life and teachings of sri ramanujacarya
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OF
RXRX XtdXSKELH'XXaT3L CM2LXKW
BEING
THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS
DELIVEBED ON THE 5TH MAV 1 9 0 8
BY
N. B. SRINIVASAIFNQAR, N. A.,
(3fysore Educatio'nal Service)
Author of the "Aryan Praper-Book" &
Editor >of the "Eithiyanusandanusn" Seriesj,
& c. & c.
on the occasion of the Ce>ebrgtion of the
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary
of
Sri gamanujacharya's Bir thday-Fesfivities
conducted
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1
I
LIFE & TEA08INtlS OF"SRI R~MAI|UJACHARYA"BEING
j
A LHCTURH DHLI VHRHD AT B A N G A LO RH '
Under the auspices of the Srinivasa, Mandixam, the
twenty-fifth anniversary in conne&ion with Sxi Ramanuja
,charya's Tirunakshatram was celebrated on Tuesday
evening (5th May x9o8) ia Doddanna's Hall, Bangalore
City. Flags and foliagehad been employed to make the
hall, look specially attractive, but the weather was cloudy,
and threatend heavy xain, and a slight drizzle probably
kept some people away. The Hal l was however ful l ,
being occupied mostly by Vaishnava followers and Stud
' ents. The ch ai r wa s o c cu pied by R a j a m an tr apxavina
Mr. C. Srinivasiengar, an ex-Councillox of the Mysore
State.
, The Chairman introduced Mr. M. B. Sxinivasa Iyen
gar, M.x. ofthe Mysore Hducational Service, who read an
interesting addxess on the life and teachings of Ramanujacharya, and explained sevexal technical points of the
Visishtadvaita faith.
A peculiar feature of the Qecture was that for the
first time in the. Histoxy of Bangaloxe, native ladies
attended a public lecture in Hnglish. The membexs of
the Hindu Qadies ' Association were accommodated in. the xooms to the right of the dais; and on the dais itse'lf
were seen, besides the I,ectuxex and the Chairman,
M essrs. Kumarasami Naik, 4 . K r i s hna Rao, N . S .
Tirumaliengar, C. B. Sheshagiri Rao, N. Venktesiengar,
S. Krishnasami Iyengar, K, Ramasami Iyengar and
., severalOKcers of the Mysore state and non-oKcials.
0
Soon after the Introduction, the Le& irer spoke asF
Ifollows:
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THE INAUGURAL ADI3RKSS.
I.IFE8 TEACHINCS OF "SltHAMANUJACHABVA"
Before commencing my brief address tothis learned
audience, I wish to say a few words regarding the unique
position in which I find myself placed this evening, which
is due entirely to the kindness of Mr. Gopala Charlu, to
whose untiring efForts the $rinivasa-Mandiram and Chari
ties owe their existence and continuance, His kind letter,
sent to me a month ago, requesting me to deliver this In
augural address, took ine entirely by sur.prise; but having
regard to his earnest appeal, I could not say " nay" to
his request, though I knew full well.that more competent
and worthy persons than niyself could have been thought
of and requested to perform this important function,
which I am now ca l le d upo n to do on t h i s a u s p i ci ou s
occasion > aud my acceptance cfsuch a duty has to be
regarded more asa DrvrNg cAr,r, since every one of us,
worldlings, who have the interests of humanity at heart,
has to put his shoulders to the wheel to contribute his quota
of service to the development and evolution of mankind.
g, In these days of general awakening, only orga
nized work, and not individual efforts, will achieve per
m anent or enduring results,These are not the days of indi
vidual greatness such as was achieved, in former days,
by great personages like Buddha, Sankaracharyar, or Jesus,
or Mahomed, orRamanjacharyar,or Madhva Charyar, witha large fol lowing of d i sc ip les. If any measure of
success falls to the lot of any of us, we have only to
take sheltar in these days under the, well-kpown adage
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" Saughe saktih Kalau)Yuge (~ gl~+; ggj' gA) Pozoeris
nested ina >niIEtitucEe (aii organisati'on)'; and a& accordingly.
