AchArya abhimAna...

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srisailEsa dayapAtram dhIbhaktyAdi guNArNavam |

yatIndrapravaNam vandE ramya jAmataram munim ||

 

Sri:

Srimathe Ramanujaya nama:

 

Dear devotees,

Most of us have faith in PerumAL/Lord but all of us are

not fortunate to have the Lord Himself as an AchArya. So,the Lord

corrects us through an AchAryA and contact with bhAgavatAs. So, the

grace of an AchAryA is essential for "knowledge". I have been

obsessed with AdisEsA/Ramanuja since my third grade,though he might

have been dormant initially,without his grace i would not be writing

this post and couple of years back,for fraction of a second I got

attracted to Advaita philosophy,but was gripped tightly by Ramanuja.

Therefore I attribute this knowledge to only Ramanuja. TirumUla

mantram explains the significance of the "need of an AchAryA" and

those who are not familiar with the TirumUla mantram/ASTAkshara

mantram,please read the postings of Sri TCA Venkatesan.

 

Remember that the Lord has both mercy and unlimited

autonomy! Although AchAryA's love and God's grace are virtually the

same,resorting to the all-merciful AchAryA is without the danger of

resorting to the Lord who has both mercy and autonomy. Sri Vachana

BhUSaNam argues that AchArya abhimAna is not only a

separate/independent means but also superior/ultimate means

(caramOpAya)given the ultimate limits of the soul's nature and

destiny.

 

AbhimAna means bhakti-love

 

The relationship between the AchArya abhimAna and prapatti

is similar to the one between prapatti and bhaktiyOgA.

 

PiLLai lOkAchAryA[sVB 444-5]says:from fear of one's own

autonomy,bhakti is dropped;from fear of the Lord's autonomy,prapatti

is dropped. In SVB 462,PL says,"prapatti is for one who is incapable

of bhakti;AchArya abhimAna is for one who is incapable of prapatti".

 

MaNavALa mAmunigaL in his commentary on the same[sVB 444-

5,462] says: bhakti is dropped in favor of prapatti primarily because

of the autonomous/self efforts that bhakti demands is contrary to the

soul's true nature of dependence and secondarily it is very difficult

as compared to prapatti. Prapatti is dropped in favor of AchArya

abhimAna primarily because of the fear that the Lord,out of His

autonomy,may again decide to keep the soul in samsAra and punish him

according to his karma and secondarily due to the difficulty of

maintaining the "great faith(mahA vishvAsam)" essential to prapatti.

 

Madhurakavi AzhvAr and Vaduga nambi(Ramanuja's disciple)are

the classic examples of holding "AchArya abhimAna" as their "sole"

upAya and service to AchAryA as their only upEya. Other AzhvArs

praised bhAgavata kainkaryam and sometimes yearned for the Lord,while

Madhurakavi AzhvAr was fully satisfied to serve his

AchArya,NammAzhvAr. Vaduga nambi was so devoted to Ramanuja that he

didn't feel the need to go and worship Lord SriRanganAtha in the

temple! Infact Vaduga nambi accused MudaliANdAn and KUraththAzhvAn

being two-faced for alternatively seeking the Lord and Ramanuja! Such

was their bhakti towards the AchArya.

 

MudaliANdAn:when the lion leaps over from one hill to another,the

little insects, on the lion's body,also get transported with the

lion. Similarly when Ramanuja(lion),leaped over the cycle of birth

and death,we were also saved because of our connection with him.

 

AzhvAr EmperumAnAr Jeeyar TiruvadigaLE saraNam

EmperumAnAr tiruvadigaLE saraNam

nappinnai