ADMIN: A Restructuring of the Bhakti List -- A Return to Ramanuja
From the Bhakti List Archives
• March 8, 2002
SrI:
SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH
Dear Members,
I had long ago promised a restructuring of the Bhakti List.
This is long overdue, and I have missed my own deadline
several times. At long last, I have prepared a new set of
guidelines for the group. Please read it below.
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The Bhakti List is a moderated email discussion group
for serious discussion of Sri Vaishnava philosophy
and religious practice. Specifically, this list is
dedicated to exploring the meaning and relevance of the poems of
the Alvar saints (Divya Prabandham), the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Srimad
Ramayana, and related core texts, as understood through the works
of Sri Ramanuja, who is the central philosopher of this
tradition.
For quite a while, this list has tried to be all things to everyone.
All topics were allowed, as long as they were somehow related to
the Sri Vaishnava tradition. As many of you have noticed, this
has proved unworkable in recent months, and the list has totally
lost its coherence. Many threads of discussion end up in minutiae,
bearing little relevance to both practical or serious philosophical
concerns. There are many posts of purely local importance, announcing
some event or lecture. And there are of course the parochial, emotional,
and sectarian outbursts, from which little is learned and nothing is
gained.
However, what has disturbed me most is that today there is little or
no discussion of the works and philosophy of Sri Ramanuja himself,
at any level. The works of the greatest and most revered philosopher
are often left in the rubble of other discussions. What discussions
do go on often demonstrate a patent ignorance of even the basics of his written
words, or of the ideas contained in the texts upon which he drew for
inspiration. It is painfully clear to me that if all our members studied the
works of Sri Ramanuja in even the most elementary fashion, our level of
discussion would rise a hundredfold and all of us would be the better for it.
Given all of this, I am now announcing a radical restructuring of the
scope of discussion in the Bhakti List. The Bhakti List will now be
dedicated strictly to the discussion of the works of Sri Ramanuja and the
Alvars, and the texts upon which they based their works. That is
to say, it will be a forum to explore and share the written ideas
of Sri Ramanuja and the Alvar saints and their predecessors, and how
to put them in practice. What exactly this means I hope will
become clear below, and will become clearer as this new moderation policy
is put into practice.
I understand there is a need to discuss other more general issues.
For other related Sri Vaishnava topics, I have created several other
forums which you are invited to join. All together, on groups.yahoo.com,
we have:
bhakti-list : For discussion of the Vedanta philosophy embodied
in the works of Sri Ramanuja and the Alvars
sv-rituals : Discussion of daily and occasional rituals,
household and temple worship, festivals, feasts,
and "how to" questions
sv-poetry : For discussion and presentation of Vaishnava poetry
with a Sri Vaishnava focus, but not restricted to
strictly Sri Vaishnava poets (unlike Divya Prabandham
which is to be discussed in bhakti-list)
sv-lectures : Announcement of Sri Vaishnava telephone and live
lectures
sv-general : General discussion of Sri Vaishnava topics, including
biographies of saints, legends, etc. Announcements,
requests, doctrinal debates generally permitted as long
as they are conducted with decorum.
There are also several other forums such as SriRangaSri where one may learn a great
deal about these other topics.
The rest of this email will discuss the new moderation policy of the Bhakti List.
What topics and texts can be discussed on the Bhakti List?
------------------------------------------------------
I wrote above that the primary focus will be the works of Sri Ramanuja
and the Alvars, and the texts upon which they based their works.
This means that discussion should focus directly on the words
of the Alvars and Sri Ramanuja, on the texts upon which they
take for elaboration, or on topics which fall *directly* from
their words. This includes the following:
o Veda and Vedanta, particularly the principal Upanishads
o Bhagavad Gita
o Brahma-Sutras
o Sri Ramanuja's commentaries on the above
o Sri Ramanuja's Three Gadyas and the Nitya
o The Alvars' Divya Prabandham and, secondarily, their commentaries
o The works of Yamunacharya (Alavandar)
o Sri Vishnu Sahasranama and other important parts
of the Mahabharata
o Sri Ramayana
o Vishnu Purana
o Other related ideas such as yoga, meditation, and
daily life as a Vaishnava which arise *directly* out
of the above texts
o How these ideas contrast with those of other philosophers
The key is that discussion should primarily center around philosophical
or poetic ideas drawn *directly* from the above mentioned authors
and texts. In our list, I want us to focus on learning what Sri Ramanuja and
the Alvars *themselves* said, and not on later formulations or reformulations.
