DR
P. NAGARAJA RAO
Sri Raghavendra stands out
as the brightest star in the long list of saints of Madhva
hagiology. He occupies a prominent and significant status in the galaxy of the Swamijis. His popularity is incredible. He is alike loved
and adored by one and all. He is the favourite of the
masses and the scholars alike. His admirers and disciples are not confined to
any caste or sex or sect or any part of the country. It is not a boast, when we
state that the largest number of Brindavans
are of Sri Raghvendra scattered all over
He
is essentially a mystic and a man of God. He had the vision of the Lord (aparoksikrta srisah). As the giver of gifts he has no equal (apeksitapradatadanyahna
vidyate).
The
masterly hymn of Appannacharya,
the contemporary of Sri Raghavendra, is a little masterpiece.
It states for us all that we need to know about the agamya mahima of Sri Raghavendra.
Let
us spell out the contents of his agamyatva. Those
who recite his stotra with devotion are cured of their
diseases like leprosy. The blind regain their sight, the dumb becomes eloquent,
the barren bear children, the poor become affluent. There is no limit to his infinite compassion in the matter of bestowing his grace.
One
has only to turn to the pages of Raghavendra Vijaya of Narayanacharya, the
saint’s sister’s son and the Guruganastava of Vadindra to learn about the marvels he worked. He had great
yogic powers. Once he turned scalding sandal paste into its original cold
state, by recital of the varunasukta. He restored the dead to life and
elevated the illiterate Venkanna as the Diwan to the Governor of Adoni, Siddhimasnad. The Khan Sahib gave away the
The
Yogi and the compassionate soul do not exhaust the greatness of the saint. He
is a foremost intellectual. He is the master Tippanikara with Tippanis on all important classics in Madhva philosophy.
Let
us have a look at the comprehensive range his Tippanis cover. He has given us the word for word meaning in simple
Sanskrit of nine Upanishads with the exception of Aitareya. They are called Khandarthas. They
keep close to the Bhashyas of Sri Madhva
on the Upanishads.
On
the Gita Prasthana he has
three books. The first two are commentaries on the Jayathirtha’s
“Prameyadipika” and “Nyayadipika”
which are commentaries on Madhva’s “Gita Bhashya” and “Gita Tatparya.” Raghavendra’s Gitavivriti is a
direct commentary on the Gita. It is a marvel of
compression and a masterly treatise. The most substantial
book on a sublime scripture.
Raghavendra has several
works on the Brahma Sutras. Some of
them are Tantradipika, Nyayamukthavali and
Tatvamanjari. With great humility he calls his works
Tippanis. They are eye-openers to the findings
of Jayathirtha. He has commented on most of the works
of Jayathirtha and has delighted in taking his place
by him. He has commented on Jayathirtha’s Tattvaprakasika (the direct commentary of Madhva’s Sutra Bhashya) under the title of Bhavadipa.
His
Tippani par excellence is on Jayathirtha’s Nyayasudha called Parimala. The Nyayosudha is a commentary on Madhva’s Anuvakhyana, the matrical
masterpiece of the Acharya. Raghavendra
has earned the title, Parimalacharya by his splendid gloss on Nyayasudha. In the concluding verses of Parimala, Raghavendra
writes:
“Those
scholars and rasikas who
are desirous of drinking Nyayasudha, let them first inhale the fragrance of
Parimala.”
The
Parimala is 1200 pages in length. It is an
indispensable guide to the understanding of Nyayasudha. It is a difficult book to summarise,
and it highlights the unique nature of the work.
The
prime purpose of all the scriptural passages is Lord Narayana,
so say the Vedas. In the Anuvakhyana Sri Madhva states likewise: Jayatirtha
raises the question as to why the Brahma Sutras should restate the supremacy of
Sri Lord Narayana, which is described in the
scriptures? He answers this question thus: “The scriptures have for their clear
content the supremacy of Narayana: it is the function
of the Sutra to explain and establish them with the help of arguments.”
It
redounds to the credit of Sri Raghavendra to state
the arguments in full in the Parimala. He
writes that the Lord is the prime purport of all the Vedas. The reason for this
is, Lord Narayana is the
purport of the Purushasukta which is the root of all
the Vedas. What is in the root is in the fruit also. What is in the source book
is explained in the commentary also.
