Who is Ramanuja ?

gokulkr · October 1, 2007

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WHO IS RAMANUJA?

Sri Ramanuja is the renowned 11th Century philosopher, devotee, and humanitarian who serves as the paradigmatic leader and central figure in a vast lineage of scholars and mystics belonging to the spiritual path of Sri Vaishnavism, a monotheistic religious tradition of India that has been described by both Eastern and Western scholars alike as being the most complete in its understanding of the Vedas, the Eternal Truths. His contributions to this spiritual path were so vast, that Sri Vaishnavism itself has come to be known as Ramanuja Darshanam, Ramanuja’s Vision.

Sri Ramanuja’s nine great philosophical and devotional works validated and united the his lucid understanding of ritual and philosophical ideals of the Vedas with the devotional outpourings of the Azhvars, the twelve mystical saints that form the basis of the Sri Vaishnava experience. Such a synthesis of scholarly understanding and heartfelt devotionalism lies at the center of Sri Ramanuja’s philosophy, which has come to be known as Visistadvaita, qualified monism.

Visistadvaita suggests the idea of a Personal Supreme Being, known in Sanskrit as Sriman Narayana (the refuge for all souls), Who is at once the Great Lord and Master of the Universe, and also the Divinely Merciful and Loving Protector, Who is ever striving to redeem souls from the bondage resulting from ignorance and false ego. The unifying factor between the Supreme Being and the individual souls is Divine Love,which is expressed by the Lord in His constant desire to protect and save, and is expressed by the devotee through adoration, surrender, and selfless service. The goal of human life in the Sri Vaishnava path is to awaken this Love for God in our hearts to a level that brings peace, strength, and higher purpose to this life, and eventually, salvation through a natural and heartfelt submission to the Lord's Boundless Grace.

In addition to being a prodigious thinker and esteemed religious leader,

Sri Ramanuja was also revered for his magnanimity and humanitarianism. His instructions to his disciples were that the message

of the Sri Vaishnava path should be shared with all, irrespective of race,

caste, creed or gender. Such an open and inclusionary attitude allowed

the Sri Vaishnava message of love and service to God and His Creation

to break through the rigidities of caste and communal segregation and

reach every corner of India. Such a peaceful revitalization of Vedic

thought would directly and indirectly elevate the spiritual ideals of India

for centuries, influencing such great souls as Ramananda, Tulsidas,

Kamban, Pothana, Guru Nanak, Kabir Das, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,

Mirabai, Swaminarayan, and most recently, Mahatma Gandhi.

During his time on earth, Sri Ramanuja appointed 74 of his closest

disciples to serve as keepers and propogators of this proper

understanding of the Eternal Truths. These 74 disciples and their

continuous lineage of successors up to the present day have come to

form the Acharya Paramparai, the lineage of Spiritual Teachers. It is this

lineage that each and every person is given the opportunity to link to in

their formal initiation into the Sri Vaishnava faith.

This link is likened to a beautiful necklace, which is depicted in the illustration on page 6. Sri Ramanuja serves as its main jewel, and the lineage of teachers that preceded him and follow him are precious gems that come to completion at the clasp, the Lord Sriman Narayana Himself. A Sri Vaishnava's daily spiritual practice includes meditation on this lineage. Along with one's own immediate Acharyas, the meditation proceeds through the necklace, which lists the Acharyas in reverse chronological order as follows:

• Sri Manavala Mamunigal

• Sri ThiruvaiymozhiPillai

• Sri PillaiLokacharya

• Sri VadakkuThiruvidhiPillai

• Sri Nampillai

• Sri NanJeeyar

• Sri ParasaraBhattar

• Sri Embar

• Sri Ramanuja

• Sri Parankusa

• Sri Yamunacharya

• Sri RamaMisra

• Sri Pundarikaksha

• Sri Nathamuni

• Sri Sattakopaya

• Sri Vishvaksena

• Sri (Maha Lakshmi, the Divine Mother)

• Sridhara (SrimanNarayana)

The chain is garlanding the rahasyatrAyam, the three Great Secret Mantras, that every Sri Vaishnava mediatates upon daily to understand his/her true nature, the nature of God, and the relationship of Divine Love that binds us to Him Eternally.

The first of these mantras is known as the Moola mantram, which was revealed by Sriman Narayana Himself to His Disciple Nara in his Nara-

Narayana avathara. The second mantra is the dvayam, which the Lord revealed to Sri, the Divine Mother. The last of these mantras, and most well-known is the charama sloka, which was revealed to Arjuna by the Lord in His avathara as Sri Krishna in Sri Bhagavad Gita.

While they may continue to be known as "secrets", it is solely through

the Compassion of Sri Ramanuja that these mantras were made available

to anyone and everyone. Indeed, in a paradigmatic example of his

resolve, Sri Ramanuja proclaimed the greatness of one of these mantras

from the top of a temple tower immediately after his Acharya had

revealed it to him under the condition that he reveal it to no one else.

When confronted by the teacher for what was an act of blasphemy, Sri

Ramanuja replied that he would risk eternal condemnation if it meant

that just one soul could achieve the Lord's Highest Abode. It is at this

point that the Acharya, Thirukoshtiyur Nambi, in awe of his kindness,

would proclaim him to be EmperumAnAr, our Lord of Lords. And it is

for this Kindness, this Magnanimity to the point of self-sacrifice that can