Shri Ramanujacharya's Disappearance day - 12th Feb 2003

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Shri Ramanujacharya's Disappearance day - 12th Feb 2003

 

" There is one more confidential story. Ramanujacharya once came to

Puri and

pleased the Lord with many prayers. Jagannatha appeared before him

and said,

`Go and see Navadvipa-dhama, for I will soon appear there in the

house of

Jagannatha Misra. The entire spiritual sky is situated within one

corner of

Navadvipa, My very dear abode. As My eternal servant and leading

devotee,

you should see Navadvipa. Let your students, who are absorbed in

dasya-rasa,

stay here while you go. Any living being who does not see Navadvipa

has been

born uselessly. Just one portion of Navadvipa contains Ranga-ksetra,

Sri

Venkata (Tirupati), and Yadava Acala. O son of Kesava, go to

Navadvipa and

see the form of Gauranga. You have come to the earth to preach

bhakti, so

let your birth be successful with the mercy of Gauranga. From

Navadvipa, go

to Kurma-sthana and join again with your disciples.'

 

" With folded hands, Ramanuja submitted to Jagannatha, `In Your

narration You

have mentioned Gauranga, but exactly who He is, I do not know.'

 

" The Lord mercifully replied to Ramanuja, `Everyone knows Krsna, the

Lord of

Goloka. That Krsna, whose vilasa-murti is Narayana, is the Supreme

Truth,

and He resides in Vrndavana. That Krsna is fully manifest in the form

of

Gaurahari, and that Vrndavana is fully manifest in the form of

Navadvipa-dhama. I eternally reside as Lord Gauranga in Navadvipa, the

topmost abode in the universe. By My mercy that dhama has come within

Bhu-mandala, yet it remains without a scent of maya. This is the

verdict of

scripture. If you say that Navadvipa is part of the material world,

then

your devotion will dwindle day by day. I have placed this spiritual

abode

within the material world by My desire and inconceivable energy.

Simply by

reading scriptures one will not get the highest truth, for the

highest truth

surpasses all reasoning power. Only the devotees can understand by My

mercy.'

 

" Hearing this, the sober-minded Ramanuja was agitated with love for

Gauranga. He said, `Lord, Your pastimes are truly astounding. The

scriptures

cannot know Your opulences. Why isn't Gauranga-nama-lila clearly

described

in the scriptures? When I closely examine the sruti and Puranas, now

I can

see the verses about the Gauranga-tattva. After hearing Your

instructions,

my doubts are gone and the sweet mellows of Gauranga's pastimes have

arisen

in my heart. If You order me, after going to Navadvipa I will preach

Gauranga-nama-lila throughout the three worlds. I will give people

evidence

from the hidden scriptures and establish devotional service to

Gauranga

throughout the universe and make all the three worlds into Gauranga-

bhaktas

and make them chant Gauranga's Name. Please instruct me.'

 

" Seeing Ramanuja's eagerness, Jagannatha said, `Ramanuja, do not

broadcast

like this. Keep the confidential name, pastimes and abode of Gauranga

secret. Only after Gauranga has finished His pastimes will the general

public receive them. For now, preach dasya-rasa, while in your heart

worship

and chant the name of Gauranga constantly.'

 

" Taking the Lord's advice, Ramanuja secretly cultured his attraction

for

Navadvipa. So that Gauranga's pastimes were not revealed prematurely,

Lord

Narayana then led Ramanuja here to Vaikunthapura and mercifully showed

Ramanuja His transcendental form served by Sri, Bhu, and Nila.

Ramanuja

considered himself fortunate to obtain darsana of his worshipable

Lord, when

suddenly he saw the Lord assume the enchanting form of Gauranga, the

son of

Jagannatha Misra. Ramanuja swooned at the brilliance of the form. Then

Gauranga put His lotus feet on the head of Ramanuja, who was thus

divinely

inspired and recited prayers of praise. `I must see Gauranga's actual

lila

on earth. I can never leave Navadvipa!'

 

" Gauranga said, `O son of Kesava, your desire will be fulfilled. When

the

Nadia (Navadvipa) pastimes will be revealed in the future, you will

take

birth here again.'

 

" Gauranga disappeared and Ramanuja, contented, resumed his journey.

After

some days he arrived at Kurma-sthana and saw the place with his

disciples.

During his life he preached dasya-rasa throughout South India, while

internally he was absorbed in Gauranga-nama-lila. By Gauranga's

mercy, he

took birth in Navadvipa as the devotee Sri Ananta Acharya. He went to

Vallabhacarya's house and saw the marriage of Laksmipriya and

Gauranga.

 

From Shrila Saccidananda Thakura Bhaktivinoda's supreme classic book

Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 15.

 

Last Instructions of Shri Ramanujacharya

 

On his death bed Sri Ramanuja is said to have articulated 82

statements to his disciples. It is not an exaggeration to present

these

statements as the essence of Sri Vaishnavam. I give below excerpts of

these,

translated from " Sri Ramaanujar, " pi. sri, sudhEsamitthiran, pp. 250 -

259,

aagaStu 1964 . I apologise for the lack of lucidity of my translation.

(written by Sri Parthasarathy Dileepan).

 

1. Serve God and God's devotees. Serve all devotees without regard to

their

status.

 

2. Have faith in the teachings of AchAryAs.

 

3. Do not succumb to sensual pleasures.

 

4 & 5. Do not put your conviction on trivial saasthraas, have

conviction on

the saasthraas that deal with God.

 

6 - 8. Protect yourself from the five senses.

 

9 & 10. Praise the name of the Lord and AchAryAs.

 

11. All the knowledge you may have will not protect you if you choose

sensual pleasures.

 

12 & 13. It is not enough to control your sensual desires, you must

surrender to the Lord.

 

14 - 17. Do not be disrespectful of sri vaishnavaas for any reason,

including age, caste, etc. You must show respect to them all.

 

18. When you rise from your bed meditate upon your ancestral line of

AchAryAs.

