Ācāryās

Śri Vyāsācārya

By

Krishnamurthy Ramakrishna

व्यासाय विष्णु रूपाय व्यास रूपाय विष्णवे ।

नमो वै ब्रह्मनिधये वासिष्ठाय नमो नमः ॥

Vyāsāya Viṣṇu rūpāya Vyāsa rūpāya Viṣṇave |

namo vai brahmanidhaye Vāsiṣṭhāya namo namaḥ ||

There seems to be no record of a name given to Vyāsa at his birth. He is said to have been born in a dvīpa (island) on the river Yamuna and so he is called Dvaipāyana; he was dark in complexion and was therefore recognized as Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana. He live in Badari with his son Śuka and has therefore received the name Bādarāyaṇa. He is called Vedavyāsa for his humongous role in classifying the Vedas in to four sections – Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda and Atharvaṇaveda. He accomplished this methodically by analyzing each mantra and their functional utility in the performance of the yajñas – the mantras used in inviting the divinities in a yajña are grouped under Ṛgveda; the mantras used in offering havis are grouped under yajurveda; the mantras sung during yajña are classified under Sāmaveda and the mantras associated with the function of supervising the yajña are classified under Atharvaṇaveda. Thus the mantras of the Ṛg, Yajus, Sāma and Atharva Veda satisfy all the specific functionalities of the yajña. His divinity and omniscience are described in the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma Stotram as sarvadṛk Vyāsaḥ - The Omniscient Vyāsa (Nāma 572, Verse 61)

Vedavyāsa is also reported as the father of Dhṛtarāṣtra, Pāṇḍu and Sañjaya, in accordance with the call of his mother Satyavati.

Tradition credits Vyāsa as the author of the epic Mahābhārata, 18 Mahāpurāṇas (Major Mythologies) and 18 Upapurāṇas (Minor Mythologies). Vedavyāsa also is the author of BrahmaSutras – a collection of 555 sutras or aphorisms which uphold the logical consistency of the mantras in the 10 Upaniṣads.

Śri Vedavyāsa’s offering of the vast knowledge base to Hindu tradition has been a great source of pride to all followers of the Vedic dharma. It is in this spirit that the Āṣāḍha Pūrṇima - birthday day of śri Vedavyāsa - is celebrated as ‘Guru Pūrṇima’; The Vedic culture recognizes Guru Pūrṇima as one of the two most sacred days (the other is Śhravana Pūrṇima when Upākarma is celebrated offering worship services to the lineage of Ṛṣhis) in their calendar. On this day every Vedic student honors his Vedic teacher. The vastness of Vedic knowledge base of śri Vedavyāsa is so huge that what everyone learns is recognized as ‘Vyāsocchiṣṭam (leftover knowledge).’ Every Vedic tradition (sampradāya) traces its lineage to him; in this sentiment, the other three Vedic Ācāryas described in this section have made the trip from Southern India to the upper reaches of the Himalayas at Badari to meet śri Vedavyāsa, and receive his blessings.

Vāsiṣṭhāya namo namaḥ

Jagadguru Śaṅkarāchāryā

By

Krishnamurthy Ramakrishna

Śaṅkara was born to Śivaguru and Āryāmba in Kālaṭi, Kerala, belonging to the Nambūdri Brahmin community. Leading historians have established the birth of Śaṅkara in 788 AD.

Child Śaṅkara was precocious and (exhibited) a great prodigy in learning poetry and hymns, C̣andas (prosody) and Alankārās (Rhetoric) at the early age of three. Encouraged by his learning ability, his parents were contemplating on performing his Upanayana, when Śivaguru died suddenly. Āryāmba followed through and consummated the child’s Upanayana before Śaṅkara was five years old. Following the Upanayana, Śaṅkara learnt the four Vedas in a very short time.

Śaṅkara’s Childhood

Two incidences of Śaṅkara’s childhood are reported to have their presence felt even to this day. Following the Brahmacārya tradition, he was going for alms. One day, a very poor lady, expressing her helplessness, offered a dried berry to Śaṅkara. Śaṅkara was moved by her kindness even in poverty, prayed Goddess Lakṣmi on her behalf and composed the hymn “Kanakādhāra Stotra”. Goddess Lakṣmi pleased by the earnestness of Śaṅkara bestowed the woman with riches. Even today, two rich “Swarnattillam” families in the village of Ponnar Todata are reported to identify their riches to the blessings of Śaṅkara. The other incidence relates to Śaṅkara’s service to his mother. When he was seven, his mother collapsed by the riverside one day in the hot afternoon. Having helped his mother with first aid and brought her home, the whole day Śaṅkara was pre-occupied with compassion of a solution to mitigate the stress on his mother visiting the river every day for daily ablutions. Next morning, to his surprise, the Pūrṇa River had changed course and was flowing adjacent to the house. Even today, Keralites are reported to refer to the river as “Amba River” in memory of Āryāmba.

However, providence had defined plans for Śaṅkara. One day Āryāmba and Śaṅkara were at the river for their bath, when a crocodile caught Śaṅkara’s leg, pulling him deeper in to the river. Śaṅkara shouted to Āryāmba: “this body is going to perish and please give me permission for Saṁnyāsa.” Āryāmba unable to make up her mind, said, “Do what you please”, and summoned other people for help. As other people assembled and began to attack the crocodile, the crocodile released its grip on Śaṅkara’s leg and went away. Śaṅkara came up, prostrated to his mother, mentally accepted Saṁnyāsa and sought her permission to leave home. She tried in vain to retain him, but he left home with a promise to his mother that he would come back at the time of her death.

