Mantra for mankind
|
On Ramanjucharya jayanthi, his "Antakshari mantra" become more relevant.
|
A young saint, Ramanuja by name, is walking towards a hamlet, which is near Pudukkottai. Setting out from Srirangam for the 18th time since he approached his guru, he does not seem disgruntled and is moving forward. He approaches the village and reaches a hermitage, where an old Vaishnava saint resides. Ramanuja falls at the guru's feet. ``Oh! You have come again? All right, I just wanted to find out whether you are serious, whether you have a zeal for the mantra. That is why I have been postponing the initiation,'' says the Guru.
The guru then takes him inside the hut and whispers the mantra and cautions Ramanuja against revealing the ashtakarna mantra to anybody else. The secrecy of the mantra is to be preserved. The guru warns Ramanuja: "Promise me that you will obey my command. If you disobey, you will go to hell.'' Ramanuja holds out the promise, takes the preceptor's leave. He, moves in the direction of Srirangam
and looks at the local temple. He suddenly starts climbing its tall tower (gopuram). Pleading for the Lord's mercy, he climbs the spire (vimana), from where he shouts beckoning the public. In no time, hundreds of people gather. Ramanuja is not happy with that small number. He goads more and more people to the place.
People come in multitudes. Finally satisfied with the mammoth gathering, Ramanuja begins uttering the , mantra, which he had obtained from his guru.
Flabbergasted guru
Word about the strange behaviour of Ramanuja reaches the guru, who rushes to the spot and commands his disciple to forthwith stop it. . But by that time, Ramanuja who had completed his assignment, climbs down calmly and bows before the guru. The guru seethes with anger. "I have warned you the danger of this bitterness beforehand. Yet you have ignored all that and you have committed the sin. Don't you know that for this insolence you are accursed to be in hell for thousands of years?" the guru asks. Replies Ramanuja: "Yes, Sir!"
``Then why have you committed this sin?'' the guru enquires.
"It gives me the unmatchable bliss because these multitudes are sure to reach the abode of Lord Vishnu. In such a case, my living in hell makes no difference to me.'' The guru is dumbfounded. Seeing his own master Yamunacharya in the young saint, the guru starts praising Ramanuja from the bottom of his heart, and cries with joy hailing him as Emberumanaar (The Lord). Thus, Sri Ramanujacharya gave the Ashtakshari mantra to one and all, sans restrictions of caste, creed and other man-made denominations. Let that pioneering effort inspire one and all for all time to come.
T. SREENIVASA RAMANUJAM
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