 

19. In front of the sanctum of our Lord, amongst sri vaishnavaas

utter the

words of dvayam. (mentally' Do not utter loudly, as they are

rahaysyams)

 

20. Praise the auspicious qualities of our Lord and AchAryAs.

 

21 and 22. Welcome sri vaishnavas with open arms and praise. Do not

praise

ordinary people for the sake of material gain.

 

23. Pay respect when you see the gOpuram of a temple.

 

24 - 25. Have undying faith in Lord Vishnu.

 

26. Do not find fault with praise of the Lord or devotees.

 

27 - 29. Pay at most respect to sri vaishnavaas.

 

30 & 31. Among sri vaishnavaas do not discriminate between poor and

rich.

 

32. Ignore the faults and praise the virtues of sri vasihnavaas.

 

33 - 35. Consume Sri paadha theertham with respect.

 

36. Do not consider yourself as equal to other devotees. Think of

yourself

as their servant.

 

37 - 39. To purify your sins consume the sri paada theertham of great

saints. For this, do not consider the caste of those saints.

 

40 & 41. Duties of families. (Not described in the text)

 

42 - 44. Visiting temples and securing prasaadam is important.

 

45. Do not boast about your virtues.

 

46. Do not scorn a devotee.

 

47. Do not ignore serving devotees.

 

48. Praise the auspicious qualities of the Lord daily.

 

49. Recite prabhandams like thiruvaaymozhi daily.

 

50 - 58. Do not associate with the ones who only pretend to be sri

vaihnvaas. Do not associate with the ones who find faults with

others. Do

not even look upon those who belittle devotees. Associate with those

who

wish to surrender to the Lord.

 

59 & 60. Ignore the harsh words of other sri vaishnvaas. Always do

good to

them.

 

(From this point onwards I am unable to give numerical listing as the

original text does not give the numerical ordering.)

 

Do not think of the deities of the Lord as just stone or wood. (my

note: In

as much as we give respect to the cloth (the flag of a nation) as the

nation

itself, we need to consider the Divya mangaLa vigraham as the

transcendental

form of Emperumaan Sriya:pathih Sriman Narayanan Himself.)

 

Do not think of your guru (AchArya) as just an ordinary person. Even

simply

saying out loud the caste of a srivasihnavaas is a sin.

 

Do not consider anything related to our Lord as ordinary. There is

nothing

greater than making our Lord and his devotees happy. Insulting a

devotee is

a greater sin than not praying to the Lord. Your duty is to surrender

to our

Lord. Try to live in Thiru naaraayanapuram (mElkOte) at least for

some time.

If you are unable to, where ever you are, live with dvayam in your

tongue.

If you are unable to do even this, serve other srivaishnavaas.

 

Ramanujacarya

 

" The Dawning of Devotion " (by Jeffrey Wallace)

Originally published by The Gaudiya-Vaisnava Society

 

When the religion of the Vedas became weakened due to the influence

of less intelligent men who blindly performed ritualistic ceremonies

and

wantonly killed animals in the name of Vedic injunctions, Buddha

appeared on

the scene as a great reformer. Totally rejecting the Vedic literature

and

substituting his rational, atheistic views, Buddha advocated the path

of

ahimsa, (nonviolence and nirvana-the negation of reality as we know

it) as

the ultimate goal of life. Soon after, the philosophy of

Shankaracharya

overpowered Buddhism and spread throughout India.

 

The authority of the Upanishads and other Vedic literature were

revived by Shankara and employed as weapons to fight the Buddhist

doctrine.

Interpreting the Vedas to draw a particular conclusion, Shankara

established

the doctrine of non-dualism, adwaita-vedanta, stating that all living

entities were on an equal level with God. He prominently stressed

those

texts which afforded an answer to the rationalistic atheism of the

Buddhists, yet the teachings of Shankara were not wholly theistic,

and thus

a further unveiling of the ultimate reality was destined. That

destiny was

fulfilled through Sri Ramanujacharya.

 

 

 

Ramanuja was born in India during the year 1017 A.D. when, according

to astrological calculations, the sun was in the zodiacal sign of

Cancer.

His parents were Asuri Kesava and Kantimati, both from aristocratic

families. Rumanja passed his childhood days in Sriperumbudur, the

village of

his birth. At the age of 16 he was married to Rakshakambal.

 

Only four months after his wedding, Ramanuja's father was struck

with a severe illness and died. Upon the death of his father, Ramanuja

became head of the household and decided to move to Kanchi, a holy

city

famed for its scholars and magnificent temples.

 

In Kanchi there lived a scholar named Yadava Prakash, who w as

renowned for his scholarship in the doctrine of adwaita-vedanta,

nondualism.

No one could surpass Yadava l in his ability to explain Shankara's

commentaries on Vedanta-sutra. Ramanuja enrolled in Yadava's school

and

engaged in the study of Sanskrit and Vedic literature. Although not

at all

convinced by the Shankarite conception, Ramanufa learned his lessons

well

and soon became one of Yadava's favorite students. Thinking Ramanuja

to be a

sincere follower of the conclusions of Shankara, Yadava showed

Ramanufa

special affection, But that affection did not last for long.

