sri rama gunarnava
DESCRIPTION
Comparison between Lord Rama and Sri RamanujaTRANSCRIPT
Sri Rama Gunarnava
Sri Ramanuja Gunarnava
(Y B Angirasa)
When we meditate on Sri Ramanuja, our heart automatically turns
towards Sri Rama. This is because there are startling similarities between
the manner in which Sri Rama carried and conducted himself and the way
Sri Ramanuja lived and behaved in different situations. The months of
April/May are auspicious and joyous months to all the devout and to
Srivaishnavas, in particular. Sri Rama Navami and Sri Ramanuja Jayanti
occur in these months. This year will mark the 991st birth anniversary of
Sri Ramanuja. Let us derive the twin good fortune of loving Sri Rama – we
cannot do that enough – and paying our warm and affectionate obeisance
to Sri Ramanuja. The simple truth is that, those for whom Sri Rama is a
living reality, cannot but love Sri Ramanuja too with an equal fervour.
Sri Rama was such a person that the young and old, boys and girls, high
and the low, felt fulfilled just by reflecting on him (Ayodhya Kanda 2.52:
striyo vriddhaah tarunyascha…ramaasyarte manasvinah). If Rama was
around, every one felt that they were in possession of all they needed.
Andal, who considered herself as a cowherdess and constantly yearned for
Sri Krishna, referred to Sri Rama as ‘dearest to one’s soul’ because she
was intuitively aware of Sri Rama’s empathy. That was his natural bhava.
He never thought it adequate just to sympathize. Sri Rama was not also a
fault-finding person. He knew there was a perfect explanation for both Page 1 of 38
good and the not-so- good, and He knew it even before the affected
person discovered it. He stole people’s hearts by His bewitchingly
handsome appearance and the way He carried himself and moved,
sometimes reminding of the proud lion and sometimes of the sedate,
majestic and sure-footed elephant (Ayodhya Kanda 3.27 – 28: gandharva
raja pratimam … pumsaam drishti chitta apahaarinam … matta maatanga
gaaminam and Aranya Kanda 47.35: simha vikraanta gaaminam ...
nrisimham). He was magnificent like an ocean, ever full, but never
overflowing (Ayodhya Kanda 34.9: gaambhiryaat saagaropamah).
The love that people felt for Sri Rama was extraordinary and out of the
world. In fact, every person felt like saying, “Rama, we are finding it
impossible to be away from you even for a moment. Please come with us
and be a part of our household”. Then the realization would dawn on them
that Sitadevi and Lakshmana too would miss Him acutely and they cannot
also bear to see them suffering. Sri Rama would also find it terrible to be
without them. Therefore, they would end up saying, “Rama, be where you
are. But remain visible to us everyday with Sitadevi and Lakshmana”, and
feel noble and good over their own sense of propriety and sacrifice!
Sometimes, they also cheekily thought Sri Rama was a shade luckier than
their Sita! Rama would be saying later in the forest, “O Sita, with you by
my side, I do not miss Ayodhya even for a moment”. But even before
going to the forest Sita would be saying, “I am going to be very happy in
the forest. That much is certain. I shall accept with delight even the most
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insignificant thing which You may collect for my sake, with Your own
hands, be it an edible-looking root or a flower from some unknown tree.
And being with You, assisting in Your dharma, I shall not miss either my
father or mother” (Ayodhya Kanda sargas, 95 and 30). Sri Rama loved Sita
with His mind and heart. Sita loved Sri Rama with Her whole Being.
Sri Rama always spoke like a royal swan would if it took on a human
tongue (Ayodhya Kanda 49.14: hamsa mattasvarah sriman). His words
were laden with synthesized wisdom and rasa and yet he always
‘conveyed’ and seldom ‘imposed’. Thus, when he made a point, it was
difficult not to agree with him. He never took offence and his capacity for
tolerance and forgiveness was enormous. Winsome were his ways and
petulance was unknown to him: therefore, he had no need of either
authority or anger, to subdue or subjugate. Whether it was nature, or
people’s behaviour, he observed keenly and often knew far ahead, of the
likely turn of events. With all this, he remained an upasaka for satya. A
perfection, which ceaselessly strove to be more perfect!
It is astonishing that when we study Sri Ramanuja’s life and activities, we
are able to come across an amazing likeness with Sri Rama, beginning
from his magnificent height, striking appearance and overall carriage. His
self-effacing nature, simplicity (though it was obvious to the perceptive
and far-seeing that he was born to wear a crown), his principles, how he
related to others, his ready admiration for the noble and beautiful
whatever it was and wherever it manifested, his remarkable organizing
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and administrative abilities and, above all, his most endearing saulabhya,
were strikingly reminiscent of Sri Rama.
It has been mentioned in the Guruparampara Prabhava of Sri Triteeya
Brahmatantra Svami that Sriman Narayana asked Adisesha to incarnate
as Ramanuja in order to give a helping hand to Sri Alavandar. We may
visualize that the great Adisesha may have prayed for a boon with folded
hands that, as Ramanuja, he may live, act and speak in the true image of
the Sanatana Purusha when He donned the name of Rama, in the
avataara in Treta Yuga. The Lord must have also smiled and said, “So be
it”. Let us now make a closer comparative study, commencing from the
advent, the birth month and go on.
The Advent
The Lord, Sri Maha Vishnu took a sankalpa that He would take birth in the
human form, as a manushya, as Rama, and after disposing off Ravana and
others of his ilk, re-establish dharma and also live long enough (11,000
earth years) to ensure that dharma and sanmarga dug deep roots, to
sprout ever more and further, as and when needed.
Sri Ramanuja’s advent took place when Sriman Narayana took another
sankalpa after the Kali Yuga was born and the satva guna started to
languish, the rajo guna took to dry intellectual argument and denial and
the tamo guna to greater coarseness. He called Sri Adisesha and gave
instructions as mentioned above.
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Why did the Lord think that Sri Alavandar required a helping hand? This
requires an elaboration.
The Lord knew that a progressive holy and holistic mission had passaged
itself (through the impulsion provided by Him) via the great Sri Nathamuni
and Sri Manakkal Nambi to Sri Alavandar. That work involved the re-
establishment of the pristine and absolute nature of the Paratva of Sriman
Narayana, that He himself is both the Upeya and Upayai and alongside,
the role of Acharya, to lit and lead in the marga (pathway) of karma,
jnana, bhakti or absolute surrender. But once in the cycle of birth and
death, it takes several births even for a jnaani to become integrally aware
that Sri Vasudeva is everything- (Gita, 7:19).