Guru Darśana (Meeting the Teacher).

Śaṅkara’s renunciation at such a young age and his knowledge of the Vedas promoted the belief that he was an incarnation of Lord Śiva. In the footsteps of Kṛṣṇa going to Sāndipany, Śaṅkara went in search of his Guru. After several days of walking, Śaṅkara found his teacher, Govinda Bhagavatpāda in a cave on the banks of the River Narmada. He introduced himself to the Guru, and narrated his mental acceptance of Saṁnyāsa and requested the Guru to formally offer him Saṁnyāsa. Govinda Bhagavatpāda at once recognized the pre-requisites for Saṁnyāsa in the young boy and formally initiated Śaṅkara to Saṁnyāsa, gave him the necessary instructions and advised Śaṅkara to write the commentaries for the Upaniṣads, Brahma Sūtra and Bhagavad Gīta.

His commentaries, written later in his life, collectively came to be called as Prasthāna Traya. Thus Śaṅkara became Śaṅkarāchārya (Āchārya means learned teacher).

Receiving Students

Śaṅkarāchārya traveled to Vāraṇāsi (Benares), the seat of Vedic learning. Śaṅkara’s Vedic discourses immensely influenced the people of Vāraṇāsi. Several of them enrolled as his students, the most notables ones being Sanandana, who later became Hastāmalaka and Toṭakāchārya. It was during one of these days that Śaṅkara composed the “Bhaja Govindam” hymn, roused by the citing of an old man wasting his time learning the rules of Grammar (Aparāvidya), instead of focusing his mind in the pursuit of God Realization through devotion to God (Parāvidya).

Meeting with Canḍāla.

One day, after the Ācārya bathed in Ganges, while returning with his disciples, a Canḍāla (keeper of the crematorium-an outcaste) came across them. The students beckoned the Canḍāla to step aside, but he replied: “What difference do you see in me? You seem to be ignoring the presence of Divinity (Ātma tatva) in every one; instead you are focusing on the body and differentiating between a brahmin and a Canḍāla.” Smiling, the Ācārya intervened; the Canḍāla engaged Śaṅkara in a deep spiritual discussion on the Advaita (Non-duality) philosophy and lightly chided Śaṅkara. Śaṅkara, recognizing the distinct understanding of Ātma (the Real) and Anātma (the unreal) by the Canḍāla, stared at him and Lord Viswanātha gave His Darshan to Śaṅkara. Śaṅkara prostrated to the Lord in the guise of the Canḍāla and instantly composed the Manīṣā Pañcaka Stotram in praise of Lord Viśwanātha.

Śaṅkara at Badari

Śaṅkara traveled to Badari. At the temple, he noticed the absence of a Deity. On inquiry, he learnt that due to Chinese disturbances, the Deity was thrown to the Alakananda River. The Ācārya suggested bringing back the idol and installing it at the temple. However, no one was prepared to risk his life by jumping into the ferocious river. Śaṅkara himself jumped into the river and repeatedly pulled out the same broken idol three times, after returning it to the river each time (broken idols are generally not installed in temples). He concluded it was God’s will, brought up the idol and installed it at the temple per Vedic rituals, and appointed the Nambūdri Brahmins of Kerala to worship the Deity forever. Even to this day, their family is in charge of worship at the temple.

While staying in Badari, Śaṅkara wrote the commentaries for Upaniṣads, Brahma Sūtra and the Bhagavad Gīta – Collectively called the Prasthāna Traya, at the Vyāsa Ashram, where Veda Vyāsa wrote the Mahābhārata. Śaṅkara’s age was 16 years by now.

Meeting Kumārilla Bhattapāda

One day Śaṅkara was teaching his pupils the Prasthāna Traya when an old man appeared and began to challenge Śaṅkara on his commentaries. During the course of the discussions, Śaṅkara recognized he was none other than Veda Vyāsa and prostrated to him. He blessed Śaṅkara that his commentaries be the fountain of knowledge for seekers for centuries to come and instructed Śaṅkara to meet Kumārilla Bhattapāda in Prayāg (which is now Allahabad). Bhattapāda was a learned scholar and during his time, the Buddhist religion was very strong and was hostile to the Vedic religion – Sanātana Dharma (which is now referred to as Hinduism). The Vedas are broadly categorized in to two sections – The Jñāna Kāṇḍa (section on Knowledge or pure consciousness) and the Karma Kāṇḍa (Section on sacrifices and rituals). Though both the sections are apoureṣeya – no human author and given by Lord Nārāyaṇa at the beginning of the Kalpa, the Jñāna Kāṇḍa could be defended on the basis of logic, but the Karma Kāṇḍa had to be accepted as is, because of being apoureṣeya. This created an opening for the Buddhists to bad mouth the Vedas and hence the Hinduism. Kumārilla Bhattapāda, a very well trained Vedic scholar was defending the Vedas and got a strong desire to once and for all, defend the Vedic Dharma from the onslaught of Buddhism. In order to successfully do this, he needed to thoroughly understand Buddhism and so he took to the study of Buddhism in disguise under a Buddhist monk. Over the course of time, one day, Bhattapāda could not control his emotions at the criticism of Vedas by the Monk and tears flowed from his eyes. The other Buddhist students suspected him to be a Brahmin and confronted him. Kumārilla Bhattapāda had to leave the monastery, though by this time, he had learnt Buddhism very well and was able to successfully defend the Vedas and exposed the weakness of Buddhism. Though Bhattapāda was successful in his mission, he felt within him, the guilt of exposing his teacher’s Dharma, and more so, learning from him in disguise. He sentenced himself for his sin - slow death by burning. So he immersed himself in a huge heap of burning paddy husk. It was at this precise time, Śaṅkara came to see him. Śaṅkara could not convince him that he did not commit a sin and that he did not deserve this punishment. Śaṅkara told him that he needs him to write a treatise on his Prasthāna Traya and asked him to come out. Bhattapāda rejected Śaṅkara’s request, asked him to meet his very learned student Maṇḍana Miśra. He assured Śaṅkara that Maṇḍana Miśra would be immensely helpful to him in the propagation of Vedic Dharma and closed his eyes.