 

One day, after delivering a discourse on the Chandogya Upanishad,

Yadava asked Ramanuja to massage his body with oil, as was the

customary

service to be performed by a student in those days. While giving the

massage

ing his teacher, another student came to Yadava for some

clarification on a

point from the morning discourse. The l boy had failed to grasp the

meaning

of the seventh verse of the first chapter, which began with tasya

vatha

kapvasam pundarikam evam akshini. Yadava proceeded to expound an

interpretation which described the sublime qualities of the Godhead

in a

manner which was flagrantly objectionable. On hearing the words of his

teacher, the heart of Ramanuja, which was full of love for the Supreme

Godhead, was saddened, and hot tears streamed down from his eyes and

fell on

the thigh of Yadava. Looking up at the touch of the hot tears, Yadava

could

understand that something was troubling Ramanuja. When he inquired

about

Ramanuja's distress, Ramanuja replied, " O great and wise master, I

have been

sorely afflicted at heart to hear such an unbecoming explanation from

a

noble soul like you. How sinful it is of you to debase the Supreme,

who is

endowed with all gracious qualities and who is the source of all

beautiful

things in this world. From the mouth of such a learned man as

yourself I

would never have expected such a low and deceitful interpretation! "

 

Yadava became so angry that he could hardly control himself. " Well

then, " he scorned, maybe you would like to give your own

interpretation

since you obviously think you know better than l! "

 

In a very gentle voice Ramanuja replied, " Revered sir, there is no

need to give a low-minded interpretation to the verse when the real

meaning

is direct and glorious. "

 

" Then let us hear this meaning of yours which is so glorious! " said

Yadava. Ramanuja then stood and with great humility recited the

meaning of

the verse. " The two eyes of the Supreme are as lovely as two lotuses

that

are blossomed by the rays of the sun. "

 

" I see, " said Yadava. " You speak as though there actually was such a

'Supreme Person.' That is due to your childish ignorance. You have not

learned your lessons properly. You should always remember that the j

Supreme

is without form, without name, and without attributes. That is the

teaching

of the great Shankara. In the future you should not voice your foolish

sentiments! " The words of Yadava were painful to Ramanuja's ears, but

out of

respect for his teacher he remained silent.

 

A few days later a second incident occurred. While explaining a

verse from the Taittiriya Upanishad beginning with satyam jnanam

anantam

brahma, Yadava said that Brahman was intelligence, truth, and the

infinite.

Hearing this explanation, Ramanuja politely added, " Brahman is

endowed with

the qualities of intelligence, truth, and the infinite. This means

that He

is not covered by ignorance as are ordinary living entities, He is

never

untruthful, and His energies are unlimited, not limited. The Supreme

Brahman

is the reservoir of all good qualities, yet He is superior to those

qualities, as the sun globe is superior to sunlight. "

 

The agitation which Yadava felt within his mind made his voice

tremble. " You young fool! " he shouted. " Your conclusions do not agree

with

those of Shankara or any of the previous masters! If you are going to

persist with this useless talk about a personal God, why come here at

all

simply to waste my time? Why don't you start your own school and teach

whatever you like? Now get out of my classroom immediately! "

 

As Ramanuja rose from his seat and quietly left the room, Yadava

began to reflect, " This Ramanuja is not an ordinary boy. If he starts

his

own school, the philosophy of devotion might become a threat to the

philosophy of non-dualism. For the sake of preserving our doctrine,

this

fool should be killed! "

 

Shortly thereafter, Ramanuja opened a small school at his home, and

in no time many people began to come to him to hear his devotional

discourses. Ramanuja's lectures were wholly theistic. He rejected the

concept that the jiva, a living entity, could be equal to the Supreme

Brahman or become God as postulated by Shankara. The living entity,

Ramanuja

taught, is a particle of Godhead, and as such, his position is to

serve the

complete whole. He said that as the hand is part of the body and thus

a

servant of the body, similarly the living entity is part of the

Supreme and

thus his constitutional position is to serve the Supreme.

 

Ramanuja's philosophy became known as visishtadwaita or qualified

non-dualism. Accordingly, the living entities are believed to be

qualitatively one with the Supreme and at the same time quantitatively

different. Ramanuja's assertion was that the quantitative difference

means

that the fragmentary parts of the Supreme are dependent on the

Supreme but

they cannot become the Supreme.

 

The philosophy of Shankara stated that everything is Brahman and

Brahman itself is absolutely homogeneous, undifferentiated, and

without

personality; individuality arose only due to illusion or maya. But

this

concept was staunchly opposed by Ramanuja. His philosophy stated that

there

can never be knowledge of an unqualified object; knowledge necessarily

points to an object as characterized in some way. Ramanuja never

admitted to

an attributeless, undifferentiated Brahman, but rather a Brahman

which is an

attribute of a greater reality: Godhead Himself. He reasoned that as

the

living entities are individual personalities, so too is the Supreme

also a

personality-the Ultimate Personality.

 

Ramanuja further reasoned that if illusion could cover the identity

of the Supreme, then illusion was greater than Godhead. Therefore he

asserted that we are eternally individual personalities and the

Supreme is

eternally the Supreme Personality, but due to our finite nature we are

sometimes subject to illusion.

 

Ramanuja also accepted the theory of transformation rejected by

Shankara. According to Shankara the material world is false; it has no

existence .Ramanuja, on the other hand, said that the material world

is the

energy of Godhead, and the subjective reality does not undergo any

change of

substance in the matter of material manifestation in the same way

that a

singer who creates a song out of his own energy is not diminished due

to his

creation; rather, he becomes more glorious.

 

Neither the material world nor the living entities are conceived of

as being independent of the Supreme Personality in the system of

vtsishtadwaita philosophy. The living entities are a different

manifestation

of the Supreme due to their being endowed with free will, whereas the

material energy is manifest directly under the will of the Supreme.

The free

will of the living entity is an all-important factor, since that free

will

is considered to be the basic principle of reciprocal relations

between

Godhead and the living entity.

 

Ramanuja presented the living entities' relationship with Godhead as

being one of eternal service. According to Ramanuja, when the living

entities are freed from the illusions produced by the material energy

by the

method of devotion and natural love of GodÄlike the dealings between

an

affectionate servant and his masterÄ then the soul enters the

spiritual sky

known as Vaikuntha. Once having reached the Vaikuntha world, the soul

engages in eternal service to the Supreme Person, Narayana (Vishnu).

This

sublime message was daily imparted by Ramanuja to his listeners.

 

Seeing the growing popularity of Ramanuja and the influence which he

had on the people of Kanchi, the proud and arrogant Yadava Prakash

became

restless. Gathering his faithful students by his side, Yadava

said, " This

impudent Ramanuja is a heretic! He is a nuisance to society and a

threat to

our doctrines of non-dualism. I can see no other solution to the

problem

than to kill this rascal! What do you say? " Yadava's disciples were in

complete agreement with their teacher since they too were envious of

Ramanuja. Thus they devised a plan to kill him.

