Sri Vaishnava Calendar 2012
| Date | Occasion |
|---|---|
| 4th May (Friday) | Sri Madhurakavi Alwar Thirunakshatram, Sri Ananthalwan Thirunakshatram |
| 25th May (Friday) | Alwarthirunagari Vaikasi Visakam Utsavam Starts |
| 16th May (Wednesday) | Ekadashi |
For Srirangam temple Utsavam & Festival details (includes Alwar Acharya Thirunakshatrams for 2012) – srirangam.org/festivals_currentyear.html
For Tirumala Tirupathi Brahmotsavam details – tirumala.org/utsavams.htm
Ahobila Mutt Ekadashi Calculator - ahobilamutt.org/us/services/ekadasi/samekadasi.asp
Aug 13, 2010 @ 15:44:31
Swami,
Apparently 23rd of August, 2010 is Hayagriva Jayanthi. Could you confirm the same? Thanks!
-Dasyai
Aug 09, 2010 @ 15:33:40
Swami,
Adiyen Ananthamana Thandan Samarpitha Vignapanam.
I have been keenly listening to Velukkudi Swami’s Upanyasam for the last 6 months, in person (at Mumbai) through CDs and through Vijay and Pothigai TVs.
I want to listen to puranas/ithihasams regarding avatars and Leelas of NARAYANA in other lokas and other countries of this earth. Kindly guide me.
Aug 09, 2010 @ 20:15:37
Swami,
Unfortunately, there is no proper list of Kinchitakram CD’s available on the net. Still, the following links can help you
http://acharya.org/mmedia/audio/upanyasam/index.html – This site has a good number of Upanyasams of Swami Velukkudi Krishnan.
http://www.kinchitkaramtrust.org/publications_audio.html – This has a list of audio publications by the Trust, but its not been updated.
You can also call the Kinchitkaram Trust for details on CD Availability. Am also sure that there might be Kinchitkaram Trust volunteers in Mumbai who will help you join as volunteer and also have CDs of upanyasams.
Kinchitkaram Trust Contact info Old No 6, Bheemasena Garden St,
Mylapore,
Chennai – 600 004,
+91 – 44 – 2499 – 2728
Sep 22, 2011 @ 10:20:30
Hi Nanda Kumar,
You can check the below links to hear upanyasams of Sri. U.Ve.Velukkudi Krishnan..
http://saranagathi.org/
http://bhaktipaadal.com/albums.php
http://www.vedics.org/
Aug 02, 2010 @ 16:51:25
Thank you so much for collecting and listing down the Sri Vaishnava events month by month. I depend on them now! Thank you for this service.
Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan
Aug 07, 2010 @ 13:02:27
All credit to Sriman Narayana for giving me the Will & Energy to do it swami.
Adiyean.
Jul 04, 2010 @ 13:00:55
Dear Bhagavatas,
It seems as though some confusion exists regarding Sri Ramanuja’s views w.r.t to MAdhvAs, GaudiyAs, etc.
For a comparison of Madhva’s views with Sri Ramanuja please refer the following link:
http://antaryami.net/news/index.php/serials/146-refutation-of-dvaita-vedanta.html.
This shows how our purvAchAryAs have refuted Dvaita, and how different Dvaita VedAntA is from Vishishtadvaita.
For a comparison of Gaudiya tenets with Vishishtadvaita, please refer:
http://sriranganatha.tripod.com/id15.html
http://sriranganatha.tripod.com/Parathvam.pdf
http://sriranganatha.tripod.com/id14.html
I thank you for your attention.
Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan,
Narayana.
Jul 04, 2010 @ 12:52:12
Dear Swami,
Once again, you have misunderstood Vishishtadvaita and have relied on the opinions of other Vedantins. Please read on.
“per SriBhasyakarar’s vakyam considering Brahman’s svarupyam as prakriti indicates not that Lord Vishnu as Svayam prakriti but ‘He from whom this great Brahman came forth’ as u have already mentioned.Since prakriti comes forth from the all pervading Purusha(since prakriti is NOT independent), it is supposed to have all qualities possessed by Parabrahman only qualitatively.But since prakriti is a part of the Supreme Lord SriHari, it can be referred to as Brahman.” Acc. to Ramanuja’s vakyam we should try to understand that what it actually means is :
Sriman Narayana is Parabrahman.He is also Brahman. Prakriti manifests from Sriman Naryana.Hence it is called Brahman.Prakriti is His potency.Lord Narayana resides as the controller of prakriti.Hence He can be called as prakriti.Sri Bhasyakarar tries to explain the difference in oneness of these terms.Though prakriti is inseperable eternally from the Lord, still a difference is maintained.”
