Share your thoughts on Sri Ramanuja's tirunakshatram: April 18

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH

 

Dear Members,

 

Thursday, April 18, 2002, is cittirai-tiruvAdirai

(mesha-Ardra), the tirunakshatram of Bhagavad Ramanujacharya.

Many of us find ourselves in distant corners of the

world, without anyone to share in the appreciation of our

acharya. To provide at least an electronic means of

share in his genius, I invite each of you to contribute

your thoughts and feelings about what you find most appealing

about Sri Ramanuja. What most appeals to you about him?

What is your favorite aspect of his legacy, whether it be in

his philosophy, his literary style, or his life?

 

Please write so that we may all appreciate and honor

him together.

 

emberumaanaar tiruvadigale saranam!

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

Mani

[Guest guest]

What do I like most about our revered Acharya, Sri Ramanuja ?

 

His effort in "marrying" the philosophy of Visishtadwaita and the Sri Vaishnava

sampradayam

Laying down the rules for temple administration

His unparalleled love for mankind (Even when told that his head would burst into

smithereens, he proclaimed the "secret" of Dwayam to the mass of people

assembled - Is this love for mankind not enough for us to to remain his servants

for ever?)

 

Acharyan Thiruvadigale Sharanam

Dasan

Narayanan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bhakti-list

cc: kbharat (bcc: Narayanan Vijayaraghavan)

18/04/2002 01:59

sentto-1623086-6009-1019115967-kardiya=hotpop.com

Share your thoughts on Sri Ramanuja's tirunakshatram: April 18

 

 

 

SrI:

SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH

 

Dear Members,

 

Thursday, April 18, 2002, is cittirai-tiruvAdirai

(mesha-Ardra), the tirunakshatram of Bhagavad Ramanujacharya.

Many of us find ourselves in distant corners of the

world, without anyone to share in the appreciation of our

acharya. To provide at least an electronic means of

share in his genius, I invite each of you to contribute

your thoughts and feelings about what you find most appealing

about Sri Ramanuja. What most appeals to you about him?

What is your favorite aspect of his legacy, whether it be in

his philosophy, his literary style, or his life?

 

Please write so that we may all appreciate and honor

him together.

 

emberumaanaar tiruvadigale saranam!

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

Mani

 

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

- SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH -

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[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Ramanujaya namah:

Dearest Srivaishnavas,

 

Today being the Thirunakshathram of our dearest and greatest Sri

Ramanujacharya- Emperumaanaar- Udayavar- Sri Bhashyakarar- ILaya perumAL,

adiyEn wants to enjoy sharing with my two cents worth on the Yathi rAjar.

 

1. Sri Ramanuja is the one who gave the compassion (karuNA) to the Lord

Himself:-) See, the Lord is like the dark clouds that rain on everything

with no partiality. The Lord showers His compassion on all with no bias, and

with no stinginess. He is ParamOdhAran; One who benovelently grants

everything; including hismelf to His devotees; especially the SaraNagathars.

Whhere does the cloud get waters, from the Sea. The cloud takes the water

from the Oceans. Sri Ramanuja is the one who performed the thIrtha

kaimkaryam (water kaimkaryam) at the Lord Varadan's temple for

Thirumanjanam. Those waters thus are able to grant the Lord such compassion

just as cloud gets the water from the oceans. Our Ramanuja is the Ocean of

dayA; Ocean of Comapssion! dhayaika sindhO! Ramanujasya CharaNau SaraNam

prapadyE!

 

2. There is none equal to me. (or us:-)

 

Thiruvarangatthu amudhanAr says: (in Iraamaanusa nooRRanthAthi)

 

irainjappadum paran Isan aranganenRu ivvulagatthu

aRam seppum aNNal rAmAnusan * en aruvinaiyin-

thiRam seRRu iravum pagalum vidaathu en sinthaiyuLLE

niRainthu oppaRa irundhAn - ENAKKU YAARUM NIGARILLAIYE?

 

47. Emperumaanaar- Sri Ramanujacharya declared that Sri RanganAthan- the

reclining Lord of Srirangam on AdhisEshan- is the One praised by Vedas, One

worshipped by everyone including even Nithya sooris and is also Our Lord. He

showed the Lord to the world that was filled with adharmam (non virtuous).

He simply destroyed my karmic diseases, that can not be overcome by

praayacchitthams or experiencing various births (for the sins are so huge

and great quantities). Not only did he do that to me, He also resided in my

heart at all times in the day and in the night, without leaving me even for

a fraction of second. There is NO PARALLEL or EQAUL to His mercy of residing

in my heart. There is none EQUAL TO ME, who is blessed with this BhAgyam.

