Guru Parampara assigns a very high status to the acharya owing to his role in moulding the jivatma caught in samsara by guiding, correcting, teaching,
The following accounts of what is believed to have happened in the case of devotees close to the Lord during Ramanuja’s lifetime reflect the fact that the acharya’s recommendation is a key factor in the jivatma’s goal of salvation.
One Somayaji Andan, a great devotee of the Lord at Tiru Narayanapuram, was also a gifted musician who used to offer many melodious songs to the deity as his daily prayer. It is held that the Lord too enjoyed the music and in the vein of a true rasika would converse with him. As Somayaji was getting old, one day he put forth his petition to the Lord for a place in Paramapada. He was sure that his request would be granted. For, had He not favoured him especially by this gesture of listening to his music and even talking to him? Not many had been thus blessed. But no! The Lord tells him that granting Paramapada is no longer His jurisdiction. It rests with acharya Ramanuja.
A similar instance is quoted with reference to Tirukkacchi Nambi in Kanchipuram, who was well known for his personal service of to Lord Varadaraja and for his daily interactions with the Lord. Though this Nambi got precise answers for Ramanuja’s doubts on esoteric matters directly from the Lord, it did not help him to secure Paramapada for himself from the Lord. He too was directed to seek Ramanuja to attain salvation. The guru-sishya relationship has been fostered around this belief that the acharya’s responsibility is to guide the ‘prapanna’ safely to His abode.
Ramanuja’s greatness is revealed by Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam and Lord Varadaraja of Kanchipuram. One day, Ramanuja noticed that Ranganatha looked unwell. He wondered if some dietary variation was the cause for this. Learning that Ranganatha had been offered curd rice together with jamun fruits, Ramanuja said, “That combination must have given him a cold.” He then offered a herbal decoction to the Lord. This incident shows Ramanuja’s concern for the Lord, said Aravindalochanan, in a discourse.
In Tirumala, there was a woman named Tudiyur Kombai. She was a supplier of dairy products. Ramanuja’s disciple Mudaliandan asked her how she wanted to be paid. She replied that she wanted Ramanuja’s signature! She explained the reason for her strange request. She had approached Lord Srinivasa for moksha and He had told her that if she had Ramanuja’s signature, then she would automatically enter Sri Vaikuntha. This shows the high position the Lord had accorded to Ramanuja. In Kanchipuram, there was a boy who could not speak. Suddenly he disappeared. He was around seven years of age at the time of his disappearance. Four years later, he came back. But now he was able to speak! He said he had slipped into a river, and had been carried to the ocean. From there he had been to the milky ocean. There he learnt that Adisesha had come to earth as Ramanuja. This jnana was the guarantee of moksha to the boy, for it is important to know of the Acharya’s greatness to attain moksha. Ramanuja’s greatness is also evident from his illustrious disciples. The Acharya took Kooratazhvan and Mudaliandan with him when he went to Goshtipura for instruction. He said that an ascetic is never parted from his staff and pavitra, and these two disciples were to him like the staff and pavitra.
Kooratazhvan, disciple of Ramanujacharya, felt it was time to leave the world. He prayed to Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam and requested that moksha be granted soon. Because of Kooratazhvan’s devotion to his Acharya, the Lord agreed to grant his request.
Kooratazhvan had always been by Ramanuja’s side. When Ramanuja wrote his monumental commentary — Sri Bhashya, Kooratazhvan was with him, offering valuable inputs. To Ramanuja, therefore, parting from Kooratazhvan seemed unthinkable.
Ramanuja went to the Srirangam temple to request the Lord to take back the boon he had just granted to Kooratazhvan — the boon of moksha soon. But just as he got to the entrance to the temple, Ramanuja paused. He began to have second thoughts about placing such a request before the Lord. The Lord would definitely have granted Ramanuja’s request, and that would have meant that Kooratazhvan would be by Ramanuja’s side, as usual. But would that not lead to people saying that the Lord did not keep His word to His devotees? Was it right to expose the Lord to such criticism? So Ramanuja changed his mind.
