Srivaisnavism and the Tirumala Lord
By
P. Govindarajan (Yatindradasa)
1) INDISPENSABILITY OF RELIGION
Man, as a spiritual being cannot lead his life in peace and happiness
without the support of religion. He instinctively clutches hold of the
hands of a superior power in times of stress and distress when he knows that
the situation he faces is hopeless and totally beyond his control. Religion
is the very foundation on which the SANATANA DHARMA or the eternal way of
life is based. In fact, religion has been the guiding spirit of Vedic
religion and culture. Belief in God is the very core of the spiritual way
of life. Mahatma Gandhi succinctly gives expression to this truth with the
words `` Remove God from my life and I am dead.``
2) SATYASYA SATYAM – THE ULTIMATE IN TRUTH
The eternal and the ephemeral exist in the world side by side and the Vedic
seers were the first to find out the eternal truths in regard to the
singleness of Godhead, the immortality of the soul, the unity of all
existence and the divinity of man. Their quest for truth began outwards
with the external world, turned inwards towards the mind and moved upwards
to know the Satyasya Satyam or the ultimate in truth and reality. They
pondered over the fundamental problems of human life and discovered that at
the substratum of all existence and realities, there is one Primeval Being
and all the realities of the physical universe are only His manifestations.
Both Srutis (Vedas) and the Smritis (Itihasas or epics, Puranas or ancient
historical accounts, Dharma-shastras or Code of Ethics and the Agamas or
manual of worship proclaim this Satyasya Satyam or the ultimate truth. of
spiritual unity behind the physical diversity. In the various Vedic
passages, the self same single truth with the words PURUSHA EVADAGUM SARVAM
i.e.Purusha is all this, ISAVASYAM IDAGUM SARVAM, i.e., "all this is pervaded
by the Lord", SARVAM KHALVIDAM BRAHMA, "Brahman (The Creator) is all this",
VASUDEVA SARVAM, "all this is Vasudeva", SARVAM VISHNUMAYAM JAGAT,
"that the entire universe is Supreme Lord Vishnu is widely proclaimed".
What the contemporary world badly needs today is the spiritual wisdom or
Satyasya Satyam of Vedanta so essential to transform the human outlook from
bestiality to divinity. This spiritual message can only help to replace
selfishness, greed, hatred, envy, and violence by love, compassion, justice,
equity, truth, peace, happiness and freedom. Man cannot live in peace
either with himself or with the world without understanding the purpose of
human life and the meaning of the inevitable death. There are only two ways
of finding out the basic truths of life in the mundane world. One way is to
find it out for oneself through the very difficult and never ending path of
trial and error and the other is to rely on the verbal testimony of the
trustworthy and reliable seers who have left behind for the benefit of
posterity the highest in human and divine wisdom. As it will be humanly
impossible for any one to find the Satyasya Satyam or the ultimate in truth
within one life time through self-efforts, it will be safe and wise to rely
wholly on the Vedas, which as a solicitous mother, provide the clearest and
best account of the ultimate truth and reality.
3) ETERNAL MESSAGE OF VEDANTA
Vedanta is the culmination of the Vedas being their end portion containing a
summary of the final conclusions of the Vedas. The end portion of the Vedas
contains the Upanishads or the esoteric teachings. The essence of the Vedas
is contained in the Upanishads, which are the most closely guarded secrets
revealed only to the deserving. The sublime truths contained in the
Upanishads are the very summit of the Vedic philosophical knowledge and
spiritual wisdom. The Upanishads are, therefore, considered supremely
important as the truths revealed by them are believed to be the most
authoritative, eternal, infallible and universally valid. The word
UPANISHAD means esoteric teachings, which are hidden or concealed in the
various passages and so not readily apparent. These truths are, therefore,
imparted by a competent teacher only to the deserving disciples who can
comprehend them.
Fearing that the esoteric teachings contained in the Srutis (Vedas revealed
or heard) which have come down through the ages in Karna Parampara, or oral
transmission, over hundreds of generations should not be lost to posterity,
there have been supplementary texts called Smritis (i.e. what is remembered)
to preserve the highest truths contained in the Vedas. The two Itihasas or
epics (i.e. truths as they are ) namely Ramayana and Mahabharata and the
Sattvika (wise) Puranas or ancient historical accounts have attempted to
communicate the highest truths of the Vedas in simple story form for the
benefit of lay people. The most salutary principle to be strictly adhered
to in the acceptance of the truths remembered or recapitulated in the
Smritis or the supplementary texts is that they should be fully in accord
with the Srutis or the divine revelations contained in the Vedas. The epic
Mahabharatha contains the world renowned Srimad Bhagavad Gita, or the Song
Celestial, which is considered as the very essence of the Upanishads. In
fact, the Gita is included as one of the three authoritative scriptural
texts of Vedanta. The philosophy of the Upanishads has been encoded in
terse aphoristic form in another supplementary text called the Brahma Sutras,
or the Vedanta Sutras, authored by a sage named Badarayana. The Brahma
Sutras are also called Uttara Mimamsa or Sariraka Mimamsa.
The philosophical system of Vedanta is based on three scriptural texts
collectively called the Prasthana Traya or scriptural trinity comprising
the Upanishads, Srimad Bhagavad Gita and the Vedanta Sutras. All the
schools of Vedanta philosophy, which came in the medieval age, are based on
the scriptural trinity only.
4) CENTRAL TEACHING OF THE UPANISHADS
Traditionally it is believed that there are 108 Upanishads, which contain
the mystic experiences of various seers at different times. Of these, a
dozen called the major or the principal Upanishads are counted as the most
authoritative being the oldest of all the Upanishads. All the schools of
Vedanta philosophy agree that the main teaching of the Upanishads is
enshrined in the declaration EKAMEVA ADVITIYAM: "One only without a
second". However, there is no agreement even amongst the best of the
intellectuals as to what the Upanishads exactly mean in the cryptic
declaration of One only. Is it Monotheism (One God with personal form) or
Pantheism (God is everything) or Absolutism (Impersonal formless God) or
Monism (Immanent All-pervasive God) or Dualism (Independent God with
dependent entities)or a combination of any or all these concepts.
Modern intellectuals who have not understood the esoteric purport of the
mystic truths intuited by the Vedic seers naively conclude that the
Upanishads do not present any coherent and consistent system of philosophy
and are an odd assortment of diverse ideas which are mutually conflicting
and contradictory. An in-depth study and careful analysis of the Upanishads
reveal two definite approaches to the concept of Brahman (Creator). Of the
principal Upanishads, the ones like Isavasya, Katha, Mundaka, Prasna and
beginning portions of Chandogya Upanishad are positively Monotheistic
propounding a Brahman with form and attributes. Certain other Upanishads
like the Mandukya, Aittiriya and Brihadaranyaka are patently Absolutistic,
Pantheistic and Monistic describing the all-pervasive Brahman as formless
and attributeless.
The major Upanishads believed to be the oldest have not appeared
simultaneously but at different periods of time. In the absence of some
knowledge about the chronology of the principal Upanishads, it is very
difficult to conclude, only on the basis of the archaic language or the
contents of these Upanishads, whether the Monotheistic Upanishads appeared
first or the Absolutistic ones. The Upanishads are neither pure philosophy
nor pure religion but a fine blend of both. Philosophy is only a support of
religion and does not have an independent existence of its own. Philosophy
lays the intellectual foundation for the practice of religion with
conviction and faith. The Absolutism of philosophy is only for the
intellectuals and is of little relevance for the common man who goes only by
faith.
The fundamental doctrines contained in the Upanishads seem to have had their
origin in the Samhitas of the Rig-Veda which are believed to be the most
ancient in point of time. Researchers who have carried out a thorough study
of the Rig Veda are of the considered view that the Purusha Sukta, Nasadiya
Sukta and the hymn to the unknown God, which find a place in the Tenth and
the last Mandala (Section) of the Rig Veda may possibly be the earliest and
perhaps the most ancient. These experts opine that the origin of the
thought of Oneness of Godhead could directly be traced to these three hymns
of the Rig-Veda. Some intellectuals, therefore, conclude that the concept
of Brahman as an impersonal, unmanifest Absolute Reality found in some
Upanishads could have emanated from the Nasadiya Sukta and/or the hymn to
the unknown God. Similarly the perception of the Creator as a person with
auspicious attributes described in the theistic Upanishads could have
originated from the Purusha Sukta hymn.
