considered that these might sound more familiar to thereader.One further point that I feel should be mentioned atthis stage is the debt that all Vaisnavas owe toRamanujacarya, whether they be within or outside of hisdirect disciplic succession. As Gaudiya Vaisnavas, most ofour philosophical doctrines come from the writings of thesix gosvamis of Vrindavana, in which they transcribed theteachings that had been given orally by Caitanya MahaprabhuHimself. However, any devotee who studies the philosophicalteachings of Ramanuja, and Yamunacarya also, will quicklyrealize how much we have inherited from him in our basicphilosophical conclusions. Particularly in the refutation ofthe mayavada ideas of Sankara, the works of Ramanuja play akey role. As Srila Prabhupada explains: "The statements ofthe Sankara philosophy, which are the teeth of the mayavadiphilosopher, are always broken by the strong arguments ofthe Vaisnava philosophers such as the great acaryas,especially Ramanujacarya."Finally I would tike to offer my most humbleobeisances at the feet of His Divine Grace A. C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, without whose mercy theglories of the Vaisnava acaryas would still be a closedsubject to the Western world. I would also like to thank allthe devotees who have helped and encouraged me in devotionalservice over the years. I am well aware that there are manydiscrepancies and shortcomings in this presentation, but Iam praying that all the Vaisnavas will display theircharacteristic generosity towards me and try to overlookthese deficiencies.- Naimisaranya dasa,Los Angeles,January 1986.INTRODUCTIONRAMANUJA'S PHILOSOPHY OF VISISTADVAITARamanuja is well-known as the great philosopher andacarya of the Sri Vaisnava sampradaya. However, it shouldnot be misunderstood that he was the founder of the SriVaisnavas. Originally started by Laksmidevi Herself, the Srisampradaya contained many exalted devotees prior toRamanuja's appearance to whom he admits his debt in hiswritings. In their expressions of devotion to the SupremeLord, all South Indian devotees were influenced by the nineAlvars, who lived several hundred years before the birth of5
Ramanuja. Despite some minor philosophical differences, itis plain that the themes of devotion and surrender to God,which are essential to Ramanuja's teachings, are based to alarge extent on the writings of the Alvars.In terms of philosophy also Ramanuja was undoubtedlyinfluenced by the teachings of previous Vaisnava acaryas,most notably Yamunacarya and Bodhayana, the commentator onthe Vedanta sutras. In many ways the major achievement ofRamanuja as an acarya was to establish a solid philosophicalbasis for the devotional sentiments that had been expressedin the hymns of the Alvars. In order to do this it was firstessential that he refute the impersonalist teachings ofSankara's advaita-vada and large sections of hisphilosophical writings are dedicated to this task. To combatthe teachings of the nondevotional monists, Ramanujaattacked them on their own ground, rarely expressingdevotional sentiment and for the most part citing theUpanisads and Vedanta-sutras as scriptural evidence, ratherthan the overtly Vaisnava sastras. It is for this reasonthat Ramanuja, unlike Madhva, does not use the Srimad-Bhagavatam to support his teachings. The main philosophicalworks of Ramanuja are his commentary on Vedanta-sutra (SriBhasya), the Vedartha-samgraha, the Vedanta-sara and hiscommentary on the Bhagavad-gita.Three hundred years before Ramanuja, Sankaracarya hadattempted to establish his doctrine of absolute oneness, aconcept bearing many similarities to the Buddhistphilosophy. According to Sankara, nothing exists anywhereexcept Brahman, which is formless, changeless, eternal, anddevoid of all attributes. Therefore the variety that weperceive in this world is simply an illusion and does not inreality have any existence. Because the living being iscovered by ignorance (avidya or maya) he perceives varietyand changes; but when enlightened by pure knowledge, he willrealize that everything is in fact Brahman and that hisprevious perceptions were simply illusion. Obviously, insuch a philosophy devotion is also ultimately meaninglessbecause the distinction between God and His devotee is alsoillusory.In his commentary on Vedanta-sutra, Ramanuja stronglyattacks Sankara's ideas. He states that the concept ofBrahman as being indeterminate, without qualities orchanges, is meaningless. Any reality that cannot beperceived, known, thought of, or even spoken about is simplyfiction. The cosmic manifestation with all of its varietiesmay be temporary, but that does not mean it is unreal.Illusion is to perceive something as different from its realnature and not, as Sankara states, to perceive somethingthat does not in fact exist. When one mistakes a shell forsilver, both the silver and the shell are real, but theillusion is mistaking one thing for the other. Therefore theuniverse is real, but the illusion is to accept it as the6
- Page 1 and 2: The Life ofRamanujacaryaTABLE OF CO
- Page 3: egan to learn the wonderfully instr
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- Page 9 and 10: YAMUNACARYAIn the south of India ma
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- Page 21 and 22: THE FIRSTCONFRONTATIONOne day when
- Page 23 and 24: "Sir, surely you could just forbid
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- Page 37 and 38: long periods he would remain alone,
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DASARATHI'S HUMILITYDasarathi then
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great attention. When he heard Rama
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ADOPTING THE WAYS OF ROBBERSBeing a
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of the huge boat as it moved slowly
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THE PRIEST'S REPENTENCEHowever, in
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he walked over to the monastery whe
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make a flower garden and serve Lord
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However, when he heard about the wo
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offense, they all submitted a petit
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RETURNING TO KANCIAfter thus passin
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"That woman was singing the tales o
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However, that night as he was lying
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challenged by some of the local sch
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the birthplace of Nathamuni, Yamuna
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and so he and his wife were fasting
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from His temple, the throng of peop
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enclosed by walls on all sides, as
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considering him fallen, and that he
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and the other devotees also left th
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However, the atrocities that Kulott
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just by looking at the girl's face.
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festival days. This form of the Lor
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up her body. Being immersed in cont
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heard Lord Varadaraja speak to him
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take part in the festivities. Many
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At about the same time the devotees
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When Ramanuja had finished speaking