 

On the plea of worshipping the sacred river Ganges, Yadava and his

disciples made arrangements for a pilgrimage to Banaras and asked

Ramanuja

if he would like to join them. Unsuspecting of their treacherous plan,

Ramanuja accepted the invitation. As the group was about to depart,

Ramanuja

requested his cousin Govinda to accompany him. On the fourth day of

their

journey, Govinda was taken into confidence by some of Yadava's younger

students who disclosed the plan to kill Ramanuja.

 

Shocked at the evil intentions of Yadava and his followers, Govinda

took Ramanuja to a secluded place in the forest and informed him of

the

danger. Govinda requested Ramanuja to flee into the forest immediately

before it was too late.

 

Govinda then returned to the camp and told the others that while he

and Ramanuja were looking for wild berries in the forest, a tiger had

pounced upon Ramanuja and dragged his helpless body away. Outwardly

Yadava

and his disciples displayed symptoms of sorrow, but inwardly their

hearts

leaped with joy. Ramanuja was now gone from their lives forever. Or

so they

thought.

 

While wandering across the countryside trying to find his way home,

Ramanuja came to a well where a man and woman were busy drawing water

to

take to their village. The couple offered Ramanuja a cup of water to

relieve

his thirst. After drinking, Ramanuja laid down to rest and fell into a

dreamful sleep. He dreamt that while walking in the forest he saw the

incarnation of Godhead Ramachandra and His consort Sitadevi, who

showed him

the way to his village. When Ramanuja awoke from his dream, the man

and

woman at the well were gone. As he looked around he saw that he was

now on

the outskirts of Kanchi. How he had gotten there he could not

ascertain,

save and except that it was by a miracle.

 

 

Ramanuja resumed his normal life at Kanchi and did not reveal to

anyone that his life had been in danger. Several months passed until

one

day, Yadava and his disciples finally returned to Kanchi after

completing

their pilgrimage. They were staggered at the sight of Ramanuja alive

and

conducting his school as usual. Thinking that their plan might have

been

discovered, they became fearful and abandoned any further plans to

kill

Ramanuja.

 

The fame of Ramanuja continued to spread far and wide. One day as

Ramanuja sat in the solitude of his study, a venerable saint named

Yamunacharya came to his door for alms. Extending his full courtesy,

Ramanuja welcomed the saint into his home. Ramanuja learned that

Yamuna was

from Sri Rangam, the famous temple of Vishnu. In the course of their

discussion, Ramanuja soon realized that Yamunacharya was a qualified

spiritual master of the science of devotion. Overwhelmed with ecstasy

and

jubilation, Ramanuja fell at his feet and asked to be accepted as his

disciple.

 

Yamuna instantly raised Ramanuja up from the floor, and embracing

him with deep love, said, " My child, I am blessed today by seeing your

devotion to God. May you live a long and fruitful life always being

intent

in the service of Narayana, the Personality of Godhead. " Ramanuja then

circumnambulated his guru to invoke auspiciousness, and Yamuna left

for Sri

Rangam

 

Now more than ever, Ramanuja preached the doctrine of devotion with

strength and conviction. So convincing was Ramanuja in his

presentation that

even Yadava Prakash and his followers surrendered and became the

disciples

of Ramanuja.

 

Then one day, a messenger came from Sri Rangam and informed Ramanuja

that his guru was ill and on the verge of death. Ramanuja immediately

departed for Sri Rangam, but was not able to reach there in time.

Shortly

before Ramanuja arrived, Yamuna left his body and entered the

blissful realm

of Vaikuntha.

 

Crossing the river Kaveri, Ramanuja reached the island on which the

temple of Sri Rangam was located, and went directly to the place

where his

guru was lying. Surrounded by a group of his disciples, Yamuna laid

on a bed

with his eyes closed, his arms outstretched at his sides, and his face

shining as if immersed in thoughts of infinite beauty.

 

Momentarily, everyone's attention focused on Ramanuja as he entered

the room and came to sit by the side of his guru. Tears of love

filled his

eyes and he wept, his heart feeling great separation from his master.

The

left hand of Yamurva was poised in the yoga posture for peace, with

three

fingers extended and the thumb and forefinger joined together at the

tips.

His right hand, however, was at his side but clenched into a fist.

All the

disciples were struck with wonder about the position of their guru's

right

hand. and none of them could understand the meaning. As everyone

looked on

in wonder, Ramanuja broke the silence by declaring, " Our guru. the

revered

Yamunacharya. has three desires that he wishes to be fulfilled. I will

protect the people in general who are deluded by impersonalism by

bestowing

upon them the nectar of surrender at the lotus feet of Narayana. "

 

As Ramanuja spoke, one of the ! fingers on Yamuna's right hand

extended outward. Then Ramanuja said, " For the well-being of the

people of

the world, I will prepare a commentary on the Vedanta-sutra that will

establish the Supreme Person as the ultimate reality. " At this, a

second

finger extended, and Ramanuja continued speaking. " And in order to

honor

Parasara Muni, who in ancient times established the relation between

jivas,

I living entities, and iswara. the Supreme Person, I shall name one

of my

disciples who is greatly learned and devoted after him. "

 

Ramanuja then became silent and the third finger on the right hand

of Yamuna extended. Everyone present was amazed to see this miracle,

and

from that day on they all accepted Ramanuja as their leader and guide.

Ramanuja continued to live at Sri RanRam for the remainder of his

life and

in due course all three vows were fulfilled by him.

 

Although he lived for many years as a successful householder,

Ramanuja was destined to accept the path of renunciation. Eventually

he took

up the renounced order of life, sannyasa, by going before the deity

in the

temple and praying to be exclusively engaged in the service of

Godhead. From

that day forward Ramanuja always wore the the symbol of Narayana on

his

forehead, dressed in saffron cloth, and carried the renunciate's

three-sectioned staff, which signified service to God by body, mind,

and

words.