Was it the position that Truth had been obliterated? Truth can never be
extinguished. Nor does it distance itself from the Jivaas. It is life that tends
to ignore it or turn away from it. In such a situation, it can get shrouded or
become beyond perceivable range, due to polemical debate or the high
pitch of the reasoning intellectual. The retrieval has to be done with care
since a maze (of arguments) may have come around the Satya causing
misleading routes or a distorted understanding to gain ground. Many walls
of resistance may have to be brought down to reduce the maze to a
straight and visible path. The work is enormous in dimension and intricate
because, truly, it is one of restoration than a de novo construction.
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Building from the scratch is always easy. But restoring a fissured structure
to its past glory is always more complex and challenging.
The Supreme Word was there, God-given, in the Vedas. The Truth and its
forms had been seen by the sages in a divine vision and sung in the
Upanishads. It was artfully sung by the Lord Himself as the Gita and
resung in a sweet tongue known to millions, by Divine Emanations or
minstrels, as the Divya Prabhandas. The Word had been a setting like
valuable gems in an ornament, in Itihasas and Puranas. The Word had to
be restored and its supremacy given back to it. The Deity which had got
‘hidden in the bush or buried under the river sand when the river changed
its course’ had to be restored to its sanctum sanctorum. It was not an
easy undertaking. It was fit only for the steady and the boldest and the
most vigorous, the visionary and the faithful. It was bound to face many
hurdles and required valiant and innovative efforts and an unsparing and
energetic drive to succeed.
The Lord’s wish was that the true purpose of His avataaraas, namely the
unassailability of paratva, dharma sthaapana its samrakshana for loka hita
and bahu jana sukha should be carried forward on the foundations of the
revelations already ‘in place’under the umbrella of the tatva trayaas (chit,
achit and Isvara). The paths had been laid, trodden, and rendered easy by
Him during His incarnations, principally, the Rama and the Krishna
avataaraas. And there was the blanket assurances conveyed in the Sri
Varaha avataaraa. The Sri Vaishnava marga needed to be established in
an authentic manner, with crystalline clarity and placed under a proper
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system, a parampara- a comprehensive unassailable tradition, which can
hold good for generations. Ineluctable truths already existed in the Vedas,
the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita and the Divya
Prabhandas showing in a veiled way, the links, on the one hand,
connecting individually from one side, the three(inter-linked) levels, first
the gross and the material, secondly, the discerning and the intellectual
human at the top of the evolutionary scale and thirdly the life saps
bewitchingly nourished and sustained by the Pancha Bhutas and the
trigunaas, with the ever Benevolent, Beatific, Transcendent, Supreme on
the other side. Those truths needed to be re-revealed authentically with
clarity, repeated and enlivened and made incandescent. Such was the role
which Sri Alavandar had taken upon himself, which, the Lord Himself felt
to be too much of a burden. The Lord’s wish was that Sri Adisesha should
step down into an earth-existence as Ramanuja to take over the baton,
become the Commander, give relief to Sri Alavandar and complete the
job.
In pursuance of the Supreme’s wish, Sri Ramanuja’s birth took place in
1017 A.D. as the first child of Asuri Kesava Somayaji also known as Kesava
Perumal and Kantimati, also known as Bhumi Piratti.
Sri Ramanuja was born as an intellectual giant who preferred to remain
unobtrusive. His persistent desire was to take his jnana to the level of
vijnana. Like Sri Rama, who persistently sought three types of elders (by
age and experience, integrity and character, knowledge and wisdom), Sri
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Ramanuja too kept approaching many sources in a quietly zestful quest, in
search of the Ultimate. By the time he was sixteen, he had mastered the
essence of all the Vedas with its angas. Considering the directness and
calm assurance with which he countered the imperfect and distorted
teachings of Sri Yadava Prakasa, it must be said that he must have
absorbed the pith and substance of the Upanishads too. All the learning
rested on him lightly and it may be visualized that he was the “likeable,
amazing, scholarly boy next door”.
Yet, even while young and keeping his ascent going, he must have had an
instinctive realization that intellectual eminence was not all or everything
and that there was definitely something higher to which, such eminence
should remain, so to say, in a state of servitude. With our knowledge of his
whole life and the advantage of hindsight, we may say that perhaps Sri
Ramanuja perceived ‘That Higher Truth’ in as many as four different
centres:
With his inner and blessed vision, he saw that Truth initially and
exclusively in the Archa Murti of Perarulala Sri Varadaraja of Kanchi, later
in an equal extent in Lord Sri Ranganatha and eventually in the Lords
residing in all the divya desaas of the Bharata desa.
With his immense reverence for his acharyaas, he must have seen ‘That’
shining as wisdom and lore in the hearts of Sri Alavandar, Sri Tirumalai
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Nambi, Sri Peria Nambi, Sri Tiruk-koshtiyur Nambi, Sri Tirumalai-andan
and Sri Tiruvaranga Perumal Araiyar.
With his humility and admiration, he must have seen ‘That’ in the great
Bhagavata, Sri Tiruk-kachi Nambi and disciples like Kooresa, Govinda,
Mudali-andan, Anantazhvan and Vatuka Nambi.
With his sama darsana and sausheelya, he must have encountered ‘That’
in the hearts of persons like the Urangavilli Dasa, the muscle-man devotee
of Uraiyur, the simple village woman of the last varna, in Tiruvali-
Tirunagari and the ten or something old maid of Tiruppulingudi who archly
enquired of him, by that time a much aged and much travelled saint, why
he could not remember the “koovudal varudal” pasuram (Thiruvaimozhi
3578) to know how far away was Alwar Tirunagari, and the unpretentious
but very evolved woman of Thiruk-kolur who summarized before him in 81
aphoristic questions and exclamations, the Itihasas, the Srimad
Bhagavatam, the Divya Prabhandas and incidents from Ramanuja’s own
life. He heard the trill of the Divine in such heart-beats and voices!
The Birth Month
Sri Rama was born in the month of Chaitra, described as “Sriman”,
“Punya” among the months chaitrah sriman ayam masah punyah..
(Ayodhya Kanda, 3:4). Sri Ramanuja too was born in the month of Chaitra.
If it was Shukla Paksha, Navami in Sri Rama’s case, it was Panchami for Sri
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Ramanuja. For both, the sign Karkata was rising in the East, at the time of
birth, making it the Ascendant.
The second house in a horoscope, signifies among other things, power of
speech. Surya (Sun) the lord of the second house being in exaltation in Sri
Rama’s horoscope, he spoke with a grandeur and grace, to impart, heal,
purify, elevate and occasionally to control and overcome. He was a
vaakyakushala-( Ayodhya kanda, 113;11). But he was always restrained
and euphemistic when it came to talking about himself. Dasaratha had
just asked him to get ready to sit on the throne, from the next day, and
while conveying the joyous tiding (one does not hear such news
everyday!) to his mother, he said, “Mother, I have been asked by father to
handle the responsibilities of taking care of people’s welfare from
tomorrow” (Ibid. 4:35). After returning to Ayodhya, he thanked the
assembled Janaka and other kings feelingly that Ravana was destroyed
neither by his ability nor by Sugreeva sena but entirely by their good
wishes. The great sage Agastya for whom Sri Rama had enormous
admiration once described that the way Sri Rama spoke was always
marvelous and auspicious ati adbhtham..subha aksharam (Uttara Kanda,
92:7)
Sri Ramanuja’s second Lord too was Surya who was in exaltation as well.
