Ramanujacharya â Biography - ebooks - ISKCON desire tree

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Yamunacarya was very pleased to hear these words, forat that time he was preparing a campaign against arebellious king and was in great need of money. Knowing whata wonderful person his grandfather had been, he readilybelieved the sadhus words. In great delight he said to RamaMisra, "Sir, you are certainly a most saintly person, beingso renounced that you have not kept this treasure foryourself. Now please tell me where it is to be found."Rama Misra answered, "If you follow me I will takeyou there. It is kept within seven walls, between tworivers, guarded by a great serpent. Every twelve years ademon from the south goes to inspect the treasure, which isguarded by mantra. Through the power of mantra the treasurewill be revealed to you."In fact the treasure that Rama Misra was describingwas the beauty of Lord Ranganatha, the Deity who resideswithin a seven-walled temple on an island in the KaveriRiver. The serpent is the bed of Ananta-Sesa, on whom theLord is reclining. It is said that this Deity was firstinstalled by Vibhisana, the brother of Ravana, and thatevery twelve years he goes to Rangaksetra to worship theLord. The powerful mantra is the holy name of the Lord, forby chanting the holy name one is able to gain thetranscendental vision by which one can appreciate that theDeity is non-different from the Lord Himself.YAMUNACARYA’S CONVERSIONHowever, Alabandara could not understand the realmeaning of Rama Misra's words, and, being anxious to acquirethe treasure, he said, "I am ready to go there immediatelyalong with four divisions of my army. Please be our guide""It is better if we go alone," replied Rama Misra,"for it is not advisable for many people to assemble there."The king accepted this proposal, and, having madearrangements for the management of the kingdom in hisabsence, he prepared to set out with the sadhu. Leaving thecity of Madurai behind them, they traveled in a northerlydirection. At noon, while they were resting from the heat ofthe sun, Rama Misra began to chant the verses of theBhagavad-gita.It was many years since Yamunacarya had read andstudied this great scripture, and while he had ruled as aking the sublime teachings of the Gita had been far from hisheart. But now, as he listened to Rama Misra's sweet voicebringing forth the words of Sri Krsna, he began to realizethe illusory nature of his position as a king and to see howhe was neglecting the real goal of life. When Rama Misra hadfinished chanting all the eighteen chapters, Yamunacaryafell down at his feet and begged, "Please accept me as yourservant, so that I may be able to continually relish thesweet nectar of Sri Krsna's words. Now, as I hear from you,17
all the pleasures of my worldly life seem pale andinsignificant."At this Rama Misra smiled and said, "If you have thetime to spare, then why not stay here for a few days andstudy the Gita with me."Now that a taste of the real value of life had begunto reawaken in the heart of the king, his concern overmaterial affairs was diminished. "Whatever duties I may havein this world," he replied, "certainly the most importantduty for every man is to understand the true meaning of theBhagavad-gita. "Thus, the two of them remained in that solitary placefor almost a week, and every day Rama Misra spoke on thesublime teachings of the Gita, while Yamunacarya listenedwith rapt attention. With every word that the sadhu spoke,the king's attachment for his material opulence wasdiminished. This is natural, for once one becomes trulyaware of the glory and sweetness of the Supreme Lord, SriKrsna, the pleasures of this world seem worthless incomparison. When Rama Misra reached the eighth verse of thetwelfth chapter, he sang in a voice choked with tears,mayy eva mana adhatsvamayi buddhim nivesayanivasisyasi mayy evaata urdhvam na samsayah"Just fix your mind upon Me, the Personality of Godhead, andengage all of your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live inMe always without a doubt."When he heard this wonderful