Ramanujacharya
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The great integrator
Dr. Prema Nandakumar, May 5, 2016: The Hindu
Sri Ramanuja: The great integrator
What makes Sri Ramanuja relevant today? Dr. Prema Nandakumar wites on the saint-philospher in the context of his 1000 birth anniversary
One thousand years have gone by. Ten centuries. In India alone, so many kingdoms which would do their best to put an end to the religious and cultural traditions that had flourished from time immemorial. The Delhi Sultanate, the five Sultanates of the South - Berar, Bidar, Golkonda, Bijapur and Ahmednagar. Sher Shah and the Suri interregnum. The Moghuls. The British Empire. In spite of all that, Vedic culture not only survived but also gained new spaces. For, the adherents of the culture have had the benefit of leadership by spiritual personalities from time to time, re-formatting the culture in a positive manner without losing any of its seminal strengths. Of such great men, Sri Ramanuja, who was born in the 11 century, takes the pride of place as he remains relevant even today.
How shall we crown Sri Ramanuja? Is he a fine-tuned philosopher or a poet? Does his sociological thinking exceed the commentator? Does he loom large as a temple-builder or as a management expert? Does his concern for helping the common man out-top his blazing spirituality? Is he greater as a student or as a teacher? A deeper and wider engagement in his life and ministry makes it very, very difficult to decide. But one thing is clear. His virtue was compassion: his means, integration. The two main reasons why Sri Ramanuja remains perfectly relevant even today.
Sister Nivedita said that the history of India is the land itself. Applied to Sri Ramanuja, we can read his life in the temples, the rituals he set up, in his philosophy and poetry, and his untiring and patient moves to bring down man-made differences and integrate the society by applying the ideal of compassion. Since he did all this by his personal example and involvement, and remained active throughout his life, he became the progenitor of the Neo-Vedantists of modern Indian renaissance. Hadn’t he opened the doors of spirituality for one and all, as Swami Vivekananda had pointed out in his lecture on ‘The Sages of India’?
“He (Ramanuja) felt for the downtrodden, he sympathised with them. He took up the ceremonies, the accretions that had gathered, made them pure so far as they could be, and instituted new ceremonies, new methods of worship, for the people who absolutely required them. At the same time he opened the door to the highest; spiritual worship from the Brahmin to the Pariah. That was Ramanuja's work. That work rolled on, invaded the North, was taken up by some great leaders there; but that was much later, during the Mohammedan rule; and the brightest of these prophets of comparatively modern times in the North was Chaitanya.”
Though there are several documentations of the Acharya’s life, the main events can be summarised easily. Forty-five kilometres west of Chennai is the village of Sriperumbudur. Here lived a Vedic scholar, Kesava Somayaji and his wife Kantimati. By the grace of Lord Parthasarathi, the presiding deity of Tiruvallikeni temple, a son was born to them in the Pingala year, Chitra month, under the asterisk of Tiruvadirai (April 4, 1017). Immediately a message was sent to his maternal uncle, Tirumalai Nambi who named the baby Ramanuja. As a pious Srivaishnava, he considered kainkarya (service to the Lord) as very important, since Rama’s younger brother Lakshmana is known as Kainkarya Sriman. The name turned out to be very apt for Ramanuja’s life was spent in serving God and serving humanity. Which is why he remains relevant even in the millennium of his birth.
An apt pupil for his scholarly father, Ramanuja grew up to be an erudite scholar and was married to Thanjamambal at the appropriate age. But the father’s sudden passing was a great blow indeed. He continued his studies under the scholar Yadavaprakasa. Since he was not very happy with the ways of the teacher, he turned to Tirukachchi Nambi for further studies.
Meanwhile Sri Yamunacharya who headed the community of Srivaishnavas in Srirangam expressed his wish to have Ramanuja succeed him, before he passed away. Sri Ramanuja consciously prepared himself for the onerous duties of becoming a religious-spiritual head by undergoing studies in the scriptures, vedanta as also the hymns of the Alvars. His teachers were all great eminences like Peria Nambi, Tirukoshtiyur Nambi, Maladhara and Vararanga. Soon he was in demand as a teacher too.