A word or two, I wish to say, with your kiud
percuission, regarding what potentialities f'or good lie in
Iustitutions like the ' Sriuivasa Mandiram aud Charities,"
under whose auspices this inRuential and remarkable
gathering is, invited'this evening. The sphere of usefulness in which socio-religions Iusti tu ti ous l ike our " M an
diram," or the Branches of the Theosophical Society,
established all over Iudia, may =ngage themselves, is
briefly indicated iu the remarkable speech delivered at
Calcutta by His Fxcellency the Viceroy, I ord Miuto, ou the
occasiou of the Jubilee celebration of the Calcu.tta University. His Pxcellency, while commeuting upon the entire
absence of re]igiotls teaching in our Governmeut Schools
aud Colleges asa defe6t in our pres~nt system of F ducation,
was pleased to remarl'. thus "Before the advent of gles
teru I,earning, secular and religious instru8iou went haud
iu hand. The Teacher was also the Spiritual Guide; aud
wecanuot disguise from ourselves that this sy~tenq, for
which we are answerable, has to a large extent deprived
the studeut of instruEtion in his own faith. It would be use
less uow to speculate as to what proportion of the causes
for anyuntoward results rnay be allotted to this systcm, or
to the want of religions teachers, or to the students them
selves; but I would asl. thelatter to assist, as far as it is in
their power, to ueutralize the evil. They and the Un i
versity authorites can justly look to the Rzr,rorovs zsso
crAnoNs throughout India for assistance," and concluded
his speech iu these memorable words: " Though the
Government of India must, as I have recently said, hold
the balance evenly betweenall religions and se8;s, I caunot
but feel that a System of Hducatiou which aims at the
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3
,training of youth, with no regard for relsgg'aus drmfhs,
igores the veiy fouuciatious upon which all that is nobleiii a people sliould be built."
Hence it will be seen that th'e~nost press'.rig need
of the hour.is tl ie hiart y co- operation of these.Re ligious
Associations to supplerj.
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klnd .
caste, creed or colour.
(g) His great message of peace aixl goodwill to nlan
(4) His universal love of mankiud, irrespe&ive of
(g) His scientific expositiou of the Vedantic dochine
and plan of salvation in couformity with the tradit ional
teachiugs hauded over fromthe time of sage Bodhayana,
and his successful reeonciliation of apparently con6i&ingVedic texts of equal authority.
(6) Hisspecial reform in the temples on ortl lodox
(p) His unbounded sympathy witl l tlle masses spe
lines.
cially the Pancharuas.(8) His successful attempt atbringing to prominence
the gmovroN
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Very often the so-called "pious frauds~h"ve also to be
therein dete&ed; hence these writings have to be gonet hrough with ex trenie care and with a grea t dea l of un
biassed critical acumen. Beariug the above remarks in
mind, the following works may be consulted with advan
tage, with a view to f ind out the most important i~cidents
in the life of Ramanujacharya.
x. Sri Guru parampari Prabhavam (Glorious I,ives of
the Ancient Acharyas) in Tamil prose, stayed
MANIPRAvALAM. Unfortunately, there are now two ver
sionsoi' this,belonging to the "Tenkalai" and "Vada
kalai" se8;ions of the Srivaishnavas (Southern and Nor
thern se8.ious)2. prapannamritam ttnt rtrt in Sanskrit.
Visistadvaita Catechism (by Pandit Bhashyacharn
of the Theosophical Society, Adyar) in Fnglish.
Palanadai Vilakkan ustsy
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namuoi.
Belur ..
tween 8 and I6 years
q Taking holy orders (his married life being a
> Consecration and restoration of the Temple at
1
I Birth at griperumbudur.. A.D. or A.c. 1017 (Salivahana
sa ka 939) the na1ni ng- cere1nony, he was
styl.d " I,akslunaixa" wl1ich was gradually
changed to I,akshnxagachar and I akshma
z His early educatioi1 under Yadavaprakasa be
3 Pirst entry in to S r i r an garu to see Alavandar(Yamunacharya), age g5..
disappointment), age 3R
5 Conversion of Yagyamurti, an Advaitic Teacher xo86-,
6 King's Persecution of Vaishnavas (KarikalaC11ola, Kulothunga Chola I), age 78
p Plight to Mysore Territory, age g9..
8 Conversion of Bitt ideva, King of the Hoysala
Country (Maisur) into the Vaishnava faith,
and naming him Vaishnuvardhana
Melkote (Tirunarayanapuranx)
xo -Building and consecration of the Temple at
zx Concessions ~manted to the Panchamas during
the period of Car-festivals at Melkote pnd
Belur (Mysore and Hassan Distri8s.) for ser
vices rendered, which are continued.even to
this day . . . . . .. . xxx8
z z The establishment of a Mutt at Melkote, styled
"Yatixaja Mutt," in charge of his trusteddisciples, for the n>anagenxent of Temple
w orship and the propagation of the faith .. xxx 9
..C11'. IO33
p> I04g
pp xo49
'9S
pp xo96
I99
pp I0 98
I IIl
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..Cir. IIsoI3 Return to Srirangam
I4 His last days at Srirangam; his powerful
organisation for the future work of the
Mission
As regards the date of the birth of Ramanujkchar
ya, there has been no difference of opinion, unlike that
of Sri Sankaracharya, which is wrapped up 111 obscurity
even to this day. This is easily accounted for, since fromthe earliest days ofhis earthly career, Ran1anuja's contem
poraries and admirersbegan to associate the periods of the
incidents of his life xvith specific noble thoughts of some
signiflcance. Hence the traditional date of Salivahana
Saka939 (corresponding to 939+ j8 = xQI7A.D. ) has been
taken advantage ot by his Biographers, and has according
ly been made synonymous with the uoble thought 4ffuan"
fy IX3$
+The system of coITlputatlon by which the consonants of the Hindo
Alph~bet represeut numercal va1ues from one to nine digits is a very old
Aryan method, mainly resorted to by authors and poets, when they mish to
insert in their own works the year of composition of their Own productions.