There appears to be considerable force and some element of truth in this
conclusion of intellectuals as the Supreme Lord Himself in His incarnation
as Sri Krishna, in verse 3 of Chapter III of the Gita says: "O Arjuna, in
this world, two courses of disciplines have been communicated by Me, in the
ancient past; that of Sankhya with the path of knowledge and that of Karma
Yoga along the path of selfless work." From the colophon at the end of each
chapter of Gita, it is observed that in the dialogue between Sri Krishna and
Arjuna, the Supreme Lord taught the science of Brahman contained in the
Upanishads and the Yoga scriptures. Theistic Upanishads like the Katha and
Mundaka refer to the doctrine of Grace for knowing Brahman and they
specifically advocate meditation (Yoga) as the most efficacious means to
realize Brahman. Both the theistic and the absolutistic Upanishads based on
the Purusha and the Nasadiya Suktas (hymns) respectively of the Rig-Veda
have emanated from the BREATH OF THE ETERNAL which is perhaps referred to by
the Lord in the Gita. The Vedas are called the Nigama while the
God-oriented selfless actions of worship are covered by the term Agama.
5) GENESIS OF THE NIGAMA AND THE AGAMA TRADITIONS
The Vedas are broadly divided into two parts namely the Karma Kanda and the
Jnana Kanda. The ritualistic portion which forms the bulk of the scripture
comprising the Samhitas (hymns), Brahmanas (sacrifices) and Aranyakas (inner
significance of hymns and sacrifices) comes under the Karma Kanda. The
Jnana Kanda or knowledge portion refers to the philosophic concepts
contained in the various Upanishads. The philosophy of the Upanishads,
which seek the eternal has been the logical outcome of the ritualistic
practices which aimed at the temporal and the ephemeral. In this sense the
Vedas form a comprehensive, consistent and undivided whole and the division
into two parts has been only to understand the broad contents.
Ancient Vedic civilization seems to have adopted two main streams of
religious tradition viz. the Nigama tradition of fire sacrifices and the
Agama tradition of image worship. The Vedas, which are otherwise known as
Nigama, advocate the performance of sacrifices in consecrated fire to
propitiate the different gods. These sacrifices are detailed in the Karma
Kanda or the ritualistic portion of the Vedas. The practice of worship
(Upasana) and meditation (Yoga) are described in the Jnana Kanda or
knowledge portion. Knowledge without action has no practical relevance
while actions without knowledge can lead to dangerous consequences. The
Nigama or Vedic sacrifices and the Agama or worship (Upasana) of consecrated
images form the bedrock of ancient tradition on which the religion of the
Vedas seems to have been based. The term ``Agama`` means sacred
declarations that have come down from the Divine while the word ``Nigama``
also means revelations that have emanated from the Divine.
The followers of Agama tradition, while accepting the Vedas (Nigama) as
Divine revelations of knowledge of realities, follow the practices of
worship prescribed in the Agama, which is revered by them as Srutis or what
has been divinely ordained. The origin of the Agama tradition is traced to
the Vedas. In fact, Dr. S.N.Dasgupta in his monumental work entitled ``The
History of Indian Philosophy `` holds the view that the Agama doctrines
could be associated with the Purusha Sukhta of the Rig-Veda and the
Satapatha Brahmana of the Yajur Veda. So the origin of the Agama tradition
which is traced to the Vedas by its followers seems to be fundamentally
sound as it is based on proper scriptural testimony.
Nigama and Agama are the two eyes of the ancient Vedic religion. It is
really very unfortunate that the extent of attention paid to the
preservation of the Nigama tradition has not been bestowed on the Agama
tradition. The Agama tradition seems to have receded into the background
during the post-Vedic period till the period of Mahabharatha. There is thus
a crucial gap in the proper understanding of the Agama tradition because of
absence of ancient texts particularly between the period of Sathapata
Brahmana and the Narayaniya section of the Mahabharatha, which makes
specific reference to the Agama doctrines. During the period of the
Puranas, charges seem to have been leveled against the Agama tradition
saying that its fundamental tenets were anti-Vedic, by some upper caste
people who did not probably know the Vedic origin of the tradition.
Yamunacharya (Alavandar), a Sri Vaishnavite Acharya who preceded Sri
Ramanuja, very competently refuted these charges in his treatise called
AGAMA PRAMANYAM , which seems to have paved the way for the revival of the
ancient Agama tradition.
6) VEDIC ORIGIN OF VAISHNAVISM
Vaishnavism or the monotheistic worship of Lord Vishnu as the Supreme God of
all the Vedic gods seems to have been the prevalent religion from very
ancient times and this religion is wholly of Vedic origin. The Supreme Lord
Himself is the progenitor of the Vedas, which are His Breath Eternal. The
Vedas describe only His glory and greatness. Unquestionable evidence in
support of the fact that Vaishnavism has had its roots in the Vedas is found
in the hymns of the Vedas themselves. It can, therefore, be said with
reasonable degree of certainty that the origin of Vaishnavism can be traced
to the dim dawn of Rig Vedic civilization when the Nigama and Agama
traditions seem to have existed side by side. This is quite understandable
as many must have opted for the Agama worship as they must have found the
Nigama sacrifices too difficult to follow both in letter and spirit.
In the pre-historic times, the Vedas were verbally recited and the written
form came into existence only after the discovery of script. The Vedas have
come down to posterity through oral transmission over hundreds of
generations and none knows for certain the beginning of the Vedas. It is
quite possible that the arrangement of the ancient hymns must have undergone
changes over the millennia. It is, therefore, virtually impossible to
determine with any degree of accuracy which were the earliest hymns and
which were the later ones only on the basis of the language of the hymns.
Without knowing the proper sequence and the chronology of the divine
revelations, any conclusion in regard to the purport of Vedas based on the
passages of the Vedas in its extant form can only be erroneous and
inaccurate. The Vedas are APAURUSHEYA i.e. of Divine origin and so dating
them or knowing the exact order in which the revelations were received is
far beyond the ingenuity of the human intellect. The history of the ancient
Vedic civilization as recorded by the Western intellectuals with their
Biblical background without understanding the ground realities of the Orient
cannot, therefore, be considered either reliable or trustworthy.
7) ULTIMATE TRUTH OF THE VEDAS
Vedas are the timeless heritage of entire mankind as they are the earliest
religious literature available to humanity. The order followed in the
existing arrangement of the Vedic hymns cannot be considered as the sole
criterion to fix the sequence of the hymns as they are not human
compositions. The status and importance of the various gods in the
hierarchy of the Vedic pantheon cannot be decided by going through the
individual passages in the Vedas. What the Vedic seers originally envisaged
is far more important than the superficial conclusion on the basis of the
letter of the Vedas. Therefore, there appears to be no justification or
need to undertake an elaborate exercise of finding out the number of
references to various gods in the different passages of the Vedas to decide
conclusively the place of importance of a particular deity among the various
gods.
Vedas declare the glory and greatness of the Creator and His various
creations. In order to know who is the Creator so as to distinguish Him
from all His creations, it will be necessary to take an integrated and
comprehensive view of the inner purport of the Vedas as a whole, keeping in
view the contents of the Smiritis also i.e. the supplementary scriptures
like the Itihasas and the Satwika Puranas. Vedas, which run to thousands of
hymns, is a veritable maze and to find a way out of it to decide the Supreme
God who is the author of the physical universe will need a proper
understanding of all realities. The Gita puts the problem in a nutshell with
the words `` As much use as there is of a reservoir in a place flooded from
all sides with water, so much there is of all the Vedas for a Brahmin who
knows.``
Saintly souls who have thoroughly understood the esoteric purport of the
Vedas have already done the elaborate exercise of going through the entire
Vedas to know the Ultimate Truth contained in them. For the benefit of
posterity they have declared their unanimous conclusion with the words
VEDESU PAURUSHAM SUKHTAM, i.e., "among the Vedas, the Purusha Sukhta is the
most important as this hymn contains the very essence of the Vedas." This
seems to be the reason why this hymn is placed in the last Mandala or the
concluding Section of the Rig-Veda. The truth declared by the saintly souls
is substantiated by the fact that the hymn describing the creation of the
universe by the Cosmic Being is perhaps the one and only hymn of its kind
which finds a place in all the four Vedas. In fact, the Moksha Dharma
section in the great epic Mahabharatha which is designated as the FIFTH VEDA
declares: `` The Purusha is extolled in all the Vedas as He is the very
essence of these Vedas.`` The central truth of all the Vedas is that the
Supreme Purusha as the Creator of the universe is the Ultimate Truth.
Who is this Purusha? The answer to this question is provided by the Katha
Upanishad, which says that there is nothing higher than the Purusha. And
the highest goal of human life has been declared as VISHNOR YAD PARAMAM
PADAM i.e. the highest abode of Lord Vishnu. Suffice it to say that the
Brahman or the Creator is the Purusha of the Purusha Sukhta and Lord Vishnu
of the Vedas as also the Katha Upanishad.
