My Intro

[Guest guest]

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan!

 

My name is Mohan Raghavan, although many of the

members of this group will probably know me under my

secular name, Mohan R Sagar. I was born in Mylapore,

but I have spent virtually my entire life here in

Denver, Colorado, which as Sri Varadhan can tell you,

is a beautiful city nestled against the backdrop of

the majestic peaks of the Rocky Mountains. I am a

civil engineer, working for the State of Colorado’s

Department of Transportation.

 

I was blessed to receive emperumAnAr sambhandam

(samAsrAyanam) in 1983, at the Feet of

thiruvenkatamudAyan at Thirumalai, from my father, who

belongs to the periya thirumalai nambi AchArya purusha

paramparai. Although both sides of my family can

trace our origins back through achArya purusha

paramparais in kanchipuram, all of us hail from

branches that settled in Andhra during the 14th

century under the invitation of the Vijayanagaram

Empire. Consequently, while the pride in our

spiritual path and our love for Ramanuja remain as

strong as ever, our familiarity with the nuances of

our tradition have become diluted over the years.

 

My own interest in SriVaishnavam came within months

after taking samAsrAyanam in Thirumalai, when my

Western philosophy professor, an elderly Jewish Rabbi,

inspired and guided me in my study of Ramanuja

SiddhAntam. Much of this came through perusing

through bookstores and libraries (the Norlin library

at the University of Colorado has a good collection of

old books on SriVaishnavam), gathering and trying to

understand whatever I could. Needless to say, the

more I read, the more I fell in love with the

tradition and its teachers.

 

My true interest and exposure to the religion came

after my marriage. My wife, Madhuri, introduced me to

her achAryan, HH Sri Tridandi Sriman Narayana Ramanuja

Jeeyar during his first visit to the US in 1994. The

impact that this amazing individual has had on my life

ever since then has been indescribable. It is soon

after meeting with HH that I came to know our Sri T A

Varadhan, who patiently guided me through the

"doorway" that HH Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamy had opened,

which led me to the all the wonderful bhAgavathas that

form our worldwide SriVaishnava thondarkulam.

 

Currently, I am blessed to be taking a lead role in

the International Ramanuja Society, an educational and

humanitarian organization dedicated to preserving and

promoting emperumAnAr darshanam in a simple, practical

way such that it can be remain open to everyone,

irrespective of race, caste, creed or gender. I hope

to be able to share more about the Society and its

ongoing programs in future postings.

 

What fascinates me most about Ramanuja sampradAyam is

its accessibility and humane outlook. To me, it is

the perfect spiritual path, rising leaps and bounds

over other India-based religions in its combination of

tradition, scholarly understanding and a magnanimous

and inclusionary outlook.

 

I am happy and honored to be a part of this list, and

am looking forward to learning and celebrating the

treasure of treasures that is emperumAnAr darshanam.

I am happy to be sharing the messages in this list

with my wife, Madhuri (HH Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamy

sishyan), and my brother in law, Ranganath (koil

kandAdai vamsam, HH Sri Vanamamalai Jeeyar sishyan).

 

adiyEn dAsAnu dAsan

Mohan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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