Ramanujacharya – Pioneering systematizer of bhakti theology

Transcript

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Thank you. On this sacred occasion associated with Shri Father Ramanujacharya, let’s contemplate on his extraordinary contribution in the legacy of bhakti that we all have inherited.
Ramanujacharya is one of the founders of the four pioneering acharyas of the four sampradayas, the Shri sampradaya. Now Ramanujacharya appeared at a very pivotal moment in Indian history. Prior to him, Vaishnavism had not been systematized, at least in recent historical memory.
Prior to the advent of Kali Yuga, yes definitely Vaishnavism was there, but after that as Kali Yuga spread more and more, the various non-devotional systems of thought spread across the world. There was ritual brahmanism, there was buddhism, jainism. Then there was impersonalism, advaitavada, which came up and it all just kept spreading.
So now there were some devotees here and there and they did inspire people a lot. But they were isolated. In the Shri sampradaya itself, prior to Ramanujacharya, great saints were called the alwars.
And the alwars date from a great period in history, 12 alwars are there. But they were not systematizers. They wrote poetry, they made inspiring lives of devotion, but they did not systematize Vaishnavism.
On the other hand, Shankaracharya had come and he had systematized advaitavada. And advaitavada had spread far and wide. And advaitavada’s stronghold on Indian society was stronger than what is the stronghold of science on today’s society.
People when they want to see if something is intellectually acceptable, they ask, is it scientific? So like that, at that time people would ask any philosophy that is to be intellectually acceptable, that has to be Advaitic. It was in such a time that Ramanujacharya descent appeared and he according to the tradition is said to have lived a phenomenal long life, more than 100 years. And during those years, he performed many wonderful pastimes.
But his enduring legacy was that he systematized Vaishnavism and he created a legacy that continues even today. At that time, although he strongly opposed the Advaitic interpretations of the advaitavadis led by Shankaracharya, because the intellectual milieu was such that direct opposition visibly was difficult. It would have just had him rejected.
So his doctrine was labeled as vishishta advaitavada. Advaita, yes, that is true that we are non-different from the law, non-different from Raman. But there is some difference of vishishta.
It is qualified oneness, vishishta, special kind of oneness. Among the many works that he wrote, his most intellectually defining work is his commentary of the Vedanta Sutra, so now in this commentary, he just rips apart the Advaitic misinterpretations of the Vedanta Sutra. And he is such an example of intellectual scholarship that intellectual scholarship used in the service of the Lord that many of his arguments have continued to be used even today.
Well, Devidya Bhakshi uses many of his arguments in his Govinda Bhashyam and Sri Prabhupada also uses many of his arguments in the Bhagavad Gita, especially Prabhupada’s argument in 2.12, how this points to the eternality of the soul and this eternality is not conventional but transcendental. That argument comes directly from Ramacharya. It is quoted by Baldev Devosh and it is quoted by Srila Prabhupada.
So he said a vibrant example that has become a tradition of determined intellectual establishment of the glory of Bhakti and of the glory of Bhagwan. So Ramacharya showed through his phenomenal scholarship that Bhakti is not just about sentiments and sentimentality. Yes, sentiments are important.
There are many inspiring pastimes in Ramacharya is shown as having extraordinarily elevated devotional sentiments. But along with that, he also demonstrated the vibrant balance of the head and the heart. The head used the service of the Lord and the heart used the service of the Lord.
Both were devoted to the Lord. And his legacy was continued by many great Acharyas, especially Vedanta Desika, one of his most prominent followers, often called as Tarkacharya, the crest jewel among logicians, greatest, very celebrated Acharya. Ramacharya, he actually countered Advaita Vata and he took the historical trajectory onwards towards revealing the essence of the Vedantic wisdom, the broad Vedic wisdom at large and specifically the Vedantic wisdom at large in particular.
So in one sense, if you could consider his contribution, what is the meaning of Vedanta? That Advaita Vata takes its meaning to one extreme and Ramacharya brought it to the middle state of Vishishta Advaita Vata. Madhvacharya took it to the other extreme of Dvaita Vata and Shri Krishna Mahaprabhu brought it back to the middle balanced state of Achintya Veda way. So Achintya Veda way is actually very similar to Vishishta Advaita and it is a further development, theologically developed version of Vishishta Advaita Vata.
And Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the other Acharyas in the Gaudiya Sampradaya down to Shri Prabhupada offer the highest respect to Ramacharya for the phenomenal contribution that he has done in systematizing Bhakti, in providing a theological foundation for Bhakti through his phenomenal scholarship and by setting up a living tradition whose gifts continue to enrich the world even today. Shri Padramacharya Ki Jaya. Thank you.
Hare Krishna.