Maṇḍana Miśra

Maṇḍana Miśra was a leading champion of Vedic Karma Kāṇḍa. Śaṅkara’s goal was to establish the role of Jñāna Kāṇḍa in itself (and Karma Kāṇḍa could be a support of it). His thesis was that Karma, without the support of Jñāna , would over time reduce Karma to blind rituals and would cause people to lose confidence in the Vedic tradition. So, Śaṅkara believed that if the great Karma proponent like Maṇḍana could perceive the value of Jñāna as a sequel to Karma, the Vedic tradition would survive any confrontation. With this thought, Śaṅkara came to the town of Māhiṣmati in search of Maṇḍana Miśra. A pair of talking parrots discussing Vedas was the landmark for the house; Śaṅkara came to the doorsteps of Maṇḍana.

Maṇḍana was in the midst of a ritual and did not quite appreciate the intrusion by a young saṁnyāsi. Maṇḍana displayed his hostility, which Śaṅkara turned back at him in satire. The other Brahmins at the place, recognizing Śaṅkara’s intellect, encouraged Maṇḍana to offer Bikṣa (alms) to the young saṁnyāsi. Śaṅkara suggested that he could accept alms only if Maṇḍana would debate him on the Vedic Dharma. Maṇḍana Miśra accepted the offer. His wife, Ubhaya Bhārati Devi was named the judge and the debate began the next morning.

Śaṅkara began the debate with the following declaration; “Brahman is the only Supreme Reality. The Jīva, ignorant of the presence of the Supreme Reality in him, has developed this duality – that the Jiva and the Supreme Reality are two different entities”. This dual identity, Śaṅkara asserts, is the basis of all karma. Right Knowledge (Jñāna) of the presence of this Reality (Ātman, Brahman, Supreme Reality are all synonyms) will erase all actions. [Karma can take place in duality only – someone or something acting on something else: if this duality does not exist, karma cannot sustain and so is erased, because the doer and the receiver are one and the same] This is the Advaita Siddhānta (Non-dual philosophy) expounded by Śaṅkara. He argued that this is the essence of the Jñāna Kāṇḍa of the Vedas. “If I fail to establish this Reality to the satisfaction of Maṇḍana Miśra,” Śaṅkara declared, “I will give up Saṁnyāsa and wear white clothes.” Maṇḍana Miśra replied; “Veda suggests Karma. The Jīva is bound by Karma and the realization (mokṣa) is a result of Karma.” If I fail to prove this philosophy, he declared, “I will become a saṁnyāsi and wear Ocher colored clothes.” The debate began and lasted several days. Over the days, Śaṅkara was successful in convincing Maṇḍana and establishing that the Vedas proclaim the Reality – Jñāna culminates in Mokṣa or God realization. The debate concluded with Maṇḍana Miśra prostrating at the feet of Śaṅkara. Maṇḍana’s lifelong devotion to selfless karma paved the way to appreciate Śaṅkara’s logic and destroyed the belief of duality in Maṇḍana. With Realization, there was no more karma and no more debate (talking is also one of the actions). Though Śaṅkara was not surprised, the defeat of Maṇḍana came as a total surprise to everyone assembled there, more so to Ubhaya Bhārathi Devi. The defeat of her husband and the prospect of Maṇḍana following young Śaṅkara as a saṁnyāsi extremely disturbed her. She challenged Śaṅkara that he would have to defeat her in debate to take her husband with him (she argued that being the wife of Maṇḍana, she has an obligation to defend him). Śaṅkara, without anticipating the risk, agreed to her challenge. As Śaṅkara successfully responded to her questions, her desire to defeat him and stop her husband from following him grew more intensely in her. This motivated her to question Śaṅkara on the intimate moments between a man and his wife. Śaṅkara at 17 now, and a saṁnyāsi from the age of eight (8), was almost overwhelmed at the turn of events and sat silently for a while. He paced the room, without a clear direction for his next move. He was convinced that it was imperative for him to take Maṇḍana Miśra with him. The success of Kumarilla over the Buddhists had created tremendous faith in people on the Karma Kāṇḍa of the Vedas and a parallel faith in the Jñāna Kāṇḍa was absolutely necessary to arrest Karma Kāṇḍa from degenerating to mere rituals. Maṇḍana Miśra, the unparalleled king of Karma Kāṇḍa, accepting Jñāna Kāṇḍa and taking Saṁnyāsa would have a tremendous positive impact on such a goal. With this firm determination, Śaṅkara returned to the assembly; he requested and received a month’s time from Ubhaya Bhārati to answer her question and left the place.

