Ramanuja Acharya
By Michael Dolan/ B.V. Mahāyogi
(from the Gaura Parshada Charitvali and other sources)
caitradram sambhavam visnor darsana-sthapanotsukam
tundira-mandale sesa-murtim ramanujam bhaje
"I worship Sripad Ramanuja, the incarnation of Ananta, who took birth in the month of Caitra (March-April) under the sixth lunar mansion in the Tundirades, and who came upon this earth to establish the philosophy of Sri Vishnu."
Birth of Ramanuja
According to Sri Vaisnava tradition, Ramanuja was born on the fifth day of the full moon in the month of Caitra in 1017 A.D.
Biographers
Many biographies of Ramanuja were compiled shortly after his passing, including the Sanskrit Prappanamrtam of Anantacarya and various Tamil works. These authorized sources provide quite a detailed portrait of Ramanuja's life and teachings. Yamunacharya was a great South Indian Vaisnava Acharya before Ramanuja.
Ramanuja was born to Tamil parents in the village of Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. His followers in the Vaishnava tradition wrote many biographies of the saint and his life and teachings have been well-documented. These biographies agree that Ramanuja was born to mother Kānthimathi and father Asuri Kesava Somayāji in Sriperumbudur, near modern Chennai, Tamil Nādu. He is believed to have been born in the month of Chaitra under the star Tiruvadhirai.
Traditional scholars have place his life somewhere between 1017–1137 AD, and he is supposed to have lived for 120 years, while recent scholars based on temple records of the acharyas as well as corroborating literature from outside sources dating to the 11 and 12th centuries suggest that Ramanuja may have lived somewhat later, between 1077-1157 AD.
Accounts agree that Ramanuja married, moved to Kānchipuram, studied in an Advaita Vedānta monastery with Yādava Prakāśa as his guru. Ramanuja and his guru frequently disagreed in interpreting Vedic texts, particularly the Upanishads. Ramanuja and Yādava Prakāśa separated, and thereafter Ramanuja continued his studies on his own. Later, Yadava Prakash reunited with Ramanuja, this time as his disciple.
Yamunacharya and Ramanuja's family
Yamunacharya was the most prominent Vaishnava acharya of the day. One of Yamunacharya's favorite disciples was Periya Tirumalai Nambi. Ramanuja's family belonged to the caste of Vadama smarta-brahmanas, formalist Vedic scholars. Nambi had two sisters, named Bhudevi and Sridevi, who were named after the two consorts of Lord Sri Venkatesvara. Nambi's sister Bhudevi married a pious brahmana named Asuri Kesavacarya who lived in Sri Perumudura, about twenty-six miles from Madras. Ramanuja's father Kesavacharya was very much attached to the performance of Vedic sacrifices or yajnas. For this reason he became famous as Sarvakratu or the performer of all kinds of sacrifices.
After some time, a child was born to them who they named Laksmana for the brother of Sri Ramacandra. Now, according to the Sri Vaisnavas, Ramanuja was an incarnation of Ram's brother, Laksmana, and Laksman had been a great devotee of Rama the boy soon became known as Rama-anuja, or "follower of Rama."
When the boy came of age, his father Kesavacarya immersed him in Sanskrit education, teaching him grammar, logic, and the Vedas. Under the guidance of Yamunacarya, Keshavacharya accepted the renounced order of life and lived with his guru, serving him to the very end. Although Ramanuja was well-schooled in brahminical learning, however, he had not yet been exposed to the deeply devotional Tamil hymns glorifying Sri Vishnu. Still, his natural devotion had already been awakened by association with a non-brahmana disciple of Sri Yamunacarya named Kanchipurna, and through his association, Ramanuja became involved in Vaishnavism.
Ramanuja demonstrated a saintly nature even from his early childhood. As time passed he underwent all the purificatory rites of a pious Hindu, including the sacred thread ceremony and was married, at the age of sixteen.
Ramanuja's first Teacher: The Impersonalist Yadava Prakash
Only a month after the wedding, Ramanuja's father became gravely ill and passed away. After the passing of his father, Ramanuja moved along with his family to Kancipuram, where he entered the academy of Yadava Prakash, a Vedantist of the impersonalist Sankarite school. According to some commentators, the decision to enroll Ramanuja in the school of a non-Vaisnava is evidence that his family was not strictly devoted to Vishnu but were merely caste brahmanas interested in insuring that their son would become a good scholar. Others are convinced that this was merely Ramanuja's strategy to become well-versed in the arguments of Sankaracarya before thoroughly refuting them in his own commentaries.
