A Rendezvous with the ‘Diva’.......

Hey! Dears..meeting you’ll again with an anecdote that speaks volumes about the Love of MA:

All of you am sure must have heard about the great saint Ramanujar ..{at least thanks to Varalotti Sir who has written so much on Him!}

Well! well..Saras, why are you confusing us??-just now you said that you are going to narrate an anecdote of your Ma,.and now you are talking about Ramanujar!!

-Yes! because the anecdote I said, I’m going to talk about is very much based on this ‘Bashyakaarar’ Ramanujar, who was bestowed with a ‘divine’ opportunity of ‘Meeting’ Ma..and how..He had the rare privilege of being WELCOMED..by the DIVA Herself:


It was a habit with the saints, those days to be travelling from one place to another..however distant is their destination..they did not mind going on foot..for their only task and mission lay in spreading the greatness of the Lord.

This was only more so in the case of our Ramanujar..who never left any stone unturned when it came to this!

Once he undertakes to tour..he would never mind the exhaustion..the hunger .. thirst-all his senses would be soaked only in the Love for his Lord..with which alone he could survive for days together without an iota of food, for his mind..his soul..his body..everything would just be filled only with a unique and overwhelming ‘Aura of Devotion’!

{jus’ in case..for a brush-up for you’ll, to give you’ll a picture of the saint’s utmost concentration for the Lord when he goes on one of those ‘Mission-Tours’- Here is a link of one of Sir’s blogs- http://www.indusladies.com/forums/blogs/varalotti/its-all-about-love-again-2585/



The serene banks of the NeelumKishenGanga river was famous not just for flowing through the Paradise that will leave one wonderstruck- Kashmir..but for ‘giving it’s laps’ to Ma Saraswathi’s shrine-the ‘Sharada Peetam’..

The shrine in those days was such a celebrated centre of Learning..that Kashmir was in fact referred to as, the‘Sharada Desh’..where Saintly scholars from all over the country..would meet up!

{In fact legend has it that the Sharada idol at the Shringeri Sharadamba temple, is supposed to have been taken by Sankaracharya from here.}

‘Twas here that our Ramanujar had arrived.. travelling all the way from Srirangam; he wanted to refer to Bodhayana's vritthi before commencing his divine commentary on the Brahma sutras-‘The Sri Bhashya’.



As he entered the threshold of the shrine….
…the whole place got illuminated:
And it didn’t take much time for the saint to recognize the glowing countenance of the ‘graceful young lady’..waiting to welcome Him!!!

Yes! it was ‘saatchath’ Saraswathi Ma, who came down from Her altar to open the doors of Her Shrine for Her loving son.

She asked Ramanujar to explain the meaning of a particularly complex ‘vritthi, which the latter did so beautifully.

Pleased with the explanation..it is said that She blessed Ramanujar..with an idol of Lord Hayagrivar!!

So, that’s the anecdote behind one more of Ma’s Compassionate acts..towards Her dear Devotees!!
Saras.

 

Dear vjb,
At the outset thanks for stepping in!

In regard with your query:
Ramanujar’s works include Vedanta Sangraha(summary of the meaning of the Vedas), commentary on the Brahma Sutras(Sri Bhashyam), Geeta Bhashya,(commentary on Bhagavath Geeta), Trayama(Sharanagarthi Gadyam, SriRanga Gadyam, Vaikunta Gadyam).
{Sharanagathi Gadyama is about complete surrender to Sriman Narayana}
In addition to this Ramanujacharya also had written Vedanta Sara, Vedanta Deepa, and Nithya Granthams(day to day activities related to God’s worship).

Now..legend has it that when Ramanujar visited 'Sharada Peetam', Goddess Saraswathi had asked him to explain his commentary on the 'Bramha Sutram', written by Adi Shankara.
First let me tell what iota of knowledge I have on 'Brahma Sutram:

The study of Brahma Sutras is a synthetic study of the Upanishads. It treats of the Vedanta philosophy.
The Vedas are eternal.It is the authentic record of transcendental experiences or direct and actual realisation of the great Hindu Rishis or seers. Brahma Sutra is the Science of the Soul.

Sutras are concise aphorisms. They give the essence of the arguments on a topic. Maximum of thought is compressed or condensed into these Sutras in as few words as possible.

Great intellectual people only, with realisation, can compose Sutras. They are clues or aids to memory. They cannot be understood without a lucid commentary..and it is this commentary that Ramanujar had dealt with..it's like an expansive ocean..and not an easy task for ordinary souls like me to explain the same..even a mere attempt to that will not do any justice!!

But, coming back to our story..it was this flawless commentary of the saint that had impressed MA..and it is She who named it "Sri Bhashyam" and conferred on him the title of "Bhashyakaarar".

It must be noted that while the other commentaries are known by the names of their authors like 'Sankara Bashyam' written by Aadhi Sankara, the commentary of Ramanujar is always reffered to with the venerable 'Sri' denoting its unsurpassed quality and clarity and known as ' Sri Bashyam'!
Saras.

 

>That was a beautiful blog, Saras. Ramanujar getting Hayagriva from your Ma.
-thank you dear sir for those cherish able words

>thanks for referring to my name though what I did to the saint was next to nothing. I know for sure that I am a hardened sinner. Otherwise why I got separated me from the great saint by a time gap of over thousand years..
-Oh! sir..just because of the fact that you weren't his contemporary..will surely not mitigate your beautiful qualities-one among them, being your writings based on Him

>Saras my mind is flooded with too much of emotions thinking of Ramanuja and Koorathazhwan. I have to force myself to stop the fb at this point.
-Felt really overwhelmed on reading this sir. btw thanks a lot for yet another anecdote on the saint which makes my blog-page even more worthier!!!
Regards &love,
Saras.

 

Dear Akila,
Thanks for dropping by..the time..and the compliments
Cheers,
Saras

 

Thank you dear Sir for that authentic clarification which till date I wasn't aware of.I'm sure whoever steps in here, too, will benefit from your terse and authentic explanation of the 'Brahma Sutra'.

>But Saras, personally I will any day recommend the study of Azhwar's paasurams and Nayanmars compositions. The philosophical treatises, I am afraid, will only make us more intellectual and more arrogant. I am for an emotional love, whether it is God or another human being.
-that too is like an eye-opener, telling us to just go for the love of God..which does not require any manuscript or treatise..just love him straight from your heart!!!

Regards & love,
Saras