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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00038 Mar 2003

 
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Sri:
Srimathe Ramanujaya nama:
Dear bhAgavathas,
Accept my pranams. I like to share my thoughts in response to 
Sri Vikram's posting. 

(i)First of all we do not need a foreigner to tell us "what our 
sampradAyam/religion actually is" when there are many learned AcAryAs 
in our sampradAyam. It is tantamount to asking/enquiring a 
stranger/third person about "the nature/conduct/personality of one's 
own mother". BTW,I have come across the book by Lipner and I have 
read and I don't consider Lipner's words as gospel of truth. Please 
take it in the right context: Lipner is not a disciple of the 
disciple of...of the disciple of Sri Ramanuja to make an affirmative 
statement that "this is what" Sri Ramanuja says. We have to go to an 
AcArya who comes in the line of Sri Ramanuja to understand the mind 
of Sri Ramanuja. Lipner's is similar to the word Hindu coined by some 
moghuls and many of us proudly use that word hindu which 
appears "nowhere" in our scriptures. 

(ii)Sri Ramanuja neither invented SriVaiShNavism nor Prapatti. He 
only "fostered" it. There were AcAryAs,prior to Sri Ramanuja,who were 
SriVaiShNavas and also Prapannas(following prapatti). In short 
SriRamanuja "re-visited/re-searched" some of the "concepts" which was 
already there(vedas) eternally and misinterpreted by Advaitins and 
Heretics who failed to do a "proper" enquiry into the "nature of 
Brahman". Keeping aside Sri Ramanuja,we observe that the samskrt 
word "prapdhyE(prapatti)" sitting in many places in Bhagavad Gita 
Chapter 7 and Bhagavad Gita was spoken by Lord Himself and hence can
not have been a "concept" developed/invented by Sri Ramanuja. Hence 
Sri Ramanuja's concern(as per Sri YAmunAcAryA's wish)was to write 
commentaries on samskrt works, to refute Advaitic philosophy and 
other philosphies which were in vogue during that time,to set things 
in the right perspective. Hence it was catered to a "specific" set of 
audience. So one has to see Sri Ramanuja not only from pure academic 
aspect of Sri VisiShtAdvaitham but also from psychological aspect
(what kind of audience did Sri Ramanuja keep in his mind when he 
wrote the commentaries on samskrt works). 

(iii) Simple analogy can be taken from academic circle. An author,who 
specialises and does research in the field of Fluid Dynamics(or you 
name any subject)writes a text book keeping in mind a "specific" set 
of people. Not everyone can understand and comprehend that book. So a 
book can cater to people who are beginners,...or advanced. 

(iv) Some foreigners doubt the authorship of gadya trayam(whether it 
was really Sri Ramanuja who composed it as it differs in thought from 
the other 6 samskrt works). Here psychology enters. Even if we take 
scientists as examples,not every paper of Albert Einstein reflects 
the same "mood" of Einstein expressing the "impressions of his 
thoughts(that is, this is how Einstein thinks)". But then people are 
affected by the limitation of senses(perception). How do one believe 
that Sri Ramanuja preached and followed Prapatti(which he didn't say 
explicitly(although it was implicit) in his 6 samskrt works) just as 
his predecessors of Sri VishiShtAdvaitham? It is like this(a crude 
example): I may cook something(say some onion based) to suit the 
needs of the visitors. A guy who has only seen me cooking(but not 
eating) such food is highly and surely likely to conclude that I eat 
onion. Assume that I do not consume onion. The other guy's inference 
is totally wrong(due to improper observation and enquiry and this is 
applicable in Lipner's case too). That's why Sri Ramanuja had devoted 
100 plus pages for the first aphorism(sUtra)alone in his commentary 
on BrahmasUtra, namely SriBhAShya. 

