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 33 - Do not drink Sripatha thirtham (magnetized foot water) in the presence of men void of divine wisdom. The practice of drinking the water, in which the feet of devotees are washed, descended from Swami Nammazhvar and his disciples, to the adepts of Visishtadvaidic brotherhood. Many elaborate works were written in support of this practice by Visishtadwidic Pandits. Haritha Smrithi, Chapter VI., says: Oh prince! the drinking of the magnetised foot water of an adept is sufficient to cleanse men from all sins.” Sri Vishnu Dharma says: No water is purer than the magnetised foot water of an adept, whose foot-dust purifies even the Ganges. Bharadwaja Samhitha, Chapter III, declares: One must get the magnetised foot water of God (Idol) or his devotees and drink it either standing or sitting. There is not any other way whereby man can clean himself. Iswara Samhitha says: “He who strives for eternal beatitude must wash the feet of an adept, who is well-versed in the Dravidian Vedas, in water and drink it. This is another question of animal magnetism. The devotee whose foot water is drunk, must, necessarily, be a man of remarkable psychic development, and such specimens are now-a-days very rare. Hence, Sri Ramanujas followers continued this practice.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 01:55:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015