Ramanujacarya (1)

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April 7th, 2003, Monday (Pancami)

Appearance day of Sri Ramanujacarya

 

 

RAMANUJA'S STUDENT LIFE

 

 

One of Yamunacarya's chief sannyasi disciples was Sri Sailapurna. He

had two sisters, the elder named Kantimati and the younger named Diptimati.

Kantimati was married to a very pious brahmana known as Asuri Kesavacarya.

Because of his expertise in the performance of all five kinds of fire

sacrifice, he was also known as Sarvakratu.

 

Years passed by, and the couple lived happily in the village of

Bhutapuri, but, because they still had no children, Kesavacarya became

disturbed at heart. He decided to perform a fire sacrifice to please the

Lord and thus beg Him for the gift of a son. For this purpose he journeyed

with his wife to the temple of Sri Partha-sarathi on the shores of the

ocean, in what is now the city of Madras. There they performed sacrifices

together, begging the Lord to be merciful to them and grant them the

benediction of a son.

 

Certainly Lord Visnu was pleased by their prayers, for about one

year later Kantimati gave birth to a baby boy, who bore all auspicious marks

on his body. This was in the year AD 1017, and it was this child who grew up

to be renowned all over the world as Sri Ramanujacarya, the great devotee of

Lord Narayana.

 

At about the same time, Kantimati's younger sister, Diptimati, also

gave birth to a son. On hearing the news of the births of his two nephews,

Saila-purna, the intimate disciple of Yamunacarya, came to visit them. He

was astonished to see all the auspicious marks on the body of Kantimati's

son, and he gave him the name Ramanuja, a name of Laksmana which means the

younger brother of Rama. To Diptimati's son he gave the name Govinda.

 

 

MEETING WITH KANCIPURNA

 

As Ramanuja grew, the brilliance of his intellect soon became

apparent. When he began to attend school, he could easily remember anything

he was taught, even after hearing it only once. All the teachers in the

school loved the boy, not only because he was a brilliant scholar, but also

because of his gentle, courteous nature.

 

At that time there was a famous devotee of the Lord named

Kancipurna, who lived in the nearby city of Kancipuram. He was a disciple of

Yamunacarya, and, although he was born in a sudra family, his intense

devotion to the Lord was so apparent that even strict brahmanas would offer

him all respect. Every day he would travel from the city of Kanci to the

village of Poonamalle to worship the Deity there. As Bhutapuri was midway

between the two places, he would daily pass by Ramanuja's house.

 

One evening as Ramanuja was returning home from school, he met

Kancipurna face to face and was immediately attracted by the demeanor of

this holy man. With great humility Ramanuja invited Kancipurna to come to

his house for a meal, and the great devotee readily agreed, being very much

attracted to this gentle brahmana boy.

 

After his guest had finished his meal, Ramanuja began to massage his

feet. At this Kancipurna protested, "I am nothing but a low-born sudra and

am thus your servant. It is not proper for a brahmana like you to deal with

me in such a way."

 

Ramanuja replied, "If my position as a brahmana prevents me from

worshipping a great soul such as yourself, then I consider my birth to be

the most inauspicious. Is it just the wearing of a cheap thread that makes

one a brahmana? Only that person who is fully devoted to Lord Visnu is a

real brahmana, no one else."

 

Kancipurna was filled with wonder and delight to hear the boy's firm

faith in devotional service. Long into the night the two of them sat up

discussing topics about the Lord and the ways of devotion. That night

Kancipurna stayed at Ramanuja's house and proceeded on his journey the next

morning. From that day forth both of these great devotees were bound

together by the love that each bore for the other.

 

 

MOVING TO KANCIPURAM

 

When Ramanuja was only sixteen years old, his father, Asuri

Kesavacarya, wanted to get him married. Accordingly, he selected a beautiful

young girl to be his son's bride and made all the arrangements for the

wedding celebration. The festivities lasted for an entire week and all the

poor people of the neighborhood were satisfied by the distribution of large

amounts of prasadam. After the couple had been married for only one month,

however, tragedy struck the family - Kesavacarya left this world. Kantimati

was afflicted with terrible grief, and for Ramanuja also it was a time of

great sorrow. Now that Kesavacarya had left them, Bhutapuri was no longer a

happy place for the family, and they decided to move to the city of Kanci.

Ramanuja went first to construct a residence for them, and when it was

completed they all moved there.