verse, Yamunacarya wasfilled with remorse and cried out, "Alas! Alas! All theseyears I have wasted my life, with my mind and intelligenceabsorbed only in thoughts of lust and wealth. When will thatday come when I will be able to remove such useless thingsfrom my heart and fix my mind completely on the lotus feetof Sri Krsna?"Hearing this pure sentiment, Rama Misra consoled theking, saying, "Your majesty, your pure mind rests always onthe lotus feet of the Lord. Just for a short time it hasbeen captivated by worldly <strong>desire</strong>s, as a small cloudobscures the sun's rays for a short time. Now that cloud hasalmost gone, and the sun will shine again and dispel thedarkness from your heart."At this point Alabandara decided that he wanted nomore to do with material life, and so he told Rama Misra,"Now, all I <strong>desire</strong> is to become your disciple, and so I haveno need of the wealth left by my grandfather.""But I gave my word to Sri Nathamuni," replied RamaMisra, "and so I must deliver the treasure to you to keep myvow intact. Now let us continue our journey together."After walking for four days, they reached the banksof the Kaveri River and the next day crossed over to the18
Page 1 and 2: The Life ofRamanujacaryaTABLE OF CO
Page 3 and 4: egan to learn the wonderfully instr
Page 5 and 6: Ramanuja. Despite some minor philos
Page 7 and 8: For the devotees, Hi manifests His
Page 9 and 10: YAMUNACARYAIn the south of India ma
Page 11 and 12: furious rage to inform his teacher
Page 13 and 14: and faithful to her husband as was
Page 15: that there was little chance of his
Page 19 and 20: with his wife to the temple of Sri
Page 21 and 22: THE FIRSTCONFRONTATIONOne day when
Page 23 and 24: "Sir, surely you could just forbid
Page 25 and 26: quickly dispelled all the misgiving
Page 27 and 28: shrine of the Saivites and dedicate
Page 29 and 30: was on everyone's lips. Yadavapraka
Page 31 and 32: Having given this advice to the you
Page 33 and 34: ahmanas were from Kancipuram, he im
Page 35 and 36: "My master wishes to see you, and i
Page 37 and 38: long periods he would remain alone,
Page 39 and 40: KANCIPURNA'S VISIT TO TIRUPATIMeanw
Page 41 and 42: ‘All of you may recall how, just
Page 43 and 44: departed for Sri Rangam. While Maha
Page 45 and 46: RAMANUJA BEGINS HIS TEACHINGAll the
Page 47 and 48: Seeing the devotional sentiments in
Page 49 and 50: When the discourse was completed an
Page 51 and 52: To this the priest replied, "You do
Page 53 and 54: to your words, so many people are n
Page 55 and 56: DASARATHI'S HUMILITYDasarathi then
Page 57 and 58: great attention. When he heard Rama
Page 59 and 60: ADOPTING THE WAYS OF ROBBERSBeing a
Page 61 and 62: of the huge boat as it moved slowly
Page 63 and 64: THE PRIEST'S REPENTENCEHowever, in
Page 65 and 66: he walked over to the monastery whe
Page 67 and 68:
make a flower garden and serve Lord
Page 69 and 70:
However, when he heard about the wo
Page 71 and 72:
offense, they all submitted a petit
Page 73 and 74:
RETURNING TO KANCIAfter thus passin
Page 75 and 76:
"That woman was singing the tales o
Page 77 and 78:
However, that night as he was lying
Page 79 and 80:
challenged by some of the local sch
Page 81 and 82:
the birthplace of Nathamuni, Yamuna
Page 83 and 84:
and so he and his wife were fasting
Page 85 and 86:
from His temple, the throng of peop
Page 87:
enclosed by walls on all sides, as
Page 90 and 91:
considering him fallen, and that he
Page 92 and 93:
and the other devotees also left th
Page 94 and 95:
However, the atrocities that Kulott
Page 96 and 97:
just by looking at the girl's face.
Page 98 and 99:
festival days. This form of the Lor
Page 100 and 101:
up her body. Being immersed in cont
Page 102 and 103:
heard Lord Varadaraja speak to him
Page 104 and 105:
take part in the festivities. Many
Page 106 and 107:
At about the same time the devotees
Page 108:
When Ramanuja had finished speaking
show all

Ramanujacharya â Biography - ebooks - ISKCON desire tree

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?

Ramanujacharya â Biography - ebooks - ISKCON desire tree