The three giant strides made by Lord Vishnu covering the terrestrial,
celestial and the cosmic regions, His all pervasive nature as the inner
ruler of all His creations, His Highest Abode called the Parama Pada or the
Kingdom of Immortality, His ability to take various Avataras or incarnations
as fish, tortoise, boar, dwarf etc, which are detailed in the various
passages of the Vedas single Him out as the Ultimate Truth of the Vedas. He
is the Supreme Being, God of Vedic gods, One without a second, and the
Creator of all. In fact, only the Creator can take incarnations and not any
of His creations and only He can be the Lord of Immortality to allow entry
of His creations into His Parama Pada. Lord Vishnu is, therefore, the
central and ultimate truth of all the Vedas which extol only His glory and
greatness. All the supplementary scriptural texts like the Itihasas,
Puranas etc reiterate the same truth of the Vedas.
Sri Ramanuja derives the word `BRAHMAN` from the Sanskrit root BRIH, which
means great. He concludes that the Upanishadic term Brahman means the
Greatest, Highest and the most Supreme in every respect. Based on the
testimony of the Prasthana Thraya the scriptural trinity and keeping in view
the clarifications in the Smritis or supplementary scriptural texts, Sri
Ramanuja has very ably concluded that Brahman the ultimate truth of the
Vedas refer only to Lord Vishnu who is also called Narayana and Vasudeva by
the Vedas themselves. He has competently proved without any shadow of doubt
on the basis of scriptural testimony that the Vedas preach only Saguna
Upasana of Eka Devatha i.e. monotheistic worship of the one Supreme Lord
Vishnu without a second with bewitching personality of His own and endowed
with unsurpassable auspicious attributes totally devoid of blemishes.
The greatest declaration in the oldest Rig Veda is EKAM SAT, VIPRA BAHUDA
VADANTI i.e.Ultimate Reality is One only; the wise describe It in many ways.
The very same truth is echoed by the Upanishads with the words EKAMEVE
ADVITIYAM i.e. One only without a second. Eminent sages have elaborated and
clarified this single truth with the words SARVA DEVA NAMASKARAM KESAVAM
PRATIGACCHATI i.e.the salutations offered to the various gods of the Vedic
pantheon ultimately reach the Supreme Lord Kesava alone. This clarification
reminds one of the passage in the Mahabharatha which says VEDASHASTRAM PARAM
NASTI NA DAIVAM KESAVAT PARAM i.e. there is no scripture higher than the
Vedas and there is no God greater than Kesava. This fact has been
reiterated by Lord Krishna Himself in verse 23 of Chapter IX of Gita where
He says `` Even those who worship other deities with faith in their heart
worship Me alone O Arjuna, though with a mistaken approach.``
Vedanta, which reveals the Ultimate Truth, is unfortunately reduced by the
Western intellect to a few simple beliefs like formless Brahman, Maya,
Avidya, renunciation of the world, practice of other worldly asceticism etc.
These people have a very superficial acquaintance with the profound truths
of the Vedic religion and philosophy. Vedic religion is strictly
monotheistic with One Brahman only as the Supreme Lord and it was Sri
Ramanuja who was solely responsible for the revival of the Vedic
Vaishnavism.
8) CONTIBUTION OF SRI RAMANUJA TO THE REVIVAL OF VEDIC VAISHNAVISM
Eternal credit goes to Sri Ramanuja who spent a lifetime for the cause of
Sri Vaishnavism against very heavy odds. Either on account of vandalism or
due to deliberate, pre-meditated and wanton destruction of works in the form
of glosses, by insane people belonging to rival faiths who disagreed with
the doctrines enunciated in such works or due to the sheer neglect and
careless indifference of the followers, several important manuscripts
relating to theistic Vedanta recorded during the Epic and Purana periods
seem to have irretrievably been lost to posterity. For example, Sage
Bodhayana is reported to have recorded very detailed glosses both on Gita
and the Brahma Sutras. This work seems to have been condensed by some of
his followers or disciples. This is quite evident from the opening passage
of Sri Ramnuja`s Sri Bhasya which reads as follows: ``The lengthy explanation (Vritti) on the Brahma Sutras which was composed by the revered sage Bodhayana has been abridged by former teachers; according to their views, the words of the Brahma Sutras will be explained in this present work.``
Neither the detailed work of the sage Bodhayana nor the summarized versions
of his followers like Tanka, Dramida, Guhadeva, Bharuchi, and Kapardin
etc.are currently extant. From the biography of Sri Ramanuja it is learnt
that the saint traveled by foot all the way from Srirangam in Tamil Nadu to
Srinagar in Kashmir to get hold of the only available moth-eaten palm leaf
manuscript of the detailed commentary of sage Bodhayana on the Vedanta
Sutras of Badarayana. It is very distressing to note that even before Sri
Ramanuja could complete his study of the commentary, the manuscript was
snatched away from his hands by the followers of the rival faiths who seem
to have feared that any writing on the basis of the commentary may disturb
the faith of people who believed in the philosophical tenets of the rival
faiths. But thanks to the prodigious memory of his disciple named Kuresa
who went along with Sri Ramanuja to Srinagar, posterity has been blessed
with at least some idea of the profound philosophical wisdom of the ancient
sages who strictly adhered to the theistic Vedanta in general and
Vaishnavism in particular.
Sri Ramanuja has laid firm philosophical foundation for the worship
of Lord Vishnu as the One Supreme Lord of the Vedic Vaishnavism. by
propounding the philosophy of Visishtadwaita or PAN-ORGANISMAL MONOTHEISM.
All the subsequent Acharyas who came after him like Madhva, Nimbarka,
Vallabha, Chaitanya, Svami Narayana, etc., have accepted only the theistic Vedanta and have
wholly rejected Absolutism as inconsistent with the philosophy of Vedanta.
Humanity, therefore, owes a deep debt of gratitude to the great savant Sri
Ramanuja who in the face of heavy odds and risk to his very life, gave to
posterity the pristine Vedic religion of Sri Vaishnavism.
For the practice of religion, the heart of man longs for God with supremely
beautiful personal form whom he can see, know, commune, love, pray,
prostrate, worship and surrender heart and soul. Sri Ramanuja the great
psychologist brought all the intellectual philosophy of the Upanishads close
to the heart of common people in the shape of Sri Vaishnavism through the
fine blend of the Nigama and the Agama traditions. Through his magnum opus
Sri Bhashya, which is his detailed commentary on the Vedanta Sutras and
Vedartha Samgraha Sri Ramanuja has very ably proved that Vaishnavism is the
one and only religion of the Vedas. He has also established with scriptural
testimony that Sri Vaishnavism is based both on the Sruti (Vedas) and the
Smritis (supplementary scriptures). In his interpretation of the Vedanta
Sutras Sri Ramanuja has admirably combined the philosophy of the Upanishads
with the religion of the Vedas by the proper integration of the apparently
contradictory passages of the Upanishads with those of the supplementary
scriptural texts to bring out the coherence and consistency of all the
scriptural texts. He has ably demonstrated that Vedanta is a comprehensive
whole and not a jumbled assortment of contradictory ideas and that there is
absolutely no inconsistency or conflict in any of the Divine revelations.
Philosophy being speculative calls for intellectual acumen whereas religion
being based on emotion calls for faith and conviction. Sri Ramanuja has
adeptly proved that mere theory without practice can be only lame as it can
serve no useful purpose whereas practice without theory can turn out to be
blind without any sort of intellectual conviction. That is the very reason
why Vedanta combines religion with philosophy.
Sri Ramanuja has authoritatively established with the help of Srutis (Vedas)
and Smritis(supplementary scriptural texts) that Brahman of the Upanishads is
not a featureless, formless non-entity but a superbly enchanting personality
with all unsurpassable auspicious attributes free from imperfections. It is
highly unfortunate that the theistic Vedanta propounded by Sri Ramanuja in
his philosophy of Visishtadwaita has not gained wide popularity and
recognition both within India and abroad. In fact, the study of this
philosophy has so far remained only superficial and peripheral and not deep
and thorough. It is time that this philosophy, which is fully in accord
with the letter and spirit of the Prasthana Traya (scriptural trinity) of
Vedanta, receives the due attention that it rightly and richly deserves for
a better understanding of the fundamental tenets of Vedic Vaishnavism.
9) MIND OF BADARAYANA, AUTHOR OF VEDANTA SUTRAS
Did Sage Badarayana who wrote the Vedanta Sutras favour Monotheism
(Brahman with form) or Absolutism (Impersonal Brahman)?. What was the
system advocated by him as the philosophy of the Upanishads? A very careful
and impartial analysis of the Vedanta Sutras reveals that the basic aim of
the author of the Vedanta Sutras seems to have been that he desired to prove
the authoritative character of the Pancharatra docrines by refuting all the
other schools of philosophical thought. In the Second Pada (Part) of the
Vedanta Sutras he refutes the claims of both the Vaidic schools like Samkya,
Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Yoga and Purva Mimamsa and the non-Vaidic like Bouddha,
Jaina, Pasupata etc and takes up the discussion of Pancharatras as the last
topic. The author Badarayana seems to have personally favoured theistic
Vedanta. In fact, his intention in compiling the Vedanta Sutras seems to
have been to prove that the Upanishads as the natural culmination of the
Vedas, present a very coherent and consistent religion of Monotheism only
and not Absolutism or Pantheism or Monism.
