(continued from Part 1) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Swami Desikan's brilliance as a poet was matched only by that as a philosopher? He was a "tArkika-simham", a lion that struck terror in the hearts of ideological adversaries. The word "tarka" in Sanskrit refers to the branch of logic called dialectics. It is a highly technical method of reasoning based on complex and formal rules of ratiocination. In Desikan's times it involved never-ending debate ('vAdA') and discourse between exponents of rival schools of philosophy. It was the principal occupation of philosophers in Desikan's times, challenging each other frequently to debating duels. Around 13th century CE some extreme elements in the school of Advaitins ('mAyAvAdins') began to undermine, through aggresive polemics and propaganda, the vast influence which the school of VisishtAdvaitic Vedanta wielded amongst its followers in its own bastion viz. the holy temple-town of Srirangam. These Advaitins began to seriously question the Vedic basis for the authority and validity of Ramanuja's 'siddhAnta'. The pundits of SriRangam badly needed the services of a redoubtable philosopher from within their own ranks who could resist and overcome the spread of a dangerously specious brand of aggressive Advaita. They found none amongst themselves until they finally discovered their man in Swami Venkatanathan at Kanchi. He was summoned to SriRangam. Venkatanathan left Kanchi and moved to SriRangam, and during the 50-odd years of his life there, he authored some of the most profound and formidable works ever to be written in the annals of VisisishtAdvaitic Vedanta. The philosophic system of Sri Ramanuja, as constructed in his seminal work called "sri-bAshyam" about two centuries earlier, found its fullest and most sophisticated expression in Desikan's philosophical works some of which were pure treatise and some counter-polemics. Swami Desikan's most famous works, the "tattva-muktA-kalApA", 'sarvArtha- siddhi' and the 'sata-dUshani' were all authored around this time. Together they constituted by far the most solid and irrefutable defense of the school of Ramanuja's Vedanta against every known rival Vedantic system that dared to challenge his philosophy. In recognition of Swami Desikan's services to the firm establishment of one of the greatest schools of Vedantic philosophy -- viz. 'sri-rAmAnuja-siddhAntam' -- he came to be known as "tArkika-simham". Venkatanathan reputation as a "tArkika-simham" grew for yet another reason also. A certain section of Vedic orthodoxy -- we might call them "die-hard" elements -- in SriRangam during Desikan's times was totally against the AzhwAr's Tamil "divya-prabhandham" which Sri Ramanuja had introduced into temple rituals and festivities. They resented the status given to the Tamil 'marai' by Ramanuja equal to that of the timeless Vedas that were in Sanskrit. Desikan, though a deep Vedic adherent himself, stoutly defended the mysticism of the AzhwAr's Tamil 'marai'. In 2 magnificent works titled "dramidOpanishad-tArparya-ratnAvali" and "dramidOpanishad sAram", Venkatanathan demonstrated how NammAzhwAr's "tiruvoimOzhi" was the perfect and peerless Tamil equivalent of the Vedantic Upanishads and how together they constituted the bed-rock of a unique tradition of Vedanta called "ubhaya-vEdanta" -- the twin-fold way to VedAnta. Today, if the AzhwAr's "divya-prabhandham" prevails and flourishes in all SriVaishnavite temples in India, it is due in no small measure to the efforts of the "tArkika-simham", Swami Desikan. ************ ************* ************ (to be continued) dAsan, Sudarshan __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com
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