Sri Ramanuja-The Legend (1017-1137)
Supreme and the society
Our illustrious land has no
scarcity for great reformers and transformers. Amongst them, holy saint Sri
Ramanuja is the one with explicit social touch and lively benevolence. His
personalized care and immense concern towards every being have made them to
become equally influential touch stones like Him and thus penetrated into the
society through horizontal spread and spiral effects. It will not be an
exaggeration, if His movement is glorified as the first and foremost N.G.O
model. Without any organized publicity and lobbying, the impact he has radiated
in spiritual, scholarly as well as the simplest community is ineffably
tremendous.
Liberation of all
Similar to dignitaries like Ambedkar,
Gandhi and Vinoba, popularized as activists of social equality and justice, Sri
Ramanuja had been the trailblazer of spiritual justice. He emphasized the right
of one and all to serve, realize and reach Godhead and projected this equality
in his tenets, propagation and administration.
Caste
Caste was and is a powerful
and sensational force deterring social equality and harmony. In the pretext of
reservation, abolishment of untouchability, casteless society and various
reforms, we see only multiplication and intensification of caste forms,
inequality, divide, disorder and communal combats. Before a millennium, in the
dark caste-sensitive era, Sri Ramanujacharya was the first to offer inculcation
and practice rights to the lower castes and initiate temple entry and right to
worship for untouchables.
He had great reverence
towards Sri Kanchipurna, His Guru and high appreciation for Dhanurdasa, His
disciple. Both of them belong to the non-brahmin sect and in fact Sri Ramanuja
himself glorified Dhanurdasa as His touch stone.
Ethical preaching
Sri Ramanuja advocated an
uncompromising monotheistic faith of Sri Vishnu worship. But he was an
embodiment of ethical preaching, due to which, his chastity and philosophical
vindication exercises were never alloyed with undue denigration and forceful
indoctrinations.
Systematization of temples
He holds the herculean
accomplishment of systematizing temples by revival and regularization of its
rites and procedures. He further configured teams, resources and patterns for
structural, infra-structural, financial, religious and human resources
management of temples, which are even now available in the form of practice
records and compiled manuals. His management efficiency and tool designing have
to be incorporated in advanced studies, research and applications of
management.
One monumental sample for his
management skills and executive ability is the lake that he constructed at
Thondanur, 18 kms from Melkote, situated near Mysore. The lake, which has never
dried since its formation is a conspicuous proof of planning, environmental engineering, need
analysis, water resources management and human capital management abilities of
Sri Ramanuja. He always emphasized the need of temples to act as centres of
knowledge enrichment, service and social empowerment, rather than being abodes
of mere worship.
Opportunity to all
His temple’ responsibility
and service’ design is comprehensive and has a complete social embrace. Along with elite and enlightened dynasties, he
even entangled simple members of the society like washerman, potter, cow-herd,
connected with temple legend and history, into the rights and reward arena, and
ensured that they are provided due respect and significance, through his
administrative guidelines and order.
Non violence and endurance
In spite of his spiritual
prowess and mass support, he never preached and permitted aggressive measures
and unholy adventures, in the name of sacrifice and bravery, for crisis control
and rescue. Even in his toughest times of religious chaos, amidst persecution
and extraditions, he entertained and educated patience, avoidance, unity and
dynamic action and thus pioneered the movement of non-violence and inspired
many of His direct and indirect successors.
Qualities of God-idolatry
Sri Ramanuja’s concept of God
is a marvel, endorsed by scriptural authority. While entertaining the obviously
solid and trans-emotional nature of Supreme,
he also revealed the hidden super-emotional nature, embedded with sublime and softest qualities of compassion, love, craving, forgiving and
coercive upliftment. He had special attention towards the descent and deity forms
of the Almighty and proved that they are embodiments of dynamic mercy and
infinite love of Paramatma, contrary to the general opinion of considering them
to be fictional or elementary. Thus he reconciled hyper-personal and impersonal
conflicts of divine nature and provided the authentic divine version. He also placed
the deity-form as a paramount dimension thus differentiating rudimentary and
superstitious idolatry.