The very name Sariraka Mimamsa given to the Vedanta Sutras seems to covertly
indicate the duality in the body-soul relationship between human soul
(jivatma) and the Supreme Soul (Paramatma). .Some of the major or principal
Upanishads seems to manifestly uphold the doctrines of Vaishnaivsm. For
example, the Katha Upanishad declares that the journey of the human soul
should end in VISHNOR YAD PARAMAM PADAM. The central message of Srimad
Bhagawad Gita, which many believe to be anterior to the Brahma Sutras and is
one of the scriptural trinity i.e. Prasthana Thraya , seems to favour the
monotheistic doctrine of the Pancharatra school.
The very fact that sage Badarayana, the author of the Brahma Sutras found it
necessary to devote one whole Adhikarana or topic for philosophical
discussion called the UTPATYASAMBHAVADHIKARANA exclusively to study the
Pancharatra school indicates that in his time this system of philosophical
thought must have gained considerable ground as a force to be reckoned with.
The Vishnu temples in several places in both the North and the South India
seem to have been in existence much before the Christian era, as is evident
from the inscriptions at Besnagar and Ghoshundi belonging to the 2nd and the
First century respectively. From the time of Mahabharata the worship of
Vasudeva as the Supreme Lord seems to have been widely in vogue.
In his interpretation of the four aphorisms in the
UTPATYASAMBHAVADIKARANA Sri Ramanuja has firmly established that the
Pancharatra doctrines are wholly in accord with the Vedas as the Vyuha forms
of Vasudeava are only His incarnations and the eternity of the soul is no
where rejected by the Pancharatra school. Sri Ramanuja is, therefore, of
the considered view that Sage Badarayana , the author of the Vedanta Sutras
is in favour of the Panchartra school of thought as its doctrines are not
contradictory to Vedic revelations as the earlier Vaidic and Non-Vaidic
schools of philosophy. In Sri Ramanuja`s view this Adhikarana or
philosophical topic is taken up for consideration by the author of the
Brahma Sutras only to establish the validity and authoritative character of
the Pancharatra doctrines. Sri Ramanuja`s view looks quite logical and
sound as sage Badarayana rejects all the Vaidic and Non-Vaidic schools of
thought like Nyaya, Vaisesika, Smkhya., Yoga, Purva Mimamsa, Bouddha, Jaina,
and Pasupata as ant-Vedic . He takes up the consideration of the
Pancharatra school as the last topic to prove the fact that its doctrines
are authentic, authoritative and fully in accord with the Vedic revelations.
If Badarayana was not in agreement with the philosophical tenets of this
school also, the question that will automatically arise is – Which
philosophical school did the sage uphold in his Vedanta Sutras if he
rejected all the prevalent systems? Evidently Badarayana seems to favour
the Pancharatra school as its doctrines are fully in accord with the Vedas
as the Agama tradition is of Vedic origin. George Thibaut the translator
into English of Sri Bhashya says `` The Sutrakara closes the polemical
section of the second chapter with a defense of the doctrine which inspite
of objections, has to be viewed as the true one.``
The Itihasas (epics), Sattvika Puranas (ancient accounts), Dharma-Shastras
(code of ethics) and the Pancharatra Agamas (manual of worship) are as
important as the Vedas themselves for knowing the intent and purport of the
highest esoteric truths revealed in the Vedas. These supplementary
scriptural texts are collectively called Smritis or what is remembered. It
is common knowledge that the Smritis, which clarify the esoteric truths of
the Vedas, are uncompromisingly monotheistic. The sage Badarayana himself
refers to the Smrtiis frequently in his Brahma Sutras and so it should not
be a matter of surprise if he is in favour of theistic interpretation of the
philosophy of the Upanishads.
The various Vidyas or Upasanas on Brahman i.e.meditation and worship of
Brahman are extensively dealt with in the Third Pada (Chapter) of the Brahma
Sutras as the means for the realization of Brahman. Many consider the
Upanishads are more concerned with Upasana or Worship and less with Yajna
(Karma) or Jnana (scriptural knowledge). Intellectual attraction and
spiritual repulsion cannot be conducive to spiritual progress. The Vidyas
or Upasanas have in view the One and only Supreme Being Vishnu of the Vedas
and the Katha Upanishad.as the sole object of meditation and worship. The
Purusha Sukhta specifically declares that only by knowing the Purusha can
one gain release or Moksha and there is no other way.
10) ESSENCE OF PANCHARATRA DOCTRINES
According to the Pancharatra school, Vasudeva the Supreme Lord is the
material and efficient cause of the world. By worshipping Him
exclusively(i.e. EKAYANA or worship of one Lord only), meditating on Him and
knowing Him , the devotee of the Lord can attain liberation. Srimad
Bhagawad Gita also teaches the Pancharatra doctrine of exclusive worship of
Vasudeva the Supreme Lord. The origin of the Pancharatra system, which
seems to be very ancient is shrouded in deep mystery. Some say that
EKHAYANA (i.e. loyalty to Supreme Lord) is a sect of the KANVA Sakha of the
Shukla (white) Yajur Veda. In fact, the word EKHAYANA seems to have been
derived from the passage NANYA PANTHA AYANAYA VIDYATE i.e. "there is no
other path", which occurs in the Purusha Sukhta of the Rig-Veda. There is a
specific mention of EKHAYANA Sakha in the Seventh Chapter of the Chandogya
Upanishad.
Some erudite philosophers hold the view that the Pancharatra doctrines
could be associated with the Purusha Sukhta of the Rig-Veda and the
Sathapatha Brahmana of the Shukla Yajur Veda. The earliest occurrence of
the term PANCHARATRA is traced by researchers to a passage in the Satapatha
Brahmana where Purusha Narayana is reported to have conceived the idea of a
PANCHARATRA SATTA, which is believed to be performance of sacrifices for
five days as a means of obtaining superiority over all beings and becoming
all beings. In fact, a preceding passage in the same Brahmana narrates in
detail how Purusha Narayana by sacrificing Himself became the whole world.
It is interesting to note that the same idea is conveyed in the Purusha
Sukhta, which declares PURUSHA EVEDAGUM SARVAM: "Purusha has become
everything". It is quite evident from these passages that Narayana of the
Yajur Veda is the Purusha of the Purusha Sukhta in the Rig-Veda. So the
opinion of scholars that the Pancharatra doctrines are wholly of Vedic
origin only are well founded and very sound based on scriptural testimony.
Incidentally, Ahirbudhnya Samhita a Pancharatra Agama explains the five
stanzas of the Purusha Sukhta using the Vyuha or manifested form of Vasudeva
indicating thereby that Vasudeva of the Pancharatra is none other than the
Purusha of the Rig-Veda.
The extant Pancharatra literature spread over several Samhitas is
believed to be based almost exclusively on the Gita, the Narayaniya section
in the Santi Parva of the epic Mahabharata and the contents of Vaishnava
Puranas. The period assigned to the extant Samhitas is not earlier than 5th
century AD Srimad Bhagawad Gita which is patently based on the Pancharatra
doctrines and accepted as one of the three basic scriptures of Vedanta can
possibly be considered as the earliest available literature of the
Pancharatra school apart from the Narayaniya section in the Mahabharata.
The psalms of the Vaishnava saints of South India called Alvars which
escaped destruction thanks to the action taken by Sriman Nathamunigal the
earliest Sri Vaishnava Acharya for their careful preservation fills to
some extent the vital gaps in knowledge about the theistic Vedanta. Some
Vaishnava Upanishads and Puranas based on the Pancharatra system is also
of considerable help in filling the gaps in the knowledge of theistic
Vedanta. However, despite the gaps in knowledge the unalterable fact
remains that Vaishnavism or the exclusive worship of Lord Vishnu as the only
Supreme Being without a second must have had its origin in the Rig Vedic
time based probably on the Purusha Sukhta hymn.
Incidentally, it is interesting to note that a fine blend of the
Nigama and Agama traditions is found in the Vedic daily ritual of
Sandhyavandhana performed thrice every day by all those who wear the sacred
thread called the Yajnopavitha. The ritual begins with the sipping of water
and touching the various parts of the body by uttering the fifteen divine
names of Lord Vishnu and the ritual ends with dedication of all actions of
the mind,speech and body to Supreme Lord Narayana with the words KAYENA
VACHA MANASENDRIYAIVA. The Vedic seers who laid down this daily ritual must
have had implicit faith in the Agama tradition that even the very utterance
of the divine names of the Supreme Lord Vishnu thrice every day can have the
sanctifying effect of removing all sins.
