Sri Ramanuja Acarya

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In an article entitled Circumambulation of Sri Brajamandal printed Nov 1931, Chaitanya-Era 445 in the Harmonist magazine, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta mentions Sri Ramanuja Acarya as follows:

 

Long before the Advent of the Supreme Lord, Sree Krishna Chaitanya, the North of India had been the scene of various non-theistic movements. The Elevationism and Idealism of the different philosophical schools professing allegiance to the Vedas and the atheistic cults of Jainism and Buddhism, especially the former, had brought about the almost total suppression of the Theistic tradition embodies in the worship of Vishnu the supremacy of which had been an admitted fact at least from as early as the age of composition of the oldest hymns of the Rig Veda. Mathura became, as the result of these later movements, the chief center of the non-theistic propaganda.

 

The revival of the Vishnuvite religion came from the South and was carried on by the schools founded by Sree Vishnuswami, Sree Nimbarka, Sree Ramanuja and Sree Madhva respectively. The Alvars, who had also preached pure Theism, appeared in the South from a period as early as the Christian era. Sree Vishnuswami belonged to the third century before Christ.

 

From the Atharva Veda, with the commentary of Srila Sacidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura-Sri Caitanya-Caranamrta The confidential truth is that the Lord has descended with His own abode, Goloka-Dhama, to the supremely sanctified land of Gauda, in the form of a devotee as Sri Krsna Caitanya Himself and desiring to deliver love of God, He has exposed the transcendental secret of madhura-rasa which enlivens all the devotees in the material world, headed by Sathakopa, Ramanuja, Visnuswami, Madhvacarya, Nimbarka, etc., for the purpose of quickly bestowing suspiciousness unto the living beings in Kali-Yuga. Bhakti vedyah means that the living entities can know the Lord by the practice of devotional service and not by the practice of dry philosophical speculation.

 

According to the evidence of Ramanuja, etc., by the mellow of servitorship, dasya-rasa, there is no direct path. The destination of those who practice dasya rasa etc. is limited to Vaikuntha. This is apparent in their books, etc. This is because Sri Caitanya is the source of the universe and the only teacher in the matter of instructing vraja-rasa.