Ramanuja soon excelled among the students of Yadava Prakash and become his teacher's favorite student. Yadava Prakash preached the theory of nondualism, and stressed the illusion of all form, including the form of Sri Vishnu. As Ramanuja's devotion to Vishnu blossomed, his disgust with this philosophy grew. Still, out of respect for his teacher he avoided conflict.
False Gurus
Soon, however, the day arrived when he could no longer tolerate the impersonalism of Yadava Prakasa. One day Ramanuja was massaging his guru's back as Yadava Prakasa explained a verse from the Candogya Upanisad. The verse contained the words kapyasam pundarikam evam aksini. Following the interpretation of Sankaracarya, Yadava Prakasa explained that kapy means "monkey" and asanam means "ass." The verse therefore, as interpreted by Yadava Prakasa was translated to mean, "Lord Vishnu's lotus eyes are as red as a monkey's ass."
Ramanuja was enraged at this blasphemy, and the hot tears flowed which from his eyes in anguish fell upon his guru's back. Yadava Prakasa could understand that his disciple was disturbed, and inquired as to what the problem was. When Ramanuja took issue with his guru's interpretation, Yadava Prakasa was astonished. He demanded Ramanuja's interpretation. Ramanauja explained that kapyasam means "that which sits upon the water and flourishes by drinking,"—in other words, a lotus. So the meaning of the verse is that the lotus eyes of Vishnu are as beautiful as the red lotus which blossoms in the water."
When Yadava Prakasa saw his disciple's expertise in defeating his argument, he knew that he had a powerful rival in his midst. From that day on, he began plotting Ramanuja's murder. He conspired with his disciples to go on pilgrimage to the Ganges and kill Ramanuja in a secluded place. After killing Ramanuja, they would bathe in the Ganges to expiate the sin. Fortunately, Ramanuja's cousin learned of the murder plot and warned Ramanuja, who managed to escape unharmed. After some time Yadava Prakasa returned to Kancipurnam, and Ramanuja continued going to his lectures, although inwardly he was looking for another path.
Yamunacarya himself went to vist Ramanuja, but when he came to Kanci he saw that Ramanuja was still a follower of Yadava Prakasa and so Yamunacarya did not approach him. It is said that Yamunacarya watched him from a distance and prayed for Ramanuja to become the darsana-pravartaka, or philosophical preceptor of the Sri Vaisnava Sampradaya.
About this time, the king of Kancipuram called for Yadava Prakasa. His daughter was possessed by a brahma-raksasa, a brahmana ghost. Yadava Prakasa was called as an exorcist, and when he arrived with his disciples, he was brought before the king's daughter and asked to relieve her of the influence of the ghost. Speaking through the girl's mouth, the ghost insulted Yadava Prakasa and laughed at him. Ramanuja was asked to try, and when he came before the girl, the brahmana ghost said, "If Ramanuja blesses me with the dust of his lotus feet, I shall leave this girl." Ramanuja did so upon which the girl was cured, and the king was deeply indebted to him.
After this humiliation before Ramanuja, it was not long before Yadava Prakasa told Ramanuja to leave his asrama. The final split between them came when Yadava Prakasa was discussing the meaning of two Upanisadic texts: saravam khalv idam brahma (Candogya Upanisad 3.1, "everything is Brahman") and neha nanasti kincana (Katha Upanisad 4.11, "there is no distintion"). Yadava Prakasa discussed these verses at length while explaining the theory of oneness promoted by Sankaracarya with great eloquence. After Yadava Prakasa was finished speaking, Ramanuja gave his own interpretation.
Ramanuja explained that sarvam khalv idam brahman would mean "the whole universe is Brahman, if it were not for the word tajjalan in the next part of the verse, which qualifies the meaning. Ramanujacarya held that the word tajjalan means - not that the universe is Brahman, but that it is pervaded by Brahman.
From Brahman the universe comes, by Brahman it is sustained, and into Brahman it ultimately enters, just as a fish is born in water, lives in water, and is ultimately dissolved into water. Still a fish is not water, but a separate entity entirely. In the same way the universe, although existing within Brahman is different from Brahman. Just as a fish can never be water, so the universe can never be Brahman.
As to the second verse, neha nanasti kincana, according to Ramanuja it does not mean "No distinction exists," but rather that things are not distinct in that they are are all interconnected, just as pearls are strung on a thread. Since all things are inter-related and inter-connected, in a certain sense it may be said that there is no distinction to be made between them.
