Sripada Ramanujacharya

[Guest guest]

Dear Devotees:

 

Dandavat Pranams.

 

For this very auspicious celebration of the disappearance day of Sripada

Ramanujacharya we are posting as an attached file a more complete version

of his life story with 2 pics while in this text we are adding a summary of

his life.

 

 

Ys

 

Tusti Mohan Krsna das

 

---------

Sripad Ramanujacarya.

 

In the year 1017 A.D. Sripad Ramanujacarya, a partial incarnation of Lord

Ananta Shesha and Laxman appeared on the 'sasthi', sixth lunar mansion of

the

light fortnight in the month of Chaitra, (April-May). He made his appearance

in

South India, Tundiradesha, at Sriperumbudur, about half way between

Kancipuram

and Madras. His fathers' name was Asuri Keshava Somayaji, also known as

Sarvakratu Diksitar, who it is believed was either an advaitin, or a smarta.

His mother was Kantimati, the grand daughter of the great Vaisnavacarya

Yamunacarya. Sri Ramanuja was given the name Ilaya Perumal, by his parents

and

was trained in the various studies of the Alwar saints of South Indian. His

education was mostly given by his father a pandit of the time. When he was

fifteen he was taken to Kancipuram, where he and his cousin Govinda were

sent

to study under the Advaitin Acarya Yadava Prakash. As the years went by and

Ramanujas' maturity advanced. Many times there were philosophical clashes

between

he and his 'advaitin' teacher to the point when Yadava prakash made

arrangements for Ramanuja to be killed. Still unperturbed he preached what

became his "new" philosophy the Vaisnava philosophy of 'Visisthadvaita', or

qualified oneness. Sripad Ramanujacarya directed his new philosophy to

defeating the monistic views of Sankara. Instead of leaving understandings

as

some kind of impersonalistic blank, this is 'maya' or this is 'avidya',

Ramanuja gave relationships to everything, that is, everything has a

relationship to the Lord. He qualified everything. Once Ramanuja was walking

along with his 5 top sannyasi disciples. Stopping by a pond, he took some

prasadam and threw half of it in the water for the fish. Then he got up to

walk on. Just then the fish who had taken the prasadam assumed four-handed

forms and rose up in the air, returning home, back to Godhead. The 5

sannyasis

stopped and begand to disrobe. Ramanuja turned and asked them why they were

not following. They said,

"We are thunder- struck. Please explain what we have just seen.

Otherwise,

how can we follow behind you in this condition?" Ramanuja answered, "You've

seen the power of taking maha-prasadam." They answered, "But we are taking

your maha-prasadam daily, and this is not happening to us." Ramanuja said,

"These creatures have no free will, and therefore make no offense. So they

get

full benefit at once. But you with your free will and human intelligence

make

offenses, and thus you hinder your own progress." Another time Ramanuja

was

talking with his sannyasi disciples, and they asked him how they would ever

be

able to understand the deep philosophy he had written. He said, "What I

have

written ultimately means simply one thing - prapatti (surrender)." But they

continued to argue that they would not be able to fully comprehend his

writings. Then he told a sannyasi disciple to bring one deaf and dumb

tailor

who was just walking by. When the man came, Ramanuja asked them all

to leave him alone with this man. So they got up and left, but one

disciple

looked into the room from a window outside. Ramanuja stood up and motioned

to

the man to touch his feet. The tailor made full dandavats and began to

tremble

and cry in ecstacy as he touched Ramanujas lotus feet. When the disciples

returned, they were amazed to see this man's ecstacy, symptomatic of the

highest transcendental realization. They asked, "How could such a thing like

this happen to him." Ramanuja answered, "He touched my feet in full

surrender.

Although he cannot understand one word of philosophy, being deaf and dumb,

he

has attained all perfection."