Page 11 - Sri Ramanujacharya Sahasrabdhi - 1000th year anniversary of Ramanujacarya

sangraha to explain how to understand the real iden ty of the abso-
lute truth in CC Adi 7.140.

“Par al realiza on of the Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman de-
nies the complete opulences of the Lord. This is a hazardous under-
standing of the Absolute Truth. Unless one accepts all the features of
the Absolute Truth — namely impersonal Brahman, localized Para-
matma and ul mately the Supreme Personality of Godhead — one’s
knowledge is imperfect. Sripada Ramanujacarya, in his Vedartha-
sangraha, says, jnanena dharmena svarupam api nirupitam, na tu
jnana-matram brahme katham idam avagamyate. He thus indicates
that the real iden ty of the Absolute Truth must be understood in
terms of both His knowledge and His characteris cs. Simply to under-

stand the Absolute Truth to be full of knowledge is not sufficient. In the
Vedic literature (Mundaka Up. 1.1.9) we find the statement yah sarva-
jnah sarva-vit, which means that the Absolute Truth knows everything
perfectly, but we also learn from the Vedic descrip on parasya sak r
vividhaiva sruyate that not only does He know everything, but He also
acts accordingly by u lizing His different energies. Thus to understand
that Brahman, the Supreme, is conscious is not sufficient. One must
know how He consciously acts through His different energies. Mayava-
da philosophy simply informs us of the consciousness of the Absolute

Truth but does not give us informa on of how He acts with His con-
sciousness. That is the defect of that philosophy.”

From the above it is clear that the siddhanta of the Sri Vaisnavas and
the Madhava-Gaudiya Vaisnavas is fundamentally the same.

Srila Prabhupada quotes Yamunacarya’s teachings
In the following morning walk conversa on Srila Prabhupada indicates
that the Sri Vaisnava tradi on of Vaisnavism emphasizes “Lakshmiji
Pada-sevanam - Sravana kirtana vishnu smarana pada-sevanam” and

that Ramanujacarya is the most prominent acarya in the Sri Vaisnava
tradi on. A verse from the prominent Alvar saint Yamunacarya, the

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