All things are related to Brahman and as such do not have any existence which is distinct from Brahman. Still, while a certain unity can be seen in the inter-relatedness of all things, everything within the universe has its own distinct reality. Pearls strung on a thread have unity; collectively they form an organic whole, a necklace. Still, each individual pearl has its own unique qualities. While spirit, matter, and God may be seen as one organic whole, still all of them have their unique qualities. Therefore, Ramanuja argued, the principle of absolute oneness as argued by Sankaracarya cannot stand; rather the principle of unity characterized by different qualities must be accepted.
Rejection of the False Guru Yadava Prakash
After leaving Yadava Prakasa, Ramanuja was advised by his mother to take guidance from Kancipurna, the non-brahmana Vaisnava whose devotion Ramanuja greatly revered. Kancipurna advised him to serve the Vishnu diety in the temple of Lord Varada by carrying water every day to the temple. He began serving Kancipurna with great devotion, and soon was accepted as his disciple. Although Kancipurna was by birth a member of the sudra caste and Ramanujacarya was a brahmana, this never influenced Ramanujacarya's devotion for him. He accepted Kancipurna as his guru without reservation. Ramanujacarya's wife, however, could not tolerate her husband's acceptance of a sudra as a guru, and did her best to discourage Ramanujacarya from remaining in his company.
Acceptance of Yamunacharya
Yamunacarya by this time was very old. Wracked by illness, he was on the verge of passing from this world when he heard that Ramanujacarya had left the school of Yadava Prakasa and had begun serving the humble Kancipurna, who was famous as a great devotee of Vishnu. He sent some disciples to bring Ramanujacarya. When Ramanujacarya heard the news, he immediately set out for Sri Rangam, the headquarters of the Sri Vaisnavas, where Yamunacarya lay dying. But by the time he arrived at the side of Yamunacarya it was too late. The master had passed from this world, entering Vaikuntha and the eternal service of Sri Vishnu.
At that time, Ramanujacarya noticed that three fingers on the right hand of the master were closed. He asked the disciples of Yamunacarya if he had been accustomed to hold his hand in such a way, and they replied that it was highly unusual. Sripad Ramanuja could understand that this unusual gesture of the three clenched fingers represented the three unfulfilled wishes of Yamunacarya.
3 Wishes of Yamunacharya
He then vowed to fulfill these three wishes. He promised to teach the people in general the religion of surrender to Vishnu, training them in the five samskaras, or purificatory processes. As he did so, one of Yamunacarya's fingers relaxed. Ramanujacarya then vowed to comment on the hymns of the Alvars, the South Indian saints, and with this the second finger relaxed. Finally Ramanujacarya promised to write a scholarly commentary on the Vedanta-sutras expounding the principles of Sri Vaisnavism as the ultimate truth of the Vedas. With this the last clenched finger was relaxed. A look of spiritual peace came over the lotus face of Ramanujacarya's divine master, Sri Yamunacarya, as if to say that he could now depart peacefully, knowing that his mission was in good hands.
Upon his return to Kancipurna, Ramanujacarya gradually became completely disinterested in his family life, his beautiful wife who was antipathetic towards Vaishnavism, and home, and absorbed himself deeply in the service of his guru Kancipurna with whom he began spending most of his time. As Ramanujacarya spent more time at the temple, his wife became unhappy that her husband was ignoring her. She was further humiliated by the fact that he was neglecting her to serve a low-born sudra.
One day, Ramanujacarya invited Kancipurna for dinner, thinking that by so doing he would be able to take the remnants of his guru's prasada, and so become blessed. Kancipurna, being very humble arived early, before Ramanuja returned home. Kanipurna explained to Ramanuja's wife Kambalaksa that he had service to do in the temple and could not stay for long. With this, Kambalaksa quickly fed him and sent him away. After Kancipurna had left, she took a long stick and carefully picked up the banana leaf upon which he had dined, so as not to soil her hands with what she thought to be the contaminated remnants of an untouchable. After ordering her maidservant to clean the room carefully, she bathed in order to purify herself. When Ramanuja returned and heard of the insult to his guru, he was enraged.
Ramanuja's Sannyas
One day, while drawing water from a well, Ramanujacarya's wife met the wife of his guru, Kancipurna. When the water from their waterpots accidentally became mixed, Ramanujacarya's wife cursed Kancipurna's wife, thinking that her waterpot had become contaminated by the water of an outcaste. When Ramanujacarya came to know of this insult, he was furious. He sent his wife home to her parents and left to take sannyasa.
