Recognition of show of devotion even in simple acts Non-chronological (to be read aloud and explained) Dear grand children, We were with Parama Vishishta Acharya Swami Ramanuja at Thirukottiyur where Ramanuja won another accolade as Embperumanar from, Whom? Yes, from Thirukottiyur Nambi, a great Sree Vaishnavite Acharya. And, Ramanuja learnt the secret and sacred mantra of ‘Om Namo Narayanaya’ in secrecy from the Acharya but revealed to all who were eager to know the Mantra. Why? Ramanuja wanted everyone to learn the peaceful way of living, that is serving Him and His bhagavatas; and live by showing utmost compassion towards who believe in Sreeman Narayanan, revealed through the Mantra. Do you recall how many up and down trips Ramanuja made from Srirangam to Thirukottiyur? Yes, Ramanuja 18 round trips from Srirangam to Thirukottiyur and; only on the 19th journey from Srirangam, he was told the Mantra. Which Mantra, do you know? Good, you know it. Yes, it was ‘Om Namo Narayanaya’! Let us do some arithmetic to understand the physical trouble Ramanuja had undertaken to learn the Mantra. Let us put the distance between Srirangam and Thirukottiyur as 100 miles (say 1 mile=1.5 Kms). So, could you calculate what was the distance traveled, in miles, for every up and down trip? And, the total distance traveled in 18 up and down trips? If so, could you let us know after traveling what distance Ramanuja learnt the secret and sacred mantra? Yes, Ramanuja learnt the Mantra after undergoing hard and strenuous journey of 3600+100=3700 miles. What did he do with the Mantra learnt with so much of effort that he had put in? He did NOT keep it for himself but shared it with all for their welfare. That is the big, bigheartedness of our unique Acharya, Swami Ramanuja. We should not only be proud of him but try to follow him (as you children say, copy, copy him) in this regard. What is that? Be compassionate and share all that you could afford for the welfare of all. Let us move on to the next story on Parama Vishishta Acharya Ramanuja. Swami Ramanuja was in Srirangam, engaged in the service to Lord Ranganatha. You might be knowing Lord Ranganatha is in a reclined state in Srirangam, say more or less like in Thirup-parkadal ( Do you recall we started our BTS from Thiruparkadal where Maha Vishnu was lying on a super, super soft bed of Adi sesha?}. Since He is in reclined state in Srirangm, to say in ‘sayana state’, Lord Ranganatha is also referred to as, what? He is referred to as Srirangasaayi. (Have you heard of the famous song “O! Srirangasaayi…”? It is a matter of sheer delight to hear that song. Try and listen to that one day and enjoy, okay?). Another form of Maha Vishnu (Sreeman Narayanan), who is in standing posture, on a hill- top in the 7 Hills at Tirumala- Tirupati, is known as Lord of Seven-Hills. His other popular names are Lord Balaji, Lord Srinivasa,Sri Govinda and; among others as Sri Venkateswara( You would have listened to Sri Venkateswara suprabhatam, “ Kausalya Supraja Rama sandhya pravarthathe…, do you like that rendering?). While at Srirangam in service of Lord Ranganatha, Swami Ramanuja wanted to go to Tirumala-Tirupati and have darshan of the Lord of Seven-Hills. Swami Ramanuja left for Tirupati. He went along with his disciples. Somewhere on the way to Tirupati, he did not know which way to take after reaching a point where many roads were branching out. No one was there to guide him. He was looking for someone who could show him the correct path to follow. After a careful search Ramanuja saw a man on the top of a tall coconut tree (The original set up is-Thanneer Yetram, modified for sake of easy understanding. Those elders who know that set up could explain in that context)). Ramanuja asked the man at the top of the tall tree, “Swami, could you please show me the path to be taken to holy-town of Tirupati?” The man at the top kept mum.The man on the top of the tree neither replied nor indicated the path to Tirupati from the tree-top. Normally one would expect someone to reply from the treetop. Instead, he got down silently from the tree-top. And,after reaching the ground, he prostrated in the direction of Tirupati. He said thereafter with great reverence to Ramanuja “Swami, this road leads to holy- town of Tirupati” and he showed the holy-path to the Tirupati. Swami Ramanuja noted the whole act of getting down from the tree-top and thereafter showing the path by the person by lying prone on the earth. He also saw that the person was full of grace in each and every movement reflecting his devotion to Lord Balaji and respect to elders that is to Ramanuja and his team. After showing the path, the man politely asked Ramanuja “Swami, do you want any more information from me?” Ramanuja replied to the good man that” No, we are all thankful to you for your kind help. We admire that you have, unmindful of the trouble, got down from the tree-top to show us the path. The way you did everything tells us of your reverence and holiness you attach to Tirupati and in show of respects to the elders.” Swami Ramanuja added that “The manner by which you had shown the way to Tirupati clearly shows that HE ( Lord Venkateswara/Balaji) is our King and we are HIS subjects.” Ramanuja admired the devotion of that person and showered his blessings on that kind -man before the man climbed up the tree to continue with his work. Ramanuja said to all his followers pointing out to the conduct of the person who showed all respects to Tirupati that ‘This is the godly-way to live”, by accepting He, Sreeman Narayanan, is different from us. And, HE is Supreme ruler and we are at His service; we serve Him directly and through His devotes. That means Ramanuja wants all of them to adopt this way of good living with reverence to Sreeman Narayanan, holy places and to His devotees young or old. Is that not a good advice for us to follow also? Swami Ramanuja loved devotion and sincerity of any one without any reservation. He did not hesitate to respect a simple person, who just showed the path to Tirupati. He was moved by that man’s devotion. We should also note that what really matter in the world of Ramanuja is one’s devotion in performing an act. So, we should do any job, say even fetching a glass of water to drink to a guest or to elders including parents, should be done with love and affection. How we perform a task is more important than the task itself. So, my dear grand children somebody calls for your help, do it with devotion and with grace, okay? You would be loved by Swami Ramanuja for following his principles. Won’t you like to be loved by Swami Ramanuja? Yes, but you might say he is not here today. So what, his representative/ disciples or followers are there. Who are they, if you would ask, the reply is simple. Each and every Sree Vaishnavite is his ‘daasan’, so he/she, including your parents, is Ramanuja’s representative who is carrying his message forward to next generation. So serve to please them, you would be seen as serving finally Sreeman Narayanan, is that fine? See you at the next post, when He wills and; that might be 21st January or after that date.Till then,listen back to all the stories narrated to you so far. Angry with your grand father? I shall try to be back earlier. Pray for that , if you are liking Swami Ramanuja and would like hear as fast as possible. Now for the present , hail Jai Vijayee Bhava Parama Vishishta Acharya Swami Ramanuja!
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 07:32:41 +0000
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