'ghis system is also seen in Inscriptions, recording grants of land on auspi
cious or holy or special occasions, or in monumeots raised in commemoration
of great deeds> by Sovereigns and other high personages, This computation
is known by the name ot % ~ 6 % % KAT>PAYADI SANKHY
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Dhir Qabdha =Real knowledge attained), as if this year
was particularlydesigned by Providence forthe spread ofR@Ax, KNowMDG@ on earth t li rough Ramanujacharya.
So also is the saka year " xoj9" corresponding to A. D,
I x37 ) designated. as the ~%K: year (Dharmo Nastah =
gaw of the Qord lost to the woxld), when the earthly
careerof Sri Ramanujacharyax closed. Hence these two
important dates became fixed in the ancient chronicles ofthe land,.and could not bechanged.
r
8. His works which have attained an immoxtal fame
are mostly philosophical; but the "Gadyatraya" {Thxee
gadyas or Prose-pieces) is a very popular and highly-pathe
tic prose composition especially the Sarana,gati Gadya{on " Renunciation ").
The Philosophical works are
r. The sribhsshys (,flssrsrrr). This is s flowing
and natural Commentary on the Vedanta Sutras of Badarayana. This beautiful work is, in the words of the un
biassed and distinguished German Scholar, Dr. Thibaut
" The oldest Commentary extant next to Sankara.. . . , .
The intrinsic value of the " Sri-Bhashya ", moreover, is a
vexy high one > it strikes one throughout as a solid perform
ance, due to a writex of extensive learning and greatpower of axgumentation, and in its polemic parts, dixected
against the Adwaita School of Thought represented by
Sankara; it not unfrequently desexves to be called -bril
liant even. And, in addition to all this, it shows evident
.traces of being not the mere outcome of Ramanuja's indi
vidual views, but of resting on an old and weiphty tradi-tion. This latter point is cleaxly of the greatest impor
tance."
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2. Vedantasara (Hssence of Vedanta)-summary of Sri
Bhashya.
g. Vedanta Dipa (I,amp of Vedanta)-an Plementary
Treatise on the Vedanta sutras.
4. Vedartha Sangraha(An Flemeutary Hxposition of
the Texts of the Vedas and the Upanishads)
5. Gitabhashya (Commentary on the Bhagavadgita.)His attainments in Tamil I ,iterature were not known
to be very high. Fxcept ing a few special interpretatious
ascribed to his name in the "Bhagavadvishayam" (Com
mentary on the Tiruvoymoli~, and one stray Tamil stanza
amongst the invocatory verses to "Per iya T irumoli " of
T irumangai Alvar, he is not credited wit h any works i nTamil.
The great merit of his works is his noble and success
ful attempt at the reconciliation of the various apparently
contradi8ory Texts of the Vedas and Upanishads, relied
upon by the variousSchools of Thought as of.supreme
importance, and giving each of them equal authority in
their philosophic interpretation. While the Adwaitic as
well as the Dwaitic Theologian finds it necessary, with a
view toniaintain his special do6trine or school or thought,
to treat certain Scr iptu ral Tex (ZglR' Pra.
dhana) importance, and certain others as op sacoNDARvGauna) coNsxriFaaTioN, the Visistadwaitic Teacher
Ramanuja regards no such artificial d istinB ions neces
sary in a Divine Work like the Vedas or Upanishads
(Z~) ; and in terprets each set of them as of equal au
thority and ofnecessary importance, and reconciles both
the interpretations as being in conforinity with the tradi
tional and hoary teach ings of the Ancient Rishis and
Aryan Teachers, for his w ording on thi s po jn t i s
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I0
(g ~ ' Purvachary'a Surakshitam= The in 'terpreta
tion that has been carefully guarded or maintained andhanded down to posterity by Ancient Teachers. ) Thisfits in very well with his doEtrine and teachings, as is
occasionally pointed out by Dr, Thibaut in the course of
his Translations of the Commentaries on the Vedanta
Sutras. (Vide Sacred Books of the East Vols. XXXIV
Introdu8ion; and XXXUIII ).9. The Vis istadwaita School of thought has been a
recognised Vedantic doEtrine held by Aryan Rishis and
Teachers from time immemorial, as is evident from Rama
nuja's reference to a number of Acharyas or preceptors
who maintained this do8rine from Bodhayana downwards, and what Ramanuja did was only to g ive th i s
system of thought an impetus to its spread by his lucid
exposition of its salient points in a popular and easily
understandable way. Its chiefdo8:rines may be briefly
summarised in the following terms:
(r) The Eternal Essence, styled the Parabrahman,
is the One Truth or Veri~y Infinite, Omnipresent, Omni
potent, Omniscient. To this Substance or Reality are
attached, in an inseparable union, the two other verities
Cmg (individ al soul), and AcHn'(Prakri ti) . These three
Verities~co-exist in all conditions either in the %~ Sghul g,or manifested form, or in the
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(a). The I,oxd (Parainatman) is endowed with a11
essential auspicious (rarrt ) a t t r i butes, anIt is free froru
auspicious (pg tq) ones.(3) THE ARCHI'gEQT AND gNGINEER, who wields this
huge and complicated Universe, is a Being, sufFicient unto
Himself, and capable of its Cxeation, Preservation and
Transformation. He is the SzvzoUR of its innates. He is
styled " Narayana."