After leaving home, he went to the temple of Varadraja to see the beloved Deity of Vishnu whom he had served for so long. After obtaining saffron cloth and all the necessary paraphernalia of the renounced order, he accepted the triple staff, (tridanda) of the Vaisnava sannyasi, symbolizing the complete surrender of mind, body, and words to Vishnu. With this, he became known as Yatiraja, "the king of the renounced order."
Soon after taking sannyasa, Ramanujacarya established his own monastery or asrama, where he began training disciples in his systematic Vaisnava interpretation of Vedanta as well as in the path of devotion to Vishnu. His asrama was established near the temple in Kanci. His first disciple was his older sister's son, his nephew Mudali andan, also known as Dasarathi. His second disciple was a learned and wealthy brahmana named Kurattalvan, also known as Kuresa, who was renowned for his photographic memory.
Yadava Prakash Surrenders
One day the mother of Yadava Prakasa saw Ramanujacarya teaching his disciples and was impressed by his saintly qualities. She was a great devotee of Vishnu and was somewhat unhappy that her son, Yadava Prakasa had become a follower of Sankaracarya's impersonal monism. She encouraged Yadava Prakasa to visit Ramanujacarya. That night Yadava Prakasa had a dream in which a divine voice instructed him to become Ramanujacarya's disciple. The next day, upon visiting Ramanujacarya, Yadava Prakasa found him wearing the dress of a Vaisnava. He asked him, "Why have you rejected the school of Sankaracarya? Why have you adopted this Vaisnava dress? Where is this sanctioned in the scriptures? Can you show any scriptural evidence supporting your behavior?"
Ramanuja's Teaching:
Importance of Vaishnava Dress and Tilak
Importance of Vaishnava Dress and Tilak
With this, Ramanujacarya instructed his foremost disciple, Kuresa, to enlighten Yadava Prakasa with the scriptural evidence in support of Vaisnava dress. He quoted extensively from the Sruti, saying, "Sruti is the best evidence. Therefore I shall cite some references from the Sruti.
In the Sruti it is said:
sa te visnorabja-cakre pavitre
janmambodhim tartave carnaninra
mule bahvordadhate'nye purana
linganyamge tavakanyarpayanti
"To free themselves from the ocean of repeated birth and death, the best of men decorate their bodies with the symbols of the lotus and cakra of Vishnu.
aibhirbayamurukramasya cihnai rahnkita loke subhaga bhavamah
tad visno paramam padam ye'dhigaccanti lacchata
"Just as those who go to the holy abode of Vishnu are decorated with the conch, lotus, disc, and club, so shall we also wear these marks and thus attain that divine abode.
upavit-adi-baddharyah sanka-cakradayas tatha
brahmanasya visesena vaisnavasya visesatah
"Brahmanas should not only wear the sacred thread, but they should also decorate their bodies with the conch, lotus, cakra, and club of Vishnu,thus identifying themselves as Vaisnavas.
hare padakrtim atmano hitaya madhye cchidram-urdhva-purndram
yo dharayati sa parasya priyo bhavati sa punyavan bhavati sa muktiman bhavati.
"One who decorates himself with the tilaka markings resembling the lotus feet of Vishnu with a space in the middle becomes dear to the Paramatma, becomes pious, and attains liberation."
After hearing Kuresa expound so perfectly the scriptural evidence for adopting the dress of a Vaisnava, Yadava Prakasa asked him, "Why do you say that Brahman has qualities ? This view (visistadvaita-vada) is not supported by Sankaracarya. Where is the scriptural evidence for your position?
Again Kuresa replied, citing the Sruti:
yah sarvajnah sarvavit
"‘[The qualities of the Supreme Absolute Truth are that] He is all-wise and omniscient.’ His qualities are further described in the Upanisads as follows:
na tasya karyam karanans ca vidyate
na tat samas cabhyadhikas ca drsyateæ
parasya saktir-vividhaive-sruyate
svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca
"He does not possess bodily form like that of an ordinary living entity: He has a transcendental form of bliss and knowledge, and thus there is no difference between His body and His soul. All His senses are transcendentally divine. He is absolute substance. Any one of His senses can perform the action of any other sense. Nothing is greater than Him or equal to Him. His potencies are multifarious, and thus His deeds are automatically performed as a natural consequence of His divine will. In other words , whatever He wills immediately becomes reality. His divine energies are threefold: His knowledge (jnana-sakti) energy (also known as cit-sakti or samvit-sakti), His strength energy (bala-sakti, also known as the Lord's existence energy, sat, or sandhini-sakti), and his pastime (kriya-sakti) energy (also known as his ecstasy energy, ananda or hladini-sakti).
narayanah param brahma tattvam narayanah parah
"Narayana is the Supreme Absolute Truth, Brahman. He is the Ultimate Reality."