We know how he spoke in a refined, measured, unruffled and controlled
manner, always making his listeners feel at home. His Rahu was in the
Rishabha rasi (considered by some astrological classics as his sign of
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exaltation), the house of gains for him, conferring on him the external
dynamism to roll on, scattering (the dissidents), winning and expanding
God’s domain. His Moon was in the vayu tatva rasi of Mithuna, transiting
the auspicious star Ardra (whose ruling Planet is Rahu), conferring on his
mind all the powers of vayu, the wind god – rapid in taking decision, force
in execution and acceleration in progress.
The Name
Sage Vasishtha gave the name ‘Rama’, since by just looking at him,
everyone was filled with an overwhelming sense of joy and an overflowing
sense of contentment. The converse too was true: the person, who could,
but did not look at Sri Rama was looked down by everybody and his mind
too censured him! Yascha Ramam na pashyet.. ninditah bhavet sva atma
api enam vigarhati (Ayodhya Kanda, 17:14). People related to him as they
would to the Creator-Brahma – with trust, affection, and an enormous
sense of security and well being. (Bala Kanda, 77:25.). He is there: what
can happen to us?
Sri Ramanuja was named ‘Ilaiya alwar’, the reference being wholly to the
inimitable younger brother Lakshmana (anuja- ilaiya to Sri Rama) by Sri
Tirumali Nambi, the maternal uncle. One look at the child and the
radiance it shed revealed to his god-vision that if that Lakshmana was the
kainkarya para- “I shall do everything for you and Devi Sita”- aham
sarvam karishyami, this ‘shubha lakshana Lakshmana’ will be doing
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unprecedented kainkarya for Sri Vaishnava dharma and the name ‘Ilaiya
alwar’ suggested itself, on its own. Later on, when he decided to take to
the robes, Lord Sri Varadaraja, nodded His assent and named him
“Yatiraja”. In Srirangam, Sri Ranganatha applauded that his merits have
earned for him the Nitya Vibhuti and by his activities, in the ‘iha’, he was
shining faultlessly in the Lila Vibhuti. Hence he is the possessor of both,
and therefore, the “Udaiyavar”. Thiru-koshtiyur Nambi gave him the title
“Emperumanar” and we will see more of that by and by.
He was tall, fair complexioned like Lakshmana and handsome. He had an
effulgence which made him stand out in a crowd. So much so, when Sri
Alavandar saw him from a distance in the temple premises of Lord Sri
Varadaraja, in the company of Sri Yadava Prakasa and his disciples, his
heart swelled and he thought, “Ah, here he is, who is going to be the Chief
one day!”
Learning Skills
Sri Rama was the supreme Being who had incarnated. Yet, He
systematically went through the motions of learning everything that he
should, as a Kshatriya prince, who would one day wear the crown and be
the sovereign. He had the skill of asking an appropriate question, in the
right context and elicit a wealth of information. The Bala Kanda is nearly
full of what he gathered from Visvamitra and similarly a great part of
Uttara Kanda consists of Sage Agastya’s narrations, in response to his
queries.
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If the sages Vasishtha and Visvamitra were the two principal gurus of Sri
Rama, Sri Ramanuja had several gurus. But his chief guru was Sri
Alavandar. Sri Ramanuja has described himself as Sri Alavandar’s
Ekalavya! Lord Sri Varadaraja had communicated through Tirukkachi
Nambi that Sri Ramanuja should look to lean on Peria Nambi for guidance
for further evolution in the path. It was Peria Nambi who bestowed on him
the Pancha Samskaras. Earlier, he was a sincere disciple of Sri Yadava
Prakasa who was an Advaitin. Time, events, Sri Ramanuja’s towering
scholarship and awareness of the Truths all combined together to raise
him to a far higher plane and orbit and it was inevitable that he should
move away from the Adavaita guru.
The rahasyarthas of the Ashtakshara Mantra and Charama Sloka were
imparted to him by Tirukkoshtiyur Nambi. Sri Tirumalai Andan conveyed
to him the inner essence and rasa of the Tiruvaymozhi. In the process, Sri
Andan sensitized himself further to the deeper kernels of Truth inlaid by
Sri Nammazhvar, which vibrations he had not been able pick up thus far
but which were already flowing like an underground river in Sri
Ramanuja’s heart! The precocious disciple could not resist offering a more
exalted meaning than the one mentioned by Sri Andan. This piqued the
teacher and he stopped further lessons. When he reported his experience
to Tirukkoshtiyur Nambi, the latter made a brief but telling remark: “Be
like Sandipini, to whom an opportunity was provided by Sri Krishna
himself, to ‘assume’ the role of an instructor”, clearly hinting that he
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should consider himself privileged that Sri Ramanuja was sitting before
him as a student. Sri Tiruvarangapperumal Araiyar emphasized to him the
glory of an acharya – that an Acharya should be regarded virtually as God
walking in our midst. All about the ‘samudram iva ratnadyam sarva sruti
manoharam’, that is Srimad Ramayana, was taught to him, over a period
of one year, by his maternal uncle Sri Tirumalai Nambi.
Wherefore was the need to learn from six Acharyas? It seems that Sri
Alavandar had deliberately designed it that way, in the manner of a King,
who very thoughtful and concerned about the knowledge to be acquired
by his prince, the heir apparent, having to be comprehensive and also
perfect, would deliberately entrust the job of ‘upbringing’ to several
ministers, each extremely and insularly proficient in a particular branch of
knowledge.
The soul grows taller through humility. It becomes richer by appreciating
and praising with a natural ease and grace. This was the case with Sri
Ramanuja. Sri Ramanuja’s humilty was so vast and there was spontaneity
in his outgoing acts to applaud others for their rare displays of virtues like
forgiveness, karuna and great god-ward love. He constantly enlarged and
refurbished himself by picking up subtle truths from incidents in the lives
of his disciples. When Kooresa was asked by Sri Ramanuja to sing the
Varadarajastava and ask the Lord to restore his sight, Kooresa duly sang
but remembering the peril which Nalooran was facing – he was primarily
responsible for Kooresa losing sight- asked the Lord that the good he may
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be getting may be received by Nalooran also. The Lord, for whom ahimsa
is a great dharma (Sundara Kanda 38.39: aanrusamsyam paro dharmah),
promptly said, “Yes, so be it”. And Sri Ramanuja was unhappy, baffled, but
was also lost in admiration.