(47)

 

Swamy Vedantha Desikan in YathirAja Sapthathi- 28 describes very

beautifully:

 

May victory be to Ramanuja - YathirAja- who is the mountain wherfrom the

perennial rivers of Vedas flows always, who is the GRAND tree offering

solace to the tried pilgrims (us:-) of samsaaraa; who is the rising sun,

dispelling the snows of maayaavaadins; who is the Full Moon gladdening the

waves of the Vedas (kaattiya vEdam kaLippuRRathu:-)

 

Again, let us enjoy Thiruvarangatthu amudhanAr (61st verse)

 

61. Emperumaanaar- Sri Ramanujacharya shines so gracefully that those

Bhagawathas, (who always think that Emperumaan Sriman Narayanan alone is

everything to them) come to him, take refuge at his Lotus feet and pay

obeisance to him. But, Sri Ramanuja, the most merciful One came to me, (the

lowly self, who was deeply immersed in the cruel karma bhandhams, and in the

world of tremendous sorrows and samsaaric afflictions) and enslaved me. What

a KaaruNyam! Not just that. He has gone searching for others (like me) if

any one else is left out for being saved. Thus, the whole earth is awe

struck with his greatest dayA on humanity.

 

I am dull headed and can not understand the rich and deep philosophy of

Ramanuja. His divine beautiful form alone is enough for me to behold in my

eyes.

Sri Ramanujacharya with His towering personality- Fair complexioned- with

dwAdasa oordhva pUndram (12 ThirumaN), the pristinely pure saffron sanyaasi

robe (that adds beauty to the fair complexion further), the dark tresses

curly hair of sikhA which is so charming on His moon like Divine smiling

face laden with dayA on us, (Charming Most graceful Thirumukham), the white

bright pooNool (yagnOpaveedham), the strong thridhaNdam, the lovely Lotus

feet- Oh Lord! What a sight It could have been, to those Srivaishnavas must

have been blessed with!

 

How nice it would have been to witness Sri Ramanujacharya, walking so

gracefully with such an enchanting personality, with his group of sishyas of

calibre like KooratthAzhwAn, MudaliANdaan, Embaar, Boy Paraasara Bhattar,

Kidaambhi Acchaan, and others…. What a sight! Once, even Periya Nambhi (who

had initiated Sri Ramanuja with Pancha smaskaram) saw this group coming in

the front and prostrated on the ground falling flat. When asked, he said "It

appeared to me as if Alavandhaar is coming with his sishyas!

 

This scene of Divine Beauty of Sri Ramanuja reminds me of Embaar's poem on

the azhagu of Ramanuja and declares in the end "illai enaaku edhir; illai

enakku edhir; illai enakku edhirE! "There is none equal to me; none equal

to me; none equal to me!". True!

 

There is NONE equal to us FOR BEING BLESSED WITH Sri Ramanuja (sampradayam)!

 

EmbAr's description:

 

parppOm enatthigazh pai~nkazhal unRan pallavamE viralum/

paavanamAgiya painthuvaraadai pathintha marunkazhagum/

muppuri noolodu munkail yEndhiya mukkOlthan azhagum/

munnavar tandhidum mozhikaL niRaindhidu muruval nilAvazhahum/

kaRpagamE vizhi karunai pozhindhidum kamalkkaNN azhagum/

kaarisuthan kazhalsoodiya mudiyum kana naRRsihai mudiyum/

yeppozhudhum ethiraaJan vadivazhaghu yen idhayatthuL uLLathaal/

illai enakku edhir; illai enakku edhir; illai enakku edhirE!"

 

Embar's enjoyment of seeing Sri Ramanujacharya's lotus feet , tender

fingers reminding one of the creepers, sacred safforn robe, most auspicious

pooNool, thridandam , His enchanting smile laden with dayA , large dark eyes

reminiscent of wish yielding kaRpaka maram (tree), the kudumi (sikhA) formed

by abundant tresses is simply beautiful . EmbAr declares that there is no

one equal to him; since YathirAjan's Divine Beauty lingers in his heart.

 

YathirAjar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo Narayana

aDiyEn dAsan

 

 

_______________

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[Guest guest]

Dear Bhakti-list colleagues,

 

Let us first of all, bow in reverence to Sri Ramanuja,

the great Acharya. Sometime ago, I had the great

fortune of reading His biography in english, published

by Sri Ramakrishna Mission, Chennai. The qualities

that appealed to me most were Sri Ramanuja's great

love for all beings, His utter humility and His deep

devotion to God. May we all, on this great day

remember Him, pray our respects to Him and try to

imbibe some of His great qualities!