11) FIVE FORMS OF MANIFESTATION OF LORD
The Pancharatra School believes that the Supreme Lord manifests
Himself in five different forms for the benefit of His devotees. These
forms are 1) Para, 2) Vyuha, 3) Vibhava, 4) Antaryamin and 5) Archa. Each
one of these five forms is briefly described below:
a) Para Roopa
Para is the transcendental form of the Supreme Lord in His Highest
Abode called the Parama Pada, which the Vedas refer to as VISHNOR YAD
PARAMAM PADAM. The manifested Para form of the Supreme Lord is meant only
for the rendering of devotional service by those who are residents in the
Paramapada called the Nitya Suris or the eternally free celestials and the
Mukhtas or those souls released from bondage. This form is, therefore, not
open to the mortal people of the mundane world.
b) Vyuha Roopa
From the Puranas it is learnt that the Devas or demi-gods when in
serious trouble approach Brahma the First-born and seek ways to mitigate
their woes. The gods headed by Brahma reach the Milky Ocean where the
Supreme Lord Vishnu is resting in His serpent couch in Yoga Nidra or
meditative sleep. The main purpose of manifestation in the Vyuha form seems
to be to provide an opportunity to the Vedic gods to experience the blissful
presence of the Lord so as to render devotional service to Him and also to
get a redressal of their grievances. Neither the Upanishads nor Srimad
Bhagawad Gita make any explicit mention of the Vyuha manifestation.
However, Sri Vishnu Sahasranama in the Mahabharatha refers to the four
different forms of Vyuha manifestations under the names of Vasudeva,
Samkarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Each Vyuha form is believed to be
connected with certain specific functions such as creation, sustenance, and
dissolution of the world and the promulgation of spiritual knowledge. This
form is not available for ordinary humans who have to be satisfied with the
Para and the Vyuha forms portrayed in images and murtis.
c) Vibhava Avatara
The descent of the Supreme Lord by way of incarnations is called Avatara.
The need and purpose of such incarnations in various forms are detailed in a
nutshell in verses 7 and 8 of Chapter IV of the Gita where the Lord says ``
Arjuna, whenever there is a decline of righteousness and unrighteousness
takes the upper hand I embody Myself in incarnations; for the protection of
the virtuous and the destruction of the wicked as also to re-establish
Dharma I take birth from age to age. The concept of Avatara or
incarnations seems to have its origin in the Purusha Sukhta of the Rig-Veda
in the passage AJAYAMANO BAHUDA VIJAYATE: "the birthless One manifests
Himself in several incarnations."
The two Itihasas (epics) namely Ramayana and the Mahabharata as also the
Sattvika Puranas describe in great detail the exploits of the Supreme Lord in
His various incarnations. Neither Brahma the first-born nor the various
Vedic gods can take Avatara and this seems to be the exclusive privilege of
the Supreme Lord.Vishnu only who has under His exclusive control both
Prakriti (matter) and Purusha (conscious souls). This fact itself is
adequate proof of the supremacy of Lord Vishnu over all the other Vedic
gods. The number of Avataras varies in various Puranas but the Dasavathara
or the ten main incarnations of the Lord are the most popular and widely
accepted. In the Sri Venkatesha Sahasranama Archana performed everyday to
the Lord of the Seven Hills, His exploits in these Avataras find a prominent
place among the thousand names of the Lord.
The doctrine of Avataras or descent of the Supreme Lord in various
incarnations is basically a concept of the Agama tradition originating in
the Purusha Sukhta in the Rig-Veda. The Satapatha Brahmana of the Shukla
Yajur Veda refers to incarnations of the Supreme Lord in the fish, tortoise,
boar and dwarf forms. The Katha Upanishad also seems to make an oblique
reference to Vamana the dwarf form. The concept of Avatara found in the
Agama tradition is, therefore, wholly of Vedic origin . Vibhava or descents
of the Lord has its particular time and place and this form is available
only to those who are contemporaries during the period of these Avataras.
Others have to console themselves by hearing or reading about the exploits
of the Lord from the epics and Puranas.
d) Antaryamin Form
The term Antaryamin refers to the indwelling spirit form of the Supreme Lord
who is immanent in all His creations. Almost all the Upanishads refer to
the indwelling Spirit form of the All-pervasive Lord as Bhutatma or
Sarvantaratma etc. This also shows that the Antaratma concept is of Vedic
origin. In fact, in the Antayami Brahmana of the Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad,
it is declared that Brahman (Creator) as the inner Self controls everything
from within but neither the sentient nor the non-sentient entities are able
to know the divinity, which lies concealed within.them. The Katha and the
Mundaka Upanishads declare that the Lord of the size of thumb resides in a
very subtle form in the inner recess of the human heart for the purpose of
meditation in order to realize Him by His grace.
As the Antaryamin, the Supreme Lord residing in the heart assumes a
subtle divine personal form to enable the devotee to meditate on Him. In
verse 47 of chapter VI of the Gita the Lord declares that amongst all the
Yogis he who devoutly worships Him with mind wholly fixed on Him is
considered the best.
e) Archa Avatara
The words ARCHA AVATARA denote the descent of the Supreme Lord in
image or murti form for adoration, prayer, propitiation and worship. Of all
the forms of the Lord, the Archa or murti form is considered to be of supreme
importance for the masses as it is visible and easily accessible for worship
and surrender by one and all irrespective of caste, creed or level of
purity. Formless or attributeless Brahman (Creator), besides being
incomprehensible, reduces the spiritual practice into a sterile, soulless
and tedious exercise. Name and form are indispensable for the human mind to
grasp the Ultimate Reality of the Vedas. Murtis and images are the most
favourable means for the concentration of mind for worship and meditation.
Image worship serves the very useful purpose of prompting religious fervor,
stimulating devotion and creating a spiritually elevating divine atmosphere.
Religion is essentially based on emotion and inspired by faith. The
glorious, beautiful, smiling and enchanting form of the charming Lord evokes
admiration, reverence and love as the automatic and immediate response of
the human heart at the very sight of the murti. Basic human nature is the
feeling of love towards some object or some person and so bhakti or loving
devotion is very close to the human heart. Love, adoration, praise, prayer
propitiation, worship and surrender are the various ways of expression of
divine love and murtis serve as the best means for the practice of Bhakti.
Very few can raise to the high level of mental worship and so the
external worship of the Lord in visible and accessible form of murtis or
images is considered the best for the common people. The Archa form is not
remote and inaccessible like the Para or Vyuha forms or relates to the
distant past like the Vibhava but is available here and now for worship and
adoration in the immediate present. The Supreme Lord moved by the devout
and ardent entreaties of His devotees, manifests Himself in consecrated murti
forms in the DIVYA DESHAS or sanctified places for the purpose of worship
and propitiation by His devotees. The lovely personality of the Supreme
Lord with adornments and all auspicious attributes like beauty, effulgence,
valour, etc. is personally experienced by the devout in the sacred image.
The Moola Vigraha or main deity in the Sanctum Sanctorum of the
temple is fixed and immobile made generally of stone or salagrama. The
Utsava Murti or the festival deity used for being taken out of the Sanctum
Sanctorum during festival times is generally made of alloys of metals like
Gold, silver, copper, brass etc called Pancha loka. In the temple at Puri
the image of Lord Jagannath is made of wood and is replaced every twelve
years. The Main deity or Moolavar may be in the sitting or standing Para
form or in the reclining Vyuha form but the festival deity Utsavar is
generally in the standing posture only. The Para, and the Vyuha forms of
manifestation of the Supreme Lord are beyond the reach of common people
while the Vibhava or incarnated Avatara form can be personally witnessed
only by those lucky few who are alive at the time and place of the Avatara
or descent in incarnated form. The Antaryamin or the indwelling spirit form
of the Lord cannot be perceived by the outward bound senses and is reserved
only for the yogis who can turn their mind inwards to feel the divine
presence of the Lord within them. Merciful, omnipresent and all pervasive
Supreme Lord makes His divine presence felt by being manifest in a finite
form in the Archa Vigraha or murti form to favour His sincere devotees. The
Infinite Lord assumes a divine form to be present in the murti to enable His
devotees to love, pray, worship and prostrate before Him to be relieved of
their burdens. The worship of murtis purifies the mind and elevates the soul
to a higher plane of consciousness and existence. The Archa form has,
therefore, tremendous religious significance.
12) ORIGIN OF IMAGE WORSHIP
To many it may come as a surprise that the Vedic religion was not
confined only to propitiation of gods through oblations in consecrated fire
but allowed the worship of the Supreme Being in His personal form in images.
The worship of images seems to date back to very ancient period and so
tracing its origin may be difficult, if not, impossible. Some scholars
believe that the passage in the Purusha Sukhta, TASYATWASHTA VIDADAT
ROOPAMETI, i.e., "the divine architect gave form to the formless icon". They
feel that this passage may possibly refer to the image worship in the Vedic
times. In their considered view, some other passages in the Srutis (Vedas)
seem to refer to image worship. For example, the passage HRIDA MANISHA
MANASA ABHIKLITAHA: "to please the devotees, the Supreme Lord assumes
form." The declaration YUKTAGRAVA JAYATE DEVA KAMAHA: "the playful Lord
assumes the form of icon to bless His devotees", may relate to murti worship in
the Vedic times.