(4) That the higlsest duty of man as a son of God, is
to feax the gord, the Great Father, and walk rigliteously,
with an unceasing desire to reach tlie highest ytage of
existence, from which there will be no xeversion to the
physical or material planes. This last poiiit establislies
t he grand principle of Vi s is tadvaitic Fa ith, viz. T h eFathexhood of God and the Brotherhood ofrnan.
As this system of Thought recognises "Vishnu" oi
" Narayana " as the Supreme Hssence, this is known as
" Vaishnava Visistadwaitism."
There is another system, known sometimes as the
" Saiva Visistadwaita," promulgated by "Nilakanta Siva
chaxya, a later Theologian than Ramamija, in which the
name of "Siva" is sutstituted in place of Vishnu as the
Supreme Qord, In other respects the treatmeut of the
subject appears to be the same.
1
ro. Now, let me briefly recount a few incidents in theQife of Ramanuja within the short space of time available
for us, and see how far we can follow in his footsteps so as
to deserve his discipleship.
zr. Our sage Rainanujacharyar the propounder of
qualified Monism, was born in zozpA,D. nearly nine hundred years ago in Sripexumbudui., xo m.iles from Txivellore.
His father was Kesava Asuri, a respectable Brahman, who
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had performed.several Vagas, aud his mother was known
as Kantimati. His career was full of vicissitudes. In
his time the Vaishnava faith was at a low ebb; and except in certain Vaishnava centres such as Frirangam
a nd Kanchi, i t wa s no t mu c h i n e v i d ence. I t i s
this circumstance probably that gave rise to an er ro
n eous impression, even to t h e T am i l sch o la r o f
h igh attainments I mean Dr . C a l dwe ll, who wro te
that Ramauujacharya propounded a nezo doctrine styled
"Visistadvaita phi losophy '. Monier W i l l i ams, who
had a personal knowledge of India a lso deplore in
his "Indian Wisdom" that he could not come in conta8
with Indian scholars who could well explain to him the
noble tenets of this system of Philosophy. Hven to this
day the tenets of the Visistadvaita School of Thought
are not so well known as the Advaita system of pbilo
sophy. The apathy and indiQerence of such of our
Vaishnavafollowers as would command leisure and conve
nience to enlighten the public, is mainly responsible for
this state of things. What iswantedisanorganised efFortto give publicity to the embedded truths of this system of
philosophy, chie6y written in Tamil not to speak of the
Voluminous writings found in Sanskrit written by the
predecessors aswell as by the successors of Sri Ramanuja.
Those works which are wr it ten in Tami l ar e s t y led
Prabandha- I,iterature," which i.', in the words of the
In this direction, an attempt is being made since r898, llnpcr my cdjtpr.
ship, to publish the " Nityanusadhana series in three Languages Tamj],,
Telogu and Kannada, in separate Parts, for the bene6t of all Sri Vaishnavas
of Southern India and Burmab. The first Six I'arts (Tiruppallandu, Tirup
pqlli Yeluchchi, Tiruppava>, Amalanadip>ran, Kanninun Siruttargbu, anQ
Tirumalaiarenowavailable, either, as one bound volume (linen ), or asseparate Parts. The Anglo-Vernacular editions contiin not pn1y tbe worgfor-vgord meaning hnd paraphr3se for each stanza in each lagguagc, but a)sp
g, bjpgraphy of the author, a Critical review of the work, aod- z 'Prgns]atjpn
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la'te lamented Dewan Bahadur V. K r i shnamacharyar
of Madras "a perfe6t treasure-trove of pious and phi lo
sophic thoughts, aud of household hints on. moral
conduA and purity of li fe." The same learned scholar
adds: ' A'faithful presentation of the conteuts of such
sacred Qiterature iu Hnglish is therefore an effort of no
ordinary interest to all who are concerned. in the difFusion
of such I,iterature all over Upper India as well as i'n
Hurope and America, where the Adwaitic utterances of
Swami Vivekananda are the only thiugs knowu. Our
couutrymeu, in the North admittedly understand little or
nothing of the Visistadvaita philosophy, and the scienti
fic thoughts of South Indian authors (like Ramanuja and
Vedanta Desikar), their logical conception of Religion
and plan of Salvation, aud our youths in the Tanail,
Telugu and Kannada lands know even less than foreign
ers, and therefore need. a stimulus to study the I I 'ymns
and I,yrics in praise of God> and the morality taught by
religious leaders in the Tamil region."
