Living in the modern times and Ramanuja

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Ramesh,

 

I can certainly appreciate and empathize with your concerns and

suggestions. As a US raised Asian Indian American, I have struggled

for many years in trying to seek a balance between my religius

interests and my secular responsibilities. So, I must apologize in

advance for my strong opion on this. But, based on my experience,

however, the process of trying to offer 101 and 201 levels of

Vaishnvas practice is far less easier than it seems for several reasons.

 

Part of the problem lies in the often over-used term "samprada:yam"

and our misinterpreting it as being more or less equal to "religion"

or "tradition" in Western life. Seeing things this way makes us think

that Vaishnavam, like Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, is a "religion"

based on a specific set of dogmas, rituals, and polarized notions of

right and wrong that can be applied at various levels of practice to

suit our individual and collective needs.

 

What we need to understand is that what Bhagavad Sri Ramanuja had to

offer was not just another set of sectarian principles that apply only

to a specific set of followers. Rather, his incomparale contribution

to this world was one of the most, if not the most, comprehensive and

wholistic understandings of Veda ever offered. Veda is so vast, so

rich, that to say that it could be boiled down to a single set of

"cookbooks" would do nothing more than limit its ability to inspire us

on spiritual, emotional,and intellectual levels. And, since the Veda

is Eternal and Universal, it really applies us to wherever we are, and

whomever we are, irrespective of whether we live in the USA or in a

Divya Desam in India. And, for that matter, I would like to add thaat

its vast wisdom is something that should apply to all of us, whether

we are Indian, American, Hindu, Christian or Jew.

 

In a sense, the Vedas can be seen as a vast ocean and we, both

individually and collectively, are like receptacles waiting to be

filled with enough of its "waters" of wisdom and spiritual insight to

the capacity that is necessary for our well-being. And, the only

person who is knowledeable and capable of knowing how much Vedic

knowledge to provide and to whom it should be gifted to is the

Acharya; it is only a matter of our respectfully submitting to him

with the desire to learn and apply.

 

So, if I were to offer any "practical" solution as to how to preserve

and promote the "spiritual attitude" that has come to be known as

Ramanuja Sampradayam, it would be to simply encourage everyone to

place themselves under the care of qualified Acharya, and to learn

with the intent of bettering oneself and this world. In this way,

Vaishnavam can be the dynamic and vibrant spiritual force that once

inspired our ancestors to serve God and Humanity, rather than being

yet another mere "cookbook to salvation" that applies only to a chosen

few.

 

Ramanuja dasan

Mohan