The later doctrines may or may not be faithful to the original; that
is not the point at hand. Too often the core texts, the Alvars' words,
and the expositions of Sri Ramanuja are neglected in their original and
are viewed and straightjacketed through the colored glasses of subsequent
doctrinal formulations. The end-result is that the original ideas are lost
in the shuffle.
We need to return to studying the Vedanta, Sri Ramanuja, and the Alvars
directly.
Explanations of subsequent acharyas and their works are welcome
provided they are directly elucidatory of an Alvar paasuram, and idea
of Sri Ramanuja, or an idea from a core text. Otherwise, they are
probably more relevant in one of the other forums.
What may *not* be discussed on the Bhakti List
----------------------------------------------
For that reason, I am going to disallow the following:
o Expositions of teachings of later acharyas -- Kurattalvan,
Bhattar, Pillai Lokacharya, Vedanta Desika, Manavala Maamuni
included -- unless *directly* explanatory of the above texts or topics
will unfortunately no
In other words, just for the sake of circumscribing discussion,
discussion of the poetry/stotras or the 'rahasya' works of these saints
will *not* be allowed. But things such as Bhattar's sahasranAma
bhAshya, Desika's Upanishad Bhashya or amalan Adi pirAn vyAkhyAnam,
or Manavala Maamuni's Periyalvar Tirumozhi vyAkhyAnam is more than
welcome. Remember, the focus should be on the core texts.
o Discussion of rahasyas and prapatti (self-surrender or saranaagati)
and the corresponding doctrinal differences and debates will be
very restricted. I strongly feel that these topics should be
discussed in private with learned people and in small study groups
with a lot of self-reflection. What we discuss in the Bhakti List
should arise clearly and directly out of the works and words
listed above.
o Posts centering on hagiologies, traditional histories (sthala-purANa),
etc., will not be allowed unless their content is placed in philosphical
or poetic context or they are drawn directly from Divya Prabandham, etc.
These should go to one of the other forums.
o In general, biographies and tributes, particularly of later-day acharyas and
institutions, are not within the Bhakti List's charter.
o Please, no general questions, such as "Why vegetarianism?" "Why shouldn't
we cross oceans?", etc. Please move these to one of the other forums.
o No personal attacks
o No emotional outbursts
o No messages of a purely personal nature, including compliments
o No advertising of any form
o No self-promotion of any form
o No fund-raising of any kind
o No repeat postings
o No announcements of a regional nature
o No lecture announcements
o No politics of any kind
o No "current events" postings
If there is a doubt about any of these, please contact me, the moderator.
I reserve the right to make exceptions to some of these from time to time --
but rest assured they will be very rare.
Furthermore, all posts should be in English. Whenever other languages are
used, please give at least a rough translation of the passage or word in
English.
Dear Members, you may have noticed that I have listed a lot of rules above.
I hope it is not a burden on you; I really don't like stifling discussion.
I find that a free flow of ideas can often result in remarkable dialogue
between fellow seekers of Truth. For that reason, this list was initially
totally unmoderated. Due to the large number of repetitive and off-topic posts,
junk emails, and some needless emotionalism and personal attacks, I have had to
take a much more active role in filtering the articles. Generally, I really
don't like to do this, not only because I don't like disciplining people,
but because I don't have the time (I'm a family man with my own hobbies like most
of you). I don't believe in policing people's thoughts. Therefore, it's best
if people moderate themselves and behave as they would wish others would behave
with them. All relevant philosophical speculation is welcome and encouraged.
It is just asked that discussion be conducted with certain guidelines and with
respect and decorum.
In the coming months, I hope we will rediscover in some measure the joy of the
insights of the rishis, the incomparable passion of the Alvars, and the
unifying brilliance of Sri Ramanuja. Please join me in this quest.
I remain,
aDiyEn, rAmAnuja dAsan
Mani
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- SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH -
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