Friday, 8 August 2014

Sri Ramanuja-The Legend (1017-1137)



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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