On another occasion Govinda, his cousin was unable to bear the sight of a
cobra which had a thorn painfully stuck in its tongue and without
hesitation and with utter disregard for personal safety, he stuck his hand
inside the fangs and removed the thorn. He was not even aware that
obeying the reptilian instinct, the cobra had bit him; his karuna and faith
made him immune. Sri Ramanuja became speechless when he heard of
this incident.
A third instance concerns Urangavilli, the muscle man of Uraiyur. He was
deeply in love with Ponnathal (also called Kanakambal). They were not yet
married. When she came to Srirangam from Uraiyur, to attend the
festivities arranged for Lord Sri Ranganatha, Urangavilli accompanied her
and wherever she went, he followed, holding a shielding umbrella ardently
over head. He did not pay attention to people’s smirks. Sri Ramanuja saw
this. He felt parental towards them and mused, “Such a profusion of care
and love! Appropriately, it should belong to God!” He took Urangavilli by
the hand, took him inside the temple and made him experience the bliss
of a close darsan of the Lord. The love in Urangavilli’s heart imbued with
worldly hues, turned into the golden-coloured ‘Bhagavat-kama’.
Urangavilli fell at Sri Ramanuja’s feet and said, “I am yours hereafter. Tell
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me what I should do. Kanakamba did the same. Sri Ramanuja did not
separate them. They were full of love of the self- giving kind. “Such sheep
will never graze elsewhere”, thought he. He got them into his fold and
made them man and wife. To demonstrate his love, he chose Urangavilli’s
shoulder to rest his arm, while returning from Cauvery, after the daily holy
bath.
Sauseelya
Is Sri Rama remembered more for his sausheelya or for his saulabhya? He
who loves Sri Rama may not want to face this question. For, when any one
of his innumerable qualities is capable of giving us all that we need in life
here and beyond, why then should we force ourselves to make selection
or a choice? Let us consider a few instances of his sausheelya and then
take up saulabhya. In his very first encounter, Ravana was bested by Sri
Rama in a matter of seconds. With the speed of lightning, Sri Rama
rendered him chariotless and with a supreme arrow pierced his chest.
Ravana became dizzy and was in a state of utter helplessness. Sri Rama
next knocked down his crown and made it roll in the dust. Ravana realized
that no one else than Sri Rama could save him and his life. However, his
enormous ego prevented that realization from getting the upperhand. Sri
Rama read his thoughts clearly. The Supreme’s generosity and karuna
was such that the ‘unspoken state’ itself claimed eligibility for protection.
Sri Rama, therefore, outwardly said: “Do not feel small. You had fought
hard for a long time today. I give you permission to leave the battlefield.
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Take rest and come tomorrow in a refreshed condition” (Yuddha Kanda
sarga 59). Who else than Sri Rama could say words of such magnanimity
to a person who had sunk so mean as to use maya and Maricha to abduct
an unprotected Sita?
When Sugreeva protested that Vibheeshana should not be accepted, Sri
Rama could have replied, “Look, I have this vrata. I happen to know more
about the proper thing to be done on such occasions”. He did not wish to
choke any body like that. He gave full opportunity not only to Sugreeva
but also to every body like Jambavan, Angada, who wanted to have a say.
He was so concerned that while upholding his dearest dharma, he should
not be seen as having bruised the feelings of those well wishers who were
ready to give up their lives for him. He also knew that once he started
speaking, he could convince everybody. Accordingly, he took into account
every single argument in the debate and countered all of them. It was
only after convincing them, that he said, “Sugreeva, please go and fetch
him. Even if you discover that it is not Vibheeshana, but Ravana himself in
disguise, do not turn back in shock. Bring him. I am ready to accept
Ravana’s surrender and give him full protection”.
Sri Ramanuja too revealed matchless noble mindedness and generosity to
Sri Yadavaprakasa, the guru with limited siddhis and Sri Yajnamurti, the
much read, vain, much travelled scholar. The former had tried to kill him
and had vented on him, his small mindedness on several occasions. His
diminutive perception of the real Truth had made him insecure, uncertain
of his ground and jealous. But later on he felt like becoming an open page
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before Sri Ramanuja so that the latter could freely inscribe on the
receptive soul, sacred mantras and syllables. The guru longed to be taken
as a sishya. The Lord, ever watchful and effusive towards those who wish
to mend and turn to the right path, conveyed to Sri Yadavaprakasa that
he need not agitate himself about any ritual act of contrition and that it
was enough if he circumambulated Sri Ramanuja. Like a traveller who had
reverted to the path he has to tread, and peace in his heart, he then
approached Sri Ramanuja. Sri Ramanuja did not ridicule or heckle him.
Such attitudes were totally unknown to him. On a sign made by him,
Kooresa gave an extempore discourse on matter, jiva and the Paramatma
how He is the Dual One, the Upeya, the One to be attained and the Upaya,
the marga, the means too, and contemplating Him with love, is the Upaya.
Sri Ramanuja then accepted him with great affection and also respect,
renamed him as Govinda Jeer and asked him to write a valuable grantha
called ‘Yatidharma Samucchaya’. He had the divinity to illumine ill-will and
transform it into goodwill.
Sri Yajnamurthi challenged Sri Ramanauja Darsana and provocatively
invited him for a debate to establish its superiority over his (Advaitic)
Siddhanta. The loser was to become the disciple of the proclaimed winner.
Sri Yajnamurti had no doubt as to who would be the winner.
The debate went on for seventeen days and it seemed to Sri Ramanuja
that he had exhausted all his arguments and yet, had not advanced. In
sorrow, in self-chastisement and in a mood to perform purificatory
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penance, he fasted and went to rest, without even a frugal meal. Lord Sri
Varadaraja chided him and said His intention was to recruit another able
disciple for him. The Lord also drew attention specific portions of Sri
Alavandar’s expositions which countered the mayavada, which had not
been invoked. Evidently He had been a keen listener! On the next day, Sri
Yajnamurthi looked at the tejas emanating from Sri Ramanuja and
accepted defeat without a word and begged for pardon. Sri Ramanuja did
not humble him but instead honoured him saying that the Lord had
himself conveyed in his dream, the new name of ‘Arulala Perumal
Emperumanar’ and then proceeded to acquaint him with the inner
meaning of the Divya Prabhandas. He used to address him as ‘Devaraja
muni’ and got a Math constructed for his stay. He also got him to write to
two valuable granthas - ‘Jnana Saram’ and ‘Prameya Saram’, containing
an elucidation of the axiom that a good shishyatva is not to look beyond
the Acharya. He also made him an essential member of his group, in all
his travels thereafter.
