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Paying Obeisance to Sri Ramanuja

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Narasimhan, Arvind (CTS) • April 13, 1999 


> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Narasimhan, Arvind (CTS) 
> Sent:	Tuesday, April 13, 1999 4:15 PM
> To:	'bhakthi@lists.best.com'
> Subject:	Paying Obeisance to Sri Ramanuja
> 
> Dear devotees,
> 
> On the eve of Ramanuja jayanthi falling in this month we would like to
> post this article on Bhagavath Ramanujar by Dr. J. Parthasarathy published
> in "Ramanuja Vani" magazine.
> 
> *************************************************************************
> The asterism of Ardra( Tiruvadirai) in the month of Caitra(cittirai)
> brings Sri Ramanuja Jayanthi and its associated celebrations in our
> temples and other institutions. Sri Ramanuja came on earth and lived a
> full life of a hundred years and more, establishing the vedic religion of
> Sriman Narayana on unshakable foundations as rooted in the upanishads and
> the Gita and revivified the spontaneous experiences revealed in Tamil
> prabandhams by Dravidian seers called Alvars. Sri Parasara Bhatta a
> contemporary of Sri Ramanuja praises him as the solicituous foster mother
> who nourished the Tamil Veda of Tiruvoymozhi given birth  by its mother
> Sri Satagopa, known in enduring terms as our Alvar(Nammalvar)
> 
> We have another great contemporary tribute - the inimitable garland of 108
> verses of praise in the Ramanuja Nutrantati of Amutanar wherein he dwells
> on Ramanuja's personal involvement in the hymns of the Alvars, especially
> his realization of the Tamil Veda of Maran(Satagopa) as our immeasurably
> great wealth., our father and mother, our great guru and even our supreme
> Lord of Lakshmi of the fragrant lotus flower.
> 
> Sri Ramanuja's pre-eminent position in the line of preceptors of the
> SriVaishnava faith has manifold facets. He led exemplary life of the
> renounced Sri Vaishnava ascetic; the king of ascetics(Yatiraja) he
> continues to be means of liberation to all on earth. The concluding verse
> of Kurattalvan in Vaikunta stavam attributes that the spiritual preceptors
> before Sri Ramanuja attained ParamaPadam due to Ramanuja's 'Thirumudi'
> sambandham while the followers of Sri Ramanuja attain Sri Vaikuntam by
> virtue of Emperumanar's 'Thiruvadi sambandham' Such was the ascetic
> Ramanuja......
> Kurattalvan's own tribute included in our daily prayers is well known 'yo
> nityam acutyapadambuja yugma rukma vyamohatas taditarani trnaya mene....'
> 
> The uniqueness of Sri Ramanuja's ascetic life of dedicated devotion to
> Lord Narayana went with the uniqueness of his contribution to the
> doctrinal and the practical sides of the faith. On the former side his
> magnum opus of the Sri Bhashya reconciled the apparent conflicts in the
> Upanishadic statements with the concept of the inseparable body-soul
> relationship of all things with their prime mover indicated in the
> upanishads themselves and forcibly celebrated in ecstatic poisy by
> Nammalvar in many verses of his Thiruvoymozhi. One can also find echoes
> and reminiscences of  his fascinated study of the Alvar-hymns in several
> contexts of the Sri Bhashya.
> 
> On the practical side , Sri Ramanuja,s unsurpassed abilities in organising
> and consolidating worship and settling disputes in Vishnu- temples and
> spiritual leadership of men who voluntarily joined his faith , inspired by
> his example and teachings are seen in his long religious ministry at Sri
> Rangam and Thirunarayanapuram and other places. The many hogiological
> works in Tamil and Sanskrit  speak eloquently of all his golden deeds for
> the spiritual uplift of mortals to the eternal liberation to Sri
> Vaikuntam.
> 
> Praises of Sri Ramanuja have proved forth from contemporaries and
> successors in Sanskrit and Tamil and other languages as well. These
> deserve to be collected in a separate corpus and placed before the large
> public for their enlightement and inspiration to strive, to serve and be
> blessed by this grace. Among these the praises of Yatiraja Saptati( 70
> verses ) and Yatiraja  Vimsati (20 verses) are well known. We may describe
> the former as powerfully elevating poem in the grand style, rich with
> colourful mighty -mouthed harmonies emphasising the greatness and the many
> sided glories of Sri Ramanuja as the Expounder Propagator and the high
> mountain from which the rivers of all worth while knowledge flow giving
> redemption. The latter poem much smaller in size is a humble petition of
> an spirant aware of all his insufficiencies and unworthiness to the
> Preceptor of Preceptors to accept his prayer and grant him the refuge
> sought for.
> 
> Both Sri Vendata Desika and Sri Ramya-Jamatrumuni(Sri Manavala Mamunighal)
> have composed verses in Tamil on Sri Ramanuja and we find the same
> difference of emphasis in them. The latter's Tamil poem entitled 'Arthi
> prabandham' is literally a long appeal and a moving cry addressed to the
> king of ascetics, Yatindra Ramanuja to enfranchise the supplicant from the
> ills of the body and grant him eternal bliss. We many end with citing of
> two memorable verses from the two Acharyas :
>  
> Jayati sakala vidyavahini janna sailah
> Janepatha-parivritti-sranta visranti sakhi
> Nikhila kumati - maya sarvari balasuryah
> Nigamajaladhivela purnachandri yatindrah - Yatiraja Saptati 28
> 
> Vijanapanam yad-idam adya
> mamakinam angikurushva yatiraja dayamburuse
> Ajnoyam - tma guna lesa vivayitasca
> tasmad ananya-sarano bhavati - itimativa  - Yatiraja Vimsati 20
> 
> ********************End of Article********************************
> 
> Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
> Aravinda Lochanan. 
> 
> 
>