Parakāya Praveśa

Śaṅkara was in deep thought and absolute silence as he and his disciples walked through the forests and reached the town of Amṛtapura. The town was mourning the death of its king Amaruka. The disciples noticed a sudden change in the expression on the face of Śaṅkara. Śaṅkara took them to a solitary place and resolutely said; “he will enter the dead body of king Amaruka through the power of Yoga (Parakāya Praveśa), learn the answers to the questions of Ubhaya Bharati and return; he instructed them to protect his body very carefully in a cave until he returns.” The disciples were speechless for a while. They questioned him on the need for such a radical action as well as its impact on his Saṁnyāsa dharma. Śaṅkara responded that finding the answers would pave the way for Maṇḍana Miśra becoming a saṁnyāsi, which is necessary for the spiritual growth and welfare of people for centuries to come. The society would run the risk of losing faith in the Vedas and non-Vedic religions will overtake the Vedic dharma, he argued. “Maṇḍana Miśra, the champion of Karma Kāṇḍa, accepting and following the Jñāna Kāṇḍa will influence the society in the right path. This is the greatest value of taking Maṇḍana Miśra as a saṁnyāsi with us. The sin of Parakāya Praveśa will dwarf in comparison with the benefit to society.” Śaṅkara rejected the disciples’ suggestion of gaining the knowledge by reading books for two reasons – 1) it is not a direct knowledge and 2) reading such material in the body of a saṁnyāsi is also equally objectionable to Saṁnyāsa dharma. He was convinced of the need to answer Bhārati Devi and take Maṇḍana Miśra with him as a saṁnyāsi in the interest of preserving the Vedic Dharma for centuries to come. He asked his disciples to protect his body in the cave. He left his body and entered the body of the king. As Śaṅkara was learning all he need to learn to answer Ubhaya Bhārati Devi, the palace officials suspected a yogi in the body of the king. To save their king this time, they ordered all dead bodies to be cremated. Śaṅkara returned in time and entered his body again. As he went to meet Ubhaya Bhārati Devi, she did not press him for an answer and Śaṅkara was spared of discussing this subject as a saṁnyāsi. She did not object to taking Maṇḍana Miśra with him. Maṇḍana joined Śaṅkara as a disciple in the name of Sureśwarācārya, and became the head of Śṛṅgeri Mutt.

Meeting Mother Again

Śaṅkara at once got a strong desire to see his mother. He traveled to Kālaṭi. As he reached Kālaṭi, she was in deathbed. She was very happy to see her son come back as he had promised earlier. Śaṅkara assured her that her pious life would earn her Viṣṇupāda and will achieve mokṣa. Āryāmba peacefully closed her eyes. Śaṅkara was overtaken by emotion as he recalled her hard life to bring him up after his father’s death. He collected himself, cremated the remains of his mother and left Kālaṭi again.

Establishment of Dharma – Public Welfare

Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda had already laid the foundation for the establishment of Dharma with his work so far. He took up the job of permanent and firm fixture of Dharma. He set out from the south to travel the entire country again. As he traveled, he reformed people of several faiths, including the Pashupatha (variation of Shaivites), Soura (followers of Sun god), and Kāpālika (variation of Shaivites). He visited places including Rameśwara, Madurai, Śrīraṅga, Kāñci, and Tirupati. In Kāñci, he reformed the Tāntrik faith followers (followers of Tāmasic worship) and reformed them to Sātvic followers. In Ujjain, he reformed many of the Buddhist and Jain faiths and helped them back to the Vedic Dharma. In the Paśupati Nātha temple in Khaṭmaṇḍu (currently in Nepal), he helped stop the sacrifice of animals and reformed the worship to Sāthvic worship. As the people of the country were followers of one of the following six faiths – Śaiva, Vaiṣṇava, Śakteya (worshipping Śakti or Devi), Soura (worshipping Sun), Gāṇapatya (Worshipping Gaṇapati) or Kāpālika, he brought them all under the umbrella of Vedic faith, eliminating mutual distrust of each other. He is therefore called the Ṣaṇmata-Sthāpana-Ācārya (establisher of six-faith dharma).

Sarvajña Pīṭha in Kashmir

Śaṅkara by this time had established the sovereignty of the Vedic dharma and the atheist faith had faded. Now Śaṅkara had to take steps to assure its stability for the next several generations to come. He concluded that the Sarvajña Pīṭha – Seat of Omniscient – in Kashmir would provide the seal of authority for the continued propagation of the Vedic dharma. He arrived in Kashmir. He debated and defended the Vedic dharma among the local and assembled pundits. He overcame all challenges and was ordained to the Sarvajña Pīṭha. Śaṅkara’s programs from this position helped restore the Vedic Advaita following for several generations. To further solidify this order, Śaṅkara established Mutts (monasteries) in the four directions of the country as follows:

He promoted Panchāyatana Pūja (Five Deity worship) to foster cooperation and equality among the worshippers of Śiva, Viṣṇu, Āditya (Sun), Aṁbika (Devi) and Gan̄anātha. Under the program, everyone will worship all these deities, with their deity at the center, surrounded by the four other deities. His works – Prasthāna Traya for intellects and innumerable hymns for ordinary people – paved the way for spiritual progress. He helped people develop faith in Vedas, Vedānta and Purāṇas at the same time.