Saulabhya
Sri Rama’s saulabhya is the golden thread that runs through the whole of
Ramayana. In a simple and unartful way, saulabhya can be explained as
that inherent quality by which a person who, because of his exalted birth
or other attributes, could have very well lived in an ivory tower, voluntarily
and spontaneously discards that exclusivity and instead, makes himself
extremely accessible, moves with the common and ordinary folks, and
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gets touched by their day to day highs and lows. He does not also allow
such a tower to be built for him!
Sumantra had a special relationship with Dasaratha. He was endowed with
a exclusive knowledge relating to future events. He knew that Sri
Sanatkumara had forecast that Dasaratha was bound to be childless for a
long time but would be blessed with four immaculate sons and the rishi
Rishyasringa would officiate in a yajna and make it possible. He knew
through Durvasa, how Sri Rama’s personal life would be affected in the
era subsequent to the Ravana samhara. May be Sri Rama had all that in
his subliminal mind when he gave him the most exquisite and scintillating
paryanka darsana along with Sita, on the morning of the day set for his
coronation. (His inner Divinity knew that Sumantra’s arrival meant that
the moment for his departure to the forest for achieving the objective of
the avataara had come and He rewarded the messenger!)
He referred to Guha as his atmasakha which may have left even Sita and
Lakshmana wondering when, how and where such bond began! His
concern for Guha was so much that he asked Hanuman to stop at
Sringiverapura and convey tidings of his welfare to Guha, even while
dashing to meet Bharata in Nandigrama. He subjected himself to
vilification and abuse before Vali so that ‘Sugreeva’s brother’ could
ascend to the higher world to which he belonged without earthly
bitterness and vicious hatred. At another level, Sri Rama who was
experiencing the pangs of the householder due to separation, disregarded
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himself and asked Sugreeva to spend some time with the family from
whom he had remained away for a very long time, though it meant
deferring the commencement of the search for Sita. Earlier, he told the
rishis of Dandakaranya (truthfully!) that the main purpose of his stay in
Dandaka was to be of assistance to them and Dasaratha’s command was
just serendipity. Who could talk like him? After listening to his enhancing
words and uplifting eulogy, everyone cannot but think, “Really, Sri Rama,
we do not deserve so much attention and praise” (Uttara Kanda 38.30:
prashamsaarha na jaanimah).
Sri Ramanuja too overflowed with saulabhya. In Srirangam, when he went
for his daily alms, he stopped one day at the house of Kongu Piratti. That
lady was full of bhakti and adoration for Sri Ramanuja. She enquired
timidly but audibly, “Holy sire, kings come to you and wait to see you and
hear a few words. Why must you go round like this for daily alms?” Sri
Ramanuja smiled. He was also pleased. The question was genuine and
had come from a pure soul. He inclined his head slightly and said,
“Daughter, dear, people have many doubts. I just tell them about God, his
Compassion and Grace. They become attached to me, therefore. And I
have my sphere of duties; I have to go to people who are immersed in
their lives and unable to tear themselves off from their whirl, to reach
me”. Kongu Piratti would not let him go. “O Holy One, am I too unworthy
to hear a few of those words?” Then and there, Sri Ramanuja talked to her
of the acharya parampara commencing from Sriman Narayana and
narrated the names of all the acharyas, right up to himself. Much later,
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she pleaded for reinstruction. Ever the compassionate guru, he was not at
all irritated. It is said that Sri Ramanuja, a personification of accessibility
and affection, stood before her long enough to recapitulate to her all that
he had said earlier and also bless her with the knowledge of the precious
dvaya mantra. He also presented her with his padukas, which, to her,
became an object of life long ceremonious worship, naivedya etc., just as
to Bharata, Sri Rama Padukas were in truth, Sri Rama himself.
When Athuzhai, the daughter of Peria Nambi complained that her mother-
in-law was biting and sarcastic that she had not brought any dowry or
even some servants to carry out errands and household duties, Sri
Ramanuja did not hold himself aloof. He did not admonish the mother-in -
law from a spiritual height. Instead, he sent Mudaliandan along with
Athuzhai to act as the in-house errand boy. It did not chasten the mother-
in-law one bit. She thought it was a cunning device by Peria Nambi to
consign her to hell! Sri Ramanuja answered calmly that if she did not want
Mudaliandan to be there, he would carry out ‘the duties’ from the Math.
Whatever be their age or sect or the evolutionary maturity (of God
awareness) of people, Sri Ramanuja never kept any barrier between them
and himself. He saw the Almighty everywhere and in every activity. He
saw all as God and God in all. He saw the Divine even in the play-acting of
boys in the streets of Srirangam, enacting games of sanctum sanctorum
decoration, ceremonial worship, offering etc.
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Karuna
It was his compassion that made Sri Rama openly grieve when Jatayu
breathed his last in his lap. He then used his hidden Divinity to accord
moksha to him. It was his sense of compassion and propriety that made
him urge Vibheeshana to perform the
appropriate kriyas for Ravana and made him shed his reluctance with the
remarkable words – mama api esha yatha tava (Yuddha Kanda, 113:101)
implying that in regard to the respect to be shown to the lifeless sarira of
Ravana, he and Vibhishina had identical duties.
Again, compasion it was that made him present himself before the wailing
Tara and console her grief by the sheer power of his kindness and
presence. “Ma veera bharye vimatim kurushva (Kishkinda Kanda, 24:41) –
you are the wife of a superlative warrior; do not twist yourself to improper
attitudes, not befitting yourself”. said he to her.
What can be mentioned to equate Sri Ramanuja’s sense of karuna for the
souls of all those leading routine and ordinary lives, though outwardly
pious, than that he should have braved the wrath of his Acharya, a
definite prospect of naraka and brazenly defy the restraint of ‘non-
disclosure’ placed on him, to give them an ‘open upadesa’ of the
Tirumantra and the charama sloka from atop the temple tower? Sri
Ramanuja had learnt those rahasya mantras from Thiruk-koshtiyur Nambi
after eighteen attempts, untold austerities and a month long, life-
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famishing, upavasa. On being summoned and asked to explain, he replied
in all simplicity, “Yes, I am aware I may have to go to naraka but these
men and women in hundreds and thousands will definitely gain moksha
through the effect of the mantras, which bear the stamp of your
utterance”. That the Acharya became speechless and felt small that it had
not been his good fortune to feel such an expansive compassion is
another matter. That the Acharya hugged Sri Ramanuja, exclaiming, “Art
thou He?” and gave him the name of ‘Emperumanaar’ is also an
altogether different matter. Sri Ramanuja had no thought for such things.
His aim was not for himself. He aimed at making the soul buds of the
people blossom by giving them an ineffable habit and a way of life in
which, remembering Him and adoring Him, gained dominance.