 

So powerful was Ramanuja that the philosophers of non-dualism soon

found it difficult to maintain their position in any kingdom. Ramanuja

established the tenets of devotion so firmly that none could oppose

him.

Many great and learned scholars came to hear him speak and became his

disciples.

 

Feeling oppressed by the growing popularity of devotion, a certain

group of impersonalists went to see the Chola king, Krimikantha, at

Kanchi.

Bowing humbly before the king, who was himself an impersonalist, they

asked

him to do something to stop Ramanuja. After some discussion it was

decided

that the king would invite Ramanuja to take part in a philosophical

debate

at the palace. Thus the king's messengers were sent to Sri Rangam to

fetch

Ramanuja. The king had it in mind to convert Ramanuja by force if

necessary.

Once Ramanuja had been indoctrinated, he thought, then everyone in his

kingdom would return to the fold of Shankara.

 

After meeting with the king's messengers at Sri Rangam, Ramanuja

prepared to go to Kanchi. However Kuresh, a wise disciple of

Ramanuja, did

not trust the intentions of the king. and pleaded with his guru to

allow him

to go in his place. Kuresh insisted, and

 

Ramanuja had to submit. Kuresh then dressed in the saffron robes of

his guru and appeared before the messengers with staff in hand.

Thinking

Kuresh to be Ramanuja they started for Kanchi. Meanwhile, dressed in

white

robes, Ramanuja remained behind.

 

When Kuresh reached the palace, King Krimikantha greeted him with

respect, thinking him to be Ramanuja. But later, when Kuresh refused

to he

intimidated by the behavior of the king, Krimikantha, in a mad rage,

ordered

his soldiers to arrest Kuresh and burnt his eyes out. The king s men

took

Kuresh to a prison, and after blinding him, released him in the

forest.

During the entire horrifying experience Kuresh never once protested.

He

found strength within knowing that his guru was safe.

 

With the help of some people from Kanchi who were appalled by the

action of the king, Kuresh was able to rejoin his guru at Sri Rangam.

Within

a matter of days after committing that grave offense against Kuresh,

King

Krimikantha was stricken with an incurable disease and died a

miserable

death.

 

At Sri Rangam. Ramanuja took Kuresh before the deity of Narayana,

and with fervent prayers asked the deity to restore his sight. O

master of

the universe, You are the protector and well-wisher of Your devotees.

Kindly

be merciful and renew the eyes of Kuresh, who without protest has

made the

supreme sacrifice. At that very moment Kuresh felt a gentle breeze

blow

across his brow and he immediately regained his sight.

 

Ramanuja continued living at Sri Rangam, serving the deity of

Narayana and imparting enlightenment to whoever came to him until he

was 120

years old. One day while worshipping the deity, he prayed, Dear God,

whatever I could do to preserve the essence of the Vedas, to uplift

the

fallen souls, and to establish the shelter of Your lotus feet as the

supreme

goal in life, I have done. Now my body has grown tired after many

years in

this world. Kindly allow me to depart from this mortal world and

enter Your

supreme abode. "

 

With this prayer Ramanuja returned to the assembly of his disciples

and announced his desire to depart from this world. Thrown into an

ocean of

grief, the disciples clasped the feet of their guru and petitioned

him to

remain with them. It is unbearable for us to conceive of the

disappearance

of your divine form, which is the supreme purifier, the abode of all

that is

good. the destroyer of all afflictions, and the fountain of unlimited

joy.

Out of pity for your children. please stay with us for some time

longer. "

 

Ramanuja remained on Earth for three more days. To appease their

afflicted hearts. Ramanuja spoke his last instructions to those who

were

most near and dear to him. always remain in the company of and serve

those

souls devoted to Godhead just as you would serve your own spiritual

preceptor. Have faith in the teachings of the Vedas and in the words

of the

great saints. Never become the slave of your senses: always strive to

conquer the three great enemies of self-realization: lust. anger, an(l

greed. Worship Narayana and take pleasure in uttering the holy names

of God

as your only refuge. Sincerely serve the devotees of Godhead: by

service to

the great devotees, the highest service is done and one quickly gains

the

supreme mercy. Remembering these things you should live happily in

this

world for the attainment of the next. " With these departing words,

Ramanuja,

keeping his head on the lap of Govinda and his mind fixed in spiritual

trance, relinquished his mortal body and entered the realm of

Vaikuntha.

 

Ramanuja was indeed a great theologian whose life and teachings have

had a lasting influence on the development of theistic thought in

India.

Ramanuja's introduction of the Godhead as the absolute entity with

supersubjective characteristics and his having pioneered the dawning

of

devotion to Godhead opened the door for future theistic reformers who

would

in due course fully reveal the highest potential of the soul in a

loving

relationship with God and His eternal servants.

 

" I take refuge at the feet of Sri Ramanuja, our venerable master,

who, during the dark night of the impersonal conception of divinity,

carried

the torch light of knowledge and thus illuminated the path of

devotion to

the Personality of Godhead.

 

Ramanuja's Literary Contributions:

 

1. Vedartha-Sangraha - A treatise presenting the tenets of

Visistadwaita, a

reconciliation of different conflicting srutis.

 

2. Sri Bhasya - A detailed commentary on the Vedanta Sutras.

 

3. Gita-Bhasya - A detailed commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita.

 

4. Vedanta-Dipa - A brief commentary on the Vedanta Sutras.

 

5. Vedanta-Sara - Another brief commentary on the Vedanta Sutras and

meant

for beginners.

 

6. Saranagati-Gadya and Sri Ranga-Gadya - Manuals of self surrender

to Lord

Visnu.

 

7. Sri Vaikuntha-Gadya - Describes Sri Vaikuntha-loka and the

position of

the liberated souls.

 

8. Nitya-Grantha - A short manual intended to guide the Sri Vaishnava

devotees.

