Ramanuja’s Doctrine Of Service

[gokulkr]

RAMANUJA’S DOCTRINE OF SERVICE

Among thinkers and scholars, particularly those here in West, Sri

Ramanuja has been recognized for his monumental philosophical ideals,

which completely and accurately summarize the essence of the Vedas

and Upanishads into an integrated message on the nature of God, the

nature of the souls, and the nature of this world. To his followers, the Sri

Vaishnavas, Sri Ramanuja is seen as a beacon light in a long lineage of

teachers, who irrefutably proved how the Eternal Truths of these

mystical revelations are the very same truths that were revealed to us in

the lucid and heartfelt devotional renderings of the Azhvars. But, there is

one other great message that would be beneficial for all of us to learn,

and this can be drawn from Sri Ramanuja’s remarkable life of service

and humanitarianism, which can lead us only further into understanding

what this Great Soul had in mind for all his disciples and devotees.

Each one of us is born at a certain place, at a certain time; to certain

people that we call our parents, and share life with those we call our

siblings, our friends, our spouses, and or co-workers. For those of us

who hail from Vedic heritage, we are born into a particular family

belonging to a particular caste, and each one of us has obligations and

limitations associated with this. Each one of us has followed a specific

path leading to a specific career, and is earning suitable salaries based on

this path. Each one of us has hopes and dreams, interests, hobbies, and

talents. And all of these things, which can only be gifts from God, make

us unique as individuals. But, if we are concerned only with these, the

things that make us unique also keep us separated from one another.

Going one step deeper though, we find that as human beings, we all share similar emotions. We all need to love and receive love in return. We all need friendship and support. We all have times when we need to cry, to sing, to rejoice, to be in our own thoughts. We all need to know that we make a difference in this world and in each other's lives. These human values are universal in nature and take us to a place where we can begin to connect with each other.

But, for those of us who have been blessed to have connection to Sri

Ramanuja through an Acharya, this level of human connection goes one step deeper into an awareness of our connection to Sriman Narayana. For we come to learn that each and every soul, from the one that occupies the body of the smallest ant to the one that is now known as Chathurmukha Brahma (The four-headed god who is responsible for creating the Universe) is in its essential nature, its svarUpam as it is known in Sanskrit, a simple receptacle to the Lord's Grace, and a humble instrument to His Good. This nature of sEshatvam, servitude, is not only

limited to the soul, but is indeed the nature of matter, as well. Consequently, the Lord is likened to the Soul of the Universe, with all the myriad of souls, the bodies in which they reside, and the matter that are their material possessions, being likened to His Body, dependent wholly upon Him and serving as Instruments to His Good. It only stands to reason then that when we seek to love and serve God, we must be willing and able to serve what is His, namely His Body, this Universe.

When we go beyond the things that separate us, when we know that each and every one of us exists solely because of the Grace of Sriman Narayana, and when we know that all living beings are in their True Nature ThirumAl adimai, servants to Sriman Narayana, we can begin to operate from this mood of serving the world as a means of expressing love and servitude to Him, nurturing and caring for each other such that we can serve Him better. This ideal of individual beings working together in a mood of serving a Higher Good, is expressed in Sanskrit as

samAnAdhikAranya (the concept of dynamic dependents), and is revealed in sAstra to be the mechanism behind how this Universe works.

If one can operate from such a place, from a spirit of appreciation for our interdependence centered on Sriman Narayana's Love and Grace, our life, indeed, our very existence, begins to take on a more refined purpose, as it becomes centered on improving ourselves and providing others with the opportunity to improve themselves, such that we can serve Him together. Our relationships with the people in our lives, the obligations of our job, our dreams, ambitions, and talents when seen outside of their

usual mundane significance, become gifts to be appreciated and nurtured, as they have been provided to us by Him solely out of His Unconditional Love. And each and every gift, each and every moment in our life, is provided such that it serves as an opportunity to serve Him and All That is His.

For those of us seeking to live a Vedic life, this dedication to service will

make us see caste as not being a state of high or low, but rather a post in

life that Sriman Narayana has placed us such that we can best serve His

Good.

In time, service itself become its own reward, as it becomes a means of ever-constant way of expressing gratitude to Sriman Narayana for all that He has blessed us with.

While all of this seems to be an ideal that is yet to be achieved by all of

us, we should be aware of the fact that Bhagavad Sri Ramanuja, being

one who understood the truths of the Vedas, was the very embodiment of

these principles. Recognizing that he was to be the greatest example of

what he wished to share, Ramanuja broke free of the traditional bonds of

sanyAsa Ashram, which up until that time had required aloofness and

detachment, to a life of being the "Supreme Servant". Long before the

conditions of society allowed, and centuries before even such great souls

like Mahatma Gandhi had even envisioned the idea, Ramanuja brought

people from all castes and backgrounds, even those from the lowest

strata of society, under the message that has been so well-summed up by

HH Sri Chinna Jeeyar Svami as, "Serve All Living Beings as Service to

God". Sri Ramanuja ensured that each person and each community that

sought to live the Sri Vaishnava way was provided with the opportunity

to serve the Lord in His Temples, in their homes, and in the festivals and

rituals that were geared towards expressing our love for Him. Despite

his erudition and the austerities required of him by his caste and position

as leader of a faith, Sri Ramanuja freely moved about with all of his

people, caring for their welfare, making sure that each was treated fairly

and was provided with the opportunity to utilize his/her talents for the

good of the Sri Vaishnava community.

Sri Ramanuja made certain that all of the 74 disciples that he had selected to promote His Vision, the simhAsanadhipathis or Acharya purushas, had this message of universal servitude and fellowship imbibed in their hearts. And, it is because of this that we are blessed to know it to this day. All that it requires for us to begin on this path is to aspire to live in way that reveres that Very Great Soul, Bhagavad Sri Ramanuja, who brought this message to all of us.

DO YOU KNOW?

That Thiru Narayanapuram (Melkote) has a renowned Sanskrit Research Institute? This institute (called Academy of Sanskrit Research) has in its possession numerous priceless palm leaf manuscripts in Sanskrit pertaining to every field of philosophy.