RE: Digest Number 406

From the Bhakti List Archives

• August 25, 2001


Sri Raamajayam

SrimathE GopAla DEsika MahA DEsikAya Namaha

Dear Bhagavathaas,
                  Referring to Sri.Mani's posting on the need for an Acharya, and why not self-surrender, AdiyEn made a few observations,

>Sri Mani> I also am very much aware of the post-Ramanuja
arguments -- that we are all ignorant, incapable of knowing
anything, and that we have no clue about how to take
refuge with the Lord. 

Well Bhagavad RAmanuja himself whom we know as a realized soul, has himself had Thiruvadi Sammandham of MahA Poornar( who had Thiruvadi Sammandham of YAmunAmuni who had Thiruvadi Sammandham of Sri RAma Misrar who had Thiruvadi Sammandham of Sri PundarikAkshar who had Thiruvadi Sammandham of Sri NAdamuni who pined for an Acharya and got blessed with Thiruvadi Sammandham of Swamy Nammazhvaar who had Thiruvadi Sammmandham of ViswaksEnar all the way upto the Divya Dhampathis).  Not forgetting Madhurakaviazhvaaar, Koorathazhvaan as foremost examples of Acharya Sammandham.

So in essence, even pre-RAmanujar phase had Acharya Sammandham.

>From the little AdiyEn know listening to KAlakshEpam of Asmad Acharya and other Sri Vaishnava scholars, it is pertinent to observe, that inspite of learning and attempting to self-surrender to Lord, is very very difficult, historically.   YAmunAcharya himself was Alavandaar before he was brought into an Acharya fold, inspite of his great learning and vision of the Lord(in fact Swamy is blessed with glimpses of Sri Krishna as Kuladanam).  So we constantly need the grace of an Acharya inspite of our Maha Viswaasam to the Divya Dhampathis.   If our learning and Atma Gunaas are not developed and we look for magicians and superman, the grace of an Acharya is unseen, inspite of our so called self-surrender to the Lord.  The kind of self-surrender to the Lord should be as great as Para Bhakthi for MOksham, which is extremely difficult.  The great qualities we see in the Divya Dhampathis are truly manifested in our Sri Vaishnava Acharyas, and seeking their direction, makes our life !
 simple.   Atleast for AdiyEn, fathoming the depth of Veda-Vedantha and Poorvacharya sukthis looks complex, and implicitly following a Sri Vaishnava Acharya appears much easier, and surprisingly the essence of VEdantha is understood much easier after this phase.

Where errors occured in the above brief, please forgive/correct AdiyEn. 

AdiyEn Sri RAmanuja DAsan,

Sudarsana Dasosmi

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