82 GOLDEN RULES OF SRI RAMANUJACHARYA In his death bed Sri Ramanuja is said to have articulated 82 statements to his disciples. It is not an exaggeration to present these statements as the essence of Sri Vaishnavam. To our understanding, they were meant to be moral aids to his disciples in their relations to God, men and devotees. Golden Rule 49 - Read and repeat the Thiruvaimozhi of Nammalwar and the lives of other Acharyas for at least one hour daily. Nammazhwar was born in Thirukurugur immediately after the birth of kaliyuga. Thirukurugur is called as Azhwar Thiru Nagari to mark his Avathara there. It is said that Lord Krishna promised to send great mahatmas to the world to spread the name of the Lord and to propagate bhakthi in the kaliyuga, referring to the avathara of the Azhwars. Nammazhwar is believed to be the amsa of Visvaksena (the Commander-in-Chief of the Lords army). His birth took place on the very auspicious poornima day of the Tamil Vaikasi month in Visakha Nakshatram. His parents were great bhakthas (Kari and Udaya Nangai) who were childless for a long time. They had gone on a pilgrimage of temples in North India and on their way back they prayed to the Lord of Thirukurungudi to bless them with a child. The Azhwar was born soon after by the divine grace of Thirukurungudi Nambi and was named Maran by his parents. Right at birth, the parents noticed that the child was unusual in many ways. He refused to take milk, did not respond to the people around but continued to live without any sustenance. The parents, concerned to see this, took the child to the temple and left him in a cradle under a tamarind tree and watched with great astonishment, the divine child growing and thriving in the same place. His presence enfolded the whole village in a state of divine bliss. He was absorbed in the thought of God, till he came to 16 years of age, when he gave out to the world his immortal Thiruvoimozhi of 1,000 Tamil verses, which are considered, on high authority, to be the essence of Samaveda. His advent into this world was prophesied long before he was born. Chap. XI of Sri Bhagavatham says In Kaliyuga, Narayana’s devotees, will be born on the banks of the Cauvery, Tamrabarni, Kritamala and Payaswini. They will preach the gospel of Gods mercy to mankind. Several other Puranas contain biographical notices of this mystic. He is God incarnate, the first of the adepts, representative of all the Azhwars, a correct expounder of the doctrines of Devotism and soul-surrender, personification of righteousness, and saintliness, one of Gods angels, one devoid of all defilement and ungodliness, the spiritual guide to Humanity and one whose mind, unlike Vedas, can penetrate into the depths of mysticism, that enshrines God-head. The Azhwar gives details about his life in various verses. He mentions that Lord Krishna was food and water and everything necessary to him. உண்ணுஞ்சோறு பருகு நீர் திண்ணும் வெற்றிலை எல்லாம் கண்ணன் (Thiruvaimozhi 6-7-1) He goes on to say that he played with Lord, meditated at His holy feet, he had no interest in pleasures of the senses and he could not tolerate mundane life and that is why he kept his eyes closed. “கண்டு கேட்டுற்று மோந்துண்டுழலும் ஐங்கருவி கண்டவின்பம் தெரிவரிய அளவில்லச் சிற்றின்பம் ஒண்டொடியாள் திருமகளும் நீயுமே உலாநிற்ப கண்ட சதிர் கண்டொழிந்தேன் அடைந்தேன் உன் திருவடியை” (Thiruvaimozhi 4-9-10) His mind dwelt on the Lord all the time. ஒழிவில் காலமெல்லாம் உடனை மன்னி (Thiruvaimozhi 3-3-1) He was a staunch Srivaishnavaite who could not bear to think of other Devatas. உன்னித்து மற்றொரு தெய்வம் தொழால் அவனையல்லால் (Thiruvaimozhi 4-6-10) He saw Sriman Narayana in everything and in all people around him. “திருவுடை மன்னரைக் காணில் திருமாலை கண்டேனே என்றும் உருவுடை வண்ணங்கள் காணில் உலகளந்தானே என்று துள்ளும் கருவுடை தேவில்கள் எல்லாம் கடல் வண்ணன் கோவிலே என்றும்” (Thiruvaimozhi 4-4-8) He mentions that his jnana and bhakti were not the result of any sadhana. They came naturally to him with the grace of the Lord. மயர்வற மதிநலம் அருளினன் (Thiruvaimozhi 1-1-1) எனக்கே அருள்கள் செய்ய விதி சூழ்ந்ததால் எனக்கேலம்மான் (Thiruvaimozhi 2-7-6) “அறியாக் காலத்துள்ளே அன்பு செய்வித்து” (Thiruvaimozhi 2-3-3) Devotees must very carefully and diligently aim at the Supreme Being and discharge their sentient soul (arrow) into the universal Being, that the arrow may get itself fixed in Him (the Supreme Being) and such declaration of Sri Krishna as is found in verse 13 of Chap. VIII. of Bhagavad Gita, which says He who pronounces the mystic syllable “Om” and thinks of Me, who is meant by it, obtains eternal beatitudes” is contained in Nammazhvar’s Thiruvoimozhi, the study of which Sri Ramanuja considers indispensable for Vaishnava devotees.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 11:54:17 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015