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Re: Ramanuja

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Jaganath.Bharadwaj • October 11, 1996 


> Ramanujacharya meditated on Yamunacharya and
> not on the feet of Ranganatha or Ranganayaki at the time of His
> departure from Bhuloka.

Are you certain of this? In the SaraNAgati gadyam,
Ranganatha tells Ramanuja:

 dvayArtha anusandhAnena saha yAvat SarIra pAtakam
 Srirange sukhamAsvA!

 Until your body falls off, remain contented in Srirangam
 meditating on the import of the Dvaya mantra.

Would this not imply that Ramanuja contemplated on
Perumal and Thaayaar as laid out in the Dvaya mantra?

Mani

All I know is what is stated in the books that I have read.  However
I do not see meditation on one's Acharya as being inconsistent with
the instructions of Ranganatha.  Swami Desikan describes the Sannyasi
Acharya as Narayana taking avatAra in the form of a human wearing
saffron raiements and giving us instructions.  Since the Acharya is
totally controlled by Sriman Narayana, the two are obviously non
different as far as the shishya is concerned.

This can be the only explanation why we can worship a picture or
Padukas of our Acharya with flowers and other offerings in the same
fashion as we do for Sriman Narayana.

Jaganath.