But now a big change occurred in his family life. Sri Ramanuja’s liberal ways and avoidance of caste-born arrogance, and readiness to help others even if it cost his own peace of mind was not relished by Thanjamambal, who had been brought up in strict orthodoxy. After sending his wife to her natal home, he renounced the world. Soon he went to Srirangam assumed his duties as the head of the Srivaishnava community.
In Srirangam, he was also entrusted with the management of the famous temple of Sri Ranganatha. The temple needed a thorough overhauling and flushing out the innumerable ‘old bandicoots’ turned out to be a thorny exercise. However, the Acharya was no confrontationist. He simply withdrew to the nearby hillock of Tiruvellarai for a couple of years. He returned to Srirangam after the poison had drained away. His management of the temple involving all sections of the society and introducing several socially relevant schemes like plentiful ‘annadaana’ have endured till this day as we see the innumerable Ramanuja Koots spread all over India.
His life and works
Dr. Prema Nandakumar, May 12, 2016: The Hindu
Sri Ramanuja’s compassion knew no distinction.
The ideal student of yesterday had now become a sought-after teacher too. One thousand years after, we still speak of the admirable relationship that existed between him and his students. They revered him because of his exemplary character and readiness to work hard to teach them. Sri Ramanuja had written his magnum opus, Sri Bhashya, as a highly erudite commentary on the Brahma Sutras. And though there were brilliances like Kuresa, Dasarathi, Parasara Bhatta and Govinda, the teacher must have noticed that there are always rising tiers in the capacity of young minds to understand the technicalities of a subject. This is why he wrote other commentaries on the Brahma Sutras like Vedanta Sara and Vedanta Deepa for different grades. And all his commentaries have an intensely human angle coming through legends and similes from everyday experience. This way, none of his disciples felt left out. Perhaps a lesson for those teachers of today, who are not prepared to go the extra mile for the sake of a student or see another point of view!
During these years of his middle age, Sri Ramanuja undertook long pilgrimages visiting great temples all over India. He also went to Kashmir where he managed to collect material for his Sri Bhashya. The local king took him to the famous temple of Sarada Pita (now in Pak-occupied Kashmir) and the Acharya was given a resounding welcome with special festivities for Goddess Sarada. The travels of Ramanuja with his entourage which have been recorded by different scholars and poets are indeed treasure troves of humanistic philosophy.
As the fame of Sri Ramanuja spread and his disciples increased and the Srirangam complex became a showcase for temple administration, a new threat loomed on the horizon. The king of the day wanted to apply the brakes and give Saivism a boost. It has never been clear who this king was, referred to only as Kirimikanta Chola (The Chola with an infected throat). Though they adhered to Saivism, the Chola kings have not been historically portrayed as anti-Vaishnava. History tells us that Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1122 A.D), who ruled the land for more than half a century was a liberal king and so would not have harmed Sri Ramanuja and put a spoke in his wheel. Whatever the background, all that we need to know here is that some methodical persecution pushed Sri Ramanuja into self-exile. He now spent more than a decade in Karnataka engaged in the work after his heart. The local king of the famous Hoysala dynasty was a Jain. He became Ramanuja’s disciple, and was named Vishnu Vardhana.
The king helped his guru in digging the celebrated Tondanur tank (popularly known as Tonnur Kere) spread over 2,000 acres. With the height of the dam at 230 metres, its outflow forms a waterfall, Ramanuja Gange. Tondanur village has also the Nambi Narayana and Yoga Narasimha temples which gave an ideal space of refuge for the Acharya.
The Karnataka interregnum would prove highly fruitful as the Acharya discovered the image of Tirunarayana and built a temple to him in Yadugiri. He planned the management of the temple from the scratch with great insight about the future requirements of devotees. The festivals and other day-to-day rituals of the place have continued till this day. One of the festivals is Delhi Utsava in commemoration of the Acharya getting the processional deity of Sampathkumara from the Sultan at Delhi. Are these incidents stuff of legend or was there a conscious attempt to achieve national integration? The building of the Pancha Narayana Kshetras in Karnataka by Vishnuvardhana under the direction of Dasarathi whom Sri Ramanuja had put in charge is yet another epic tale.