The Lord had promised moksha to all those associated with Ramanuja, and His granting of moksha upon request to Kooratazhvan, was, therefore, not surprising. If Lord Ranganatha now went back on His word to Kooratazhvan, that would be like nullifying His promise not only to Kooratazhvan himself, but also His promise of liberation to all those associated with Ramanuja. So to pray that the Lord’s boon to Kooratazhvan be cancelled, would again tantamount to asking the Lord to break His own promise. Ramanuja, therefore, did not ask the Lord to cancel His promise to Kooratazhvan, and Kooratazhvan left this earth, as promised by the Lord.
sOmayAjiyAr (sOmAsiyANdAn), after surrendering to emperumAnAr, performed kainkaryam to him for some time and returned to his native place “kArAnchi” and lived there for some time. After some time, he wants to return to emperumAnAr but since his wife does not allow him to leave, he makes a vigraham of emperumAnAr. Since it did not come out to his satisfaction, he uses that vigraham and again gets the AchAri (sculptor) to make another one. That night, emperumAnAr appears in his dream and asks him “Why are you destroying my old vigraham to make a new one? Wherever you are, if you are not able to have full faith in my abhimAnam as uththArakam, how are you going to develop attachment towards my vigraham?”. Suddenly woken up after the dream, sOmayAjiyAr immediately keeps the vigraham in a safe, gives up his wife and leaves to srIrangam. After arriving in srIrangam, he runs to emperumAnAr, falls at his lotus feet and starts crying”. emperumAnAr asks him “what is the matter?” and he explains the incidents and the dream. udayavar tells him with a smile “Welcome oh ignorant! I did this to relieve you from the dependence on your wife; even if you dont appreciate me, I will never give up on you. Wherever you are, due to my abhimAnam towards you, your ultimate goal is guaranteed. Give up all worries and stay happily”. This incident is explained by periyavAchAn piLLai.
The following accounts of what is believed to have happened in the case of devotees close to the Lord during Ramanuja’s lifetime reflect the fact that the acharya’s recommendation is a key factor in the jivatma’s goal of salvation.
One Somayaji Andan, a great devotee of the Lord at Tiru Narayanapuram, was also a gifted musician who used to offer many melodious songs to the deity as his daily prayer. It is held that the Lord too enjoyed the music and in the vein of a true rasika would converse with him. As Somayaji was getting old, one day he put forth his petition to the Lord for a place in Paramapada. He was sure that his request would be granted. For, had He not favoured him especially by this gesture of listening to his music and even talking to him? Not many had been thus blessed. But no! The Lord tells him that granting Paramapada is no longer His jurisdiction. It rests with acharya Ramanuja.
A similar instance is quoted with reference to Tirukkacchi Nambi in Kanchipuram, who was well known for his personal service of to Lord Varadaraja and for his daily interactions with the Lord. Though this Nambi got precise answers for Ramanuja’s doubts on esoteric matters directly from the Lord, it did not help him to secure Paramapada for himself from the Lord. He too was directed to seek Ramanuja to attain salvation. The guru-sishya relationship has been fostered around this belief that the acharya’s responsibility is to guide the ‘prapanna’ safely to His abode.
Ramanuja’s greatness is revealed by Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam and Lord Varadaraja of Kanchipuram. One day, Ramanuja noticed that Ranganatha looked unwell. He wondered if some dietary variation was the cause for this. Learning that Ranganatha had been offered curd rice together with jamun fruits, Ramanuja said, “That combination must have given him a cold.” He then offered a herbal decoction to the Lord. This incident shows Ramanuja’s concern for the Lord, said Aravindalochanan, in a discourse.
