Homepage
Gallery
Blog
Atishaya Bazaar
Site Search
Site Map




Laksmi and Sri Ramanujacarya



"The Ramanuja-sampradaya, they are called Sri-sampradaya. They worship Laksmi-Narayana. Everyone worships the Lord and His potency, spiritual potency. Just like we worship Radha-Krsna, similarly, the Ramanuja-sampradaya, they worship Laksmi-Narayana or Sita-Rama. So we should follow the sampradaya. Sampradaya - vihina ye mantras te viphala matah.

Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam, 02-25-76, Mayapur

"Thus Krsna should not be thought of as being alone but should be considered as eternally existing with all His manifestations, as described by Ramanujacarya. In the Visistadvaita philosophy, God's energies, expansions and incarnations are considered to be oneness in diversity. In other words, God is not separate from all of these; everything together is God.

Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi lila Introduction

"The Lord is the reservoir of all cosmic manifestation, animate and inanimate. The advocates of Visistadvaita-vada philosophy explain the Vedanta-sutra by saying that although the living entity has two kinds of bodies--subtle (consisting of mind, intelligence and false ego) and gross (consisting of the five basic elements)--and although he thus lives in three bodily dimensions (gross, subtle and spiritual), he is nevertheless a spiritual soul.

Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi lila 2:37

"Thus although the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead interact within the cosmic manifestation, each keeps its separate individual existence. Merging in the material or spiritual energies, therefore, does not involve loss of individuality. According to Sri Ramanujapada's theory of Visistadvaita, although all the energies of the Lord are one, each keeps its individuality (vaisistya).

Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi lila 7:121

"...We Gaudiya Vaisnava follow Srila Ramanuja's philosophy almost in the same manner. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gives the identification of jiva soul as the eternal servant of Krishna and is situated as marginal potency of the Lord based on the philosophy of acintya-bheda bheda-tattva. This is almost similar to Visistadvaita vada. Vaisnava philosophy is now being pushed on all over the world under the Hare Krishna movement, and we feel Sripada Ramanuja a great support for the Vaisnava philosophical understanding. It is like a combination of nyaya sruti and smrti prasthans. The Bhagavad-gita supports the Vedanta Sutra brahma-sutra-padais caiva. hetumadbhir viniscitaih. (BG. 13:5.)

To the jiva brahma identification is one part of acintya-bheda bheda-tattva. As spirit soul or identical brahma, or jiva brahma is identical with the Supreme Brahma or the param brahma. In this sense jiva soul is avheda or non-different from the param brahma. But on account of the param brahma being the supreme, the biggest, the identical brahma or jiva brahma being very minute, it is different from the param brahma. The summary is that the simultaneous one and different jiva brahma is simultaneously one with and different from the param brahma. Because it is appreciated simultaneously which is very difficult to comprehend by the common man, this philosophy is called acintya-bheda bheda tattva, inconceivable. This is supported by the Katho Upanisad 2.5.13 nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman. This is almost similar to the visista-dvaita vada.

So far I am personally concerned, following the footsteps of my guru maharaj Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada, we accept the principles of all the acaryas, although officially we belong to the Madhva sampradaya. Our sampradaya is known as the Madhva Gaudiya sampradaya. We find great shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Ramanujacarya because his lotus feet are the strongest fort to combat the mayavadi philosophy.

Srila Prabhupada Letter to VSR Chakravarti, 11-22-74, Boston

Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.




The Life of Ramanujacarya

Ramanujacarya's Visistadvaita-vada




Back