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- Different schools of thought arose within
the Vedic tradition and their philosophies are based on the scriptures
(the Prasthana traya the Brahma sutras, Bhagavad Gita and the
Upanishads) on the basis of the personal intuitive wisdom of
the mystics and the Acharyas who experienced the truth. One such
is the Visishtadvaita school established by Ramanuja( see picture).
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- The mystics of this tradition are known
as the Alwars (because they were steeped in God-consciousness)
and their revelations contained in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham
are revered on par with the Vedas, and hence this school is referred
to as the Ubhaya Vedanta. The Alwars in their hymns have taught
that the Divine must be sought through the method of Saranagati
(Self-surrender) and Bhakti which is loving meditation on God.
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- It was due to the efforts of Nathamuni
that the four thousand hymns of these mystic saints have come
down to us. He was himself a great devotee and an adept in Yoga.
It was left to the Acharyas of this system to systematise the
philosophy and teachings of the scriptures and Alwars.
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- Yamunacharya, the grandson of Nathamuni
is considered the first Acharya and he was in every respect a
worthy predecessor of Ramanuja who acknowledges his indebtedness
to him in all his works. The source book for his magnum opus,
the Sri Bhashya, which is a commentary on the Brahma sutras,
is the Siddhi traya of Yamuna who was hailed as Alavandar by
the queen of his native land.
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- In his lecture on the contribution of
the Acharyas of the Srivaishnava tradition, Sri M. Narasimhachari
said, that it was through Yamunacharya that this system had its
firm evolution and his contribution is acknowledged with gratitude
by Ramanuja and other subsequent Acharyas of this school. The
Gitartha sangraha is his interpretation of the Gita and in the
Agamapramanya he has established the orthodoxy of the Pancharatra
Agamas. If these works bring out Alavandar's prodigious knowledge
of the Vedanta he surpasses his scholarship with his mystical
fervour in his stotra works, the Catussloki and the Stotraratna
which are lyrical masterpieces.
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- This gem among hymns as it is aptly named
cannot be judged by conventional literary standards, though it
excels even then, is composed in the mystic language of one who
has traversed the mystical path and experienced the agony of
the soul before redemption and the ecstasy of union with God.
The doctrine of Self-surrender and his restlessness because of
separation from God is reflected throughout. That the Lord should
come to his succour and accept his Saranagati and bless him with
true devotion is his only ardent prayer
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