

If there is a doubt about any of these, please contact me, the moderator.

I reserve the right to make exceptions to some of these from time to time --

but rest assured they will be very rare.

 

Furthermore, all posts should be in English. Whenever other languages are

used, please give at least a rough translation of the passage or word in

English.

 

Dear Members, you may have noticed that I have listed a lot of rules above.

I hope it is not a burden on you; I really don't like stifling discussion.

I find that a free flow of ideas can often result in remarkable dialogue

between fellow seekers of Truth. For that reason, this list was initially

totally unmoderated. Due to the large number of repetitive and off-topic posts,

junk emails, and some needless emotionalism and personal attacks, I have had to

take a much more active role in filtering the articles. Generally, I really

don't like to do this, not only because I don't like disciplining people,

but because I don't have the time (I'm a family man with my own hobbies like

most

of you). I don't believe in policing people's thoughts. Therefore, it's best

if people moderate themselves and behave as they would wish others would behave

with them. All relevant philosophical speculation is welcome and encouraged.

It is just asked that discussion be conducted with certain guidelines and with

respect and decorum.

 

In the coming months, I hope we will rediscover in some measure the joy of the

insights of the rishis, the incomparable passion of the Alvars, and the

unifying brilliance of Sri Ramanuja. Please join me in this quest.

 

I remain,

aDiyEn, rAmAnuja dAsan

Mani