The saint reformer

The saint reformer

Jamuna Ragachari introduces us to Sri Ramanuja, who propounded one of the three  main schools of Vedanta. He broke away from the prevalent Advaita tradition to promote  Vaishnavite bhakti in a big way

On April 25, 1077 CE, in  Sriperumbudur (in today’s  Tamil Nadu) to Keshavasomayaji  and Kantimethi Devi.ssri Ramanuja was born.  He  founded Vishishtadvaita  Vedanta, which is a non-dualistic school of Vedanta philosophy.  

According to him, it is the non dualism of the qualified whole,  in which Brahman alone is seen  as the Supreme Reality but is  characterised by multiplicity. It is  a philosophy taken from ancient  wisdom which believes in all  diversity reaching an underlying  unity. In other words, he averred  

that the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma  Sutras are to be interpreted in  a way that shows this unity in  diversity, for any other way would  violate this consistency. He wrote  nine literary texts in Sanskrit  including Vedartha Samgraha,  Sri Bhasya, and Gita Bhasya, and was considered a king of sanyasis. 

Sri Ramanuja founded the non-dualistic school of philosophy 

Sri Ramanuja accepted that  any Vedanta system must  base itself on the Upanishads,  the Brahma Sutras (a brief  exposition of the major  tenets of the Upanishads),  and the Bhagavad Gita. He  has explained in detail the  method of understanding the  Upanishads in his Vedartha  Samgraha (Summary of the  Meaning of the Veda). He  also wrote a commentary on  the Brahma Sutras, the Sri  Bhasya, which presents his  fully developed views, and a commentary on the  Bhagavad Gita, the Gita  Bhasya. 

Sri Ramanuja’s influence  on the course of Sanatana  Dharma has been great. By  talking about devotional  worship in his doctrine on  salvation, he aligned popular  religion with the pursuits of  philosophy and gave bhakti  (devotion) an intellectual  basis. The devotional poems  and songs of the 7th–10th century poet-mystics of  southern India, called Alwars,  became incorporated into  temple worship. This kind  of devotionalism, guided by  Sri Ramanuja, made its way  to northern India, where  its influence on religious  thought and practice has been  profound. 

Sri Ramanuja accepted the  reality of three distinct orders:  matter, soul, and God. Central  to this philosophy—the  organic view of the universe— is the analogy of the body and  soul: just as the body modifies  the soul, has no separate  existence from it, and yet is  different from it, so does the  order of matter and soul make  God’s ‘body,’ modifying it, yet  having no separate existence  from it. He always maintained  that the goal of the human soul  is to serve God as it is part of  the divine cosmos. 

Ramanuja embraced devotion towards Lord Vishnu as the real path even though he was brought up on Advaita philosphy 

Sri Ramanuja transformed the practice of ritual  action into the practice of divine worship and  the way of meditation into a continuous process  of loving and thinking of God. Recently, a statue  honouring him was installed in Telangana to let  everyone know the power of Sanatana Dharma  as propounded by him. Even the former chief  minister of Tamil Nadu, the late Karunanidhi,  though an atheist, wrote a script on him and  stated, “Ramanuja showed through his life that  the oppressed and backward communities are  not to be hated or sidelined and accepted as  brothers.” The television serial based on this  script was viewed by all, especially Tamilians,  who reconnected to the great seer. 

Essentially, bhakti towards God is required for  all is the message of Sri Ramanuja, which is  eternally relevant. 

A bhakti-oriented social reformer  

Sri Ramanuja was a social reformer long before  (in 1017) the term was used to signify the  empowerment of all. Sri Ramanuja overcame  many challenges to protect his Vaishnavite beliefs.  He was born in the south in what is now known  as Tamil Nadu. He was taught in the Advaita  tradition, but his profoundly religious nature was  soon at odds with a doctrine that offered no room  for a personal god. He embraced bhakti towards  Vishnu as the real path to seek God and asked  people of all castes and creeds to do the same. A significant follower was King Bittideva of the  Hoysala empire

It is said that Sri Ramanuja, being a Vaishnavite,  was not supported but traumatised by King  Kulottunga of the Chola dynasty, who was a  staunch Shaivite. This made him go to Mysore  in the west of Tamil Nadu. There were many  people, especially Jains, who took to his path. A significant follower was King Bittideva of the  Hoysala empire who founded Melukote (Melkote,  present Karnataka state) and dedicated a temple  to Shelva Pillai (in Sanskrit, Sampatkumara, the  name of a form of Vishnu). This is still a common  pilgrimage spot for all Vaishnavites.

The late M Karunanidhi, even though an atheist, praised Ramanujam 

Sri Ramanuja did not want to be outside Tamil  Nadu always. He returned to Srirangam in Tamil  Nadu after 20 years, where he organised temple  worship, and founded 74 centres to disseminate  his doctrine. A classic story of the temple in  Srirangam is a shrine devoted to a Muslim devotee  called Tullakka Nachiyar for her devotion, where  prasad (offering) is served by the priests, for, as  per Sri Ramanuja, bhakti is the best service we  can perform for God, and all bhakts (devotees) are  to be accepted into the fold. 

Vaishnavite bhakts today The late Sriram Bharati, who  was Harvard-educated and  lived in the USA for some  time, left everything, came to Rohini Sriram is dedicatedly following the footprints of her late husband 

This has resulted in many  India, and dedicated his life  to the service of God by  building a temple on the  outskirts of Chennai and by  following the Bhakti Marg  with his wife Rohini. He  could sing melodiously many  devotional songs with full  bhakti. Though he passed  away at a fairly young age, his  legacy lives on, showing others  that walking the path of bhakti  and treating mankind as the  Lord’s children according  to the principle of Vasudeva  Kutumbakam, as taught by  Sri Ramanuja, could well be  the shortest route to salvation. 

This was a clear example in  my life where someone who  was extremely intelligent,  highly educated, and lived  in the USA, finally found  complete solace in bhakti  and service to the lord and  humanity. 

Sriram’s wife continues to  live the same life today and  believes that there is no  greater joy than being in  the service of the lord and  humanity. She is showing the  way to all, the Vaishnavite  way. While singing the  hymns, she also explains the  attending her classes from  all over the world. They have  found direction and solace  through the teachings. 

Bhakti is a tremendous  force that we can dip into  to become more powerful  to change ourselves and,  in the process, the whole  world, as many masters have  shown us. This is the way all  positive change happens; so  we can certainly take at least  one step forward by taking  a leaf from the wisdom of  modern seekers like Mr. and  Mrs. Bharati and aiming to  be like them. 

I was blessed to visit the temple  when it was consecrated and  was amazed by the devotion  that Rohini Sriram showed  while doing their chores. spiritual truths that all the  saints conveyed through  their hymns and lives. “We  all have the divine in us  but need to identify a saint  as our God, for just like we  need a mother and father, we  need a God too, else we may  go on the wrong path,” she  says, while quoting examples  from the Ramayana and  those of saints.  

Rohini says that we always  face challenges in life and  that is why we need to  adopt the right values and  principles to tread the right  path. It is possible when  we look around, as well as  within, and connect with our  scriptures.