harih parayanam param harih parayanam param
punah punarvadamyaham harih parayanam param
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Sri Hari. He alone is the ultimate shelter, the supreme refuge, the final resting place. Again and again I proclaim this fact: Sri Hari is the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
In this way, Kuresa went on and on, citing one scriptural evidence after the next to establish the principles of Sri Vaisnavism. Yadava Prakasa was astounded at the profound scholarship of this disciple of Ramanujacarya. Remembering his mother's advice to take shelter of Ramanuja, remembering the divine voice in the dream that told him to surrender to Ramanuja, and remembering all the offenses he had committed at the holy feet of that great saint, Yadava Prakasa could contain himself no longer. He fell at the feet of Ramanujacarya and prayed for his blessings. He submitted himself as a disciple of Ramanuja, who immediately accepted him, giving him the name Govinda Jiyar.
Yadava Prakash, the False Guru,
Surrenders and becomes a disciple of Ramanujacharya
Surrenders and becomes a disciple of Ramanujacharya
Yadava Prakasa later became a famous disciple of Ramanujacarya. He freed himself from his attachment to the impersonal monism of Sankaracarya. After taking sannyasa, he used his great powers of scholarship to promote the cause of Ramanujacarya and Sri Vaisnavism. He was no longer a proud scholar; now he was a humble devotee. In his final years, he was ordered by Ramanuja to write a book on the proper religious conduct to be followed by Vaisnava sannyasis of the Sri Vaisnava line. This book is called Yati-dharma-sammuccaya, and is still studied and followed by the sannyasis of the Sri sampradaya.
As Ramanuja's fame spread, the disciples of Yamunacarya in Sri Rangam begged Ramanuja to come and lead them. Finally, after taking permission from his beloved Deity Lord Varada, Ramanuja left Kancipuram for Sri Rangam, to begin his new life.
Sri Rangam
After arriving in Sri Rangam, Ramanujacarya immersed himself in studying the scriptures under the guidance of Mahapurna, a prominent disciple of Yamunacarya. With the help of Mahapurna, Ramanujacarya became expert in many scriptures, including the Nyasatattva, the Gitartha-sangraha, the Siddhitraya, the Brahma-Sutra, and the Pancaratras. After some time Mahapurna advised Ramanujacarya to go to the great Goshtipurna and accept initiation in the Vaisnava mantra from him.
The Power of the Mantra
At the behest of Mahapurna, Ramanuja approached Goshtipurna for the mantra, but was refused, for Goshtipurna was reluctant to give such a confidential mantra to a relative newcomer. Ramanujacarya approached Goshtipurna 18 times with great humility, finally breaking into tears and pleading for his mercy. At last Goshtipurna gave him the mantra, after first swearing him to absolute secrecy. When Ramanuja had vowed never to repeat the mantra to anyone else, Goshtipurna whispered the mantra in his ear saying, "This mantra is most powerful. Whoever chants it will attain liberation; he will return to the spiritual Vaikuntha planets where he will achieve the personal service of the Lord."
As he left the temple and proceeded towards Sri Rangam, a crowd gathered around Ramanujacarya. They had heard that he was to receive the mantra from Goshtipurna, and begged to know its secret. Inspired to distribute the magic of the mantra that could free anyone who chants it from material existence, Ramanuja announced to the crowd: "Please chant this mantra:
Om namo narayanaya."
The crowd was overjoyed, and felt that they had been truly blessed, but when the news reached Goshtipurna, he called for Ramanuja. Outraged that his new disciple would disobey his order so quickly, he demanded an explanation. "I told you to keep this mantra a secret. Why have you so quickly revealed it to the masses? Do you know the penalty for such behavior?"
Ramanuja replied, "Yes, gurudeva, I may go to hell for disobeying your order."
"Then why have you done such a thing?"
" My beloved teacher, I realized that the power of the mantra given by you could deliver everyone who hears it. When I saw the earnest desire of these people to be saved from material life, I could not contain myself. I felt some divine inspiration to distribute your mercy to all of them. If this is a great sin, then I must be punished by your holiness. Condemn me to hell, then, if my sin warrants it. But please do not show your wrath to these simple people who begged me for the mantra."
When Goshtipurna saw the earnest sincerity of his disciple, his heart was moved. After all, what greater principle can there be than the distribution of the Lord's mercy. Although Ramanuja had disobeyed the letter of his instructions about the mantra, he had understood the real spirit of the mantra itself. He would make a great preacher of the Sri sampradaya, and had shown that he had the capacity to instill devotion in the hearts of the people in general. How could he then be condemned?