With the death of the inimical king, Sri Ramanuja could return to Srirangam. He was very close to Kanchipuram and Tirumala, but he had been chosen for the Spiritual Throne at Srirangam by his predecessor Yamunacharya. Also, engaged in managing the temple, the deities had become living presences for him. He appointed seventy-four persons to take charge of sustaining and spreading Srivaishnavism, something they have done quite well through all these centuries. Some of the paramparas like Gomadam, Mudumbai, Kandadai and Kidambi stand witness to the visionary in the Acharya.
Sri Ramanuja was one hundred and twenty years old. Reassured that Srivaishnavism with its integrated presence of the Sanskrit scriptures and Tamil hymnology will prosper for all time to come, he installed Parasara Bhattar as his successor and quietly withdrew from the physical. It was 1137 A.D.
So how shall we crown Sri Ramanuja? The philosopher who brings a smile to our face with a simile in Sri Bhashya? The commentator who breaks out into poetic visions of Krishna’s personality? Or the sociological thinker who found that one-sixth of the population had been set aside as ‘untouchables’ and so named them as Tirukulathar (Lakshmi’s race) and himself walked into the Dalit Pattini Perumal’s house and heard him recite the verses of the Alwars? Or the social worker who established free dining areas and hospitals like the Dhanvantari Sannidhi in Srirangam? Or the teacher who was a walking university when he went on pilgrimages with the disciples? Or the student who was never afraid to question the teacher but did not swerve from his perfect behaviour?
All we can say today is that Sri Ramanuja was an untiring integrator in every aspect of his life. He was an achiever because he did everything for others without expecting even a word of ‘thanks’. That is why he has been called “Karei karunai Ramanuja”, an image of compassion like the rain-bearing clouds which pours its life-giving nectar over all irrespective of caste, creed or country. May his teachings grow stronger within and around us and may his tribe increase!
Nityam
Radha Raghunathan, Perfect devotion vs total surrender, March 23, 2017: The Hindu
In his Nityam, a step-by-step manual of daily worship, Ramanuja incorporates the philosophy of Visishtadvaita and the ‘nyaasam’ of Srivaishnavam. Many of the Tirukkuṛaḷ couplets are both lessons on ethics and philosophical truths. Here is one, which highlights the means of ensuring external and internal purification:
“Puraththooymai neeraan amaiyum, agaththooymaivaaymaiyaar kaanappadum.” (If water is the external cleanser, honesty makes the soul purer - Kural 298)
Ramanuja’s Nityagrantha, Nityam for short, also begins with external cleanliness in the form of ablutions, bath, wearing the robes and oordhva-pundareeka, etc, early in the morning, collecting flowers and holy basil leaves, and other preparations. It incorporates various prayogas such as mantram, astram, tantram, yantram and mudrās (mantram — aphoristic incantations; astram — protecting oneself with accompaniment of a mantra, e.g. digbandhana astra-mantra; tantram — modes of union with the Supreme, mystical physical formulations; yantram literally means self-restraint or controlling with weapons; here, yantram stands for mystical diagrams supposed to possess occult powers.
Offerings at the end
In the end, offerings are made to one’s acharya (with a mental deidcation to the entire lineage of the acharya) and the offerings are shared with ‘vaishnavas’ (practitioners and believers of Srivaishnavam). Finally, the devotee does the aṣhṭaanga-namaskaara (prostrating with both hands folded, feet together, the hands, feet, eyes, nose and forehead in contact with the ground) and surrenders his mind, intellect and ego.
And who does this all? ‘The Lord Himself gets everything done…’ (Bhagavan eva sarvam kaarayati…) This means that a devotee’s becoming a jnaani or performing the nityam, the prayer and worship, is God’s Will. In his Nityagrantha or Nityam, Ramanuja has incorporated all the philosophical thoughts of Visishtaadvaita and the religious moorings of Srivaishnavam, in particular the ‘nyaasam’ (relinquishing and entrusting everything to the care of God). Till his time, ‘vaikhanasa-agama’ tradition alone received the approval of puritans. In the Nityam, Ramanuja elevates the paancharaatra tradition by bringing it into daily practice.
Over time, when the Srivaishnavam school bifurcated into two branches, the practice of ‘nityam’ also went through modifications. Of the two branches, Vedanta Desika was the founder of the Northern branch, and the Tenkalai branch follows Piḷḷai Lokacharya and Maṇavaḷa Mamuni.