r a. His Personality and examgle:
That he was born a genius, aud a person of extra
ordinary ability, is evident from the fa8; that, before he
was five-and-twenty, he was able to make an impression
upon all with whom he came in conta8, that he was cut
out for a noble mission. Kheu he went from Kanchi,
(Conjeevaram) oue great seat of learuing, to Srirangam,
another great centre of Vaishnavaism, to confer with the
great sage,Yamuuacharya, who was on his death-bed, and
of each stanza in English for the use of alt those gentlemen who are convcr
sent with the latter language; whereas pure Vernacular editors issued scparately, also contain similar facilities as mell as explanatory footnotes in
place of the English Translation for the benefit of all Sri Vaishnavas (ladies
especially), 'who may be ignorant of English.
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whowaited for him sufBciently. long, it was found too
late t fox on the day on which he xeached the northern
banks of the Cauvery overlooking Srirangam, he sawthe rising streams of smoke emanating from the funeral
pyre of the great Teacher with a large concourse of
Vaishnava Hrahmins and others around the spot. This
upset all his plans, and he was greatly disappointed at
this unfortunate crisis. He xe tu rned to K a nehi , and
he repaired to Srirangam under the orders of the Almighty, which he duly ascertained from a consultation
with the intimate devotees of God, (for in those golden
days the temple servants were holy men of devotion and
piety, bent upon contemplation and spiritual advance
ment t and they did not resort to such holy places merely
for the sake of paltry lucre, as is the case in the presentdegenerate days).
To give you only one instance of his universal
Q ove for mankind, the st or y of h i s i n i t i a t io n i n t o t h e
import of the sacred eight-syllabled Mantram called the
" Astaksha~a " by one ofhis teachers may be mentioned:
Sanskrit name.
r. Srisaila Purna ... Tirumali Nambi
His 6ve Teachers were:
Tamil aame. Remarks.
I nit iator into t h e esoteric
Mysteries of the Ramayana,.
a. Maha, Purna ... Periya Nambi ... Pirst Teacher and Guide.
3, Qosthi Purna ... Tirukkottiyur Nambi ... 1nitiator into the eight, sy]la
bled Holy Mantra styled Astakshara,
g. Kanchi Purna ... Yirukkatchi Nambi . . . H i s Teacherand Friend.
... Tirumalaiyandan . . . I n i t i >t or in to th e My ste~ies
of Tiruvoymoli (Prabandha Literature).
He went to Tirukkottiyur (neax Pudukota ) fromSrirangam not less than eighteen times to receive the due
initiation into the Mysteries of the Holy Mantra; each time
5, Maladhara
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I5
I
he went there, he got disappointed, for the sage Gosthi
purna would not part with it for any thing in the world.
Under various pretexts he delayed the zmTIATroN, testing
the recipient's patience, forbearance, and temperin many
ways. On all occasions of disapPointment, -Ramanuja
used to blame himse~f and his Karmic bonds; and never
reflected upou the unseemly conduct of his Guru, for
such a procedure would be regarded as blasphemy. At
last, at the intercession of the Almighty Himself, he is
said to have divulged the special import of the xANTRA to
Ramanuja under a special solemn promise of not revealing
it to any body else, under pain of suffering eternal torments
in the Hellish Regions for any undeserved divulgation
of the Mysteries. Only the very next day after this Initiation, he made up his mind to proclaim such aholymantra
to rnankind in general, from the top of a gopuram hard by,
o n the plea that, th ough he may b e c om e g u i l t y o f a
serious sin by such a revelation he was sure of securing
salvation for a number of deserving and persistent souls,
and that his personal sacrifice in the interests of humanitywas a worthy act. Such was his love of manlund, irres
pective of caste, creed, or colour. Hence the story that he
encouraged the persecution of jains aud others of differext
persuation should be regarded as a "Myth.' On the
other hand, many joined his fa,ith out of convi8ion. Por
wapt of time now, I cannot dwell upon the other incidentsof his life, which are already briefiy indicated;
Quenced mankind, there will generally be found two
aspects (r) The Intellectua/, which is the most philosophic,
suitable to the highly-cultured development of the edu
cated classes, and (2) The Bnro'r'roNaz,, which strou'glyap'p'eals'to the feelin'gs an'd emotions of the masses. This
la'tter as'pect' i's profiiinently b'rought out in his temple-re
rg. In all popular religions, which have largely in
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x6
form, while in his philosophical writings such as the Com
mentaries on the so-called ~~ Pras t h anatraya (Upa
nishads, Vedanta-sutras, and Gita ), his polemical excellence and superiority of arguinentation are patent even to
the casual reader. ge accordingly revived the ancient
Vaishn"va doctrine, in accordance with the Pancharathra
Agama worship, the popular side of which represents the
Almighty as occupying a Divine seat in Paradise with his
Consort, surrounded by myriads of celestials, as immortalas Himself, who minister to Him in all manner of ways,