Goshtipurna fell at Ramanuja's feet, saying, "Forgive me, my child. It is you who are my master, and I the disciple. Who am I to take the role of your guru? How could I know your greatness? Accept me as your disciple."
After this incident, Ramanujacarya's reputation spread far and wide. He was regarded as an incarnation of Laksmana himself. He began training more and more disciples, and his camp grew. He engaged many scholars in debate and defeated them by propounded his sytematic view of Vedanta, known as Visistadvaita-vada, or qualified monism. One such scholar was Yajnamurti.
Yajnamurti was a famous pandita who had defeated many scholars in argument and had written many commentaries on the scriptures. He challenged Ramanuja to a debate saying that if he lost, he would carry Ramanuja's shoes and become his disicple. Ramanuja, for his part, declared that if he was defeated, he would give up books and arguments forever. The debate began and went on for 17 days. Ramanuja was discouraged. He prayed fervently to Lord Varada, his beloved Deity, for help. That night he had a dream in which the Deity assured him of victory, advising him to follow the line of reasoning given by Yamunacarya. Uplifted by his divine vision, Ramanuja appeared in the arena of debate with renewed confidence. Before the debate began, however, Yajnamurti surrendered himself to the holy feet of Ramanujacarya, saying, "You are my master. You are glowing with the confidence of one who is in connection with divinity. I realize now that it is futile to argue with you. Please accept me."
Pilgrimages of Ramanuja
From that day on, Ramanuja's reputation increased. During this time, he toured India with his disciples, traveling as far north as Kashmir, where he consulted the commentary of Bodhayana on the Vedanta Sutras. Ramanuja was also a great advocate of proper Deity worship and had a habit of reforming the system of worship wherever he went. In this way, he standardized the system of worship throughout the Vaisnava temples of India, eliminating many of the practices of nonVaisnavas that had become traditional. His system was not, however, greeted with much enthusisam in Jagannatha Puri, where worship is performed according to the system of raga-marga, or spontaneous devotion. It is said that after he attempted to reform the system of Deity worship there, Lord Jagannatha became disturbed. One night, as Ramanuja slept, he was transported by the power of Jagannatha to Kurmasthan. When he awoke, he thought he had committed a great offense to Vishnu. Mistaking the Deity of Kurma for a Shiva-lingam, he thought that Vishnu had thrown him into a Shiva temple. When at last he realized that it was a temple of Lord Kurma, Ramanuja set about reforming the Deity worship there.
The Shri Bhashya
After this, Ramanuja wrote the Sri-Bhasya, his commentary on Vedanta, and his fame spread still further. The king of Cola, who was a great follower of Shiva, sent a petition to all the famous scholars of South India, demanding their signature. The petition declared Shiva to be the supreme. Many scholars signed, but Ramanuja refused. When this came to the king's attention, he arranged to abduct Ramanuja, who managed to escape with the help of his devoted follower, Kuresa. They exchanged garments, and Ramanuja, disguised as a householder, slipped through the guards that surrounded his camp. Meanwhile the king's soldiers arrested Kuresa, who had put on the sannyasa dress of Ramanuja. This king was the same king whose daughter was saved from a ghost by Ramanuja. When Kuresa was dragged before the king in the dress of Ramanuja, the king demanded that he glorify Shiva as the supreme. Kuresa refused. Because Ramanuja had helped the king's daughter, the king decided to be lenient. He told his servants not to kill their prisoner, but merely to put his eyes out for refusing to see the superior position of Shiva. After Kuresa was released, his eyesight was restored by a miracle. The king however, did not fare so well. He developed a black boil on his neck and died. Henceforth that king became famous as "Krmi-kantha," or worm-throat, because of the infection that killed him.Conversions to Vaishnavism
Meanwhile, Ramanuja delivered many thousands of people to the cause of Sri Vaisnavism and established many temples. He traveled through what is now Madurai and Mysore, converting many Jains on his way. At one point he defeated one thousand Jains in argument, after which they committed suicide rather than become Vaisnavas.
Ramanuja was merciful not only to those in the renounced order, but also to those surrendered grhasthas who had given their lives to his mission. One such grhastha was Dhanurdasa. When he met Ramanuja, Dhanurdasa was very much attached to his beautiful wife. One day, Ramanuja asked him if he wanted to see a real beauty, and out of curiosity, Dharnurdasa agreed. Ramanuja took him to the temple of Narayana and made him behold the beauty of the Deity. Upon realizing that the Lord's beauty eclipses all beauties of this world, Dhanurdasa became a great devotee and follower of Ramanuja.