The
Lord is the purport of the Purushasukta, because he
is in turn the purport of the root of the Purushasukta
that is the Gayatri. He is the purport of Gayatri, because He is also the purport of the root of Gayatri that is the Vyahrti (Bhur, Bhuvaha, Suvah). The root of the Vyahrti is the Pranava (am).
Being the purport of (am), the Pranava in an orderly
way He becomes the purport of the entire Vedas. So runs the
arguments in the Parimala Raghavendra’s
treatment of Omkaara and the necessity to have it in
the first Sutra in the beginning and the end is a distinct contribution
in interpretation. He too like the author of the Nyayasudha summarises the entire theme of the Brahma Sutras in the Mangatacharana.
Another great work of
Sri Raghavendra is his independent commentary on the Bhagavad Gita called the Gitavivritta. It presents in a combined form the two
commentaries of Sri Madhva on the Gita.
What is of special interest in this work is his easy style. The avatarika introduces the verses and he situates
it well to the theme. The grammatical genius, that Raghavendra
is, has helped him to split the verses. In every chapter, he has something
original to say, to drive home to the reader the contents of Sri Madhva’s Bhashya. His remarks particularly about the removal of the conflict between the Sankhya and Yoga ways is remarkable. He says Sankhya and Yoga are not used by Sri Krishna as technical
terms. They mean renunciation of desire and dedicated activity. They do not
mean the ascetic way of life and the householder’s life. These two may be
incompatible in the single person, but not the renunciation of the desire for
the fruit of the activity and living a god-dedicated life of activity. The
psychological insight of Sri Raghavendra in the Gita, verse 11-14 is remarkable. The
ordinary opinion that the pleasure and pain result from the contact of the
sense organs and the objects if refuted by Sri Krishna. That is brought
out by the particle tu which is interpreted as an
interrogation form. Is it merely the contact by those organs with the objects
that bring about pleasure and pain? No, is the answer. The cause is the
egoistic attachment abhimanasahakrta eva sukha dukharya karanam na
tu kevala matrasparsah. There are several similar sastric appetisers for the reader
in Raghavendra’s commentary.
Sri
Raghavendra has given in his lucid Tippanis in a brief way the meaning on the texts
of Upanishads. Clarity and brevity characterise them.
Particularly the Brihadaranya, Chandogya
and the Katha Upanishad, Khandarthas
are magnificent models of Tippanis. So are
his commentaries on Jayatirtha’s Tika
on the Dasaprakaranas. His little commentary on Sri Madhva’s Anubhashya is a
wonderful work on the sutraprasthana. He has really proved Sri Madhva’s claim of the Anubhashya: that it is the essence of
all Sastras. Raghavendra’s
commentary has not only shown how the Anubhashya in sarvasastrartha sangrahah, but
also how Sri Madhva is the priyatama of the Lord.
Besides
his commentaries, Sri Raghavendra has done a good
deal of work on the Vedic literature. He has commented on five of suktas in the Veda. He was a great Mimamsaka among the Madhva
commentators. He has a splendid commentary almost an original work on the 12
chapters of Jaimini’s Poorva Mimamsa Sutras. The book is named Bhaattsangraha. The book is being published and the
first six chapters have come out.
It
is a great surprise that Sri Raghavendra amidst his
hectic sastric writings never forget the duty to
enlighten the average reader on the essentials of Sri Madhva
religion. He has a cryptic and a beautiful digest of Madhva’s
Mahabharatatatparyanirnaya which summarises
the favourite book of Madhva.
He
has given us in simple poetry the story of Sri Rama
and Sri Krishna under the titles of Rama Charitra Manjari, and
Lastly,
Sri Raghvendra, out of great compassion for mankind,
has given a guide for the day’s activities and he resolves
one should take from the time he wakes up from his bed till
he retires. This is embodied in his inspiring prose work called Pratah sankalpa gadya.
Sri
Raghavendra has excellent logical acumen, which he
discloses in his commentaries on the great works by the sage Vyasatirtha. His commentary on Vyasatirtha’s
Chandrika is called Prakasa and his commentary on Vyasatirtha’s Tarkatandava is called Nyayadipa. Both the works are profound in their presentation and contents.
He draws heavily on Vijayendra’s commentaries and
humbly acknowledges it.