You are confusing everything that I have mentioned. Nobody denies that prakrti is inseparable to Brahman and hence, is called Brahman by virtue of being its body. That is SamanAdhikaranyam.
However, the tem ‘Brahman’ is itself a common noun meaning ‘that which grows big’ and hence, can be used independently to refer to prakrti and jivAtmA. Please do not make me repeat everything again. VedAnta Sangraham, Sri Bhashyam and Gita BhAshyam can be consulted.
JivA and Prakrti are called Brahman because they are inseparable from Narayana. At the same time, JivA has a NAME ‘Brahman’ and Prakrti has a NAME, ‘Brahman’ because they have the quality of greatness, ie, jnAnA is great for jivA and size is great forr prakrti. Sriman Narayana is Parabrahman, which means Highest Brahman’, which cannot be applied to other entities.
It is like calling NArAyaNa as Agni. If we use SamanAdhikaranyam, we say Agni DevatA is body of NArAyaNa and hence, the name Agni refers to NArAyaNA. But We can also say the word ‘Agni’ is a common noun meaning ‘radiant one’. Sriman NArAyaNa is radiant and hence, is ‘Agni’ (without involving the DevatA).
Do not confuse samanAdhikaranyam with this.
“Mula Prakriti definitely refers to Periya Piratti.She is also the presiding deity of MulaPrakriti.There are many references in the scriptures……”
Lakshmi is called prakrti in the sense of being the possession of Narayana. Please read Swami Ramanuja’s Gita Bhashya. Two prakrtis are under the possession of Krishna. One is the jagat, The other is the JivA. ‘Prakrti’ is a term that denotes possession as well. That is why Krishna calls the JivAs as His ‘prakrti’ as well. They are His possessions.
Piratti being the presiding deity of prakrti is a tenet of Dvaita, not Vishishtadvaita. The various pramAnAs referring to her as MUlaprakrti denote that She is the chief possession, ie, very dear to Narayana and nothing more. MAdhvA interprets it differently.
Piratti is Jagan Mata. She is Sarvagatah as per Vishnu PurAnA. No need to say more.
You are once again mixing Dvaita with Vishishtadvaita. Please refer ONLY to Ramanuja Bhashya and nothing else. Gaudiya/Madhva VedAntA is not authority for Sri Vaishnavas.
“As far as Madhvacharya is concerned,He maintains the difference b/w Piratti and Narayana as per PanchaBhedas while Sri Ramanuja proposes Mulaprakriti to be inseperable from SrimanNarayana.It is to be noted that both have propounded the same theory in different dimensions just like the way there are diff methods to solve the same quadratic eqn..!!!”
MAdhvA VedAntA is drastically different from Vishishtadvaita. I have written many articles about it. Although both appear similar, they differ even in basic tenets such as the svarUpa of JivAtmA.
You are once again using Gaudiya techniques to show that both are same. Just because both Madhva and Sri Ramanuja accept prakriti is different from Narayana, doesn’t mean its the same thing. MAdhvA’s concept of Visesa, Ananda TArAtamya, Jiva Bheda, have been refuted by later sri vaishnava acharyas like ParakAla Yati, SrinivAsAchAryA, etc.
I have already posted many articles refuting Dvaita Vedanta, based on pUrvAchAryAs’s works, in other sites.
“Let me clarify few things with you. The Gaudiya point (which u claimed “part and parcel- there is no such thing” ) is definitely in phase with the SriVaisnava viewpoint. Many works of Swami Desikan and Emperumanar have upheld that the jiva is subservient to the Lord. Now the basic tenet is that the whole cosmos rests in Sriman Narayana. This means that the Lord is the Ultimate Creator of everything. This means that all the jivas should belong to Him. Consequently, we are a part of Him.If we were not, then how on earth could the Lord eside in us in Paramatma aspect…???”
There is no such thing as ‘Brahman aspect’, ‘ParamAtmA aspect’, BhagavAn aspect’. There is only BhagavAn, who is variously known as Sat, AtmA, Brahman, Sriman Narayana, etc.
ParamAtmA simply means ‘Supreme Self’. It does not exclusively pertain to AntaryAmi. Lord is ParamAtmA wherever He is. And AntaryAmi is also not ‘incomplete’ or ‘partial’.
