Vageesh Express

August 2007 Edition

Vedic Wisdom

Vishistadvaita-III

Vedanta is a principal branch of Hindu philosophy. The word Vedanta is a tatpurusha compound of veda "knowledge" and anta "end, conclusion", translating to "the culmination of the Vedas". In this article we shall continue to look at the Vishistadvaita school of vedanta.

Sri Ramanujacharya - His Life and Teachings

Name : Illay Alwar, Lakshmana Muni, Yathiraja, Emberumanar
Birth Place: Sri Perumbudur
Birth Month: Chittirai (Chaitra)
Birth Star: Thiruvadharai
Amsham: Aadhisesha
Works: Sri Bhashyam, Geetha Bhashyam
Vedartha Sangraham, Vedanta Deepam, Vedanta Saram, Gadya Trayam, Nithyagrantham

Bhagvan Ramanuja was one of the greatest saints and philosophers of our country. He was the chief expositor of the schools of Visistadvaitha. He worked out a devoted interpretation of the message of the Upanishads, Brahmasutras and the Gita, giving primary importance to all scriptural statements and establishing harmony amongst the several authorities of Vedanta. Ramanuja represents a wholeness of vision which is characteristic of this school of thought.

Sri Ramanuja was an ‘Ocean of Compassion’ and his concern for humanity was unique. His exposition of the doctrine of Bhakthi and Prapatti is most revealing. Ramanuja declared that Prapatti is an all sufficing pathway to Moksha.

Vaishnavism must be really traced to the Alwars before Ramanuja. After the Alwars and before Ramanuja, there arose a number of Vaishnava philosophers following the doctrines of Alwars, with specific mention here to Sri Nathamuni, A Vaishnava Scholar living at Srirangam in 10^th Century A.D. Like Shankara, Nathamuni spread the Pancharatra cult across India. This great teacher had a respectable following of disciples like Pundarikaksha, then his disciple Ramamisra who was a teacher to Yamunacharya (grandson of Nathamuni). Yamunacharya (otherwise called Alavandhar) was glorified with a title Mahabhasya Bhatta or master of Grammar. Further came Sri Ramanuja, the chief exponent or the great Jagadacharya who was a main defender of SriVaishnavism.

Yamunacharya had a disciple Srisailapurna who was in the service of the Lord at Tirupathi. He had two sisters, one of whom Kanthimati was married to Kesava Somayaji of Sriperumbudur near Chennai. Sri Ramanuja was born to this couple in the month of Chitra in Saka 939 (1017 A.D.). The child was named Lakshmana by his uncle Srisailapurna, and when the time came for the ceremony of purufication, he got this child invested with the sacred thread(Yagnopavita). Even as a boy, Lakshmana mastered the scruptures under the guidance of his father and uncle and exhibited his great intellectual capacities, where the Vaishnava scholars recognized him as a great genius.

We will continue to look at Sri Ramanuja’s life and teachings in subsequent articles.

Reference: Wikipedia.com, srivaishnavan.com

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