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Jagadacharya1000 (6)
Upanyasam arranged by Thiruvallikkeni Udayavar Kainkarya Sabha
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Gyanasaram by Sri U. Ve. Vinjimoor Venkatachariar swami
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Muktakam by Arayar Sr. U. Ve. Sri RamaSarama Swami
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Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya is the foremost ācārya of the Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition. He was born in 1017 CE in the holy village of Śrīperumbūdūr, midway between Chennai and Kañcīpuram, India. This timeless ācārya is the greatest exponent of Viśiṣtādvaita Vedānta, the ever-relevant Vedic world-view that appeals to both the heart and the mind. The year 2017 is a significant one in the passage of time as it marks the 1000th anniversary of this greatest preceptor, philosopher, saint and social reformer ever to have appeared in this world. Devotees of Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya feel most fortunate to be living at this time and for being able to take part in the grand celebrations happening all over the world. Presented below is a humble attempt to share our wonderment felt while beholding this most magnificent preceptor.
At the command of his ācārya, he followed the divine experiences of the great Āļvār saints and he authored the grand Śrībhāṣya, the famous commentary to Veda Vyāsa's Brahmasūtras, where he established that:
⦁ the Vedas and Upaniṣats are the only undeniable and supreme source of knowledge of things beyond our senses
⦁ the supreme principle, parabrahma, exists and is the only cause of creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe
⦁ the parabrahma is Śrīman Nārāyaṇa
⦁ He is the ultimate soul (paramātman), with matter, qualities and souls like us (jīvātmans) being eternally real and forming His body
⦁ liberation (mokṣa) from the cycle of births is attained through bhakthi in Him or, better yet, by surrendering to Him
Through his long life, Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya traveled all over India and -
⦁ propagated the Śrīvaiṣṇava saṁpradāya (tradition) with unprecedented momentum
⦁ preached that the deepest meaning and purpose of Vedānta is in the 4000 Divya-prabandhams revealed by the Āļvārs
⦁ expounded that doing unhindered, loving service to Śrīman Nārāyaṇa is the highest form of mokṣa
⦁ prescribed Śaraṇāgati (ie. total surrender to Śrīman Nārāyaṇa through an ācārya) as the easiest and the most appropriate action on our part, after which, Śrīman Nārāyaṇa Himself becomes the means to our mokṣa
⦁ taught that every single soul is entitled to mokṣa and will eventually attain it
⦁ exhorted that a Bhāgavata (a devotee of Śrīman Nārāyaṇa) should be held at the highest possible esteem, dropping all other considerations.
Besides his teachings, he did monumental services to Śrīman Nārāyaṇa, His devotees and His temples, especially at the most sacred Śrīraṅgam, where he spent most of his time on earth. He reinstated faith in the world that the deity worshipped in the temple at Tirumala, praised in the Ṛg Veda and glorified by Āļvārs, is indeed Bhagavān Śrī Veṅkaṭeśvara. He delineated modes of worship as entailed in the Śāstras, which are still followed in the 108 Divyadeśas and other holy temples. He, being an avatāra of Śrīman Nārāyaṇa's serpent-bed, Ādiśeṣa, went back to his original form in 1137 CE. To this day, several lineages of great ācāryas appointed by Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya continue to grant numerous devotees the greatest of gifts – A Connection with Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya.
Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya blessed his followers with six important directives to guide their living -
⦁ Learn and assimilate the Śrī Bhāṣya, live by its teachings, and preach it
⦁ Learn the hymns of the Āļvārs and teach them
⦁ Offer food, flowers, sandal paste to the deities in Divyadeśams (sacred temples)
⦁ Build a cottage in Tirunārāyaṇapuram, and live and serve there
⦁ Learn the secret mantras – Tirumantram, Dvayam and Carama ślokam – and follow them
⦁ Reach out to bhāgavatas (devotees) and serve them life-long in all possible ways
There have been born numerous preceptors all over the world guiding thoughts and actions of thinkers and commoners alike. On the one hand, fundamental questions about existence itself – of origins and purpose, and of laws of nature – have occupied the minds of great thinkers for millennia. On the other, overcoming the miseries and challenges that life virtually guarantees everyone, and finding true, lasting happiness have been sought after by every intelligent being since ever. Philosophers, and their schools, reflecting on the questions of existence have professed answers about their view of the truth which have, as a matter of fact, had little bearing on the question about happiness. Similarly, 'religionists' have always arisen to propound belief systems as formulas to overcome miseries and to find happiness, offering little by way of answers to fundamental questions of existence. This dichotomy between philosophy and religion is universally acknowledged to have been bridged most successfully by Sanātana Dharma, where the belief systems taught to overcome miseries and for finding happiness have invariably had their basis on a rigorous fundamental philosophy of existence. It relied on the central Upaniṣatic thought that the answer lies in understanding the true nature of the spirit - the soul or the atman - and in achieving alignment with it. It teaches that this perfect alignment - famously called Mokṣa - is the ultimate goal, but leaves it for extraordinary minds to figure out practical ways for everyone to achieve it.
