Celebrating the 1006th Birthstar of Ramanujacharya
When a human being understands his/her limitations in this world or desires to know what’s beyond the mundane physical world, the quest to know the purpose of life sprouts in his mind. He then desires for…
- knowledge about the self
- realising the divine presence of supreme being called Parabramha
- experiencing the inseparable bond between the self and supreme
- knowledge of what’s tying him to this mundane world
- the knowledge of how he can be released from it
- the knowledge of the path to reaching the supreme
- the knowledge of his course of action after reaching Parabramha
A human being is made capable of desiring such intense beautiful real rich supreme wisdom. A real seeker can seek the guidance and grace of an acharya to help him understand those parts of the Vedas called Upanishads which reveal this knowledge. Great sage Veda Vyasa bhagavan put together the essence of the Upanishads in 545 suthras called Bramha Suthras.
There were several commentaries on Bramha Suthras prior to Ramanujacharya, the first one being Sankara Bha:shyam. Bhagavad Ramanujacharya Swami found some inconsistencies in them. He wanted to know the heart of Veda Vyasa to understand the true meaning of the Bramha Suthras. Hence, he traveled to Sarada Peetam in Kashmir where Bodhayana (Veda Vyasa’s great great grand disciple) was known to have preserved the heart of Veda Vyasa in Bodha:yana Vritti, a vyakhyana – an exclusive explanation.
History records that Ramanujacharya led a discussion in Sarada Peetam. Goddess Saraswathi was extremely pleased with his commentary on Kapya:sa Sruthi, a manthra from Sa:ma Ve:da of Cha:ndo:gya Upanishad. Therefore she titled him as Bha:shyaka:ra, the commentator and graced Him with the deity form of Hayagriva Swami [the avatar of Lord Narayana who secured the Vedic wisdom for Chathurmukha Bramha]. Ramanujacharya’s commentary on Bramha Suthras thus became Sri Bhashyam, the authoritative commentary on Bramha Suthras.
There are three terms being referred to here: Su:thra, Vyakhya:na and Bha:shya. These are the standard methods through which a subject topic is explained to the seekers. What do these terms mean? How are they different from each other. Just like we need to learn grammar and definitions of certain terms before we can try to understand the content of a book, it is also important to know these three terms before one delves into learning any of them.
Su:thra, aphorism must have 6 lakshanas, qualities
alpa:ksharam asandigdham sa:ravath vishvatho:mukham |
astho:bham anavadyam cha su:thra: su:thravido: vidu: ||
A su:thra has the following 6 lakshanas, qualities
alpa:ksharam – concise
asandighdam – unambiguous
sa:ravath – focuses on core essence
vishvatho:mukham – comprehensive
astho:bham – no fillers or unessential words
anavadyam – no errors in conveying the meaning
Vya:khya:na, brief explanation
padacche:daha pada:rtho:kthihi vigraho va:kya yo:jana |
a:kshepasya sama:dham vya:khya:nam pancha lakshanam ||
A vya:khya:na has the following 5 lakshanas, qualities
padacche:daha – breaks the suthra into words
pada:rtha – gives meaning of each word
vigraha – splitting of compound words into base words
va:kya yo:jana – gives a defining sentence that gives the meaning of all the words
a:kshe:pasya sama:dha:nam – refuting of opposing views
Bha:shya, commentary
su:thra:rtho: varnathe yathra va:kyayihi suthra:nusa:ribhihi |
swapada:nicha varnanthe ba:shyam ba:shya vido: viduhu ||
A Bha:shya has the following 3 lakshanas, qualities
su:thra:rtho varnathe – meaning of su:thra
va:kyayihi su:thra:nusa:ribhihi – in accordance with the words in the su:thra
swapada:nicha varnathe – with explanation of any additional words used in the context
[Bha:shya also encompasses all other qualities of Vyakhya:khya:na as it is gives comprehensive understanding of the target subject]
Ramanujacharya is worshipped by all sects of people because he:
- opened the doors of jna:na feeding the inquisitive keen learners / seekers
- corrected ji:vana vidha:na, way of life for the rest of people so they are benefited
– From the discourse of HH Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji
-and Bramha Vettha, Gopalopayanam Awardee
-Sundararajan Swami from Thiruppullani
-May 5th to May 9th 2022
-The Statue of Equality
Sa:sthra rathna:kara, Maha:maho:pa:dhya:ya Dr. Samudrala Rangaramanujacharya Swami is working on compiling the Bhashyams of Bramha Suthras written by scholars belonging to various schools of thought so that one can do a comparative study. So far, 3 parts of the 16 parts of the Bramha Suthras are available for comparative study, and the rest is progress.
In view of celebrating the 1006th thirunakshathra (the the star A:rdra at the time of his appearance) on the 5th May 2022, a series of events were planned for 5 days till the 9th of May 2022.
In the morning, thirumanjana seva (an opportunity to serve Ramanujacharya’s divine deity form, the Swarna Ramanuja using water, sandalwood, turmeric, thulasi, milk, honey etc)
In the evening, Yathiraja Vimsathi was chanted as an effort to collectively learn it and make it part of our prayers to Lord. After all, we are limited by lack of maturity in what to and how to communicate or ask Lord for something. Hence, It is recommended that we take the lead of Manavala Mamuni who composed a prayer enunciating the greatness of Ramanujacharya who has the authority to grace us with the eternal wealth, God’s compassion. The prayer was followed by songs and dances by different groups of people such as haridasas, banjaras, chenchus etc whose ancestors lives’ were inspired with the teachings and guidance of Ramanujacharya.
Finally, mangala ha:rathi where each of the ones gathered there held a diya and watched the compassionate form, the 216 foot Samatha Murthy – the Statue of Equality, Bhagavad Ramanujacharya. While the devotees held the diya with reverence and love for acharya, the dancing water fountain with music and lights offered waters of gratitude and love (Leela jala neerajanam) to Ramanujacharya..