In Tirumala, there was a woman named Tudiyur Kombai. She was a supplier of dairy products. Ramanuja’s disciple Mudaliandan asked her how she wanted to be paid. She replied that she wanted Ramanuja’s signature! She explained the reason for her strange request. She had approached Lord Srinivasa for moksha and He had told her that if she had Ramanuja’s signature, then she would automatically enter Sri Vaikuntha. This shows the high position the Lord had accorded to Ramanuja. In Kanchipuram, there was a boy who could not speak. Suddenly he disappeared. He was around seven years of age at the time of his disappearance. Four years later, he came back. But now he was able to speak! He said he had slipped into a river, and had been carried to the ocean. From there he had been to the milky ocean. There he learnt that Adisesha had come to earth as Ramanuja. This jnana was the guarantee of moksha to the boy, for it is important to know of the Acharya’s greatness to attain moksha. Ramanuja’s greatness is also evident from his illustrious disciples. The Acharya took Kooratazhvan and Mudaliandan with him when he went to Goshtipura for instruction. He said that an ascetic is never parted from his staff and pavitra, and these two disciples were to him like the staff and pavitra.
Kooratazhvan, disciple of Ramanujacharya, felt it was time to leave the world. He prayed to Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam and requested that moksha be granted soon. Because of Kooratazhvan’s devotion to his Acharya, the Lord agreed to grant his request.
Kooratazhvan had always been by Ramanuja’s side. When Ramanuja wrote his monumental commentary — Sri Bhashya, Kooratazhvan was with him, offering valuable inputs. To Ramanuja, therefore, parting from Kooratazhvan seemed unthinkable.
Ramanuja went to the Srirangam temple to request the Lord to take back the boon he had just granted to Kooratazhvan — the boon of moksha soon. But just as he got to the entrance to the temple, Ramanuja paused. He began to have second thoughts about placing such a request before the Lord. The Lord would definitely have granted Ramanuja’s request, and that would have meant that Kooratazhvan would be by Ramanuja’s side, as usual. But would that not lead to people saying that the Lord did not keep His word to His devotees? Was it right to expose the Lord to such criticism? So Ramanuja changed his mind.
The Lord had promised moksha to all those associated with Ramanuja, and His granting of moksha upon request to Kooratazhvan, was, therefore, not surprising. If Lord Ranganatha now went back on His word to Kooratazhvan, that would be like nullifying His promise not only to Kooratazhvan himself, but also His promise of liberation to all those associated with Ramanuja. So to pray that the Lord’s boon to Kooratazhvan be cancelled, would again tantamount to asking the Lord to break His own promise. Ramanuja, therefore, did not ask the Lord to cancel His promise to Kooratazhvan, and Kooratazhvan left this earth, as promised by the Lord.
sOmayAjiyAr (sOmAsiyANdAn), after surrendering to emperumAnAr, performed kainkaryam to him for some time and returned to his native place “kArAnchi” and lived there for some time. After some time, he wants to return to emperumAnAr but since his wife does not allow him to leave, he makes a vigraham of emperumAnAr. Since it did not come out to his satisfaction, he uses that vigraham and again gets the AchAri (sculptor) to make another one. That night, emperumAnAr appears in his dream and asks him “Why are you destroying my old vigraham to make a new one? Wherever you are, if you are not able to have full faith in my abhimAnam as uththArakam, how are you going to develop attachment towards my vigraham?”. Suddenly woken up after the dream, sOmayAjiyAr immediately keeps the vigraham in a safe, gives up his wife and leaves to srIrangam. After arriving in srIrangam, he runs to emperumAnAr, falls at his lotus feet and starts crying”. emperumAnAr asks him “what is the matter?” and he explains the incidents and the dream. udayavar tells him with a smile “Welcome oh ignorant! I did this to relieve you from the dependence on your wife; even if you dont appreciate me, I will never give up on you. Wherever you are, due to my abhimAnam towards you, your ultimate goal is guaranteed. Give up all worries and stay happily”. This incident is explained by periyavAchAn piLLai.
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