Several great preceptors of Sanātana Dharma before Rāmānuja have attempted to strike this alignment - either by professing accordance with the Vedas and Upaniṣats, or by fixating on logical speculation and allowing for disagreement with parts of the scriptures thought inconsistent. The result was a spectrum of philosophers ranging from claiming that there is nothing beyond the world we see, to those claiming that everything we perceive is non-existent, to even those claiming that there is nothing that exists! While these thoughts have had phenomenal positive influences on humanity's thinking, none of these actually achieved the sought alignment said above. These thoughts have had little influence on how the commoner should view one's everyday living. Nor did these teach one about how to make a connection between what one did every day and how it leads to one's Mokṣa. The result was one’s living with the burden of this disconnect, or worse yet, living in direct contradiction, under the influence of religionists drawing from inadequate reading of the scriptures and playing on the weaknesses of the commoner, promising happiness or fulfilment of desires by a set of specific religious activities or cult worship.
Rāmānuja, however, changed this firstly by rigorously expounding the philosophy of the Vedas and formally winning over philosophers and influencers of thought to his side. There is no greater evidence to this than the fact that all the great preceptors of Sanātana Dharma that have appeared over these 1000 years after Rāmānuja have held up his thought with supreme respect, some offering alternate views perhaps only in minor theological aspects. Rāmānuja's system achieved this through perfect alignment of philosophy and spirituality, with such wonderful naturalness and beauty shining through, that even the worst skeptic to this day is sure to exclaim – "Yes, this has got to be the truth!" While Rāmānuja drew upon an existing, weighty, Vedic tradition, its practice was most certainly limited to very special individuals, unable to launch itself as a life-style for everyone. The simple reason here would be that a rather good understanding of the sophisticated philosophy was prerequisite to the spirituality or the religion that was to be built on it. This left the commoner stay excluded and the philosophers stay largely exclusive, with neither realizing true spiritual progress.
Secondly, Rāmānuja made the philosophy accessible by digesting it to the very last bit and by having it propagated in such a way that its naturalness comes out first. To the inquisitive minds bothered by questions of existence as well as to the commonest person bothered by everyday constraints and miseries, he put in place a system that offers a perfect solution by way of a complete and natural philosophy appealing to both the heart and the mind. On the practical side, he set up modes of social living that was in perfect alignment with the underlying world-view he taught. He had his followers – a vast majority of them being common people – live in the here and now as they would in the state of liberation. The ever-relevant, well-prescribed, general set of thoughts and actions enabled – and continues to enable – one and all to increasingly experience with immediate effect, the professed goal of Mokṣa.
In Rāmānuja's system, every thought one thinks, every action one does, every emotion one feels, and every attribute of everyone had a purpose to serve towards Mokṣa. This unity of purpose was supplemented with the teaching that the cause for misery is merely a misalignment of one's thoughts, emotions or actions with one's true nature, and that a desire to fix this is all that one needs to do. His system actively advocated this life-style with no one in society being denied a part. Rāmānuja, a brilliant psychologist and social reformer as well, set up institutions that arranged for this to continue on for centuries to come, as we still see today. This arrangement made again with the focus on the ātman (the soul), was gloriously successful in eradicating feelings of inequality in respect among the various perceived strata of society. Rāmānuja was uniquely successful here in that his tradition admonishes any thought of inequality of respect as unorthodox!
A serious study of Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya’s monumental granthas would reveal that his all-encompassing Vedic knowledge, his supreme intellect, and the honesty and rigor of his teachings are beyond comparisons and gloriously divine. Yet, what dominates even this is his soul-stirring bhakti towards Bhagavān and his bhaktas. What beats even that and enslaves us to him is his overwhelming compassion towards us. He deemed that the entire world, without exception, should be experiencing the bliss of service that he and the liberated souls experience.
Holding that the Vedas are the only source of spiritual information guiding humanity at all times, he taught that all of us in our true nature are ātmans (spirits) and that spirituality is the only way for true happiness. He therefore preached spirituality that emphasized that all are spiritually identical and true unbroken spiritual happiness is everyone’s right, irrespective of birth or status. From the greatest of maharṣis and the highest of devas to the lowest of earthly beings and the most banal of asuras, we are all jīvātmans identical in our true nature. We therefore are equal in respect and are equally entitled to blissfully serve the paramātman (God, the super-spirit) out of bhakti permanently in Śrīvaikuṇṭha. He singled out that the best way to break the shackles of karma, which keeps us bonded in this world, and enter into blissful service, is to understand that God Himself longs for this to happen and has been working hard for this since ever. This in fact was the purpose of creation. He taught that this understanding and the ensuing mental resignation, called Śaraṇāgati, to let God’s work bear fruit, is the most appropriate recourse for everyone, and is equally available for everyone. And having resigned to that, the way to live in this world, he taught, is to live like in Śrīvaikuṇṭha. That means living around divyadeśas (sacred temples), knowing them as Śrīvaikuṇṭha itself, and serving archāvatara Bhagavāns (the deities in the temples) understanding that they are the supreme God. This central and most mature teaching of the Vedas was given the highest importance it deserved by Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya, out of his supreme compassion towards the souls suffering in this world. This overwhelming magnificence of heart, riding above intellectual acumen and Vedic knowledge, and even bhakti, distinguishes Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya and places him towering high above all the other great ācāryas the world has seen. Realizing and implementing the Vedic teaching of identifying ourselves with our souls rather than with our bodies, resulted in the emphasis of the equality that is naturally present among souls. This enabled him to break from the non-ideals of the past and institute services in divyadeśas, along with enabling formal access to the secret Vedic teachings for all those interested, irrespective of any birth or status considerations.