 

Swamy swarna

[Guest guest]

SriRAmaJayam,

SrimathE RAmAnujAya nama:

 

Dear devotees,

It's an immense pleasure for me to say that it's Bhagavad

RAmAnujA(I'm very clear in designating Him as Bhagavad b'coz He is

(for me)is sAkshAt Lord PArthasArathy Himself)who inculcated in me

bhakti towards Sriman NArAyaNA. What inspires me is Udaiyavar's

infinite mercy towards humankind. I always pray to Him to give me

such a heart to treat everyone without any partiality. One can go on

talking about EmperumAnAr's Tiru ULLam. But I will stop here by

saying that I consider Him as my AchAryA in heart and mind.

 

AzhwAr EmperumAnAr TiruvadigaLE saraNam

Sarvam krSNArpaNam astu

gita

[Guest guest]

--0-245204138-1019144972=:45986

 

Srilaisesa dayapattram deepakdyadi gunarnavam,

Yatindrap pravanam vande ramyaja mataram munim.

 

Dear Bhaktas,

 

Eventhough we cannot speak in entirity of our esteemed Acharya,

Sri Emperumanar's legendary works in our Vaishanavism, i just

wanted to make an humble attempt to Scale the height of our

Emperumanar's contribution to the upliftment of the downtrodden

masses. We being Sri Vaishanavites, can speak volumes on

Emperumar's qualities and works, but what amazes me is his

greatness, even, in the eyes of Nastikas. I dont want to make an

explicit mention of the leader, who has explicitly quoted our

Ramanuja, as the forerunner in "Samatuvapuram". (Which is the

concept, which has peeped up recently in Tamil Nadu, where

people, irrespective of caste and creed, live in societies in

unison.(Old Butter milk in a new bottle).

 

The greatest quality, which makes me dumbfounded, is his

practical implementation of the concept "Equality of men, in the

eyes of Emperuman". Many people and leaders speak for hours

together in Stages on this topic, but the fact is, this remains

only as a topic in books and never implemented among men. When he

opened up the gates of the temple of Melkote, to all the masses,

people would have really began to think, that God definitely

belongs to all of them and not only to a certain section of the

society.

 

Another incident, which speaks of the same, will be the

proclamation of Thirumandiram to all the people of Thirukottiyur

by our Emperumanar, even after he had made an explicit promise to

his acharya that he wont reveal it to anyone. When his Acharya

explained that he had done a great Acharya Nindanai, and the cost

he would be paying will be, entering the abodes of "Narakam". The

reply, which our Emperumanar gave to his acharya, makes him a

Supreme being, for which, the whole world can follow him. "I

don’t mind going to the abode of Narakam, when thousands of

people who had heard this, can reach the lotus feet of

Emperuman".

 

Like this, we can keep compiling the incidents, in the life

history of Emperumanar into a voluminous book. I will stop with

this and would like to hear from many other bakthas about our

Udayavar.

 

If I had committed mistakes in any of my above statements, all of

them belongs to me and if I had managed to add, even a small

petal to the greatness of our Ramanujacharya by sharing the above

article, it all belongs to the Thiruvadi of this great Acharya.

 

Adiyen,

 

Ramanuja Dasan,

Varadarajan

 

Azhvar Emperumanar, Jeeyar Thiruvadigale Saranam.

 

 

[ For the sake of historical accuracy, the following should be

noted. The story of Ramanuja climbing the gopuram at Tirukkottiyur

and declaring the ashTAkshara mahAmantra has been discussed

in detail on this list before. The general conclusion that

we have come to is that the earliest biographical evidence

indicates that Ramanuja did not shout out the mantra itself,

as has become popular legend. Rather, he taught the sacred *meaning*

of the mantra openly to those who were around him, without

regard to their qualifications. This meaning (mantrArtha) was,

in fact, the secret that Tirukkottiyur Nambi had Ramanuja

promise not to reveal. This in fact is an act of greater

compassion and does not compromise Ramanuja's catholicity in

any manner. It is to be noted, however, that the earliest

authorities do not say anything about Ramanuja revealing the

*mantra* itself. -- Moderator ]

[Guest guest]

Sri:

SrimathE Ramanujay Namaha:

AzhwAr EmperumAnAr Jeeyar thiruvadigalE Saranam

Appan thiruvadigalE Saranam

 

bhakti-list, Mani Varadarajan <mani@a...> wrote:

> Please write so that we may all appreciate and honor

> him together.