and whose sole di>ty consists in chanting halleluiahs in
praise of the Supreme Being, and in the perfect en joy
ment of eternal bliss. This view is in co~formity with
that which has been held by the Veneraole Alvars or
Vaishnava Saints who preceded him, as well as by the
Holy Acharyas who followed him. Th e special be lief
which swayed these inspired Beings in this connection
was that on this mundane universe, the same prototype
of the paraphernalia and glory as characterised the i l l i
mitable and indescribable Celestial Regions which are
no doubt beyond the comprehension of poor worldhngs
like us, of limited, sense is to be seen in a miniature
sca],e, in these holy spots, such as Srirangam and
Tirupati; and in that view the construction of temples
(Vaishnava) has been effected, Similarly the Saiva Temples
of Chidambaram, Madura, have been bu.iltin accordance
grith the Agamas of the Saiva cult. For all along, fronz the
early prehistoric times, two streams ofreligious thought
the Vaishnava and the Saiva, have been flowing parallel
to each other in the Indian soil prior to the advent of
Buddhism, and have swayed their respective votaries who
happened to be powerful sovereigns, and who, as such,commanded much influence; and with the support and
patronage of such potentates, the religious aspect of each
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I7
stream of thought progressed, putting down its brother
stream or streams' for the time being; but the Indiau
Sovereigns, when left to themselves, were more incli~ned to
tolerate the existence, continuance in their. dominions, of
diff'erent systems of religion as suited the tastes and feel
ings their subjects, though they would naturally show,a
slight leaning towards their own faith by special favours or
gr'ants to sich Institutions. But special persecutions, likethe one to wvhich our sage Ramanujacharyar was subject,
was the exception rather than the rule. Toleration in
religion and domestic concernsappears to have been a
well-recognised cardinal Principle. of 'Hindu l i'aith, in
ac'cordance with the celebrated Teaching of I,ord Sri
Krishna in the Celestial Song, Bhagavadgita:ir w~mri~ miw~vm mmnpr, I
gg~~ $PP P',' PK~
ff ~ ~ ~ QTi ~ ' ,
merrmt mr vrAe&~q o
"In whatever manner men worship Me, in the self-samemanner do I accept them; what ever I'
follow, 0 Arjuna, that path leads t.hem to Me in every
AVhosoever wishes to worship, with entire devotion,
whatsoever Form t'of God ), in that Form of God I render
his devotion steady."
It is this sprR>T, it will be seen, that pervades the
mind of the Indian community, and it is this sprzry of
tiou and Universality of Faith that accounts for the exjs
tence of so many varieties, or shades of belief, in Religion,
or in different systems of Thought.
z5. Phe i'deal ogu Vaishgava. - The ideal to which a
paishnava follower of Ramanuja is expected to reach is
,righteous path) men
way,
i
C
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beautifully jl]ustrated iu the sacred writings. Ouce jt
happened that a Vaislinava devotee wished to know howhe shouid conduct hjmself, and he approached his revered
teacher for insiructiou in the uiatter. He referred him
to gajut Anandalwar of Tirupati Hill for advice, to whjch
he proceeded. This model teacher thereupon desj@d him
to stav with hjm for sonsetime. One day while meals were
to bejng served after worship to all, he was asked to takehjs place in a corner at a spot far below his rauk to which
he would be entitled by virtue of his learniug and social
status; but he uever 'gotoffeuded at the arrangement;
and he immediately sat at the place allotted to him. The
aext occasion he was pojuted out a seat in the front ranks
of Vaishnavas at the tjuse of serving meals. He was in
no way elated wjth joy at this procedure. Fveryday he
use to bathe, and have his clothes well cleaned, aud. kept
neat and white; and in his conduct he was exemplary,
being the same in thought, word, and deed . A f t e r
noticing his behaviour.for soinetjme, the teacher at
Tirupati exclajmed iu terse Tasnil thus " Kokkuppol iruk
kam; Koljpol irukkam, uppuppc)1 irukkam, ummaippol
jrukkam"= >~a~@~Q~~P
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approach this ideal. It is clear from the given illustra
tion that a genuiue Vaishnava should be a living exainple
for purity of conduct, and should be a mirror of greatness,nobilily of character, like a swan. Tlse cogxparison of p,
rowr, in relation to his daily life is in tended to il lustrate
his attitude towards the Shastras and standard works of
authority amids. the vast store of religious Literature.
He is expected to use his best discrimination to select
the essentials from the non-essentials like the p(%rrwhich
i s wont to take out .the sUssTANcg froin amids t a heap
of RUasrsH. The illustration that he should act the part
of 'salt' in his dealings with the world, indicates his
genuiueness of character in relation to the external v orld,
as well as to the internal, with a view to show that what
was aimed at as the ideal was No rMAGrNARv aFrNG, but
that living exap zples could be had in those days. The
teacher points out to him that the person addressed was
himself one of such examples, though rare to 6nd.
