You are here: SriPedia - Ramanuja - Archives - Oct 2004

Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00131 Oct 2004

 
Oct 2004 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]



sri:
Srimathe Ramanujaya Namah

SRI PILLAI LOKACHARYA?S INFLUENCE ON ME                         
                                                By Sri Vedaraman Sriraman
                                                        in Vedic_Magazine
lOkAchAryAya guravE krishNapAdaSya sUnavE |
samsArabhOgisandashta jIvajIvAtavE nama: ||

Every individual?s secular and religious views are shaped by the
environment in which he/she is raised. Mine were influenced
considerably by the fact of having grown up in a Tamil Brahmin family
and the political/social upheavals associated with the upsurgance of the
regional Dravidian political parties in Tamil Nadu in the 70s and 80s.
Typical of someone raised in a Brahmin family, I was used to the
performance of the daily sandhyAvandanam (prayer to the sun), chanting
of slokas in Sanskrit for various deities, observance of religious festivals
such as Sri Rama Navami, Saraswathi Pooja, UpAkarma (beginning of
learning of Vedas); all in accordance with Vedic injunctions. On the
political/social side, I was bombarded constantly by a political
environment and a polity bent upon espousing their anti-vedic and antireligious
sentiments in a blatant and often, flagrant display of atheism
mixed with personal hatred. Such negative attitudes to a theistic way of
life were further amplified by a caste based admissions policy in
education that denied opportunity to qualified candidates simply based
on their religious affiliation.

It is not unusual for those of us who come to the US to get drawn into a
materialistic and worldly lifestyle, and my arrival in the US for graduate
education, at least during the early years, was marked by an absence of
any real interest in religion and/or philosophy. Owing to the Lords uninstigated
grace (nirhEthuka krupA), I chanced upon a few ISKCON
publications some years ago, an activity that I came upon more as an
accident than by intent. A certain degree of mock curiosity (pictures of
westerners clad in ?panchakachcham? style dhoti, wearing Nike sneakers)
caused me to read on. Soon I was thoroughly impressed by the sincerity
of the ISKCON devotees and got interested in Vaishnavam. As I read
more ISKCON literature, one thing lead to another and I found myself
regularly browsing the posts on the Bhakti List started / maintained by
Sri Mani Varadarajan.

Here I was introduced to a whole new universe of thought and spiritual
endeavor. I became familiar with the life and works of Azhvars and
Acharyas. I found Visistadvaita?s repudiation of the concepts of nirguNa
Brahman and Maya and the upholding of the paratvam (supremacy) of
Sriman Narayana thoroughly captivating. To start with, I was
comfortable with the vedantic aspects of Sri Vaishnavam due to my
upbringing. That this new universe of thought provided a compelling
and convincing interpretation of Vedanta provided a firmament of
comfort for further spiritual and philosophical investigation.

One day I chanced to read an English translation of the aphorisms of 
Sri Vachana BhUshaNam (SVB) by Swami Pillai LOkAchAriar (PL),
considered by many to be the most brilliant acharya in what we know
today as Ramanuja darshanam. During my first reading of this book, the
concepts of nirhEtuka krupa, acharyAbhimanam (absolute reverence to the
acharya and his teachings), and the non consideration of prapatti
(surrender) as an upAyam (means) were too esoteric for me to grasp. My
sense of this inability, looking back, is that we are too conditioned by the
punish-reward system of every day life to grasp these critically insightful
concepts. However, I was absolutely mesmerized by the aphorisms that
dealt with the notion of caste of a bhAgavatha (devotee). For instance,
consider the following sutras from SVB:

194. BhAgavathApachArandhAn anEka vidham
(Offences against Bhagavathas are of many kinds)

195. athilE onRu avarkaL pakkal janma niroopaNam
(One of these is inquiry about their birth.)