>

 

Dear Group

 

to follow up on Sri Mani's suggestion, I would like to say that, the

contribution that Sri Ramanuja made to the temple worship is one of

the important aspects of his overall contribution .

 

In particular, the effort Sri Ramanuja put into establishing the

temple workship and management of the four important temples for Sri

Vaishnavas is just impressive given the time period that he lived in.

The four temples are:

 

Srirangam

Thirumalai

Kanchi

Melkote (Thirunarayanapuram).

 

I would suggest all to read the book "Sri Ramanuja and his

contribution to Temple Worship" published by Motilal. It is one of

the comprehensive account of the SriRangam temple administration

(next to koyil olugu in tamil), giving details about each and every

aspect of the day to day administration.

 

In addition, the work also reveals the nuances of Sri Ramanuja's

dealings in Thirumala (given that the priests over there follow

Vaikanasa) and the establishment of what is now known as Keezh

thiruppathi and Sri Govindaraja Perumal temple.

 

the management and leadership qualities that Sri Ramanuja displays is

very impressive, based on the inscriptions of his contributions to

the development of the temples in Karnataka, such as Melkote, Belur

etc.

 

May be, if Sri Mani permits, I can post a summary of the Srirangam

temple management structure from the book.

 

AzhwAr EmperumAnAr Jeeyar thiruvadigalE Saranam

 

Adiyen

Venkatesh Elayavilli

http://www.srivaishnava.org

[Guest guest]

Respected Ramanujadasas,

 

Treating Sri Mani Varadarajan's invitation to share our thoughts on

Sri Bhagavad Ramauja on the very auspicious day of his

Thirunakshatram as a "Niyamanam" adiyen wd like to submit a few

lines. At a time when the authority of Vedas was questioned (by

Buddhism and Jainism), it was given to Sri Sankara to restore the

vedic authority, but he concentrated only on the abeda srutis. Later

a school of thought flourished expounding the bheda srutis.It was

perhaps a Providential design thatSri Ramanuja should convincingly &

comprehensively offer a logical interpretation reconciling the

seemingly contradictory & irrecocilable portions of the Srutis

relying on a firsthand Bodhayana Vritti by a brilliant exposition in

his magnum opus 'Sri Bhashyam'-the commentary on Sri Vyasa's

Brahmasutras. This commentary still remains an authoritative

interpretation of the Brahmasutras. True, the conflicting schools in

the post Ramanuja period raised objections & these have been

adequately met by Sri Vedanta Desika. Sri Vaishnava acharyas after

Ramanuja have concluded that in his mighty task, Sri Ramanuja was in

no small measure guided by Azhwars' Divya Suktis. Sri Bhashyam thus

established the Ubhaya Vedanta Aikakantyam. In a simple sloka in

Ethiraja Saptati(14), Sri Desika pays tribute to Sri Bhashyakarar for

safeguarding the Srutis:

 

"Abahasrutasambhavam sruteenam

jarateenamayathayatha prachaaram;

vinivartayitum yateeswarokthihi

vidadhey taaha sthiraneetipancarasthaha."

 

Srimate Ramanujaya namah.

Ramanujadasan K.Venkatakrishnan

[Guest guest]

Namo Narayana

 

Acharyan RAmAnujan tiruvadigale Sharanam

 

There are a lot of things about Acharyan Ramanuja that

one can mention. What touches me the most is the

effort he took to get the well guarded secrets to

attain the Lotus feet of the Lord.

 

Even greater than that was the concern and love for

all the fellowmen that he had . He did not even mind

sharing the secrets for the benefit of all, knowing

fully well the consequence it would have had on his

own life.

Clearly his greatness and compassion for all us has

flowed to us through the ages.

We can only pay tributes to HIM by spreading his

message atleast amongst our own community and giving

all the knowledge of Prapatti.

 

I thank Mani for thoughtfully including this sharing

session today.

 

RAmAnuja dAsi

 

Yamini

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhagavatas,

 

Acharya Sri Ramanuja exhibited a genuine approach to everything he did -

whether it was correcting his own acharya for incorrect interpretations, his

persuasiveness in obtaining the tirumantra meaning from TiruKottiyur Nambi,

his unselfish attitude in explaining the same to everyone irrespective of

caste/creed, his efforts to protect our sampradAyam at great risk to his own

personal safety from the ruthless invaders, his tireless commitment to

explain the true purport of Vedantic / Upanishadic scriptures through Sri

Visistadvaita philosophy and Sri Vaishnava religion, his brilliant scholarly

works, or his blueprint for the temple management - I see an unmistakable

stamp of sincerity in his approach.

 

-adiyEn,

Sriram