A Day in the Life of our Acharyas - 21

[Guest guest]

Sri:

Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:

 

A Srivaishnava once asked Bhattar to teach him thiru-

ArAdhana-k-kramam. Bhattar then taught him the kramam

as done by Ramanujar. The Srivaishnava followed that

for a long time.

 

At one time he was staying with Bhattar and was

watching Bhattar do thiruvArAdhana-k-kramam. He

noticed that Bhattar was not following anything that

he had taught him.

 

What Bhattar was doing was this: He would take a bath,

wear clothes, wear thirumaN kAppu, go to where he

normally ate, ask his disciples to bring his personal

perumAL, present the food and water to that perumAL

and then himself eat.

 

The Srivaishnava then fell in Bhattar's feet and told

him "adiyEn has a question, but I am afraid to ask".

 

Bhattar said "Have no fear. Ask your question".

 

He said "You taught me the thiruvArAdhana-k-kramam in

one way, but you are doing something totally different.

Why is that?"

 

Bhattar replied "Looking at all sastras, I did not

find anything different to teach you. Looking at the

same sastras, I did not see anything different for

myself to do".

 

That is, an acharya will teach his disciples many

things in order to correct them, help control their

senses and turn them toward the Lord. But the acts

of the same acharya toward the Lord is beyond the

understanding of the disciples.

 

Azhvar Emberumanar Jeeyar Thiruvadigale Sharanam