Ramanujacharya â Biography - ebooks - ISKCON desire tree

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nature, when she beheld the transcendental appearance of thegreat devotee with his pure, guileless expression, feelingsof compassion began to arise within her.When she brought the poisoned dish forward, she wasunable to restrain herself and, shedding tears, addressedRamanuja, "My child, if you want to save yourself, then goelsewhere to take your meal. If you take this food you willdie"Yatiraja was shocked to hear these words, and he satsilently for some time wondering what he might have done tobring out such hatred in the priest. Eventually he rose and,leaving the house, walked slowly towards the Kaveri. SeeingGosthipurna there by the banks of the river, he ran towardshim and fell down at his feet. Gosthipurna raised him up andinquired as to the cause of his distress.Ramanuja narrated to him the whole story and thenasked his spiritual master, "I am so unhappy at the thoughtof his mental condition. How can he be freed from such agreat sin?""My child," Gosthipurna replied, "when you desire theLord's mercy for this sinful soul, there is no need to fearfor him. Very soon he will give up his evil ways and becomea righteous man."When he had left his guru, Ramanuja returned to theasrama, where he found a brahmana waiting with various typesof prasadam. He took a little and distributed the rest tohis disciples without telling anyone what had befallen himat the house of the high priest. Sitting alone, he continuedto contemplate how the priest's sinful nature might bereformed.In the meantime the high priest had returned to hisresidence and discovered that his plot had beenunsuccessful. He was extremely angry, but, considering thata woman's heart is naturally soft, he excused his wife andimmediately began to devise another scheme to do away withhis imagined rival.Every evening Yatiraja would visit the temple to seeLord Ranganatha. That evening, when he was standing beforethe Lord, the high priest came towards him, offering himcaranamrta. Ramanuja gratefully accepted and drank thecaranamrta, even though he knew that it was mixed withpoison. Then he offered prayers to Lord Ranganatha, "0 oceanof mercy, how great is your affection for your devotee. I amnot worthy to accept such nectar from Your lotus feet. Yourmercy is causeless and unlimited."When he had finished offering prayers, Ramanuja leftthe temple, his body trembling in ecstasy. Seeing theseemotions, the high priest mistook them for signs that thepoison was taking effect and was very pleased, thinking thathis mission was accomplished. He was convinced that the nextmorning he would see the smoke of Yatiraja's funeral pyre,for he had put in the caranamrta enough poison to kill tenmen.63
THE PRIEST'S REPENTENCEHowever, in this he was to be disappointed. The nextmorning, as he was going to the temple as usual, he heardthe sound of many voices singing joyful songs in praise ofRamanuja. The priest hurried to the place the sound wascoming from and saw there that all the people of Sri Rangamwere singing and dancing around Yatiraja, offering flowersat his feet. The acarya himself was sitting on a low seat ina trance of ecstasy, his mind fixed on the SupremePersonality of Godhead. His pure features were more radiantthan ever, with tears of jubilation flowing from his eyes.As he beheld that wonderful sight, even the stone-like heartof that evil priest began to soften.In an instant the high priest realized the folly ofhis envy towards this great mahatma and rushed through thecrowd towards him. Weeping bitterly, he fell down atRamanuja's feet praying, "You have descended to enact thedesires of Lord Visnu by destroying sinful men like me.Delay no longer, my lord. Send me at once to the abode ofYamaraja. I am not fit even to touch your feet, so pleasepunish me immediately for all my sins. Only then may Iachieve relief from their reactions. Delay no longer! Throwme at once under the feet of an elephant or into a blazingfire. I do not desire to live for a moment more."Having said this, the priest began to strike his headon the ground so hard that the place became soaked withblood. The people all around tried to restrain him, but hewas so agitated that he began to strike his chest until hiswhole body became covered with blood. Then Yatiraja returnedto external consciousness and pacified the priest by placinghis hand upon his head and saying, "Do not act in such aterrible way. Lord Ranganatha has certainly forgiven all ofyour sins.""How can you look with such kindness on a man asabominable as myself!" exclaimed the priest."0 savior of the fallen, this glory of yours will beproclaimed by men for all time to come."Ramanuja then blessed the high priest and bestowedhis full mercy upon him. From that day on, the priest waslike a different person. He cast far away all theenviousness which had polluted his heart and became a humbleservant of the Lord, completely devoted to his savior andguru, Ramanujacarya.THE DEBATE WITH YAJNAMURTIAt that time there lived a great scholar and panditanamed Yajnamurti, who by dint of his learning and keenintelligence had become unconquerable in debate. Although64
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 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: of the huge boat as it moved slowly
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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