Gaudiya tenets of BhagavAn’s difference in ‘rasa’, the idea that BhagavAn is ‘non-different’ from His body, the idea that jivA is a ‘part’ of Him is not in tune with Ramanuja VedAntA.
In fact, Sri Ramanuja agrees with Adi Sankara in stating that the body of Brahman is different from Brahman. Many pramanAs have been provided for the same. We have also refuted MAdhvA theory of Visesa, which Dvaitins use to provide that Brahman is not different from His body, qualities, etc.
Let me state this verse:
MamaivAmso jIvalOke jIva bhUtha: sanAthana:|
mana: shashtAni indriyAni prakrthisthAni karshathi||
(Bhagavad Gita 15 chapter 7th verse)
SRI RAMANUJACHARYA:
The atma or immortal soul within all jivas or embodied beings constitutes an ETERNAL PORTION of Lord Krishna and thus is also eternal……….. This is the difference.
Wrong translation. MamaivAmso refers to the fact that the jivA is a VibhUti of Krishna. The jivA has a JnAnAndamaya SvarUpA and this svarUpA is due to its being the body of the Lord (Yasya AtmA SarIram). Hence, the purity of the jivA is also due to the Lord only. This makes the greatness of the jivA as the vibhUti of BhagavAn.
Since the jivA is the body of the Lord, it is as eternal as Him. Translating ‘Amsa’ as ‘plenary portion’, ‘eternal portion’, ‘parts and parcel’, etc. is not in tune with Sri Ramanuja’s tiruvullam. JivA is a prakAra or mode of Brahman due to it being the body of Brahman.
For an accurate translation, please read ‘Gita Saram’ by Tirukallam Swami, former AsthAnA VidvAn of Ahobila Mutt. The book is a translation of Swami Ramanuja Bhashya with Tatparya Chandrika of Vedanta Desikan.
Chandogya Upanisad VI.IX.II beginning te yatha tatra na vivekamlabhante meaning: As the pollen of different flowers forms the essence of honey and lose their individual identities in the same manner all jivas lose their individual existences when they merge into the brahman although they know not in their varigated forms from whence they have come forth.”
Please refer to Dr. NS AnantarangachAr’s publications on Sri Ranga Ramanuja Muni’s commentary on Upanishads. That VAkyA refers to JivAs having their dharma bhUta jnAnA reduced to nil during ShuShUpti and possessing only SvarUpa jnAnA.
MAdhvA, NimbArkA, et al., do not accept the concept of dharma bhUta jnAnA. Sri Vaishnava Acharyas have soundly refuted the criticisms of other traditions.
“Regarding Tulsidas’s avataram, these are the pramanas:In Bhavishyottar Purana,”
Before quoting PurAnA VAkyams, we need to ensure that the subject matter is in accordance to the VedA.
TulasidAs RAmAyaNa is against the tenets of VedAntA as it has some Unvedic material like Rama worshipping Shiva. Since this goes against VedAs, TulasidAs RAmAyaNa is rejected by Vishishtadvaitins.
Then, the purAnA vAkyam is not an authority since the Sruti has itself shown the inconsistency of Tulasidas’ work. So, we have to conclude that the purAnA has been interpolated.
If TulasidAs’ work was in line with Sruti, we could hav accepted the purAnA vAkyAs. Since this is not the case, we reject it. And this has nothing to do with Ramanandi Sampradaya’s acceptance.
Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan,
Narayana.
Jul 02, 2010 @ 10:24:12
Dear Swami,
Thanks a lot for the useful info you have provided.adiyen am
sorry for the late reply.adiyen am definitely convinced about
all the justifications that ur goodself has provided.But allow
me to deliberate with few clarifications.
1. Everybody knows that the Narayanopanisad starts with the
verse “Om atha: PURUSHO ha vai NARAYANO…” Here it is
straightforwardly proclaimed that Sriman Narayana is
PURUSHA.Furthermore Narayana is not only Brahman but He
is Parabrahman.Now the question arises whether Brahman
can also refer to Prakriti?? Definitely yes, but as per
SriBhasyakarar’s vakyam considering Brahman’s svarupyam
as prakriti indicates not that Lord Vishnu as Svayam prakriti
but ‘He from whom this great Brahman came forth’ as u have
already mentioned.Since prakriti comes forth from the all
pervading Purusha(since prakriti is NOT independent), it is
supposed to have all qualities possessed by Parabrahman
only qualitatively.But since prakriti is a part of the Supreme
Lord SriHari, it can be referred to as Brahman. Acc. to
Ramanuja’s vakyam we should try to understand that what it
actually means is :
Sriman Narayana is Parabrahman.He is also Brahman.