The belief that image worship was unknown in the Vedic times is also
disproved by the findings of images of gods and goddesses among the several
seals dug out during the excavation at the Mohenjodaro and Harappa sites.
The findings from the Indus Valley civilization provide adequate testimony
to the irrefutable fact that the people in the Vedic period did worship
images of deities. It is quite possible that the common people in the Vedic
period must have found the fire sacrifices too cumbersome, complicated,
time-consuming, ritualistic and expensive. Furthermore, such Yajnas
(sacrifices) needed auspicious time and clean place for their performance
besides physical and mental purity of all concerned with the performance.
In fact, indifferent or careless performance and even incorrect
pronunciation of the Vedic hymns was fraught with the risk of contrary
results. Besides, the results yielded by the performance of such sacrifices
were found to be temporary and evanescent and had to be periodically
repeated.
Offering of worship to visible and easily accessible images of Brahman must
have been found far easier of practice and did not cause any harm to any
living beings or yield contrary results. The heart of devout souls must
have found peace and happiness in the immediate present through the worship
of images. These thoughts are not idle speculations but concrete facts
based on scriptural testimony. In verse 7 of Section ii of Chapter II, the
Mundaka Upanishad seems to voice its dissatisfaction in regard to Vedic
sacrifices with the word `` Verily, these sacrifices with their eighteen
members (16 priests, the performer of sacrifice and his wife)are frail rafts
on which such inferior work devoid of knowledge rests. The unwise who
acclaim these sacrifices as the highest good certainly fall again and again
into the domain of old age and death.`` The Upanishad unambiguously decries
the fire sacrifices and its utter futility in the attainment of liberation.
Lord Sri Krishna also in verses 42 to 44 of Chapter II of the Gita refers to
the unwise who rejoice in the letter of the Vedic sacrifices thinking that
there is nothing higher.
The Supreme Lord further refers to His worship in His personal form in images
with fruit or flower and prostration in the following verses of Srimad
Bhagawad Gita:
Chapter IV-verse 1 - ``Howsoever men approach Me, in the same manner do I
favour them; men verily follow My path in all ways.``
Chapter VII –verse 21 - ``If any devotee seeks to worship with faith in any
form, I make that faith steadfast in that form alone.``
Chapter IX-verse 26 - `` Whosoever offers Me in true devotion a leaf, a
flower, a fruit or even water, I accept the offering of that devotee who is
pure of heart .``
Chapter IX-verse 34 - `` Fix your mind on Me, be My devotee, worship Me and
prostrate to Me; having thus controlled yourself and regarding Me as your
supreme goal, you shall come to Me.``
The words of Mundaka Upanishad and Gita very clearly indicate that people in
the Vedic and epic period must have gradually lost faith in the efficacy of
Yajnas or Vedic sacrifices and must have opted in favour of worship of the murti
which must have gained wide currency in the Vedic period itself.
Moksha is not the exclusive prerogative or privilege of the upper castes
only. Accusation of non-Vedic character of the Agama tradition during the
Purana period in particular could have possibly emanated from the higher
castes as the Pancharatra school advocated salvation to all those,
irrespective of caste or creed, who exclusively devoted themselves to the
worship of Vasudeva the Supreme Lord. In fact, the Vedas themselves
prescribed the four Purusharthas or goals of life namely Dharma
(righteousness), Artha (acquisition of wealth), Kama(fulfillment of desires)
and Moksha(salvation) as the common goals of all the four castes. The
Pancharatra doctrine of liberation irrespective of caste, sex or creed,
through exclusive worship of Supreme Lord Vasudeva has in fact been
reiterated by Lord Sri Krishna in verse 32 of chapter IX of Srimad Bhagavad
Gita which is one of the three canonical scriptures of Vedanta.
Among the twelve Alvars, the Sri Vaishnava saints of South
India, one was a woman and only two belonged to the upper varna. Nammalwar
who is the most respected among all the Alvars and Tondaradipodiazhwar, a
Brahmin by birth, in one of their psalms say that caste or creed has no
place in the worship of the Supreme Lord for the attainment of salvation.
The Law of Karma can be made inoperative by the Lord as His Grace can
override the operation of all laws. Self-efforts at changing one's destiny
can be of no avail as salvation is impossible of attainment without the
willing consent of the Lord of Immortality. Pancharatra doctrine on
salvation is based on the sanguine principle that the Grace of the Lord is
far more potent and powerful than the non-sentient Law of Karma. Both the
Katha and the Mundaka Upanishads emphasize the importance of Grace so
essential for the attainment of Brahman. Purusha Sukta of the Rig-Veda
declares that there is no other way to salvation than the knowledge of
Purusha.
13) SIGNIFICANCE OF MURTI WORSHIP
Skeptics, who have no faith in the worship of sacred images, are very highly
critical of this practice without a proper understanding of the rationale,
value and benefit that can accrue out of such practice. The criticism that
murti worship is primitive, excessively anthropomorphic reducing Godhead to
the human level etc., are based on several misconceptions about murti
worship. God is certainly not the image but He sanctifies the image by being
present in it. The image is not a mere symbol but the very person of God
who makes Himself available for worship to His devotees through His presence
in the image. The image is not the representation of a soulless
anthropomorphic being, but the very Cosmic Lord Himself. The adornments and
the insignia are the different aspects of His creative process. For
example, the discus is the mind, the conch the ego, the jewel Kaustubha the
individual soul, Nandaka the sword is the knowledge and its sheath is the
ignorance that envelops the knowledge.
The mental feeling with which the worship of the murti is done is
far more important than the physical object of worship. The object of
worship is the Supreme Lord and not the image. Ardent devotees actually feel
the divine presence of the Lord in the visible and the easily accessible
image and are relieved of their heart's burden. Ignorant people who do not
understand the deep spiritual significance of murti worship can never
appreciate the immense benefits that can flow out of such worship. Those
who see only the stone in the sacred image can never see the presence of the Lord
while those who feel the divine presence of the Lord do not see the stone at
all. How the murti is viewed by the human mind is the most important aspect
of murti worship.
The mental block of the skeptics veil the divine presence in the
sacred image depriving them of the divine feeling which the devotees experience.
Devotees who feel the presence of the Supreme Lord in the murti weep, shout
in joy, pour out their heart in love and surrender themselves heart and soul
to the murti, deriving peace and happiness in the process. Reverence,
humility, sincerity, devotion etc., to the very person of the Lord
experienced in the image helps the cleansing of the mind, the purification of
the soul and the elevation of consciousness to a higher state of existence.
The predominant thought in the mind of the devotee is of prayer and worship
as the real object of his worship is the Supreme Lord and not the physical
murti. The image is viewed by the devotees as the manifestation of the Lord
Himself and not as His symbol or representation. The mental state
overshadows the object worshipped. The devotee knows that the Infinite
All-pervasive Lord is present in the murti for the purposes of worship but He
is not the murti itself. Only those devotees in the proper mental state of
worship can derive the full benefit of murti worship.
The high mental state of the devotees can be personally witnessed in
Tirumala. Thousands of devotees wait patiently in long queue for hours just
to catch a momentary glance of the bewitching and ever smiling Supreme Lord
who is always willing to lend His ears to hear the grievances of His
devotees and extend His protection to them. The fatigue and tediousness of
the journey and the long hours of wait are totally forgotten on entering the
Garbha Graha or the Sanctum Sanctorum. During the few seconds they are in
front of the deity they experience the spiritual vibrations that emanate
from the divine presence of the Lord. The shouts of `GOVINDA, GOVINDA
reverberate in the ears and everything else is forgotten. The very sight of
the Lord elevates the soul to high plane of consciousness and they feel
purer by being spiritually reinvigorated. By seeking the forgiveness of the
Lord for their past sins they feel mentally purer and spiritually ennobled.
Devotees come from every nook and corner of the country travelling
for days and they spend long hours in serpentine queue only to spend a few
seconds in front of the Lord but they feel that this helps them in getting
relieved of their physical and mental distress. For the practice of
Ekantika Bhakti, or exclusive devotion to the Supreme Lord, the worship of
sacred image is an indispensable necessity. People find immense peace and solace in
murti worship than in Vedic fire sacrifices. The ignorant are the ones who
do not know the value and efficacy of murti worship and who view this
practice with suspicion. The formless and attributeless Brahman is very
abstract, remote and incomprehensible for devout souls who feel attracted
instantly to the easily accessible and visible sacred image, with name and form.
People let out the divinity within them through music, dance, poetry, art,
architecture etc and temples serve as ideal medium for this purpose. The
annual BRAHMOTSAVAM festival is an occasion for the devotees to show their
deep love for the Lord by serving Him with whatever talents they possess.