Dhanurdasa was an example of detachment. To teach detachment to one of his disciples, Ramanuja once staged the following demonstration. He had one of his disciples go to the place where the sannyasis bathed to switch their clothes, so that after bathing there would be some confusion. When the sannyasis, who were all renowned scholars and renunciants, were finished bathing, they found that their clothes had been exchanged. One swami was wearing the cloth of another, and so an argument ensued. As one after another finished his bath and went to find his clothes, the argument grew more heated. In this way, these great scholars of renunciation were seen to be attached to some simple pieces of cloth.
Ramanuja's Teachings:
Attachments to Material Things
Then Ramanuja sent his disciple to the home of Dhanurdasa, after first arranging for Dhanurdasa to serve in the temple, thus making sure that he would not be at home. The disciple went to the home of Dhanurdasa in the evening, and, following Ramanuja's orders began stealing the jewelry from the body of Dhanurdasa's wife. After stripping the ornaments from one side of her body, the disicple was about to go when suddenly she turned over in her sleep. The disciple was shocked and left through the window immediately. Ramanuja had instructed him to wait outside the window for the return of Dhanurdasa, to record his reaction. After some time, Dhanurdasa returned home. At that time, Dhanurdasa wife asked him, "Dhanurdasa, is there something wrong at the temple?"
"No, my dear. Why?"
"I am worried that they are in need of money, but ashamed to ask for it. We must do something to help them."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because one of the devotees from the temple snuck in through the window and began taking the jewelry from my body. I think those poor saints must desperately need our help to do something like that."
"What did you do?"
"I turned over, but he fled through the window."
"Why did you do that? You scared him away! Now what will we do?"
"I didn't mean to scare him. I only turned over so that he could take the ornaments from the other side of my body as well."
Dhanurdasa chastised her saying, "If you were not so affected by false ego, you would have given him all your jewels. Now what will we do? We have failed miserably!"
With this, his wife began to lament saying, "You are right. It is only my pride that kept me from surrendering everything. How will we ever make any advancement?"
From his hiding place Ramanuja's disciple was astonished at the humility and surrender of Dhanurdasa and his chaste wife. When the disciple returned to his guru, he reported everything that had taken place. Ramanuja then explained to him the meaning of both these events—the garments of the sannyasis and the jewels of Dhanurdasa's wife: in this case, the sannyasis were so attached to some ragged bits of cloth that they were fighting over them, whereas Dhanurdasa and his wife were so free from attachment to material things that they were ready to have their jewels stolen by the devotees if they were needed for the service of the Lord.
In this way, Ramanuja continued to instructed his disciples both by example and by precept. His influence on Vaisnavism is powerfully felt to this day.
His commentary on Vedanta, the Sri Bhasya is still considered to be the most formidable challenge to the commentary of Sankaracarya. It is the most famous of the Vaisnava commentaries. Apart from the Sri Bhasya, the most important of Ramanujacarya's works are his commentary on Bhagavad-gita and his Vedartha-samgraha, which summarizes the essential Vedic principles. According to tradition, Sripad Ramanujacarya lived to be 100 years old. His disciplic succession continues to this day in maintaining the traditions of Sri Vaisnava practice, Deity worship and philosophy that he systemized in his lifetime.
Ramanuja's Commentary on Vedānta
His commentary on Vedanta, the Sri Bhasya is still considered to be the most formidable challenge to the commentary of Sankaracarya. It is the most famous of the Vaisnava commentaries. Apart from the Sri Bhasya, the most important of Ramanujacarya's works are his commentary on Bhagavad-gita and his Vedartha-samgraha, which summarizes the essential Vedic principles. According to tradition, Sripad Ramanujacarya lived to be 100 years old. His disciplic succession continues to this day in maintaining the traditions of Sri Vaisnava practice, Deity worship and philosophy that he systemized in his lifetime.
Four major schools or sampradayas of Vaisnavism are considered authorized by Vaisnavas everywhere: the Brahma, Sri, Rudra, and Kumara Sampradayas. While Gaudiya Vaisnavas follow the disciplic line of Vishnu worship originating with Brahma, Madhva, and Shri Chaitanya, Sripad Ramanujacarya is the founder-acarya of the Sri Sampradaya. This is the school of Vaisnavism or Vishnu worship descending from the eternal consort of Vishnu known as Laksmidevi or Sri.
Ramanuja's commentaries on Vedanta are the first great refutation of Sankaracarya.