At the age of 32, overseeing all these works, and convinced of the longevity and preservation of the faith, Śaṅkara entered the cave in the Dattātreya temple in Kedārnāth (in the Himālayas), 2000 miles from his birthplace of Kālaṭi, and disappeared.

It is the firm belief that Śaṅkara was none other than Lord Śiva, who incarnated to uphold Dharma and organize people’s lives to be guided within the framework of Dharma.

Thus is the biography of Śaṅkara, who mastered the four vedas at age 8, all Ś̄astras at age 12, wrote the commentaries – Prasthāna Thraya – at age 16 and left the scene at age 32.

[ Resources: ‘Śaṅkara Vismaya’ by Swamī Paramānanda Bhārati, in Kannada, Abhinava Vidyābhārati publication.]

Śri Rāmānujācāryā

By

Dr. Belur Sreenath

Śri Rāmānuja was a Hindu theologian and a philosopher. He was one of the stalwarts and proponent of Hindu dharma. He was a great philosopher and one of the most important exponents of Śrivaiṣṇavism tradition. His philosophies remain relevant even today and he remains to be one among the great men who stabilized our culture. Śri Rāmānuja followed the footsteps of the Ālvars who were the ancient Śrivaiṣṇava saints, who were recognized as the incarnations of different insignias of Lord Nārāyaṇa, who took birth on this earth to redeem the ordinary mortals like us by showing the right path to mokṣa through their teachings. Śri Rāmānuja is believed to be an incarnation of 'Śri Ādisesha of Śriman Nārāyaṇa'. The Tamil works of Ālvars called 'Divya Prabandhams' which propound the Viśiṣṭādvaita philosophy and popularized by Śri Rāmānuja has come to be known as Tamil or Ḍrāviḍa Vedas.

One thousand years have gone by since Rāmānuja was born. Śri Rāmānuja was born in 1017 CE and is believed to have lived for 120 years. Śri Rāmānuja was born at Śriperambudur near Kāncipuram in Tamil Nadu on a Caitra śuddha pañchami, Thursday with Āridra as his birth star. His parents were Śri Keśava Somayāji and Smt. Kāntimati. Śri Keshava Somayaji was given the title of 'Sarva Kratu' by Vedic scholars recognizing his performance of many Vedic rituals. Respected elders and āchāryas in the family who visited the child predicted that he will grow up to be a Mahātma and divine person. Śri Keshava Somayaji was teaching Rāmānuja all the Vedic scriptures as he grew up. As childhood marriage was quite common in those days, Rāmānuja got married at the age of 16 to Rakṣambāl. He lost his father at the age of 17 and felt very sad and was out of direction. Along with his mother and his wife, he moved to Kāncipuram.

At Kāncipuram, Rāmānuja continued his Vedic education under the tutelage of learned ācārya, śri Yādavaprakāśa. Though śri Yādavaprakāśa was a learned scholar, he was an Advaita proponent and Rāmānuja did not quite relish the Advaita teachings – he would often challenge the teacher, but was not satisfied with the answers to his questions, since Rāmānuja did not subscribe to Advaita Philosophy. The differences increased over time, and the challenges became more frequent and deeper, resulting in Rāmānuja splitting from śri Yādavaprakāśa.

They were as follows.

1. To establish the Śri Vaishnava Mutt for the benefit of everyone to attain mokṣa through Prapatti and popularize the Nālāyira (4000 thousand) Divya Prabandham.

2. To write a treatise for Vyasa's Brahma Sūtras to be called, Śri Bhāṣya.

3. To show our indebtedness to Vedavyāsa and Parāśara Maharṣhi who gave us the Viṣṇu Purāṇa.

Rāmānuja returned to Kāncipuram from Śrirangam without even visiting Lord Ranganātha at the temple as he was quite upset that the Lord did not give him the chance to meet his Guru, Yamunācārya. After returning, Rāmānuja requested Kāncipūrṇa to get clarifications from the Lord Varadarāja to some of his doubts and beliefs. He wanted answers to six questions from Lord Varadarāja as Kāncipūrṇa had the ability to converse with Lord in private.

The answers that Rāmānuja got were as follows :

1. Lord said: “I am the Supreme Lord (Parabrahman) and the cause for the entire universe.”

2. Difference exists between jīvātma and Paramātma.

3, Prapatti (total surrender) is the means through which one can attain mokṣa.

4. My devotees should be respected irrespective of their caste and creed.

5. I shall lead my devotees in the right path to mokṣa – attainment of mokṣa would liberate one from the cycle of birth and death. "Mokṣa Purushārthaḥ Sarva Śreṣṭaḥ ". If a person has led his life in a righteous path and submitted himself to the Lord, then the Lord would help him to attain the ultimate emancipation that is mokṣa.

6. Rāmānuja should approach Perianambi for further enlightenment in his quest for spiritual knowledge. Perianambi was also called Mahapūrṇa. He was an ardent disciple of Śri. Yamunācārya in Śrirangam.