This view is also possible: with an inscrutable smile, he may have aimed
at making the Lord happy, by making Him hear His praise and greatness
being sung in a chorus by a large collectivity.
It may be said that Sri Ramanuja’s contribution was to make those who
were in one kind of pain or another in samsara and wanted relief and
happiness, realize and persevere in that thought that He who alone could
assure such relief and happiness. He caused two ‘bonds’ to remain in
place: a movement of aspiration from one side and answering Grace from
the other. If the former happened in all sincerity and faith, the latter
cannot but follow.
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Sri Rama and Sabari
Sri Ramanuja and the Tiruvali-Tirunagari woman
After Sri Rama met Sabari and accepted her quiet satkara, he became a
totally different person. His preoccupation with grief over Sita’s loss and a
sense of helplessness which was afflicting him until then, dropped off. He
regained his customary equipoise. After watching Shabari ascend to the
higher regions, he told Lakshmana that the bad time has ended and the
auspicious and good things were around the corner (Aranya Kanda 75.5-6:
pranashtham ashubham ... kalyanam samupastitham ... hrudaye ...
shubham avirbhavishyati). The very sight of a devotee with a pure heart
and sincere love is a breath of fresh air even to Paramatma! He considers
that the time spent with such a devotee to be extremely well spent!
Sri Ramanuja too went through such an expansive experience once during
his travels. While in Tiruvali-Tirunagari, Sri Ramanuja’s travel group
encountered a harijan woman coming from the opposite direction. “Would
you to move to one side so that we may pass on?” said one of the party.
(In his biography Sri “P.Sri” has said Sri Ramanuja himself asked her so.)
The accosted woman stood without moving, gave them a level look and
asked, “O Holy Sires, guide this simpleton. Where could she move? On the
right, is the holy spot where, it is said the good Lord himself gave mantra
upadesa to Sri Thirumngai Alwar. On the left, is the Thiruvali temple, His
abode. Everywhere it is His sannidhi”. Sri Ramanuja thought that he
needed more lessons in humility in realization, because true awareness is
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to perceive Him in every heart and he had failed there. It is said that he
promptly bestowed on her the Sri Vaishnava samskaras.
Humour
Sri Rama was not a person who would wantonly make fun of people. Yet
when he was giving away his possessions before leaving for the forest life,
an aged Brahmin approached him for financial help. He had no idea that
Rama was just then making dana prior to yatra. A smile hovered around
Sri Rama’s mouth when Trijata – that was his name – said he had a young
wife and many children. He put away that incongruity along with his smile
and, somewhat unctuously (Ayodhya Kanda 32.36: parihaasa
samanvitam), asked him to throw away his walking stick as far he might
with a promise to donate as many cows of excellent breed as could be
accommodated in the intervening space. The aged Tirjata took a long
breath, retained it, and threw the stick in a heave which fell near the
Sarayu. Valmiki has said that Sri Rama was taken aback, he became very
contrite, apologized profusely and repeatedly and gave more than the
cows promised.
Sri Ramanuja too was similarly taken aback at the results, when he
indulged once in the luxury of a good natured, light hearted banter. He
was proceeding towards Tirukkolur, the birth place of Sri Madhurakavi
Azhvar to whom should be given the credit of opening up Sri Nammazhvar
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to outpour the Tiruvaymozhi. As he was entering the town he encountered
a village woman who was leaving the place. Sri Ramanuja’s spirits were
high since he had paid respects to Namalwar in Alwar Thirunagari and was
seeking to enhance it by visiting the place haloed by saint Sri Madura
Kavi. On his own initiative, he jocularly remarked, “What a surprise
ammani, everywhere people are straining to visit this place but you
belonging here, are bent on leaving it!”
The village woman was no ordinary character. Her spiritual education was
of a high order. She cast a pervasive look at the group and Sri Ramanuja,
identified him with her superior instinct. Her eyes twinkled. She gave
them a prim smile. Everyone expected her to make a bashful obeisance or
stammer something but no one expected her to answer. But answer she
did, with unmuffled clarity, swaying gently and holding the burden on her
head lightly with one hand and making imperceptible gestures with the
palm and fingers of the other. “O Holiness, am I truly so worthy that it
ought to make any difference as to where I stayed or what I did?” She did
not pause for a reply but plied as many as 81 aphoristic ‘poser-
statements’, revealing a deep and intimate knowledge of the Itihaasaas
and contemporary events in Sri Ramanuja’s life. “Am I an Anasuya who
mothered in the woods? Am I a Guha who escorted across the Ganga? Am
I a Lakshmana who swore to serve and slaved away happily? Am I a
Vidura who provided a feast for the Lord? Am I Tirumalai Nambi to claim
insignificance before a world-saviour? Am I a child-prodigy like Andal? Am
I an Amudanar to break into paeans of praise?”
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Sri Ramanuja was stunned. But he was also overjoyed that so many hearts
were genuinely aglow with His Immanence.
Anger
It has been the way of the virtuous and the good that they tend to make
the simple innocent and the truly devoted, who can bear with silence, the
targets of their rare moments of irritation and anger. Sri Rama became
grim and angry when Lakshmana expressed his resentment over
Bharata’s coming with an army, caparisoned elephant and all the
associated paraphernalia of a king on the move. He asked him point bank
whether he coveted the kingdom and made him collapse in confusion and
speechlessness. He sharply rebuked him a second time in Panchavati,
“You have disobeyed me by coming here and leaving Sita alone”. What he
told Sita after the Ravana samhaara is too deeply and painfully etched in
our hearts and need not be recalled in words.
Sri Ramanuja too became indignant (unjustifiably) with the simple,
humble, devoted, straight forward and self effacing scholar Sri Kooresa,
whose knowledge of Visishtadhvaita as espoused by Sri Alavandar was
immaculate and impeccable. The understanding was that on the basis of
the Bodhayana Vritii, as recalled by Sri Kooresa, Sri Ramanuja would
dictate to him his Sri Bhashya. At one stage, Sri Kooresa stopped writing
and would not resume even after being urged by Sri Ramanuja. Sri
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Ramanuja was commenting on the Jivatma and the interpretation he had
dictated seemed to suggest that it had an independent awareness and
consciousness of its own which would be incompatible with its true status
as a sesha among many seshas, the Lord alone being the only Seshi. It is
said that Sri Ramanuja became annoyed, rose in a huff and went away
shouting over his shoulder that Kooresa may himself undertake and
complete the job. Sri Kooresa did not react. He did not also encourage any
discussion thereon by the other disciples. Later, after a calm reflection, Sri
Ramanuja realised that Kooresa was right and amended his interpretation.