 

Sri Ramanujacarya:

(indiadivine.com)

 

The system of Philosophy associated with Ramanuja is known as

Vishistadvaita. We should not think that Ramanuja started a new

philosophy

and he does not claim that either. If Vishishtadvaita can be likened

to a

lotus plant , then Srutis are its roots, Smrithis are its stems and

leaves,

Earlier Alvars and Acharyas are its nourishment and Ramanuja is that

bright

Sun-light that caused the lotus flower to fully bloom.

 

Ramanuja's supreme effort resulted in a systematic presentation of

the Vishishtadvaita. His genius also led to the development of a

complete

system which synthesizes the concept of God with the philosophy of the

impersonal absolute. It is a matter of fact that the beauty of Lotus

appeals

to everyone. The same was true of Ramanuja. Such were his attributes.

His

scholarship coupled with humility, devotion, kindness, beauty, love,

compassion, pragmatism, and adventure left a strong impression on

anyone who

came to know him.

 

The followers of Ramanuja are called Sri-Vaishnavas. Followers of

Ramanuja (or at least those who include him in the lineage of their

earlier

Acharyas) can be seen far and wide in different parts of India

including

Gaudia Vaishnavas of Bengal and the Swminarayans of Gujarat.

 

During Ramanuja's time he appointed 74 Mudhalis (Leaders or

Simhasanadipati) of whom a good number were Shattadas(generally of

non-Brahmin origin). It is noteworthy that 5 among the 74 Mudhalis

were

women. All these fit well with the character of Ramanuja. He freely

mingled

with true devotees of God, irrespective of their caste. He washed

their

feet, ate food left over in their plate, held them with great

reverence, and

popularized their works. When Kanchi Purna, a great devotee of God,

did not

let Ramanuja to wash his feet, saying that he is from a low caste,

Ramanuja

says, " pray , noble Sir, is it the wearing of the sacred thread that

makes

one a Brahmana? He who is devoted to God, he alone is a genuine

Brahmana. "

 

At another instance, Kanchi Purna refused to accept Ramanuja as his

disciple, stating that Ramanuja was a Brahmin well versed in the

shatras,

while Kanchi Purna was just an ignorant old Sudra. To this Ramanuja

replied:

" If the knowledge of the Sastras only brings about pride instead of

devotion

to God, then it is false knowledge, better is ignorance than this.

You have

verily tasted the real essence of the Sastras; other scholars merely

carry

the burden, like the ass that carries the load of sandalwood " . So

saying, he

fell at the feet of Kanchi Purna and began to weep.

 

The tradition followed by Sri-Vaishnavas is called Sri-sampradaya,

which is perhaps best preserved among the Sri-Vaishnavas of South

India. In

this tradition, the Goddess Lakshmi acts as the mediator of salvation

on

behalf of the devotees of Vishnu. This sampradayam recognizes a host

of

Acharyas and Alvars. The lineage up to Ramanujacharya is as follows:

 

Periya Perumal (Parabrahman, Sriman Narayana, Emberuman)

Periya Piratti (Lakshmi)

Senai Mudaliyar (Viswaksena)

Nammalvar (around seventh Century AD)also known as Shatakopan, or

Shatari

Natha Muni (823 AD)

Yamuna Muni (918-1038 AD) also known as Yamunacharya, Alavandar)

Ramanujacharya (1017 AD-1137 AD) also known as Yeti Raja, Bhashyakara,

Udaiyavar etc.

 

In this list the first three names, of course, are ahistorical.

Nammalvar, who belonged to a non-Brahmin community is one among the

twelve

Vaishnavite Alvars. Alvars lived between 100 AD to 900 AD. Alvars

found God

realization through Bhakti-Prapatti. Bhakti means immense love of God

and

Prapatti (also known as Saranagathi or Bharanyasam) means a single

minded

total surrender to God. The Tamil devotional works of Alvars is known

as

Nalayirum (4000 verses) or Divya Prabhandam. Sri-Vaishnavas learn

Nalayirum

and other Tamil works on par with the Sanskrit scriptures. Such

practitioners are called Ubhaya Vedantins. Ramanuja took

responsibility to

popularize the Tamil scriptures. This was one of the oath he took at

the

site of the dead body of Alavandar in Srirangam. Ramanuja also

ensured that

Tamil poems become part of all Sri-Vaishnava style Puja.

 

Nammalvar, is placed first among the Historical personalities

revered in the Sri-sampradayam. He rescued the works of previous

Alvars ,

added his own contribution of 1296 verses and passed it on to Natha

Muni,

who is a great scholar and a devotee. Natha Muni's grand son is

Alavandar,

who at a tender age of 14, won half the Kingdom by defeating a great

scholar

in a debate. Among Alavandar's grand children are Ramanuja's mother

and

Ramanuja's uncle Periya Tirumalai Nambi (or Srisaila Purna).

 

Ramanuja (1017-1137 AD) was born in a pious Vaishnava Brahmin family

in Sriperumbudur, 30 miles South West of Madaras. His parents were

Aasuri

Sarvakrutu Keshava Somayaji Dikshitar and Kantimati (grand daughter of

Alavandar). The couple gained progeny after they performed an Yagna

at the

Parthasarathy shrine in Triplicane, Madaras. The Lord Parthasarathy

appeared

to Keshava in his dream and promised that the Lord himself would be

born as

his son for the purpose of redeeming the misguided souls. (Many had

mistaken

the Shankara's exposition of the vedantic mantra " Aham Brahmasmi " to

apply

to their physical body and had thus turned arrogant, wicked and

perverse).

 

Srisaila Purna (Periya Tirumalai Nambi), the maternal uncle of

Ramanuja came from Srirangam for the child naming ceremony. He saw the

divine traits in his nephew and was reminded of what Nammalvar had

foretold

as the divine messiah of Srivaishnavism in his Tamil work

Thiruvoymoli.