Vishistadwadwaita-Vada
Ramanuja provides a distinct framework than that of Shankara for understanding the ontology represented in the Vedānta. Shankara's view of Vedānta is so dominant that his version has become synonymous with it. HIs version is called "Advaita" or Nondualism. Put simply, the idea is that "We are all one." According to this view, there is really no difference between spirit and matter--there is only the illusion that matter exists. When we are freed from this illusion, we become one with spiritual reality and reach liberation.
Oneness defies Reality
While the idea of "oneness" is very satisfying, it defies reality. Division is everywhere. Those who recognize a strict division between mind and matter are called "Dvaita-vadis" or "Dualists. Theism, or the idea that there is a God and that he is superior to us, is an example of Dualism.
Strictly speaking these metaphysical matters are much more subtle than a simple presentation would allow. Ramanuja's commentary on Vedānta helps us to understand these subtleties. Where Madhva poses a strict dualism and Shankara a strict monism, Ramanuja offers a reasoned synthesis.
If God is undivided Spirit and we are all Spirit, then we are all God. This renders the idea of God meaningless and Shankar's one-ness, atheism. Then there is the problem of how undivided spirit becomes divided into endless material forms. Shankar tells us it is all an illusion, maya, a big "lie." But how does the truth generate lies. Shankara in a sense is really covered Buddhism. He brings back Vedic culture through the Vedanta, but there is not much distance between his idea of oneness and Buddha's version of Nirvana.
Buddha and Shankara are extremists--Buddha insists on the nothing of nirvana, where Shankar insists on the infinite oneness of Brahman. Unfortunately, both everything and nothing are theoretical constructs. Shridhar Maharaja gave the example of zero versus infinity. Zero divided by zero equals zero. Infinite divided by infinite leaves infinite. While infinite and zero are diametrically opposed they are both imaginary numbers. It is inconceivable to divide zero or multiply infinity. So a more nuanced approach will be more useful when trying to conceive of the Absolute.
Then again, Madhva poses an absolute duality, a complete division between individual spirit and matter, between individual spirit and God, and between God and matter. Again, the more accurate understanding reveals more nuance and gradation.
It is for this reason that Ramanuja, for his time, offers the most powerful refutation of Shankara. His Viśiṣtādvaita-vāda may be translated as qualified dualism or qualified monism. As a synthetic system he does his best to see the gradation and nuance and harmonize both positions. To understand his system we can give a simple example: The sun. For Shankara there is no difference between the sun and sunshine. It is all one. Ramanuja points out that the sun is energetic--it is the origin of sunshine. Sunshine has the qualities of the sun, as solar energy.
But there is an important distinction between the two as Energetic and Energy or Purush and Prakriti in Sanskrit terminology. Individual souls are the subjects within their universe. If soul is the subject, then matter is the object. The interaction of subject and object is a question of evolution. But above and beyond the individual soul as subject, there is the Supreme Soul as Super Subject.
And this relationship must be taken into consideration in order to understand the ontology of being at the core of the metaphysical debate posed by Vedānta.
The universe is real and not an illusion, but it is a subjective universe in which the collective consciousness of the individual jivas play a part. God is not a valueless abstract like zero or infinite. It is impossible to unravel the relationship between the myriad atomic souls pervading the cosmos, just as it requires true submission and surrender to fathom the transcendental relationship between the individual soul and the Supreme soul. Ramanuja's ontology draws on the tradition of surrender adumbrated by the acharyas who preceded him from Nathamuni to Yamunacharya.
His South Indian tradition of Vaishnavism forwarded the idea of prapatti or surrender later elaborated by Shridhar Mahraja in his Prapanna-Jivanamritam. While Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu honored the dualist tradition of Madhvacharya and the surrender and devotion of Madhavendra Puri by taking initiation in that line, from Ishara Puri, his own version of Vedanta, elaborated by Jiva Goswami in his Sat Sandarbhas, redeems much of what was taught by Ramanuja.
The Supreme Reality of the Gaudiya Vaishnvas culminates in Shri Krishna, who is reality the beautiful, whose divinity stands above even that of Narayana, whose goddess Lakshmi also worships Shri Krishna as shown in the Chaitanya Charitamrita.
Ramanuja, as a great Vaishnava acharya is especially famous in Tamil-speaking South India, where Sri Vaisnavism is prominent to this day.
The most famous among his numerous writings are his commentary on Vedanta (Sri Bhasya), his commentary on Bhagavad-gita, his Vedanta-Sara, and the Vedartha-Sangraha.
Ramanujacarya passed away on the tenth day of the waning moon in the month of Phalguna, which corresponds to the month of January February on the Christian calendar.