The institution he set up for service at divyadeśas is operational to this day. He made people rightly adore the deity in the temple as the supreme God and made them see that serving Him here like liberated souls is their immediate puruṣārtham (overarching goal). Anything and everything one would do in life would take place only after a mental make-up that it ought to be a part of serving this deity in some way. Besides making spirituality the centerpiece of people’s lives, this brought in an equality of spiritual purpose among people divided based on considerations of the body. Everyone, from the priest learning the Vedas to the potter learning to make the pot, had just one purpose! He instituted equality in rewards obtained in temples between the various peoples doing service, and made it starkly evident that God looks at the soul and therefore all are equal in respect. Access to the treasures of Vedic meanings was made available purely based on one’s interest as is clearly seen from the population of Śrīvaiṣṇava ācāryas being of all sections of society and having śiṣyas of all sections of society. That the Āļvār saints, worshipped by Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya as greater than God, appeared in all sections of society, and that the feet of Āļvārs are called Rāmānuja, makes his tradition’s conviction in this unquestionable. This institution of equality is still effective in many of its aspects – especially so in the foremost of divyadeśas, Śrīraṅgam.
The centrality of temple service, and the spiritual and social belonging it brought to people of all sections of the society, that are visible today would not have happened without Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya. The right sanctioned by Vedas to all peoples to call out God’s names and sing His praise asking for loving service to Him, and the intrinsic naturality of it, remained suppressed in the past but was brought out to its original shine by Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya. This made Nāma Saṁkīrtana a household activity across the social spectrum, showing the inerasably deep penetration of the great ācārya’s influence on society.
He not only established this in his time but also set up systems for it to be taken forward for generations to come. He made the services as family endowments and made the servicemen realize that it is a matter of great blessing, equaling being in Śrīvaikuṇṭha itself, that they are able to do this service to the arcāvatāra Bhagavān. This ensured that the services are carried out without slack and that the same faith is instilled in the minds of successive generations. This was true of the people that served by protecting the sacred body of God, His properties and the temple premises, those that provided security during His processions, those that grew the food crops needed, and those that cooked for His consumption, those that made flower garlands to decorate Him, those who washed His clothes, those that arranged for His daily festivities, those that performed music and dance for His entertainment, those that chanted the Vedas for His pleasure, and those that did direct physical service to His body. It is a wonder to see their descendants today doing these services with the same vigor and the same sense of blessing, notwithstanding the pressures of the modern age. The fruits of Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya’s work is visible today, with a deep sense of equality and reverence in the various services glowing bright. And what is more? He unmistakably warned all pointing out that the Vedas prohibit the slightest thought of having anything less than utmost respect for any of this service amounts to bhāgavata apacāra, a transgression bound to earn God’s ire and its consequences.
As a parallel to the institution centered around temple service, a second major institution was set up by Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya to spread to one and all the knowledge of Vedic meanings including even the ones that have been guarded most secretly for their power to liberate souls. He entrusted 74 of his śiṣyas with this task and ensured that anyone interested in learning these treasures is indeed able to do so, irrespective of birth or status. These 74 shishyas, called the Simhāsanadhipatis, were again instilled with the realization that an extremely important service to God is being carried out by them, which ensured that their descendants carry out this without break, with all the same vigor and seriousness. This too we see in practice today after a 0thousand years! The people approaching one of these 74 ācāryas would enter into a formal guru-shishya relationship called samāśrayaṇa, learn the meanings and secret teachings of the Vedas, and would enter into the temple service said above with the same conviction that they are serving God in Śrīvaikuṇṭha. This ensured that the personnel experiencing the performance of blissful service kept growing ever more. This and the equality of the purpose of service meant that the entire spiritual society experienced equality in respect too. Descendants of these servicemen can be seen all over Bhārata today continuing to bear explicit marks as well as implicit ideals of this tradition.
Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya, the great mind he was, knew full well that in spite of this most efficient set up, the powers of Kaliyuga and the karmas of individuals will erode the system, making the service offered to the arcāvatāra God and the experience of it less than ideal. At an opportune moment when God Sri Raṅganātha was granting our ācārya eternal service in Śrīvaikuṇṭha, Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya, the ocean of mercy he was, covered for our faults by securing God Raṅganātha’s word that anyone that enters into the guru-shishya relationship with one of the 74 ācāryas would automatically get a connection with him and would be granted eternal service in Śrīvaikuṇṭha!
Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya’s teachings and reforms went beyond the Vedic pundits and actually influenced the spiritual living of the masses, making him truly a Jagadācārya! Bhagavad Rāmānujācārya was aware that this would precisely fulfil the service God expected of him.