Nambi was totally convinced that his nephew was none other than

Lakshmana,

the Ananta or Adishesha of Kali Yuga. Thus, he gave the name Ramanuja

(meaning brother of Rama) to his nephew. Interestingly, Ramanuja's

birth

month(Chaitra) and Zodiac (Cancer) sign are same as that of Sumitra's

sons

Lakshmana and Shatrugna. Ramanuja is generally regarded as the

manifestation

of both Adishesha (just as Lakshmana). as well as the five ayudhas of

Vishnu.

 

Ramanuja was a good student loved by his teachers. He was able to

grasp even complex ideas by hearing just only once from his teacher

He also

loved to associate with holy men. Ramanuja at age 16 was wedded to an

exquisitely beautiful girl in a rather grand week long wedding

ceremony. The

whole town rejoiced. The joy did not last long as Ramanuja's father

severely

fell ill and died shortly after. Ramanuja with his wife and mother

moved to

the holy city of Kanchipuram and therein became a disciple of

Yadavaprakasha, the most renowned scholar of that time.

Yadavaprakasha was a

great champion of Advaita Philosophy. His doctrine is known even

today as

" Yadaviya Siddahanta. " He was such a rigid Advaitin, that he would not

acknowledge God with form. Unlike Shankaracharya, he would not even

regard

this universe as a maya. To him it was totally insignificant.

Ramanuja was

all devotion. The doctrine of Yadava did not at all appeal to

Ramanuja.

Mostly out of respect, Ramanuja did not challenge his guru until one

day

when he could not take it any more.

 

Ramanuja humbly, but firmly disagreed with Yadava Prakasha on the

interpretation of one of the rather confusing mantra from the

Chandogya

Upanishad. The mantra was " tasya yatha kapyasam

pundarikamevamakshini. "

Taking " kapyasam " to mean the " nates of a monkey " as interpreted by

the

venerable Shankaracharya, Yadavaprakasha explained the passage as

follows:

 

" The two eyes of that golden Purusha are like two lotuses which are

red like the nates of a monkey. " Hearing this interpretation, tears

rolled

down from the corners of Ramanuja's eyes likes flames of fire and

fell on

the thigh of Yadavaprakasha. Yadava understood that something

troubled his

dear disciple Ramanuja. When asked for the cause of his anguish,

Ramanuja

politely answered: " Revered Sir, from the mouth of a wise person like

you, I

never expected to hear the comparison of the eyes of the Supreme

Godhead

with the posterior of a monkey. " Yadava considered this as a display

of

arrogance by Ramanuja and challenged him to give his interpretation.

Ramanuja proceeded to give his interpretation of Kapyasam, the

troublesome

word in the mantra. Kapyasam = Kapih + Asam Kapih = Kam jalam pibatiti

Kapih: he who drinks water = Suryah, Sun Asa = blossomed. Thus,

Kapyasam =

Sun blossomed or blossomed by the Sun. Now the mantra can be

translated as :

" The eyes of the golden Purusha are as lovely as the lotuses

blossomed by

the rays of the Sun " . Hearing this Yadava said that it is not a direct

meaning but only a derived meaning. Nevertheless, he recognized the

skill of

his student.

 

The trend continued. One of the famous Upanishadic mahavakyas

" Satyam Jnanam anantam Brahma " was interpreted by Yadava as Brahman is

truth, Intelligence and Infinitude. Ramanuja, again disagreed with

Yadava

and interpreted it as Brahman is endowed with the quality of truth,

intelligence and infinitude. It is not correct to hold that all these

qualities are He Himself. These qualities are His, but not He, just

as the

body is mine, I am not the body. At this point Yadavapraksha grew

jealous of

Ramanuja. He plotted to kill Ramanuja and wash off his sins at the

sacred

Ganges. Yadava with Ramanuja and the other disciples set out on a

pilgrimage

to Kashi. Ramanuja, came to know his guru's wicked plan through his

cousin

Govinda and returned back from the Dandaka forest without finishing

the so

called pilgrimage.

 

Ramanuja returned to his studies under Yadava. Everyone concerned

pretended as though nothing happened. The mantra being discussed this

time

was " sarvam khalvidam brahma " - All this is verily Brahma and " neha

nanasti

kinchana " - there is no diversity whatsoever here. Yadava, had his

class

spell bound with his discourse on the oneness of Atman and Brahman.

Ramanuja

disagreed and expressed his position. As the universe is born of

Brahman, is

sustained by Brahman, so it may surely be said to be permeated with

Brahman(not verily Brahman). For instance, fish is born in water,

lives in

water, and dissolves into water; so it may be said to be surely

permeated

with water. But as fish can never be water, likewise the universe too

can

never be Brahman.

 

And " neha nanasti kinchana " does not mean that there is no diversity

whatsoever here; the various objects do not exist separately, but are

like

pearls strung on a thread form a garland, so the various objects

threaded in

Brahman have formed this universe. Many have united and give the

appearance

of oneness, but by this the distinctiveness has in no way been

impaired. At

this Yadava expelled Ramanuja from his school. (Many years later,

Yadava

became a disciple of Ramanuja and took sanyasa under the name Govinda

Jeer.

He composed the incomparable work Yatidharmasamuccaya).

 

Alavandar, who was of ripe age thought his prayers answered when he

heard that Ramanuja was no more associated with Yadava.. He sent

words for

Ramanuja so that he could place the responsibility of spreading

Vishishtadvaita on his shoulders. . By the time Ramanuja arrived in

Srirangam, to his dismay the old sire Alavandar had just passed away.

Ramanuja noticed that the three fingers of the Maharshi's right hand

were

folded and clenched. Disciples of Alvandar vouched that they had

never seen

the fingers of Alvandar that way before. Hearing that Ramanuja made

three

promises on front of the dead body: " I will popularize the Tamil

Veda, I

will write Sri-Bhashya (detailed treatise on Brahma Sutras), and I

shall

give the name of Parashara to an accomplished Vaishnava(as a mark of

respect

to sage Parshara, the father of Vyasa) " . As he made these promises

one by

one, so also the folded fingers became straight one after another!