As a householder
Sri Rama possessed all the virtues and qualities required to make a
person be an excellent householder. Marriage is an institution which
gloriously facilitates deep care, unceasing self-giving love and that
indescribable ambience which makes either feel enhanced all the time,
and acknowledge candidly ‘by thee I have greatened my mortal arc of life’
and carry on with even vaster self-giving acts and deeds. Sri Rama cared
deeply and his love for Sita was total and profound. Sri Rama told
Bharadvaja while asking him to suggest a suitable place for them to
reside, “Sita is a sukumari. She would not stay back in Ayodhya. I am very
particular that the environment of our settlement here, should make her
feel very comfortable and also delighted” (Ayodhya Kanda 54). Sri Rama
not only felt great love but also made it a point to make it known in many
ways to Sita, sometimes using nature or creating conditions to do so. “Our
life for about twelve years in Ayodhya was heavenly and there was not a
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joy which we had not experienced”, said Sita to Hanuman in Asoka-vana
(Sundara Kanda 33.17: bhunjaanaa maanushaan bhogaan sarva kaama
samruddhini). “Like radiance cannot be separated from the sun, Sita
cannot be separated from me”, was what Sri Rama declared (Yuddha
Kanda 121).
Sri Ramanuja had all the qualities of not only being an excellent husband
but a remarkable parent. He had nothing but affection and praise to
bestow. He knew with his big heart that nothing does so much good as
spontaneous love given and acceptance conveyed. But it was not to be
that he should have been blessed with a wife of matching qualities and
temperament. May be it was all part of His play. Sri Ramanuja’s wife
Thanjamambal was reputed to be a pretty and beautiful lady but her
merits abruptly stopped there. Regrettably, her vision and outlook
operated on narrow belt of custom, convention and rituals. She had
absolutely no idea or even an inclination to understand the higher and
vaster consciousness in which her husband was moving all the time. If
only it had struck her to feel amazed even once, at Sri Ramanuja’s flowing
goodness and many-sidedness, their marriage-script might have turned
different. As it was, it proved to be short-lived. In his biography, touching
delicately on this sensitive matter, Sri P Sri has said “it cannot be
assumed that Sri Ramanuja did not make any attempt to change her
nature; but the receptivity happened to be extremely poor. What could he
do?”
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Thought he thus, “I do not have the good fortune of a satpatra
kalatra”,and went on, “Well, I do not have a family: things will be like this;
nothing can be changed”. The worthy and noble Sri Ramanuja then went
into a firm resolve (Uttara Kanda 105.18: na etad asti iti nischitya tushnim
asit). He took a unilateral decision, with an inward feeling that Lord
Varadaraja was approving his action, and adopted sanyasa.
Sri Ramanuja loved youngsters and children. He had a parental affection
towards Govinda (Embar in later years), his cousin and Mudali-andan, his
sister’s son. He once encouraged Govinda to pay some attention to his
domestic life. “You ought to spend some quality time with your wife”, he
once said to Govinda, with a soft twinkle in his eye. The occasion was
Govinda’s mother’s complaint that her son does not seem to remember
he has a wife to care and that he is not wedded only to his spirituality. But
neither Govinda nor his wife were inclined to be worldly - women have
always had a greater natural bent to turn body and soul to God, than men
- even for a short duration. So Sri Ramanuja accorded them permission to
‘renounce’. But when Kooresa was blessed with twins Sri Ramanuja took
all responsibilities on himself, to do appropriate samskaras to the new
born children. He had them brought before him by Govinda who, while
hugging them to his bosom, kept chanting the dvaya as a raksha and as a
result Sri Ramanuja exclaimed, “How come these infants smell gorgeously
of dvaya?” He entrusted life time guardianship for the children to Govinda.
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At least on one occasion, Sri Ramanuja is reported to have felt, “Look I
have become a sanyasi. I cannot be a parent. The pleasure of naming my
children after Nammalvar is denied to me”. It seems that when Sri
Ramanuja was visiting Alwar Thirunagari, a pious dhobi was attending to
his duties of washing clothes in the river ghat. The moment he saw Sri
Ramanuja, he called out the names of his four sons one by one and asked
them to prostrate before the saint. ‘Satagopa”, he called the first.
‘Karimara’ was how he addressed his second son. ‘Vakulabharana’ was
the mouthful name of the third. He addressed the last with great affection,
‘Kuruhur Nambi’. “Ah, a simple dhobi had an evocative bhakti to name all
his sons after Nammalvar”, and fell into a reverie. When his disciples
asked him what made him suddenly lose in himself, he disclosed his sense
of disappointment and sorrow that the joy of giving such picturesque
names to his children and calling them out frequently had been denied to
him.
Conclusion
We may pause here and look back. Through the incidents recalled from
the Ramayana, and Sri Ramanuja’s life, we are able to understand even
better why Sri Adisesha requested Sriman Narayana that in his earth-life
as Ramanuja, he may think and act out as He did, in the Rama avatara,
though looking like the fair complexioned shubhalakshana Lakshmana. He
had been sent to complete a specific job on earth, of taking as many lives
and souls as possible, in his capacious compassionate hands, make them
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seek and hear answers to “attain what, attain how”, and thereby gently
transfigure them. Recalling his svabhaava as Lakshmana, Sri Adisesha
knew that in order to succeed in such a mission, he had to be a saulabhya
purusha like Sri Rama. Remembering his svabhaava as Balarama, he also
knew that what was needed was not abruptness and brusqueness but
finesse, debonair manners and studied eloquence, in the manner of Sri
Krishna. This may be the occult explanation as to why we are able to
perceive both the primacy of Sri Rama-vaatsalya and the immaculateness
of Sri Krishna, in Sri Ramanuja.
It was Sri Alavandar’s dream that the Divya Prabhandhas with which
people at large had become familiar, should not be merely remembered
and sung as an external activity, tucked away in a time-segment within
the ever wheeling daily life- grind, but should be integrally internalized so
that they could constantly peal gently and sonorously in every heart.
Thereby, every devotee would be able to feel close to any or chosen few
or all the archa murtis in the divya deshas, within human reach, and also
to the inner Presence, namely the Antaryami, who was none other than
the Shriyahpati.
There was another matter also. At least twice, Sri Krishna had advised
Arjuna “manmanaa bhava” (Bhagvad Gita: 9.34 and 18.65). “Remain
focused on me. With your bhakti bhava, keep addressing me for the
removal of all your difficulties and limitations. You may contemplate on
my innumerable names, attributes which they signify, qualities,
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uniqueness, miracles performed as a blessing, leelas, avataras. If you do
any of these it is worship. Actually, it is a demonstration of your great
inseparable love – ‘eka bhakti’ (Gita 7.17), for me As a result, you, who
are very dear to me, will attain me”. Sri Krishna’s words had encapsuled
great many Truths not only about Him but also how to reach Him. They
required to be formulated appealingly to the lay, and esoterically, to the
intellectual. Now Sri Alavandar was a genius and thought high and very
profound. When the Truth is exalted and high, the expression has a
tendency to take on an abstraction which can put off even the most
determined. There were also incontrovertible things like time, balance in
the life span and in the context of such constraints, he needed a capable
deputy with an ingrained dynamism, a chief. Sri Ramanuja filled that
breach to perfection, being Sri Adisesha himself.