Love is the natural emotion of human beings and murti worship ideally
facilitates the cultivation of love to their personal Lord with form for the
practice of Bhakti.
As stated earlier, image worship has been in vogue from very ancient
time and is wholly of Vedic origin. One of the hymns of Rig-Veda makes an
explicit mention of the worship of the murti of the Supreme Lord to get relieved
of the past sins. It will not, therefore, be right to say that the Vedas
are against the worship of images. The Pancharatra concept of Archavatara
forms the very foundation for the worship of images. Of the consecrated
images, the SWAYAM VYAKTA or the self-manifested sacred images are considered the
most important and sacred. The murtis in the temples at Srirangam and
Tirumala are believed to be the manifestation of the Supreme Lord out of His
own volition and will in the form of icon.(SWAYAM VYAKTA).
14) ANTIQUITY OF TIRUVENGADAM
Out of the 108 Divya Deshams or places sanctified by Divine
presence, Srirangam and Tirumala occupy the pride of place as the murtis
there are believed to be SWAYAM VYAKTA or self-manifested. The glory and
greatness of the Supreme Lord residing in the Seven Hills have been
described in the Deva Bhasha Sanskrit in the Srutis and the Smritis.
Sanskrit is called Deva Bhasha or divine language as the Lord's divine
revelations have been in Sanskrit. Some believe that the spoken language of
the Devas or demi-gods is Sanskrit and so that language is called Deva
Bhasha.
Tracing the origin of the Archa or image form at Tirumala is
beyond the realm of human possibility as the image is SWAYAM VYAKTA or
self-manifested out of Lord's own volition. No one, therefore, knows the
origin of Tiruvengadam. It may have been in existence right from the Vedic
times and must have gained wide popularity during the period of the
Puaranas. Some believe that the image at Tirumala must be as ancient as the
Rig Veda as, in their opinion, the passage (X-153-1) asks the sinful to
visit Venkatachala to get rid of their sins through the words VIKATE GIRIM
GACHHA. In the Venkatachala Purana the same words find a place. Another
verse found in the Paramarthika Upanishad says KAKUTRE VIKATAYA PITRE SWAHA,
which means `` I surrender my soul to the Lord of Venkatachala.``
Twelve Puranas including the Brahmanda, Bhavishyottara, Skanda,
Garuda, Padma, Markhandeya, Vamana and Varaha have glorified at length the
greatness of the Supreme Lord at Tirumala. In fact, the Varaha Purana goes
to the extent of saying that in the entire world there is no Divya Desha
like Tiruvengadam and there is no God equal to the Lord in the serpent couch
and further adds that there is no God or wealth or Kula Devatha (family
Deity) or Parama Gathi (Highest goal) equal to Venkatachala. In the same
Purana the term VENKATA is defined as SARVAPAPANI VEM PRAHUHU KATA i.e. "the
place which burns up all sins." In the Vamana Purana, the passage
AMRITA AISWARYA SAMATWAT VENKATADRI ITISMRITAHA, i.e., "Venkatadri is
remembered as the place conferring wealth and immortality." Nammalwar, the
most respected Sri Vaishnavite Alvar, in a psalm beginning with the words
VEMKADANGAL, says that all the debts owed are cleared. In other words the
Lord redeems all the sins and grants security and wellbeing. T.T.D.
Authorities have done a great service to the devotees of Lord Venkatesa by
bringing together all the relevant passages from the various scriptures and
presenting them in the form of a book entitled SRI VENKATACHALA MAHATHMYAM.
15) ETERNAL MESSAGE CONVEYED BY LORD SRINIVASA
A close look at the Moola Vigraha or Main Deity and the Utsava
Murthy or Festival Deity at Tirumala will reveal that His right hand is
directed downwards to His Lotus Feet while His left hand in the Katya
Valambita posture with the palm resting on the left thigh below the hip
indicating His protection for those who seek His refuge. For the Sri
Vaishnavas, Prapatti or Saranagathi i.e. surrender is considered the most
efficacious means for gaining the Grace of the Supreme Lord. In verse 66 of
Chapter XVIII of Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Lord Sri Krishna declares ``Abandoning
all duties, come to Me alone for refuge; I will relieve you from all sins;
grieve not.`` This verse is called by the Sri Vaishnavites as the CHARAMA
SLOKA or the final message of the Lord. In the Purusha Sukhta, the Parama
Purusha is called UTAMRITATSYESANAHA i.e. the Lord of Immortality as only He
can confer Immortality and none of the other Vedic gods. The very word
Venkata means freedom from all sins by seeking forgiveness of the Lord
through surrender. The eternal message conveyed by the Archa form at
Tirumala, is the teaching imparted by Lord Sri Krishna in the CHARAMA SLOKA
of Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
The biography of Sri Ramanuja reveals that during his halcyon
days, people of rival faiths out of spite and jealousy at the popularity of
Sri Vaishnavism claimed that the murti at Tirumala was not of the Supreme
Lord Vishnu. Sri Ramanuja is reported to have countered these false claims
by citing passages from Rig-Veda, Sattvika Puranas, etc. to prove beyond
any shadow of doubt that the image of the Lord residing in the Seven Hills is
of Lord Vishnu only. The eternal message conveyed by gesticulation in the
Moolava and the Utsava archanas of the Lord seems to give lie to the claims of
those who say that the image is not of the Supreme Lord. Besides, the psalms
of Alvars and several passages in the Puranas prominently bring out the
fact that the image at Tirumala is of Tirumal the Supreme Lord Vishnu only.
Several songs of the Haridasas of Karnataka and those of Annamacharya of
Andhra also highlight this fact.
16) ALVARS AND LORD VENKATESA
The Sri Vaishnava Saints of South India are called Alvars. The
term AZHWARS OR ALVARS refer to those saintly souls who were steeply
immersed in the exclusive devotion and worship of Lord Vishnu. Through
their Tamil psalms on the various deities in the Divya Deshas or consecrated
places they proclaimed the supremacy of Lord Vishnu. They prominently
brought out the greatness of His divine deeds as also His beauty, valour,
perfections, mercy, grace, etc., through their songs in the vernacular. As the
pioneers of theistic Vedanta they were thoroughly familiar with the inner
purport of the Vedas, Upanishads, Itihasas, Puranas, as also the Pancharatra
doctrines. They popularized the message of Vedic Vaishnavism through their
ecstatic devotional outpourings in the language of the masses which even to
this day are memorized by their followers and recited in Vaishnava temples.
The psalms of the Azhwars are regarded as equivalent to the Vedic hymns and
used in Vaishnavite temples along with the Vedas.
To the Alvars the Supreme Lord was not a sectarian deity of
Vaishanavism but the Universal Lord revealed in the Vedas. These saints, as
the supreme devotees of Lord Vishnu, were the foremost amongst the Sri
Vaishnava Acharyas (teachers). They propagated Sri Vaishnavism by
bringing out the message of theistic Vedanta to the notice of the masses
through their poetical works highlighting the divine glory and deeds of
Lord Vishnu in His various Avataras. As Dravida Veda i.e. Tamil Veda their
psalms bring out the essence of the Srutis (Vedas) and Smritis
(supplementary texts) for the benefit of the common folks. Sri Vaishnavism
follows Ubhaya Vedanta or two Vedanta philosophies namely the Tamil and the
Sanskrit Vedas. The chanting of the Lord's Divine Names, meditation of His
Archa (sacred image) and Avatara (incarnated) forms and worship in the Divya Deshas
or sanctified places have been the basic message of the Alvars in their
psalms which are collectively called the Nalayira Divya Prabhandam or the
4,000 divine songs.
Ten Alvars have together sung 195 songs in praise of the
Supreme Lord of the Seven Hills. The largest number of compositions, 63 in all,
have been composed by Tirumangai Alvar while only two verses have been
rendered by Tiruppan Alvar who makes a passing reference to Tirumala in his
poetical work in praise of the Lord in Srirangam. The first three Alvars
collectively known as the Mudal Alvars who have composed a hundred songs
each on the glory and greatness of Sriman Narayana have sung several songs
in praise of Lord Venkatesa. Poigai Alvar the first among the three has
sung 10, Bhutatazhwar the second has sung 9 while the third called Peyazwar
has rendered as many as 19 verses in praise of the deity of Tirumala. All
the Alvars describe the natural beauty of Tiruvengadam, the importance of
the place and the glory of the Supreme Lord there.
Nammalvar who is the most prominent of all the Alvars in one of
his 44 psalms in praise of Lord Venkatesa, says that the entire life time
should be spent in ceaseless loving service of the Supreme Lord at Tirumala.
