Ramanujacharya – Biography - ebooks - ISKCON desire tree

ADOPTING THE WAYS OF ROBBERSBeing a humble devotee, Tirumangai was not disturbedby this treatment, but the thought of the Supreme Lordstanding uncared for in a wild forest full of jackals andhyenas caused him great pain. At last he could tolerate thesituation no longer and exclaimed in front of his fourdisciples, "We have wasted enough time trying to persuadethese rascals to serve the Lord. They will always remainatheists and unbelievers. Which is better - to beg fromthese villains while Lord Ranganatha remains in this sorrycondition, or to humble them by building a temple for theLord so magnificent that it will force them to bow down athis feet?"The disciples answered, "The service of the Lord isour duty, not acting as the servants of these rogues.""Then prepare yourselves," continued Tirumangai, "forfrom this day we will see to it that the wealth of thesegreedy men is spent for building a temple. These wealthylandowners, who are cruel by nature, have passed their livestaking from the poor, hard-working people and leaving themwithout enough to eat. Now then, let us rob these rascalsand use their money for building a temple and feeding thepoor."The four disciples readily agreed to this proposal,and each of them spoke in turn. Tola Vazhakkan said, "No onecan defeat me in argument. So, while I engage some rich manand his attendants in a debate, they will forget everythingelse and you will easily be able to carry off their wealth."Taludhuvan said, "I have the ability to open any lockwithout a key. Therefore, no treasury door will ever beclosed to us."Nizhalai Mithippan said, "Anyone whose shadow istouched by my feet loses all power of movement. Therefore,it will be easy for us to stop rich travellers along theroads."Nirmal Nadappan said, "The big houses of richlandowners, which are surrounded by moats of water, arealways open to me, for I can easily walk over water.Therefore from today, all the treasure of kings is yours"CONSTRUCTION OF THERANGANATHA TEMPLEWith the assistance of his four disciples, Tirumangaisoon became the leader of a large gang of robbers. Togetherthey accumulated a great hoard of riches that was keptconcealed in a secret place on Lord Ranganatha's island.Spending large sums of money, Tirumangai brought the bestarchitects in the land to design a huge temple for the Lordand at an auspicious moment he laid the foundation stone.60