Any how, with such noble exampl~s before us for our
guidance, we should-not despai~. This b~ing a period
of transition, we have occasions ta notice many an
instance of deviatious from the righteous course, many a
courseof conduct undeserving of the former social dignity
and status of the delinquents.
z6. The need of the hour.
As a measure of practical reform along the line of
least resistance, I would strongly advocate the entire union
of the two important sections of Sri Vaishnava Brahmins
which is partially carried out, and would earnestly appeal
to them to sink their minor di8'erences, and really follow
the footsteps of Ramanujacharya, and approach theideal already referred to. To the thoughtfu l and un
biassed Vaishnava follower of Saint Rau>anuja,
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would appeal for hi s considerat ion, and ask h ii n t o
ponder over these so-called diBerences. In his learned
Introduction tothe Mysore Census Report of i89r, Mr.
V. N. Narasimhaiengar incidentally refers to these eigh
differences between the Vadakalai and Tenkaiai
section of Sri Vaishnavas. They are mostly philosophi
cal, aud two or three of theiu appear to be very puer ile,
aud based upon mere sentinientP With a spirit.of broad
iniisded and sympathetic toleration with which our edu
cated classes ought to be credited, (else our boasted educa
tiou on we>teru lines is not worth much), we should not
d espaii of effecting a compromise, and work as a u n i t ed
band in comnson brotherhood as Ramanuja' s true
followers, who are expected to be alike in word, thought,a>id deed LIKF. cOMMON SALT. To carry out thi s desi rable
refolll), let Aryau Lodges be cstablished in diffexent cen
tres with the main object of effecting this compromise, so
that all Ramanuja's followers may stand upon a common
p]atform, and work out our salvation. To these institu
tions, Hostel arrangeu>ents can be attached, where therising generation of Vaishnava students may. be taken
care of with regard to their spiritual advancement,
The differences referred to are:
(r) Whether Laxmi, the consort of Vishnu, is,
oumipresent and coilliu>itable with Vishnu,
(2) Whether Laksmi is only the mediatriz m' the co
bestower of "Moksham" or final beatitude,
(3) Whether there is any graduated Moksham attain
able by the good and blessed according to their res
pective multifarious merits.
These d'g erences are nokd be&mfor easy reference.
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C8iLSC;"
Creator.
-(4) %hether.pRApATTr, or unconditional snrrender of
the soul to God,.should be perforu>ed once for all.(g) Whether it(Prapatti) is oyeii to all, or is pres
cribed ouly for tliose, specially prepar'ed and apprentieed.
(6) Khet1>er tlie 'iiidivisibly atoinic humais. soil is
~ntered into or permj:ated or not by the '0 ' in ii ipresent
(y) Whether God's mercy is exerted with or without
(8) Whether the same (Diviue meicy) n>ea'ns the over
lookiii~' (6oshadaisan'an:), or the eiijo~'inent (dosha-bhogy
atvam) of the soul's delipqueucies.
(9) Whether works (karma) a>id knowledge (gs>ana)are ii> themselves Salvatiou-giving, or only lead .to faith
(Bhakti), by which' fiual eu>ancipation is attained.
(ro) Whether the good of other (uuregeuerate) castes
should be toleratc:d according to thei r graduated social
statuses, or should be venerated withont reference to caste
inequalities.
(rr) Whether Karu ia (works, ritual) or shouid i iot
be bodily aud wholly abandoned by those wlso have
adopted Prajatt.
Besides these, there are minor dif terences regarding
(r) Perfornsance of "Sraddha" on "Hkadas i" day, orthe next day (s) The bell should be rung with the left
hand, or. it shonld be done away with, during worship,
(g) whether Hastodakam (purifying the hand with water
a fully conscious of >ny
l
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iuhbility to do justice to the great "Hero" of to =day's
address..I am glad to find that signs. are not wanting
which indicated that several pative scholars, irnbued with
Western sclsolarshjp and with au eye for histoxical xe
search, will soou cogxe into the Beld to explore the un
known regious of Visistadvaitic school of thought, +ud
give the benefit of thei r researehes to the world;
r8. I am particularly glad to congratulate Mr. Gopalacharlu on the success that has attended his efForts to
open a " I adies" section for the delivery of lectures in
Kanarese, in connection with the Srinivasa Maiidixang
Library; aiid iuay there be >uany inore occasions of srich
gatherings, as years roll on, in coumlemoration of Hirth
day festivities, aniiiversaries of our noble sage Sri Bhagavan Ramauujacharya is my ferveutpra>er, the prayer of
one of his humble aixd unworthy disciples aud followers.
Priuted at the "Brahmavadiu Press," Madras, E.
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CHAIRMAN'S SPFHCH.
The Chairman then spol'e as follows;
Ladies and gentlemen, In accordance with the time
honoured custom and with the programme before me,-I
rise to say a few words before the close of this evening's
proceedings. But if you expect a speech from me, you
must be prepared for a disappointment. When a few
days ago Mr. A. Gopalacharlu asked me to preside at this
important function, I begged hard to be excused; for I
felt that there was nothing in me adequate to the obliga
tion which the acceptance of this high honour involved.