Prakriti manifests from Sriman Naryana.Hence it is called
Brahman.
Prakriti is His potency.Lord Narayana resides as the
controller of prakriti.Hence He can be called as prakriti.
Sri Bhasyakarar tries to explain the difference in oneness of
these terms.Though prakriti is inseperable eternally from the
Lord, still a difference is maintained.
2.Mula Prakriti definitely refers to Periya Piratti.She is also
the presiding deity of MulaPrakriti.There are many references
in the scriptures:
* As u have already told,Brahma Purana calls Piratti as ‘Chit
Prakrti’…
*The Gopala Tapanyopanisad says so:
Krsnatmika jagatkartri mulaprakriti rukmini
Who is Rukmini? She is Periya piratti Herself. She is called
Jagatam Kartri- the creator of the world and mulaprakriti…
*A lot of references to Her being the Mulaprakriti can be seen
in Laxmi tantra…
*The most common Laxmi Ashtottara introduces Her as
Prakritim Vikrutim vidyam…
*As far as Madhvacharya is concerned,He maintains the
difference b/w Piratti and Narayana as per PanchaBhedas
while Sri Ramanuja proposes Mulaprakriti to be inseperable
from SrimanNarayana.It is to be noted that both have
propounded the same theory in different dimensions just like
the way there are diff methods to solve the same quadratic
eqn..!!!
3. As far as reln. b/w body and soul is concerned, adiyen am
fully convinced.Thank u very much for the postings.And also
about the position of sivan.Thanks a lot!!!
4.Let me clarify few things with you. The Gaudiya point (which
u claimed “part and parcel- there is no such thing” ) is
definitely in phase with the SriVaisnava viewpoint. Many
works of Swami Desikan and Emperumanar have upheld that
the jiva is subservient to the Lord. Now the basic tenet is that
the whole cosmos rests in Sriman Narayana. This means that
the Lord is the Ultimate Creator of everything. This means
that all the jivas should belong to Him. Consequently, we are a
part of Him.If we were not, then how on earth could the Lord
reside in us in Paramatma aspect…???
Let me state this verse:
MamaivAmso jIvalOke jIva bhUtha: sanAthana:|
mana: shashtAni indriyAni prakrthisthAni karshathi||
(Bhagavad Gita 15 chapter 7th verse)
SRI RAMANUJACHARYA:
The atma or immortal soul within all jivas or embodied beings
constitutes an ETERNAL PORTION of Lord Krishna and thus
is also eternal. Yet because the jiva is inextricably emeshed
in material existence from time immemorial it is enslaved by
the nescience of its own karma or reactions to actions and
revolves incessantly in samsara the perpetrual cycle of birth
and death. Precisely based on this karma a jiva is forced to
accept a suitable body such as a demigod, human, animal
etc., attracting with it five senses and a mind exactly
appropriate to maximising the chances of survival for such a
jiva. But when the jiva through association of the Vaisnava
spiritual master becomes enlightened from hearing his
unequivocal instructions and surrenders fully unto the
Supreme Lord Krishna as one’s only refuge then Lord Krishna
Himself releases the jiva from the bondage of samsara and
the jiva becomes situated in atma-tattva or soul realisation.
Other than taking exclusive shelter of Lord Krishna or any of
His authorised incarnations as revealed in Vedic sciptures it
is impossible for the jiva which is very much handicapped in
terms of intelligence and potency to achieve moksa or
liberation. This is due to the heavy burden of unresolved
karma attached to the jiva that they must carry with them life
after life. But all actions performed for the satisfaction of the
Supreme Lord have no karma attached to them. This is the
difference.
SRI VISNUSVAMIN:
Chandogya Upanisad VI.IX.II beginning te yatha tatra na
vivekamlabhante meaning: As the pollen of different flowers
forms the essence of honey and lose their individual identities
in the same manner all jivas lose their individual existences
when they merge into the brahman although they know not in
their varigated forms from whence they have come forth. Lord
Krishna explains that an eternal portion of Himself is within
the etheric heart of every jiva in existence in the form of
paramatma the eternal, omnipresent supreme soul which
exists next to the atma or individual immortal soul as a
witness. The jiva although eternal in essence having an
eternal portion of the Supreme Lord, through ignorance and
false identification of the physical body becomes a samsarin
drawn by the desires and attachments of the previous
existence to suffer or enjoy as precisely dictated by karma or
the reactions to actions performed in past lives.