When Kāncipūrṇa informed Rāmānuja of these messages from the Lord, Rāmānuja decided to go back to Śrirangam to meet Perianambi and take him as his Guru. Both of them came back to Kāncipuram and Perianambi taught Rāmānuja the full text of Divya Prabhandam (Nālāyiram). During this time, Rāmānuja’s mother passed away. In the meantime, Rāmānuja had been quite disappointed with his wife's behavior and attitude. She apparently disrespected and humiliated Guru Perianambi's wife. She also had treated Kāncipūrṇa as a low caste individual and showered herself and cleaned the plates etc. after serving him at their house. She also had refused to feed hungry brahmins. Rāmānuja personally apologized to all these people and felt that his wife was not going to mend her ways. At this point he decided to send her back to her mother's house on a pretense that she will have to help her mother as her sister was getting married. At this point he got himself initiated to 'Saṁnyāsa'. Rāmānuja was 32 years old at that time and Kāncipūrṇa named him as Yatirāja.

Śri Rāmānujācāryā’s name and fame spread far and wide. Many learned scholars seeing his scholarship and brilliance voluntarily became his disciples. Among them Anantha bhattar's son Kureśan was his chief and most devoted disciple. Another disciple was Dāśarathi who was the brother of Kureśan. Interestingly, Rāmānujācāryā’s earlier Guru Yādavaprakāśa also realized the logic of Rāmānuja's school of thought and became a Śrivaiṣṇava himself and wrote a book called Yati dharma.

During his quest for more enlightenment Rāmānujācāryā approached a famous ācārya by name Goṣṭipūrṇa (Thirukkottiyurnambi) at Thirukkottiyur and requested him to enlighten him with the meaning of dhyānamantra – the Nārāyaṇa Aṣtākṣari - Oṁ namo Nārāyaṇāya, which would lead one to attain mokṣa. Even though, Goṣṭipūrṇa wanted Rāmānuja to keep this mantra to himself, Rāmānuja decided to divulge this to all the others so that everyone could be benefited. Goṣṭipūrṇa was impressed by Rāmānuja's humility and blessed him with the title of "Emberumānār". He also taught him the meaning of Bhagavadgīta's ‘carama shloka.’

During his quest for enlightenment Rāmānujācāryā had many teachers like Kāncipūrṇa, Mahapūrṇa, Goṣṭipūrṇa, Mulādhāra and Tiruvayamannar. Many followers of Advaita philosophy who were impressed by his knowledge and divine personality became his disciples and joined Śrivaishṇavism. At this point, the authorities at Śrirangam requested Rāmānuja to take over Śri Yamunācārya's place as head of the Order and manage the temple (after passing away of Śri. Yamunācārya, the temple at Śrirangam was without a head of the Order; the personnel in charge were the descendants of Uttamanambi, who had arrived in Śrirangam as an escort of Andal and Periyālwar; the person in command was Periya Koyilnambi. He had frequent contacts with Rāmānuja and realizing his spiritual and intellectual gifts, he gladly passed the management to Rāmānuja. Perianambi had already been instructed by his Guru Yamunācārya to see that Rāmānuja succeeds him). After accepting their request he took over the management of the temple and the mutt.

Rāmānujācāryā’s followers grew in large numbers. He along with his chief disciples toured entire India by foot from south to north. He established mutts, renovated temples and reestablished orderly worships in temples according to the Pāncarātra Āgama system, thus laying the foundation for spreading the philosophy of Śrivaiṣṇavism. This came to be known as Rāmānuja's school or Rāmānuja's siddhānta. He appointed 74 leaders called Simhāsanāddhipatis, who spread his message throughout the length and breadth of the country. This was done without discriminating against caste, creed or sex. Just when everything was going well for Rāmānuja, trouble came from the Cola ruler, Krimikanṭhacola who as a Śaivaite, was threatening everyone to accept and declare that Lord Śiva was the supreme. He wanted Rāmānuja to do the same or face consequences - to leave Śrirangam and exile from the Cola kingdom. Kureśa posed himself in saffron robes before the Cola king as Rāmānuja; in the meantime śri Rāmānujacārya left Śrirangam and travelled to a place called Toṇdanūr near Melkote, Karnāṭaka. Now a large statue of Rāmānuja commemorating his 1000th year birthday is built in the Toṇdanūr area.

Śri Rāmānujācāryā returned back to Śrirangam after the political environment was favorable for his return. After returning to Śrirangam, he stayed there for the next 40 years of his life. He was around 80 years old when he returned to Śrirangam, after travelling all over the Indian continent. He continued his spiritual teachings, bhakti mārga or devotional path and his Viśiṣṭādvaita philosophy. As the years passed he sensed that his end was nearing. He started to teach his pupils with emphasis on the end of life and the final goal, mokṣa. The disciples were a bit surprised and asked the reason. He revealed to them that his end was nearing and that he would be shedding the mortal body on the fourth day. He then installed Parāshara Bhattar (Kuresha’s son) as his successor to take charge of the mission to propagate Śrivaiṣṇavism. Śri Rāmānujācāryā passed away at the age of 120 years on a māgha śuddha Saturday afternoon. At that time his disciples were singing the Nammālvar's prabandham.

Śri Rāmānujācāryā’s accomplishments.