196. ithuthAn archAvathAraththil upAdAnasmruthiyil kATTil krooram
(This, indeed, is more cruel than examining, thinking about, the material
of which perumAL?s archA tirumEni (idol) is made)

197. aththai mAtru yOni pareekshaiyODu okkumenRu shAstram sollum
(It is said in the scriptures that an inquiry about the birth of a devotee is
so heinous and repulsive an act of character-less-ness, that it is
equivalent to a man inspecting the reproductive organ of his own
mother)

What struck me very profoundly were both the radical nature of the
truth in the message that SVB contained and the clarity with which the
same was delivered. I was very thrilled to come across an Indian/Vedic
acharya/guru who so explicitly hammered home the message of the
irrelevance of a bhagavatha?s caste, gender, economic or
physiological/psychological state as a qualification for
release/redemption. Sri PL provided a practical means for every
sentient being to internalize the fundamental truth that all of us are
Sriman Narayana?s children and that we all belong to one ThonDar
Kulam (community of servants), unburdened by caste or gender-based
distinctions. In a day and age when such remarks could have resulted in
excommunication (and as it turned out Sri Azhagiya Manavala Perumal
Nayanar (AMP) had to defend Sri PL!!!), Swami PL had such a clear
grasp of the universality of the Sri Vaisnavam as bequeathed to us by
the Azhvars and Acharyas like Swami Emperumanar, and the extreme
courage of conviction, that he gave voice to some revolutionary, and
unpopular (with a certain segment of the population) opinions;
unpopular then and sadly, in many instances, even now!

Today, it is fashionable for political and religious leaders to proclaim that
spiritual oneness of all life forms transcend caste and gender based
considerations. However, it took a true visionary such as Swami PL to
expound the vedic wisdom of Ramanuja darshanam in terms that
elevated all of humanity to a state of close proximity to the ultimate God.

Since, I have always experienced goose bumps at the mere mention of the two
brothers Sri PL and Sri AMP Nayanar, to me, they represent literally the two
eyes of our glorious Sri Vaishnava tradition.
Sri Vaishnavam is replete with practical applications of the glorious
precept of equality for all sentient-beings. Consider the following:
? Sri Rama performing funeral rites for Jatayu
? Sri Krishna preferring to dine with Sri Vidura even though he
had the option of dining with exalted elders such as Drona or
Bheeshma.
? The episode of ThiruppAN azhvar and LOkasAranga Muni
? Our kulapathi (leader of community) Sri Nammazhvar who
belonged to the panchama jathi (fifth caste)
? Sri Periya Nambi and his attachment to Sri MaranEri Nambi
? Swami Ramanuja and his deep devotion to Sri Thirukachchi
Nambi

However, it is Swami PL, who went to considerable lengths to explicitly
expand on this concept and establish its relevance within the Indian
social and philosophical framework. Prof. M. R. Sampathkumaran in the
January 1988 issue of ?Sri Ramanuja vANi? says ?Sri Lokacharya carried
to their logical conclusions many precepts and practices of Sri Ramanuja
regarding such things as prapatti, the value of Nammazhvar?s mystical
experiences, and the irrelevance of caste in the scheme of salvation?. It
is no exaggeration to assert that if society had taken up on Swami PL?s
vision of universality of equality amongst the sentient, some of the castebased
upheavals that so dominate India?s political and social landscape
may have been obviated. Indeed, I feel Swami PL?s vision for man and
society would have rendered irrelevant a number of pseudo-religious
and political movements that have corrupted and harmed the Indian
polity in no small measure.

Thus, after several years of browsing the web and reading books on
Vaishnavam, this fortuitous contact with SVB (owing to Lord?s nirhetuka
krupa) ended my quest. At last, I feel that I have found my true home.

The life and works of Sri PL and Sri AMP Nayanar epitomize and
crystallize the essence of Ramanuja darshanam as I understand it. Years
ago I used to be very cynical about the prospects for any personal
spiritual advancement in the light of the knowledge of my own errant
past. Like a shining beacon of light SVB steps in and has the following to
offer:
15. purushakAraththukkum upAyaththukkum vaibhavamAvadhu ?
dOshaththaiyum guNa hAniyaiyum pArththu upEkshiyAdhavaLavanRikkE
angeekAraththukku avaithannaiyE pachchaiyAkkugai
(The greatness of purushakaara (mediator, the role played by Lakshmi)
and upaaya (Sriman Narayana) lies in not merely disregarding the
jeevAtma?s (soul) defects and lack of merit, but also in making these the
very basis for the acceptance of the jeevAtma).
16. iranDum iranDum kulaiyavENumenRirukkil iranDukkumiranDum
unDayiRRithAm
(If it be said that it is necessary to remove both of these - the defects and
lack of merit-, then both become the Lord?s).






------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar.
Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/.itolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

azhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyAr thiruvadigalE saranam
 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ramanuja/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    ramanuja-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
 




[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
ramanuja-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list