Worship of devotees and Acharyas
He strongly believed in the
immanence of Almighty in the forms of preceptors and devotees. He cultivated an
active tradition of care, service, reverence and integrity principles towards
Acharyas and bhagavathas, which united all devotees and even masters, to the
pathway of discipline and dedication. By this unique life way, he engineered
the traits of mutual-respect, harmony and collective welfare in the society.
Tamil prabandham
Sri Ramanuja is a blessed
scholar with divine grant. His magnum opus, Sri Bhashyam is the crown jewel of
Indian philosophical literature. Even though he handled scriptures and their
elucidation works for analysis and vindication, to gain in debates and
institutionalization of his tenets, he was much immersed in Tamil scriptures,
the 4000 verses of Alwars, designated as Divya Prabandham. He has provided
innumerable interpretations to prabandham verses, full of subtlest vision and
nuances. He instructed His learned disciples to comment on them and carry on
the valuable messages hidden in them, there by establishing their equi-vedic
status.
He was the first to
effectively introduce Tamil recitations in all religious functions and
festivals, and offer them greater significance than the Vedas. We are surprised
to see priests and devotees in North India and places like Nepal, learning and
reciting Tamil hymns, with utmost fervour. Sri Ramanujacharya was the first to place
Divine Tamil in the highest religious order.
Millennium celebrations-Bharata Yatra
Commemorating the thousandth
birth anniversary celebrations, to be held on 2017, various preparatory and
pre-event proposals and schedules are planned and initiated by various Sri
Vaishnava heads, leaders, activists, devotees and institutions. Sri Bhashyakara
Charitable Trust, as a part of its manifold plans for celebrations, has
conceived a five years ‘Sri Ramanuja Vijaya Yatra’ program, a complete
tour to every village hub and urban centre of India, from kanyakumari to Kashmir,
starting by June 2012 and ending in March 2017.
Its main aim is to introduce
the real and complete personality of Sri Ramanuja and need for His association.
Yet it has a secular agenda of revival of our cultural and heritage values and it
dominantly focuses on inculcation of peace and harmony to the whole society,
without any discrimination.
The main vehicle for tour
will be a temple shaped van with Sri Ramanuja and other presiding deities,
escorted and assisted by group of vehicles with needed materials and supportive
members.
In all stations, there will
be worships, prayers for global peace, inter-religious assemblies, Prasad
distribution, and free distribution of brochures, pamphlets, CDs and video
materials on Sri Ramanuja and Sri Vaishnava lineage. Music, dance and drama
concerts will be performed along with discourses.
Sri Ramanuja Ratham, the main
vehicle, will be accompanied by a mobile theatre and exhibition, which plays
and displays documentaries and documents on the life and teachings of Sri
Ramanuja and allied hagiography.
The prime motto behind this
national pilgrimage is to instill values, vision and vibrancy in modern
generation and inspire them to dedicate for social cause. Hence essential
messages of issues like saving environment, traffic rules, anti-corruption,
literacy, energy management, agro-reforms, self-employment, vegetarianism,
anti-alcoholism, health awareness and rehabilitation programs, are also equally
disseminated.
The Yatra committee members
will meet various sections of the society like religious heads, academicians,
industrialists, N.G.Os, students, teachers and under privileged members, and
discuss about concerned issues and remedial measures. The team will also encourage,
support and sponsor social welfare projects, wherever possible.
To be brief, it is a status
study and survey proposal of our nation. By modeling an ideal renaissance
through the most sensitive and powerful tools of spiritual and cultural base,
global well-being can also be easily aimed and accomplished.
For Details, contact
G.Anantha Kumar (+91 99406 88798)
Trustee
Sri Bhashyakara Charitable Trust
Chennai
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