Śri Rāmānujācāryā had 12,000 disciples, 700 jeeyars, 75 immediate assistants and 300 women followers. He was also a leading champion among the people and society. He was a great proponent of women's education, upliftment of the downtrodden. He also started schools for deaf and dumb, blind people and mentally retarded. Many of his writing accomplishments included Śri Bhashya – his Viśiṣṭādvaita commentary on the Brahmasūtras, Vedānta dīpa, Vedānta sāra, vedānta sangraha, Bhagavad Gīta bhasya, Śaraṇāgati gadya, Śriranga gadya, Vaikunṭha gadya and Nitya grantha.

Śri Rāmānuja’s Philosophy.

Viśiṣṭādvaita - The philosophy of Rāmānujācāryā is the most preeminent among the bhakti schools of Vedanta, both because of the profundity of the doctrines it expounds and the balanced devotionalism it teaches. This is one of the oldest dharma, but had lost recognition after the death of great ācāryās like Tonka, Bhodāyana, Guha etc. Śri Rāmānujācāryā was able to revive this through the lineage of earlier ācāryās namely Nāthamuni and Yamunāmuni.

The theistic Vedanta nurtured by Rāmānujācāryā is popularly referred to as Rāmānuja Darshana. The philosophical base for Śrivaiṣṇavism is Viśiṣṭādvaita (qualified monism). According to this, the world is ultimately true. Jīva is ultimately true. God is ultimately true. Thus in effect, it is a totally realistic theism in which the God and the absolute of the Upaniṣads – Brahman - are one and the same. Śri Bhasya – his commentary on the Brahmasūtras - is a skillful refutation of Advaita. Swami Vivekananda was extremely impressed by Rāmānujācāryā’s work and had the Śri Bhasya translated into English language by one of his disciples. He admired Rāmānujācāryā for his views and efforts especially in support of the poor and the downtrodden.

Some of the other works of Rāmānujācāryā included his commentary on the Nālāyira Divya Prabandham which has four thousand verses of divine composition in Tamil language. The Nālāyira Divya Prabandham is considered equivalent to the Vedas.

Śaraṇāgati gadya - The principle of Śaraṇāgati has its roots both in Vedic literature as well as bhakti literature. According to Rāmānujācāryā, this leads the intense seeker to the realization and abode of Lord Nārāyaṇa.

Rahasyatraya - This refers to three specific mantras which form the basis of gadyatraya. First mantra is the mūla mantra which is Nārāyaṇa Aṣṭākṣari which has already been referred to earlier.

Vaikunṭha Gadya - Śri Rāmānuja declares that for carrying out nitya kainkarya (eternal servitude) to Lord Nārāyaṇa, the most effective path is śaraṇāgati. In this Gadya there is descriptions of Lord's form and Vaikunṭha in the form of a shloka called 'Stotrarathna'.

Śri Rāmānujācāryā established the theistic philosophy of Viśiṣṭādvaita as a direct answer to the Dvaita and Advaita philosophies. His theories assert that there exists a plurality and a distinction between Atma and Brahman (metaphysical ultimate reality). He also affirmed that there is unity of all ātmas and that the individual ātma has the potential to realize identity with Brahman. His virtue was compassion and his means Integration. This is why Śri Rāmānuja is perfectly relevant even today.

[Resources: 1.Gadyatraya of Sri Rāmānujā, by Sri Kadaba Sridhar.

2 Ālwars and Ācar̄yās at a glance by Sri. Kadaba Sridhar.

3 Śri Rāmānujā and His Works by Smt. Prabha Sridhar..

4. Śrimad Rāmānujā, An Acharya for all Ages ,Siva Vishnu Temple Publications, Maryland,USA,

5. Śri Rāmānujā… His life, religion and Philosophy, Svāmi Tapasyānanda, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai]

Śri Madhvācārya

By

Krishnamurthy Ramakrishna

The life and teachings of Śri Madhvācārya are recorded in the biography of Śri Nārāyaṇa Paṇḍita (1287-1350 CE).

Śri Madyageha Bhaṭṭa and his wife Vedavati lived in the village of Pājaka, about eight miles from Uḍupi, in the South Kanara district of Karṇāṭaka. Śri Madyageha Bhaṭṭa (also believed to be known as Nadillaya Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭa) and his wife Vedavati were devotees of Lord Ananteśvara in Uḍupi (the Ananteśvara temple is believed to be an 8^th century temple); Lord Ananteśvara blessed them with a male progeny on the Vijayadaśami day, in the month of Āśvayuja in the year 1238 CE. The parents named the child Vāsudeva (it is believed that Vāsudeva is an incarnation of Mukhyaprāṇa, a vestige of Lord Nārāyaṇa). The couple is reported to have dedicated infant Vāsudeva to Lord Ananteśvara. Vāsudeva was a precocious child and in his early childhood, child Vāsudeva displayed several miraculous actions; people in the neighborhood were proud of the young Vāsudeva.