Sri Ramanuja meticulously attended to all the three issues, namely
winning more hearts for the Divyaprabandha, annotate the Gita and
compose the Gadya-traya to make a jijnasu of the common man and the
Sribhashya for the wise jnani. With a mellow attention to detail, he himself
first internalised the Divyaprabandha. That which is worshipped, carves
for itself an inner Presence, and it usually whispers to the worshipper
when and how to do a thing best. The Prabhandhas themselves, so to say
pointed out to Pillan! Pillan was the late-born son of Sri Tirumalai Nambi
and his spiritual care had been entrusted to Sri Ramanuja. He desired to
be adorned with the name of Thiru Kuruhai Piran (Sri Nammalvar). Pillan
had the unique ability to identify a Tiruvaimozhi pasuram being chanted
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by Sri Ramanuja, from his facial expression and overall bhava. Sri
Ramanuja therefore, chose him to write the Araayirappadi commentary on
Thiruvaimozhi.
He then enlarged the Gita Sangraha of Sri Alavandar into a full fledged
sloka-by-sloka commentary on the Gita – the Gita-bhashya. (The Gita-
bhashya too was difficult and Svami Desika had to write the Tatparya-
chandrika to further explain it!) Then after ingathering the Bodhayana
vritti, he wrote the Sri Bhashya, for scholar-teachers. Devi Sarasvati, it is
said, was so impressed with his elucidations that she reverentially held
the grantha and gave the name ‘Sri Bhashya’ to it and the title
‘Bhashyakara’ to Sri Ramanuja.
Sri Ramanuja’s teaching is very simple and straightforward. The
Paramatma, the Para Brahman, Sriman Narayana is ever there. He is
Unborn and Eternal. He is the Sarvasehi. He is the Supreme Creator.
Everything came from Him. There is nothing in the existence without Him.
It is He who sustains and protects all that He has manifested, all the time.
He cannot be seen or approached but he can be experienced all the time,
by those who aspire for it with single minded faith, sincerity and
consecration. He is accessible to the devoted and the faithful. He doenot
withdraw from the earthly beings. The beings do that to Him.
The Paramatma’s fond wish is that all He has created should be at their
best, and for that, all that they should do is remain in a state of
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unseverable contact with Him. “With your inner mind, be constant touch
with Me!” That ‘touch’ is to Him, an ‘invitation’ to extend help, shed
Grace. He knows the Jivas need help all the time. Life is a pressure-
situation. The Prakriti is constantly exercising pressure, (which is its way,
like water flowing towards a depth) through the tanmatras- physical
sensations of sight, smell, touch etc., of the Pancha Bhutaas, the five
great elements and the trigunaas (satva, rajas and tamas) but He, for His
part, is ready to help and lead forward, to a domain of peace and relief,
when the call goes out to him.
That is the crux. The Jivatma endowed with a mind and will must own and
admit (unlike Ravana, who did not) unegoistically, that he needs help, and
address Him. He can articulate it as prayer, in bhakti bhava or surrender
to Him, heart and soul, without even a word. The Supreme can hear
unspoken words and register thought waves! More than that, without
appearing in person or speaking in a legible tongue, He can make the
Jivatma sense that He has heard and His Grace has started working as a
force. He does not expect anything in return except that the soul which
has taken birth in the world, with a sareera, should love Him with a
spontaneous and inner urge to be close to Him - undannodu uravel
namakku ingu ozhikka ozhiyadu(Thiruppavai, 28) Human beings enjoy
others’ dependence since that makes them exercise authority and control.
The Divine enjoys the dependence of the jivatmaas in order that He could
row them safely ashore.
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First remember Him often; thereafter all the time. For, gradually, one will
get to a permanent state of being He-minded, like the harijan woman of
Thiruvali-Thirunagari. Offer to Him. Begin by offering what you can. Then
what you have. Then, all of what one feels to be oneself, as a whole. It
does not mean that this is the stage when one has to go into seclusion or
a trance. Escape from life is not the teaching. The aarta (he who needs His
help to recover lost wealth), the artharthi (he, who Trijata like wants
wealth) are also sukritina bhaktaas – meritorious devotees.( Gita, 7:16.)
Unattachment to anything except Him is the teaching. This is a state of a
limpid awareness of the paramountcy of the duties which have devolved
on self, as part of the gamut of the inevitable obligations of the life-
movement.- like Mudaliandan who did not cease to be God-minded while
helping out in Athuzhai’s household, which too, was regarded by him, as
an offering. Such a self-giving duty does not make one diminished or
empty.
Vibheeshana did not retain anything for himself when he surrendered; yet,
he remained so rich that the unusual, unthought method of Sri Rama
appealing directly to the Samudra Raja to give a helping hand, to cross
the ocean, emanated from him. Every work done with He in the thought,
becomes an offering, with the stamp of ‘anukulyasya sankalpa’- for
furthering His will and plans. The consequences of such a dedicated work
bear the protective and ineffable marks of His Power, Wisdom, Light,
Delight and enormous Love. What was aimed at through such work, gets
completed to perfection. Such accomplishments will be absolutely
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infallible and auspicious because, His objective it is, which gets furthered.
He is bound to feel delighted because He has secured a perfect
instrument which He could use unhindered. (The mental resistance of the
Jivaatma and the egoistic confidence in one’s individulity is the
hindrance.) Being His Instrument, without being conscious of it, is the
ultimate Bliss.
Sri Ramanuja’s legacy is a rich, vibrant, luminous legacy. He has taught
everyone how to build a bridge direct to His doorsteps. He has also taught
how to make it incandescent all the way, through bhakti, a self-giving
bhakti. “Remember Him and love Him the way, Sri Nammalvar, Sri
Thirumangai Alvar or Andal did and He, as an antaryaami will turn
phosphorescent”, he said. The combined luminosity cannot but overflow
and become spatial.
References:
1. Guru Parampara Prabhaavam - Muvayirap-padi
2. Guru Parampara Prabhaavam - Aarraayirap-padi
3. Sri Ramanujar – P.Sri
4. Sri Ramanujar-Life History - Swami Ramakrishnananda - In Tamil-Ka.
Sri.Sri.
5. The Life of Ramanujacharya - Alkondaville Govindacharya
6. Sri Ramanujar –T.N. Suki Subramanian
7. Sri Ramanuja Vaibhavam - Vadivazhahiya Nambi Dasar - Meaning and
Explanation Sri R. Kannan Swami
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