Peyalvar refers to Venkadathan as VEDATTHAN meaning thereby that the Lord
of the Seven Hills is the One Supreme Lord and the Ultimate Truth of the
Vedas. Poigai Alvar calls Venkadam as MAL UGANDA VUR i.e. "the Abode most
liked by the Supreme Lord." Bhudatazhwar refers to Lord Venkatesa as
VEDATHAN VENKADATHAN VINNOR MUDI THOYUM PADATHAN, which means that the
prostrating Devas or gods worship the Lotus Feet of the Parama Purusha of
the Vedas residing in Tirumala with bowed head. In the eleven very poignant
and most moving verses rendered by Kulasekhara Alvar, who is believed to be
the author of the most popular devotional hymn called Mukunda Mala, the
saint prays to the Lord that he should be either an insect or a bird or a
fish or vessel or flower or tree or river or region or path or step or at
least some object in the hill of Tirumala. The psalms of the Alvars on
Lord Venkatesa are full of piety and bring out in lyrically beautiful Tamil
the greatness and glory of the hills and the Lord which cannot be recaptured
in translation.
Incidentally, it is interesting to note that even though
Tondaradipodi Alvar has not rendered any song on Lord Venkatesa , his
Tirppalliezhutchi, which is a garland of 11 verses to wake up the Lord of
Srirangam, is recited before Lord Venkatesa in the Dhanur Masa,
i.e.December-January, in place of the regular Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatham.
This only goes to show that the Lord at Srirangam and at Tirumala are the
self same Supreme Lord of the Vedas.
17) ACHARYAS AND LORD SRINIVASA
In verse 5 of Canto 90 of the devotional poem called Narayaneeyam,
the author Meppattur Narayana Bhattadri says `` The great Sankaracharya who
is termed Bhagavan to indicate his divinity, has done special honour to Thee
(Narayana) among all the deities, though in his philosophy he had no
particular loyalty to any deity. He has interpreted the Sri Vishnu
Sahasranama and other works as devoted exclusively to Thee and in the end he
passed away uttering Thy praise.``. In the introduction to the musical
rendering of the famous Bhaja Govindam song by Smt. M.S.Subbalakshmi, Rajaji
in his brief talk in English says that Sri Adi Sankara who drank the ocean
of knowledge (Jnana) rendered in his later years devotional hymns to show
that Bhakti (devotion) and Jnana (knowledge ) are one and the same. It is a
well known fact that the great Acharya composed several hymns in praise of
Lord Vishnu like the Shatpathi stotram, Bhaja Govindam etc., besides
devotional songs in praise of Lord Krishna, Hari, Mukunda, Panduranga etc.
Of all the devotional hymns of Sri Adi Sankara, the Bhaja
Govindam is possibly the most popular. According to Rajaji. the Acharya has
packed into the Bhaja Govindam song the essence of Vedanta. In the Hymn,
the Acharya asks us to worship Govinda as, at the hour of death, the rules
of grammar can be of no avail. The mind of the great Acharya is more
clearly revealed in one of the stanzas of Carpata-Panjarika stotram where it
is said `` Recite Gita, chant the thousand names of Lord Vishnu, meditate on
SREEPATHI ROOPAM. It is common knowledge that Lord Govinda is the SREEPATHI
extolled in the Sri Vishnu Sahasranama and propitiated in image form in
Tirumala as Sreenivasa.
Sri Yamunacharya (Alavandar) who was Sri Ramanuja`s predecessor, in
his poetical work called Stotra Ratna (Hymn jewel) asks the question KAHA
SHRIHI SHRIYAHA i.e. "who is the Lord of Shri". This question has relevance
to the passage in the Purusha Sukhta HRISCHA TE LAKSMISCHA PATNYOU i.e. "Hri
and Shri are His consorts". Yamunacharya seems to have in mind Shriyapathi
Lord Srinivasa when he raises the question. Though Acharya Ramanuja has not
composed any devotional hymn in praise of the Lord in Tirumala, in the
invocatory verse of his commentary on the Brahma Sutras, entitled Sri
Bhashya, he uses the words SRUTI SIRASSI VIDEEPTE BRAHMANI SREENIVASE. In
the very beginning of his monumental work he prays to the Supreme Lord with
the words `` May my mind be filled with devotion towards the Highest Brahman
the abode of Goddess Laksmi, who is luminously revealed in the Upanishads.
Shri Ramanuja seems to clearly follow his preceptor in the very opening
verse of his magnum opus.
Among the subsequent Vaishnava Acharyas, Sri Vedanta Desika who
was an intellectual genius and prolific writer on theistic Vedanta, is the
most prominent. In his poetical work called DAYA SATAKAM or hundred verses
in praise of the mercy of Supreme Lord Venkatesa, he begins the work with
the words PRAPADYE TAM GIRIM PRAYAHA SRINIVASANUKAMPAYA: "by surrendering
himself to Lord Srinivasa of Tirumala", before taking up the task of
describing the Lord's profound mercy. Other great Vaishnava Acharyas like
Tiruvarangathamudanar, the author of a poetical work on Sri Ramanuja and
Pillai Perumal Iyengar have composed some verses or whole poetical works in
praise of the Supreme Lord of the Seven Hills.
Among the Haridasas of Karnataka, Purandaradasa and Ranga Vittala are
comparatively well known for their beautiful and meaningful musical
compositions like VENKATACHALA NILAYAM.,TIRUPATHI VENKATARAMANA--- NAMBIDE
NINNAYA SARANA etc set to tuneful and melodious music and rendered with
devotion by prominent musicians. For the practice of Bhakti, devotional
music is very important. Alvars in several of their psalms refer to
singing and dancing for cultivation of Bhakti. Haridasas practised bhakti
through the medium of singing and dancing.. In the Andhra region, the name
of Talapakka Annmacharya stands very prominently as a very great devotee of
Lord Venakatesa. Through his lyrically embellished Telugu and Sanskrit
songs in praise of the Supreme Lord of the Seven Hills and His consort
Alamelumanga of Mangapuram Sri Annamayya propagated the Sri Vaishnava
religion advocated by Azhwars and Sri Vaishnava Acharyas. T.T.D.
Authorities have presented to the music lovers, the best compositions of
Annamayya rendered by famous musicians like Smt. M.S.Subbalakshmi,
Balamuralikrishna, Nedanuri Krishnamurthi Voletti Venakatesvarulu,
Balakrishna Prasad etc. From the life history of Saint Tyagaraja we learn
that when the saint visited the Tirumala temple, he was not able to worship
the Deity as the screen covered the image. He is reported to have sung then
and there the composition TERADEEYAKARADHA and the merciful Lord blessed
him with His Darshan(appearance) by removing the screen. The followers of
Shiridi Sai Baba say that he worshipped Venkusa, which is probably a
colloquial equivalent of Lord Venkatesa, the Lord of the Seven Hills.
18) CONCLUSION
In the Kali Yuga, the Pratyaksha Devata or sense perceived Lord is
Lord Venakatesa of Tirumala. Thanks to the Saturday morning broadcast over
AIR and the telecast over the Doordarshan and private channels, the
devotional hymn KOUSALYA SUPRAJA RAMA meant to wake up the Lord of the Seven
Hills has become a household word and many have learnt the Venkatesa
Suprabhatham hymn by heart for daily recital. The devotees of the Lord are
considerably increasing day by day and the T.T.D.Authorities deserve all
praise for the able manner in which they manage the vast crowds daily at
Tirupathi, Tiruchanur and Tirumala. The devotees consider a visit to
Tirumala and even a glimpse of the SWAYAM VYAKTA (self manifested) Lord
after hours or even days of waiting as a richly satisfying and highly soul
elevating experience. Devotees find that their prayers are answered,
burdens are relieved, needs are met, wishes are fulfilled and the trust
reposed by them on their Lord is never betrayed.
The declaration of Varaha Purana that there is no God equal to the
Supreme Lord of the Seven Hills is proved to be absolutely true to the very
letter by the vast number of devotees of the Lord Venkatesa. In the
material luxuries of modern life our countrymen even abroad have not
forgotten the spiritual aspect of life. Despite all the scientific
knowledge and technological advancement, the number of devotees of Lord
Venkatesa is only on the increase and it looks as though even atheists and
agnostics visiting Tirumala may be influenced by the piety and the divine
atmosphere there.
The Supreme Lord should not be viewed as a sectarian deity of the
Sri Vaishnavas only but as the One Universal Lord of the entire mankind.
All theistic religions of the world may more or less be some form of the
Vedic religion only with belief in One Supreme Lord. Faith and reason form
the base of theistic Vedanta. Sri Vaishnavism is the logical outcome of the
Nigama (Vedanta) and Agama (Pancharatra) traditions and both these are of
Vedic origin only representing the theory and the practice of the Vedic
religion. The author sincerely hopes that this article will stimulate the
interest of readers to learn more about Vaishnavism in order to gain a
fuller understanding of the fundamental tenets of the Vedic Vaishnavism,
which is so essential for a purer inner life and a better outer life. Due
importance and recognition should be given to the spiritual aspect of life
as the present life here and now is but a preparation for an eternal life in
the hereafter.