At the age of eight (8), Vāsudeva was initiated to Vedic studies following upanayana. The father himself being a very learned scholar, commissioned Acyutaprekṣāchārya to teach Vedas and philosophy to young Vāsudeva. Learning the Vedas came easy to him, and he mastered the Vedas in a short time. Vāsudeva was drawn into monastic life and the parents of Vāsudeva were not certain of him entering the monastic life, but eased their objections, when they had another son. At the age of 16, Vāsudeva entered the monastery led by Acyutaprekṣāchārya. Though the parents and the teacher were believed to be Vaiṣhṇavas, Acyutaprekṣāchārya was a teacher of the Advaita philosophy, which was generally the order of the day during those times. Vāsudeva was initiated to saṁnyāsa by Acyutaprekṣāchārya under the name Pūrṇaprajña. In the new monastery, Vāsudeva was taught the doctrines of Advaita Vedānta. But Vāsudeva, had developed a strong devotion towards śri Hari and the advaitic teachings did not appeal to Pūrṇaprajña. The guru and the disciple got into arguments and over time, these differences began to be more frequent and intense. Acyutaprekṣāchārya noting the committed devotion of Pūrṇaprajña to śri Hari and his knowledge of the Vedas, Bhāgavata etc. the guru gave him the name of Ānandatīrtha. Pūrṇaprajña, however, voluntarily chose the name Madhva and over time, he became popular by this name. Being a devotee of śri Hari, he did not relish the advaitic teachings of śri Śaṅkarācārya and began to refute Śaṅkara’s commentary on the Brahmasūtras.

South Indian pilgrimage

Time was right for Ānandatīrtha to travel to pilgrimage centers, as his scholarship in the scriptures began to be recognized. Accompanied by Acyutaprekṣāchārya he travelled to places like Kanyakumari, Rameśvaram, Tiruvanatapura, Śriranga etc. He engaged in debates in all these places he visited and refuted the teachings of Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja etc. These debates convinced him of his Theistic philosophy (Tattva-vāda) and on his return to Uḍupi, he wrote the Bhāṣya on the Bhagavad Gītā.

Pilgrimage to Badari

Accompanied by a few disciples and permission from his teacher Acyutaprekṣa, Madhva set out on a pilgrimage to Badari and dedicated his Bhagavad Gītā Bhāṣya to Lord Nārāyaṇa at Badari. He travelled alone to the upper Badarikāśrama, where he had a meeting with sage Vedavyāsa; he became a disciple of Vedavyāsa in learning Brahmasūtras, Mahābhārata and Pāñcarātra. While at Badari, he wrote the commentary on the Brahmasūtras. On his way back to Uḍupi, he debated many scholars on the Godavari banks, the most illustrious among them was a scholar, Śobhana Bhaṭṭa, who later became his saṁnyāsi disciple in Uḍupi. On his return to Uḍupi, Madhva expanded on his commentary on Brahmasūtras – the theistic commentary - to the local scholars, including his guru Acyutaprekṣa; Though Acyutaprekṣa was not initially convinced, but the power of Madhva’s scholarship and logic made him a convert; Acyutaprekṣa became a disciple of Madhva and made Madhva the head of the Maṭha.

Kṛṣṇa Temple in Uḍupi

During his stay in Uḍupi following return from Badari, Śri Madhvācārya wrote several commentaries including the 10 Upaniṣads, hymns of Ṛgveda, treatise on Bhāgavata and composed many devotional compositions. Ācārya established the Kṛṣṇa Temple in Uḍupi installing the idol of Krishna which he found in the Arabian sea, near the Udupi sea coast.

Return trip to Badari

Śri Madhvācārya went on a missionary trip up to Badarikāśrama again, doing several miracles along the way – (1) A king was forcing wayfarers to dig the earth; when śri Madhvācārya arrived there, the ācārya asked the king to demonstrate the digging; when the king got to it, the ācārya used his psychic powers to make the king continue digging nonstop; (2) in the Himalayas he threw away a tiger, that came to attack the party of the ācārya. On reaching Badari, he had darśans once again of Lord Nārāyaṇa and of sage Vedavyāsa. While returning to Uḍupi, he visited Kāśi, Kurukṣetra and Goa; at Kāśi, he debated and humbled an Advaita scholar; while at Kurukṣetra, he is said to have unearthed the mace he had buried in his previous incarnation as Bhīma and at Goa he enchanted the local audience with his musical talent.

The Ācārya established eight (8) Maṭhas in the Uḍupi area, all devoted to the worship of Kṛṣṇa. These Maṭhas are

1. Palimāru Maṭha

2. Adamāru Maṭha

3. Kṛṣṇapura Maṭha

4. Puttige Maṭha

5. Sirūr Maṭha

6. Soḍhe Maṭha

7. Kaṇiyūru Maṭha

8. Pejāvara Maṭha

The Ācārya’s disciples were installed as the first pontiffs for all the eight maṭhas.

There is not a very clear record of the exit of Śri Madhvācārya from this world. It is claimed that upon completion of his mission of establishing the Theistic Philosophy and a religious base in support of the philosophy, congratulatory showers of flowers heaped on him from heaven and he disappeared under the heap of the flowers.

[ Resources: (1) Śri Madhvācārya – His life, religion and philosophy, Svāmi Tapasyānanda, Śri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, Tamilnadu

(2) Madhvacharya (Life and Teachings) By Bannanje Govindacharya, Originally published by Shri Bannanje Sanmana Samiti, Poorna Prajna Vidyapeetha, Bangalore - 560 028, 1997; Electronic Version published by Tara Prakashana, 3 Sunberry Drive, Penfield, NY 14526 ]