But he was inexorable. Under no circumstances would
he spare me and take a refusal, I had accordingly to sub '
mit, lest I should. be considered hostile or indifferent to a
movement which had my entire sympathy, and into which
.'8r. Gopalacharlu had thrown himself, heart and soul,
with phenomenal enthusiasm. (Hear, hear,)
It was at first my intention to give you a brief'summary of the address,when my turn caine to speak. I
accordingly took some notes when the address wasin
courseof delivery. But I s oonfound that this was a
hopeless task, and therefore abandoned it. I shall now
content myself with making a few general remarks, as
any attempt to do anything more inight take me beyondmy depth, and make me Aounder,
tion with many-sided activities, not the least important
of which is a Pree Library, which is a storehouseof
useful knowledge, and in connection with which lectures
are occasionally delivered on subjects, chieRy religious.The Anniversary of the propounder of the Visistadwaita
The Srinivasa Mandiram and Charties is an Institu
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24
faith is also being celebrated iu the Mandiram with much
eclad. This is what has hitherto beeu done. But this
yeax thexe is.auew departure, as evidenced by the p'resent
g athering. I congratulate Mr. Gopalacharlu ori h i shappy idea, and on its successful accomplishment. I
also congratulate Mr. M. >. Srinivasa Iyengar on his
masterly handling of the subje6t. For a thorough grasp
of the subject, clear maxshalliug of points, lucidity of
ezposition, and choiceuess of diction, his address leaves
nothing to be desixed. Lastly, I congratulate the audience on the able, interesting and instxuciive address to
which they have had the privilege of listening. (Hear,
hear.)
Mr. Sxinivasa Iyengar has told us who Sri Ramanuja
charya was, aud what he did for us . We have iu the
life, teachiugs and work of" this revered saint a glorious
heritage moral, spiritual, and intellectual 'aheritage, of
which we have every reaso~ to be proud. He was the
chosen iustxument of God, charged wi.h a diviue mission.,
How well he fulfilied that mission has been fullybrought
home to you by Mr. Srinivasa Iyeugar's addxess. He
travelled farand wide, preached indefatigably the gospel
of Visistadwaita faith, propagated, consolidated, re-aKrm
ed and re-established that faith, and. pla.'ced it on a per
mauent stable aud intelligible basis. He was cosmopolitan
iu his views, as evideuced by the fact pxominently mention
ed iu theA.ddress; he opeued the poxtals'of our temples to
all people alike, irrespective of caste or creed. (Hear, hear).In his time there was unity amoug his followexs. Schisms,
however, have siuce arisen for some reasou or other. The
fact uevertheless remains, that uotwithstanding sectarian
difFerences, his followers contiuue to admire, adore, and
venerate and. worship him in every Vaishnava Temple.
Such then was the xemaxkable personage who has formed
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25t ' I
I
the subject of to-night s Address. The life and doings of
a deified Saint like him are well worth our study. But to
be able to appreciate him properly, you must understan'd'
him aright. Such an understa~ding requires e8ort, whichin its turn presupposes " will. " I f t o -n igh t' s A.ddress.has
stimulated such "will," and aroused a spirit of enquiry,
Mr. Srinivasa Iyengar's labours will have been amply
repaid. (Hear, hear.) This inauguration cereniony is, as
I have already said, the first of its kind here; but. with
a sponsor like Mr. Gapalacharlu, I.am sure it will not bkthe last. I wish it continued success and ever-increasing.
usefulness. It only remains for me, before resuming my;
seat, to propose ahearty vote of thanks to our learned
I ecturer, and I have no doubt that this wil l be carr ied
with acclamation. (Continued applause.)Mr. Gopalacharlu then rose, and spoke in a few
felicitous words, expressing his great obligation to the
I ,ecturer> and, in doing so, he obse rved tha t Mr . M. B .
Srinivasaiyengar, had to come all the way from IIassau.
for the occasion. It was a matter of great inconveni
ence for hin" to come; but he knew how great and deser
ving was the cause; and, as such, it was natural that
a ll other considerations did not prevai l on him . M r .
Gopalacharlu also paid a h igh t r i bute to Mr. C. Sr i
nivasaiyengar, retired Councillor oi the Mysore Stqte,
who presided at . th is im po rtant fu nc t i on. F u r t h er > a
happy reference was made to the President of the City
Municipal Council, Bangalore, for the Muuicipal aid
rendered on the occasion. Janopakari Doddannah Chetty
was also thanked for giving the use ofhis Hall for that day..
Thus the Inauguration-day came to a close.
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Coyies can l)e had of (1) Mr. k. Goyalacharlu, Fcunder
and Manager, Srinivasa.Mandiram and Charities,
Bangalore City. (8) The Manager, Granthasala
Buildings, Ramvilasa Street, Mysore City, and (3)
The Manager, Brahmavadin Press, Madras, E.