(v) So SharaNAgathi is for "ALL" without any doubt. The AshtAkshari
(Tirumanthram) says that Sriman Narayana is the "protector" of all.
Just as a husband vouchsafes protection to his wife,while tying the 
sacred knot,so does the Lord wrt sentient/non-sentient(whoever chants 
this manthra). When a mortal mother can not bear to see differences 
among her own kids(who is better than who),how can the Lord, whose 
child is this Universe(and the jivas like us),see distinction among 
His own creations(The Lord says in Bhagavad Gita that He created the 
four classifications/varNas)? This being the case,does it make any 
sense to say that "sUdrAs have to wait for some more births" to 
attain mOksha? 

(vi) Regarding the "means" for attaining mOksha,many have been laid 
down in shruthi(vedas) and smrthi(Bhagavad Gita prescribing 
karma,jnAna,bhakti,prapatti as a means for salvation) texts.
Bhakti is the longest route and sharaNAgathi/prapatti is the shortest 
route. Some people think that there is a "subtle" difference between 
sharaNAgathi and prapatti which is a different issue altogether. 
People according to their varNas can follow bhakti or prapatti. Why 
should the Lord prescribe both the routes instead of one method for 
all? From this it is clear that HE alone is the means and also the 
end. 

(vii)I would like to quote Bertrand Russell who declares himself 
as "agnostic" in the eyes of philosophic audience and as an "atheist" 
in the eyes of laymen. Why does he have to declare like this instead 
of one single and simple statement? Because Russell has done a 
research(mathematically/scientifically)and is of the opinion that it 
is difficult to prove either way,the existence or the non-existence 
of God. So he is neutral to the idea of God(science goes by evidence).
A layman does not know what "logic(a branch of natural philosophy)" 
is and hence Russell,without wasting time,declares himself as an 
atheist. To those who have background in logic(atleast some),he 
declares himself as agnostic. 

(viii)Last but not the least I would like to quote Sri PiLLai 
LOkAchArya's Mumukshuppadi:Carama shlOkam(BG 18.66: sarva 
DharmAn...mA shuca:)explanation: CUrnikai 182

"karmam(karma yOga) kaimkaryaththilE pugum,jnAnam(jnAna yOga) svarUpa 
prakAshaththilE pugum; bhakti(bhakti yOga) prApya ruciyilE pugum;
prapatti(total surrender) svarUpayAthAthmya jnAnaththilE pugum"

Meaning:The daily(nithya) and occasional(naimiththika) rituals
(karmas),appropriate to their castes(varNas) and stages of life
(Ashramas) will be practised by the individual not as means for 
attaining mOksha but as loving service unto the Lord. Comprehension 
of Lord's transcendental glory(jnAna/knowledge) shall illumine his 
own essential nature. Bhakti(devotion to Lord) will be practised not 
as means for attaining mOksha but as an intense longing for the Lord
(just as hunger is a pre-requisite for relishing the food). 
Prapatti/SharaNAgathi,the loving surrender to the Lord, leads to the 
acquisition of a "correct" perspective of the "true" or essential 
nature of the individual soul, namely,"absolute and exclusive 
dependence on the Lord and complete self-abnegation". 

So sharaNAgathi(Lord as the sole means as indicated in BG 
18.66),alongwith other two rahasyas,namely, Tirumanthram and 
dhvayam,is ideal for all and since this has come from the Lord Himself
(as an upadhEsha to Arjuna),it is as old as the vedas and hence not 
developed by any "later" SriVaiShNava scholars for fun but has been 
preserved(the teaching that started from the Lord) and 
observed/practised by all Sri VaiShNava AcAryAs.

Please forgive for any wrong informations and if I have hurt others' 
feelings(and also for the lengthy and boring mail). All credits go to 
Sri Ramanuja's grace and AcAryAs. Thanks to Sri Mukunda and Sri 
Lakshmi Narasimhan for having already expressed some of the things I 
wanted to add.

AzhvAr EmperumAnAr JIyar thiruvadigaLE sharaNam
NC Nappinnai






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