 

Later, Ramanuja fulfilled all his promises and more. He made sure

the Tamil Veda remained as a part of Sri-sampradaya. He entrusted

many of

his disciples to expound on the message of the Nalayirums. He wrote

Sri-Bhashyam, writing of which required a study of the Bodhayana-

Vritti. He

obtained the only copy of it at the Sarada Peetam of Kashmir

established by

Shankara. The library attendants refused to give him that book,

however, it

is believed that Ramanuja had the vision of Sarada there and got the

book in

a mysterious way. His other literary works include: Vedanta Sangraha -

a

treatise on the principles of Vishishtadvaita elaborated from the

Srutis;

Gita Bhashya - a detailed commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita; Vedanta

dipa - a

brief commentary on the Brahma sutras; Vedanta sara - a brief

commentary on

the Brahma sutras and intended for beginners; Saranagati gadya and

Sriranga

gadya - tells about saranagati or prapatti; Sri Vaikunta gadya -

describes

Sri Vaikunta and the state of the liberated; Nitya grantha - a short

manual

to guide devotees in their daily life. As promised, he also named a

great

disciple of his as Parashara Bhattar and instructed him to write his

famous

commentary on the Vishnu Sahsranamam.

 

Ramanuja studied under numerous disciples of Alavandar and other

Vaishnavite scholars. He left his wife, who was never in phase with

Ramanuja. He took Sanyasa, studied further and under Goshti Purna,

after

much fuss, received the moola mantra of Sri-Vaishnavas, " Om Namo

Narayanaya. " However Ramanuja even before leaving Goshti Pura,

assembled the

whole town with the promise of a great gift, claimed the top of the

Temple,

and gave the moola Mantra to the entire town that had assembled .

Such was

the nature of Ramanuja. Both preserving and spreading his creed.

 

Ramanuja lived in Tirumalai for a while and studied Ramayana under

his uncle Sri Saila Purna. At a later time he returned to Tirumalai

and

reestablished it as a Vaishnavite shrine. Ramanuja basically returned

to the

shrine the old glory as elaborated in the works of Alvar about

Tiruvengadam.

He also founded the town of Govinda Raja Puram (Tirupati) at the foot

hills

of the mountain and installed the Govinda Raja's idol which he

rescued from

a nearby abandoned town. This town initially used to be called

Ramanuja

Puram. He also established the flower gardens at Tirumalai and

entrusted its

care to Shattada Sri Vaishnavas.

 

His digvijayas included many other holy places such as Thiruvanantha

puram in Kerala, Dwaraka, mathura, Brindavan, Salagram, Saketa,

Badarikashrama, Naimisha, Pushkara, Kashmir, where he had the vision

of

Sarada. It is said that, Sarada, particularly impressed by his

previous

translation of the word " Kapyasum " to mean blossommed by the Sun

instead of

nates of a monkey (as translated by Yadava and other scholars) gave

him the

title Bhashyakara. From Kashmir he proceded to Puri and established a

monastery there and called it Embar Math after his cousin Govinda,

his own

disciple. From here he went to Ahobila and established a math there

also

which is still very well known. Finally he returned to Tamil Nadu via

Thirupati.

 

There were two other murder attempts on Ramanuja. The high priest of

the Srirangam temple tried to poison him out of jealousy. However, the

priest's wife let the cat out of the bag. Later this priest became

one of

the greatest devotees of Ramanuja. His Tamil poetry on Ramanuja is

held at

great esteem. The other threat to Ramanuja's life came from king

Krimikanta.

This Chola king residing in his capital Kanchipuram desired to have

his

entire kingdom embrace the Shaiva doctrine. He saw Ramanuja as a

threat to

his plan. He sent for Ramanuja with the intention of forcibly

converting him

in to a Shaivaite, if that is not possible to execute him. This king

remembered very much the service rendered to his family by Ramanuja

who had

exorcised the ghost out of his sister many years ago. Nevertheless,

the

king's mind was made up. When the king's order came, Ramanuja

switched his

sanyasi robes with one of his devout disciple Kuresa and exiled out

of Chola

empire into Karnataka. Kuresa did not become a Shaivite either, the

king had

his both eyes plucked and sent him away.

 

In Karnataka, Ramanuja brought the Jain king Vittala Deva (Bitti

Deva) under the Vaishnavite fold. He reestablished the temple in

Yadavagiri(also known as Thirunarayana Puram or Melkote) near Mysore.

A

Moslem chieftain had earlier raided this town and made it away with

the

Utsava Murthy of Sampath Kumara (Cheluva Narayana). The Moola Vigraha

lay

buried under an ant hill (perhaps it was hidden there by the town's

people).

Ramanuja went all the way to North India and rescued the

Sampatkumara's idol

from the Sultan. Sultan's daughter Bibi Lachimar, loved that idol

very much

and so she followed it to Melkote. She lived there for many years

serving

that idol and when she passed away, the Sri Vaishnavas impressed by

her

love, made a statue of her and placed it at the foot of the idol

which can

be seen even to day. The idol of Lachimar is revered as Bibi

Nachhiar. The

Bibi Nacchiar idol has been duplicated in many other temples in South

India.

Ramanuja lived for many years in Melkote and with a heavy heart left

to

Srirangam. The people of Melkote were deeply grieved at his departure

and

learing this Ramanuja made a stone image of his, invoked his life

into it

and gifted it to to people of Yadavadri. Melkote enjoys the status of

Abhimana sthanam in the Srivaishnava tradition. It is one of the

greatest

Sri vaishnava centers in Karnataka.

 

Ramanuja spent his last 60 years of life at Srirangam. He left this

world at a ripe age of 120 years, after delivering his last sermon to

scores

of Shishyas who had gathered with a heavy heart to listen to his last

sermon.

 

Daaso'smi, Tridandi Bhikshu Bhaktiratna Sadhu Swami.