SRI MADHVACHARYA:
Lord Krishna explains a manifestation of His divine form. Due
to the atma or immortal soul although distinctly different is
similar in quality to the Supreme Lord it is sometimes spoken
of as a partial manifestation. The Supreme Lord when
enveloping the physical body, energises the five senses and
activates the mind relative to prakriti the material substratum
pevading physical existence. The statement that the mind is
drawn toards sound may give rise to the misnomer that the
jiva or embodied being is independent. This is Acharya
Madhva’s statement.
SRI NIMBARKACHARYA:
So whenever Lord Krishna speaks of His portion or His
potency, it always denotes eternality as every part of Him is
eternal and is not a seperate entity or consciousness. Lord
Krishna already declared in chapter 7, verse 5 that he has an
internal and external nature. Although the power and the
powerful appear as seperate energies they cannot exist
independent of each other even though eternally exemplifying
unity in diversity as is evidenced by the jiva or embodied
being, which is confined to inhaling air or water as the case
may be in various organisms. Those not fully situated in
spiritual knowledge have the opinion that the atma is the
highest self and that it only appears limited due to the
covering of nescience which is like ether appearing limited in
a pitcher. When the limiting adjuncts are no longer in contact
with each other then the ether is perceived without limitations
and in the same way when the adjunct of nescience is
removed the true nature of the atma is revealed. But this
supposition is directly refuted in this verse by the word
sanatana meaning eternal because it is a part of Lord
Krishna. The singular usage of the compound words
jiva-bhuta refers to the category of jiva and includes all jivas
in every dimension throughout all creation.
All these Acharyas have extensively explained that jiva is a
portion of Supreme Lord. There might be some minute
differences but ultimately, they mean the same.
5.Regarding Tulsidas’s avataram, these are the pramanas:
In Bhavishyottar Purana, Lord Shiva tells Parvati how Valmiki
got a boon from Hanuman to sing the glories of Lord Rama in
vernacular language in the Kali Yuga. This prophecy of Lord
Shiva materialised on the Shraavan Shukla Saptami, Vikrami
Samvat 1554 when Valmiki reincarnated as Tulsidas.
” Valmikistulasidasa: kalau devi bhavisyati |
ramachandrakathametam bhashabaddham karishyati ||
Maruter shakti sampanna: sheshashishya: haripriya:|
Ramanandakara: sriman ayodhya bhashyakaraka:||
-Bhavishyottar Purana, Pratisarga Parva, 4.20
Valmiki as Tulasidas, with the potency of Maruti and as the
disciple of Ananta Shesha will bring joy to Rama in Ayodhya
dialect. Here it can be noted that Tulasidas is an avataram of
Valmiki. He is The disciple of Anantashesha( who is Sri
Ramanuja Himself!!!). Ramandakara: also hints that he
belongs to Ramanandi sect, a branch of our Sampradayam.
Nabhadas, a contemporary of Tulsidas and a great devotee,
also describes Tulsidas as incarnation of Valmiki in his work
Bhaktmaal. Even the Ramanandi sect (Tulsidas belonged to
this sect) firmly believes that it was Valmiki himself who
incarnated as Tulsidas in the Kali Yuga.
Hence if Tulsidas and his sampradaya is authentic, then his
works are undoubtedly authoritative.
6. Regarding ur explanations about rasas, adiyen am
extensively convinced.
It is my conviction that adiyen’s post is not offending
anybody. Aparadhaan kshamasva,
With due dandavats,
adiyen A.R.DAsan
Jun 15, 2010 @ 13:57:50
(I mean according to your Sri Sampradaya Calendar.)
Jun 15, 2010 @ 13:56:53
Dear Sir, could you please remind when was Purushottama Month this spring?
Jun 09, 2010 @ 16:54:36
TirukottiyurNambi Tirunakshatram
on june 12 what is that means can you send me reply
Jun 09, 2010 @ 22:31:43
Thirunakshitram means Star. In tamil birthdays are celebrated based on the Stars. Birthdays of Alwars & Acharyas (saints) of Sri Vaishnavam are referred to as ThiruNakshitram (Thiru for respect). So TirukottiyurNambi Tirunakshatram on june 12 means Birthday of Thirukotiyur Nambhi (Acharya of Swami Ramanuja) on June 12.
Jun 06, 2010 @ 23:20:57
its very good