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Re: "muppadUm thappAmE" -- CONCLUSION

From the Bhakti List Archives

Venkat Nagarajan • January 17, 2000 


Dear Sri. Sampath,

I think a well thought out discussion in the spirit of mutual 
enrichment will be very fruitful.  Repeated exposure to 
issues related to nature of ultimate reality can never 
be fruitless; with each iteration our understanding of 
the nature of reality is refined.  All our postings do not 
represent knowledge, but rather objects that may act 
as a catalyst for the Self-manifesting knowledge.

Sri. Sampath Wrote:

(1) SriVaishnava "sampradAya", or "tradition" as you
have yourself defined it, is nowhere seen today to
have the hold over people it had in its heydays. Why?

Addressing (1) and (2) (3) and (4)

Sri. Sampth having read your comments and questions the following
question comes to my mind.  
What is Sri. Vaishnavaism?
- My conviction, which has been greatly influenced by objects 
(books and individuals) I have exposed to,  is as follows:
Sri. Vaishnavism is the term used to denote the codes of 
conduct part of Vis'istAdvaita Vedanta.  Vis'istAdvaita 
Vedanta is nothing but an exposition on the beginninless truth 
contained in the vedas.  The key source for the prescribed 
codes of conduct  (the means to achieve the ultimate reality 
and minimize misery in karmic life; there are codes for 
those who seek heaven and so on, but those are not relevant 
for us) is  the dharma shastras.  There are certain elements 
which may not be contained in dharama shastras, but 
these represent additions and do not supplant the codes prescribed 
in the dharma shastras.  The codes of conduct represent an 
ideal (optimal path which results in misery minimization -post tilted topic
for discussion referred to this.)  Why is it not prevalent, i.e., 
vedic-dharma? The reasons were explicated in the posts titled "Topic for
discussion"

To summarize Sri. Vaishnavism is not something new,
(i.e., something that originated with Sri. RamanujAcharya.) 
It is simply an explication of what is in the dharma shastras.
There are some additions but these are meant to augment not supplant
what is in the dharma shastras.

Like yourself I am also saddened by the sorry state vedic culture is 
in, I expressed this in the post tilted "Quintessential Profound Idealist vs
the Quintessential Pedestrian Dilettante"  I also posed many questions 
in the two posts titled "Topic For Discussion" but no one wants to
address these very pertinent questions.  

With regards to lack of knowledge of the works of Alwars, I can only talk
about my lack of knowledge and not in general.  I will do so in another
post.  

ramanuja dasan,
Venkat