This article was published in The Times of India on 07th May 2011 Sat in the column Speaking Tree
The Revival Of Bhakti
Sangeeta Venkatesh
Aguru wondered whether his student was worthy of receiving the ashtakshara mantra that would release him from earthly ills. After much deliberation, he finally disclosed it, but only after wresting a promise from him that it would not be revealed to others. The student pondered over the mantra and the next day, went atop the village temple and announced the mantra to a large gathering that had collected there. The guru, furious, said that the worst hell awaited him. To which the student replied, ‘If this act of mine delivers thousands to heaven, i do not mind going to hell.’ Thrilled, the guru hugged his disciple. The guru was Saint Tirukkottiyur Nambi.Ramanuja was born in a Vaishnava family at Sriperambudur, near Kanchipuram. His own teacher, Yadavaprakash, felt threatened by the clarity and extent of his knowledge and so decided to kill him. However, due to divine grace Ramanujacharya survived. Ramanujacharya was against the caste system. He took an illiterate but knowledgeable saint, Kanchipurna as his teacher. One night Ramanuja invited Kanchipurna to his house. After serving him food, Ramanuja offered to wash his feet. Kanchipurna was embarrassed as Ramanuja was a Brahmin. An upset Ramanuja declared that one who was devoted to God was beyond any social order. Ramanuja expounded the Vishishtha Advaita philosophy – qualified non-dualism. It talks of a personal God who is one and only one (non-dual), but vishishtha, one with unique attributes. It says that the Supreme Being is ‘soul of all souls’. He explained that there were three factors of interplay: God or Brahmn, we or jivatmas, nature or prakriti. He further explained that God manifests in two modes: Chit or sentient, living beings and achit or non-sentient, without consciousness. Brahmn along with these two modes formed the Tattva Traya or the threefold doctrine of Vishishtha Advaita philosophy that established an organic relationship of oneness of the universe and individual souls along with Brahmn. Individual selves are sparks of the divine and the world is no illusion. This philosophy is an integral part of Sri Vaishnavism, which says that Sriman Narayana is Paratattva, Supreme Truth. He is the abode of all life and is antaryamin, the internal controller. He is easily approachable and responds to his devotee’s loving devotion. The philosophy is theistic and says Brahmn is the union of Vishnu and Lakshmi (Sri), the father and mother elements, respectively. Ramanuja was deeply influenced by the 12 alwars or Vaishnavite poet-saints, who were immersed in bhakti or devotion towards Narayana. Through bhakti, Ramanujacharya advocated saranagati or total surrender to God. Indeed, Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita advises Arjuna to rise above the lesser dharmas or duties which keep the soul bound to matter. He urges Arjuna to 'surrender all unto me and I shall free you from fears, bondage and sorrows'. The act of surrender is termed as saranagati, which forms the nucleus of the vishistha advaita philosophy, and is referred to as the prapatti yoga. In deference to Yamunacharya’s wishes, Ramanujacharya wrote the Sribhashya, a commentary on the Brahmasutras, Gita Bhashya, Saranagati Gadyam, among many other works. He travelled all over India and standardised the liturgy at many temples including the Sri Venkateshwara temple at Tirupati, and the Cheluvanarayana temple at Melkote, Karnataka, where he spent a major part of his life.
Today is Ramanuja Jayanti.(Akshya Tritya)
