Life of Sri Ramanujacharya - Part 2

Add as a preferred source on Google

Sriperumbudur, a small town thirty miles to the southwest of Madras, became well known after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi on 21st May 1991. I wonder how many Indians know that Sriperumbudur is also the birthplace of Sri Ramanuja and thus a key pilgrimage centre for all Sri Vaishnavas.

In the year 1017 AD, a pious devotee called Asuri Kesavacharya of Sriperumbudur is said to have travelled to Madras to perform a yajna (fire ritual in which herbs, cooked rice, ghee and other sacrificial offerings are poured into the fire to the chanting of Vedic mantras) at the Parthasarathi temple located on the banks of the Tiruallikeni (lily-lake), now known as Triplicane in modern Madras. Parthasarathi is one of the names of Bhagavan Krishna referring to his role as the charioteer (sarathi) of Arjuna (Partha) in the Mahabharata war.

Asuri Kesavacharya was greatly devoted to the performance of yajnas and acquired the title of 'Sarvakratu,' meaning one who has performed all the yajnas mentioned in the scriptures. He was married to Kantimati, sister of Sri Sailapurna, the chief disciple of a great Vaishnava saint called Yamunacharya.

Distressed at the lack of progeny even after many years of marriage, the couple decided to please Parthasarathi with yajnas. It is believed that Kesavacharya had a dream after the completion of the rituals in which Parthasarathi himself promised to be born as a child to him to redeem the Vaishnava tradition. A year later, Kantimati gave birth to a child who was to become the future messiah of Sri Vaishnavism and the founder of the Visishtha Dvaita school of Vedanta.

Kantimati's brother Sri Sailapurna is said to have given the name 'Ramanuja' (younger brother of Rama) to her son after noting the interesting fact that his month of birth and the zodiac were the same as those of Lakshmana & Shatrughna, the twin sons of Sumitra in the Ramayana. On seeing some of the auspicious signs on the body of the child, Sri Sailapurna was reminded of a prophecy made by Nammalvar, foremost among the 12 pioneering saints of Sri Vaishnavism, in his Tiruvoymozhi, that a great saint would appear to revive the Vaishnava tradition and the land would reverberate with devotion.

A touching incident in the early life of Sri Ramanuja gives us a clear glimpse of the large heartedness and revolutionary compassion that he would later become known for. A devotee called Kanchipurna used to travel everyday from Kanchi to Poonamalle, a neighbouring village to offer worship at the temple there. He would pass through Sri Ramanuja's house at Sriperumbudur, which was midway between the two places. One day Ramanuja met Kanchipurna who was on his way back from Poonammalle. Attracted by his saintliness, Ramanuja invited Kanchipurna to his house that night. After serving him food, Ramanuja offered to stroke his feet (a gesture of devoted service to the elderly). Kanchipurna recoiled in embarrassment, as he was a lowborn whereas Ramanuja was a Brahmin. Saddened at this, Ramanuja is said to have declared that he alone is a true Brahmin who is devoted to God and not one who simply wears the sacred thread. Both of them were thus bound by love and respect for each other. Kanchipurna also came to be revered by the other brahmins for his deep devotion and saintly character.

At the age of sixteen, Ramanuja was married to a beautiful girl called Rakshakambal. A month after the marriage, Ramanuja's father Kesavacharya passed away, plunging the family into grief soon after the joyous occasion.

We shall see later, Rakshakambal's beauty was not complimented with deep devotion to god or to a life of selfless service. She was a good housewife and had many hopes and desires, unlike her husband who was born with a mission. Rakshakambal's indifference to his spiritual life would accelerate and intensify his innate attraction for a life of single-minded devotion to god and lead him to sanyasa.

Apart from being a man of deep devotion and a compassionate soul, Ramanuja was also an intellectual giant. He had the good fortune of studying under many worthy and illustrious teachers who recognised his prodigious memory and grasping power which made him their favourite.

A renowned teacher of Advaita Vedanta, Yadavaprakasa by name, lived in Kanchi then and attracted many disciples. Ramanuja also sought his teaching and very soon became his chief disciple and favourite student. But even this sacred relationship between teacher & disciple was not to remain uncorrupted by time and soon the teacher would grow jealous of his disciple and even try to murder him.