Results faster
In his Saraṇaagati Deepikaa, Nyaasa-tilakam, Nyaasa-vimsati, Nyaasa-dasakam, etc., Desika says that one must follow pancharaatra or vaikhaanasa as is one’s tradition. He advises to follow devotion or surrender as it suits the follower. But, he says, saraṇagati is faster in yielding results. He compares saraṇagati to a wedding where the father gives the bride away to the groom. This is an echo of Andal’s paasuram in Nachiyar Tirumozhi, where she dreams of the Lord holding her hand (‘kai-t-talam pattra-k kanaa kaṇden...’).
The attitude of highest devotion or the perfected devotion (parama-ekanta-bhava) and that of total surrender (saraṇagati-bhava), being reciprocal, both get strengthened by regular performance of the ‘nityam.’
This kind of surrender is followed not only in household worship, but in temple worship also as is seen in Sri Venkatesa Mangalasasanam at Tirumala:
“Parasmai brahmaṇe, poorna-kaamaaya paramaatmane,
prapanna-para-tatvaaya, Venkatesaaya mangalam”
[prapanna = (i) text, i.e. Veda; (ii) surrender (saraṇagati); para-tattvam = (i) the highest Truth; (ii) the highest principle]
— “To the Supreme Brahman, to the totally fulfilled, to the Ultimate Self, to the highest Truth of the scripture/to the highest principle of surrender, to Venkatesa, mangalam!”
The writer is a researcher in Vedanta and manuscripts
This is the 42nd in the series of articles on Sri Ramanuja, which will be published up to his millennium in May 2017
18 guidelines for a disciple
C T Indra, August 7, 2023: The Times of India
Ramanuja, who founded Vishisht Advaita school of Vedantic thought, was a seeker when he was an acharya; he was an acharya when he was a guru, a rare combination in Indic spiritual tradition. The word ‘acharya’ relates to ‘chara’ meaning to walk, to go along the path. In the Vaishnava tradition,the acharya is considered to be God. He bestows, just through his glances, causeless, unhindered daya on the disciple– by precept and practice he becomes an acharya. Himself the pontiff of Srirangam Mutt, Ramanuja learnt from five acharyas – Maha Purna, Kanchi Purna, Ghosti Purna, Sri Saila Purna, and Maladhara.
One of the best-known episodes of Ramanuja’s life as a seeker and disciple is about the time when he was asked by Tirukkoshtiyur Nambi to journey all the way from Srirangam to Tirukkoshtiyur eighteen times before being accepted as a student. His learnings therefrom may be studied as an exemplar of adhikaaratvam, qualification of a disciple: 1. An aspirant should annul attachment to worldly pursuits;
2. With the rise of goodness, the ego and a sense of ownership will vanish;
3. Unless and until the ego and sense of ownership get dissolved, attention to the body will not vanish;
4. Unless and until attachment to the body perishes, self-knowledge will not arise;
5. Unless and until knowledge of the self is born, disdain for worldly prosperity will not be born;
6. Unless and until the cessation of worldly attachment happens, devotion to God will not be born;
7. Unless and until devotion to God arises, the taste for worldly enjoyments will not be extinguished;
8. Unless and until the taste for worldly enjoyment ceases, one’s sense of dependence on God will not be born;
9. Unless and until one understands one’s dependence on God, attachment to material possessions and worldly passions and hatred will not cease;
10. Unless and until one becomes free from likes and dislikes, one will not attain the state of a Sri Vaishnava – one who will not brook another man’s misery;
11. Unless and until one attains the state of a Sri Vaishnava, one will not get acceptance among and accessibility to the fold of good people;
12. Unless and until one gets admission into the fold of sattvic people, acceptance from devotees of the Lord will not be possible;
13. Unless and until one gets acceptance from the fold of devotees, one cannot hope for close proximity to the Lord;
14. Unless and until one attains proximity to the Lord, one will not turn Godward in one’s pursuits;
15. Unless and until one turns Godward, one will not understand one’s worthiness to be dependent on God alone;
16. Unless and until one understands one’s dependence on God alone, one will not understand that there is no other refuge for one;
17. Unless and until one understands that there is no refuge but God, one will not become eligible for initiation; and
18. The inner import of the Ashtakshari mantra will be realised only by the eligible person. By sharing with us what he learnt from his acharya, Ramanuja blessed us all.
The writer is former head of English department, University of Madras
