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seemed that an effulgent person appeared before him andbegan to give him instructions. Again and again he toldYadavaprakasa that he should become the disciple ofYatiraja.When Yadavaprakasa awoke, the effects of the dreamwere still with him, and he was struck with wonder. However,he was never a man to act solely on the basis of hisemotions, and in his mind there still lingered doubts aboutRamanuja's philosophy.That afternoon he went to the asrama and, as soon ashe saw Yatiraja, he was struck by the young acaryas purityand effulgence. Ramanuja received his former teacher withcourtesy, offering him an elevated sitting place. After theyhad exchanged greetings, Yadavaprakasa began to express hisdoubts about the Vaisnava philosophy that Ramanuja was soexpertly presenting. "My child," he said gently, "I am verypleased by your scholarship and humble behavior. I can seefrom the markings of tilaka and the emblems of the lotus andcakra on your body that you are a devotee of Lord Visnu andconsider the path of bhakti alone to be proper. But whatevidence can be found in the scriptures to support such apoint of view?"To this inquiry Yatiraja replied, "Here is Kuresa,who is most learned in all of the revealed scriptures. Placeyour question before him."Thereupon, as Yadavaprakasa looked towards Kuresa,the young disciple of Ramanuja began to speak. He citednumerous verses from many different scriptures - the Vedas,Upanisads, Puranas, etc. - which confirmed that lovingdevotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead isthe perfection of spiritual life.On hearing this torrent of evidence from thescriptures, Yadavaprakasa was dumbfounded and fell silent.Different thoughts passed quickly through his mind - hisprevious outrageous behavior, the words of his mother, andthe advice that had been given to him by Kancipurna.Suddenly he threw himself down at the feet of his formerdisciple, crying out, "0 Ramanuja, blinded by pride, I couldnot see your true qualities. Please forgive all my offensesand become my guide to deliver me from the miseries of thismaterial world. I take shelter of you alone."Yatiraja then raised Yadavaprakasa to his feet andembraced him with warm affection. With his mother'sblessings, that same day Yadavaprakasa accepted sannyasafrom Ramanuja and considered himself greatly fortunate. Hewas given the name Govinda dasa, and from that day on he waslike a different person. He now fully embraced the Vaisnavaphilosophy and gave up all pride in his scholarship. Tearsof humility now decorated his eyes as he engaged in acts ofdevotion to the Supreme Lord. On hearing of thisextraordinary transformation, everyone praised the influenceof Ramanuja, and his fame spread far and wide.47
Seeing the devotional sentiments in his former guru,Yatiraja once addressed him, saying, "Now your mind hasbecome free from all contamination. To remove the sins ofthe past, you should write a book delineating the duties ofa true Vaisnava. By rendering this service you will attainfull perfection."Accordingly Yadavaprakasa wrote a wonderful bookcalled Yati-dharma-samuccaya, which he offered at the feetof his guru. At this time Yadavaprakasa, or Govinda dasa ashe was now known, was over eighty years old. A short timeafter the completion of the book, he passed from this world.CHAPTER FOURACARYA AT SRI RANGAMWhile all these events were taking place inKancipuram, the devotees in Sri Rangam were still feelingthe lack of an acarya to guide them. The ardent <strong>desire</strong> ofall of them was that Ramanujacarya come there and be theirpreceptor. Mahapurna had stayed for some time in Kanci withthe intention of bringing Ramanuja to Sri Rangam, but,because he had left so abruptly, he was unable to do so.When the news reached Sri Rangam that Ramanuja hadtaken sannyasa, Mahapurna was very pleased and went into thetemple of Lord Ranganatha. There, before the lotus-eyed Lordwho reclines on His bed of Ananta-Sesa, Mahapurna began tooffer fervent prayers, begging the Lord to bring Ramanuja toRangaksetra. Hearing this impassioned plea from His puredevotee, Lord Ranganatha became compassionate and instructedMahapurna, "My child, you must send Vararanga, the mostsweet singer, to Lord Varadaraja in Kancipuram. When LordVaradaraja is pleased by Vararanga's bhajans and offers hima benediction, then he should ask that Ramanuja be allowedto come here. Without Varadaraja's permission, Ramanuja willnever leave His shelter."DEPARTURE FOR SRI RANGAMVararanga was the son of Yamunacarya. He was arenowned singer and had set to music the beautiful versesknown as the Sahasra-giti. Having received theseinstructions, Mahapurna sent Vararanga to Kancipuram afterinstructing him as to how he should accomplish his mission.Every day in the temple of Varadaraja Vararanga would singbhajans before the Lord in such an exquisite way that anyonewho heard him would become struck with wonder and filled48
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 and 16: that there was little chance of his
Page 17 and 18: all the pleasures of my worldly lif
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: RAMANUJA BEGINS HIS TEACHINGAll the
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
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