Sri
Raghavendra, apart from his Sastric
works, was a great spiritual personality. His entire form was his Tapasya. It is the experience of devotees when they go to Mantralaya and live near his Brindavan
that they experience immense peace and absolute comfort. Our doubts are
dispelled and conflicts resolved, minds lighted, paths illumined and darkness
driven out. We return full of hope and joy. These great saints do not lecture
to us eloquently, but they create a mood and make us sense a consuming heat and
kindly light from their presence. They work miracles, if we bring full hearts
and believing minds to them. Referring to such men, Lord Sri Krishna says in
the Bhagavata:
“It
is not that there are no purifying agencies in the shape of rivers and deities
made of clay or stone. But they purify us, after a long time interval. The very
vision or darsan of the sage cleanses us of all our
defects instantaneously.” The power and the charm of the saint, Raghavendra’s personality has no parallel in Madhva hagiology. These great saints work in a wonderful
way on us and their influence is unobtrusive and ineffable. Their gestures are
benedictions, their words are wisdom and their conduct is perfection. Living in
company with them is the only antidote in an age of attrition like ours. They
are the salt of the earth, that keep us pure and
disinfected. It is through them divine light filters down into our world of
darkness. They are the channels of spirituality, but for them, the world would
be a blind place. They bear the burden of the world by their Tapasya. Wherever they walk, that place is sacred. These
saints are gentle, but not weak, determined but not aggressive. They are as
clean and refreshing as the mountain air. They light a lamp and drive away
darkness, and wisdom dawns from their words. They sanctify the places they
visit. They give us faith, in our hour of doubt; they inspire hope in us when
we have doubts approaching us on all sides. When we are lost in resentment and
haste, they call us back to the path of love and service. Their sole mission is
to forgive our foolish ways and make us return to God. These souls are never in
tension, never in jitters, always contented, easy and natural in their way of
life. They despise none. They take kindly to the lonely and the lost. They do not
count the rich nor their praise. They are free from
the cares of the world and do not trouble about the needs and the wants of
their body. They are temperate in their habits, modest in appearance, earnest
in prayer and are ever devoted to God. They have no bitterness or malice for
any. The miracles they work are only for the relief of the disciples and not
for display. They answer to the description of the Sthitaprajna, Yogarudha, Bhakta,
Gunatita of the Gita. “It is through the birth of such men who live,
God-centered lives, that their family becomes blessed,
and pure, their mother is of fulfilled nature and the earth itself is
sanctified.”
We
get a very clear account of the characteristics–Raghavendra’s
style in Vadindra’s Guruganastava. He writes: “The saint never entertains any wrong or unwholesome
ideas, nor does he force any wrong ideas on the scholars during discussions and
debates. He never desires wrong things nor does he express ideas in so many
words. He is never repetitive in his writing, nor does he erase what he has
written once.”
“Raghavendra is the mellow fruit of the tree, i.e., Madhva Siddhanta–verily the Kalpataru. This tree has grown from the seeds of the Brahma Sutras sown by Lord Vedavyasa in the field”–Vedas. The sprouts are reared by
Sri Madhva. Its seedlings and spreading branches are
the work of the ancient commentator Jayatirtha. Vijayindras is its flower and Sri Raghavendra
is the mellow fruit.
Sri
Raghavendra comes out of a great family of musicians
and expert Vina players. With Vina
in his hand, he entered the Brindavan some three
hundred years ago, erected by him built around Salagramas in Mantralaya on the banks of the Tungabhadra amidst Vedic chanting approached by Appannachar reciting the Stotra
from the other side of the bank. When Raghavendra
entered the Brindavan, he gave his only song in
Kannada in Bhairavi raga. Students of music opine
that this single song of the saint and his musical accumen
represents the raga in its perfection. It is common knowledge that a slight
slip from the svarasthanas of Bhairavi
will land us in Mukhari a doleful raga. The song runs
as follows:
“Indu enage govinda ninna
padara vindava toro mukunda indira
ramana (pa). ...
ninagayya dhiravenugopala
paruganiso enna” ...
“Oh
Lord reveal to me today your lotus feet: Oh Mukunda
the Lord of Indira.
Oh,
Lord of Lakshmi, whose face is resplendent, the Nandagopa, the lifter of the
I
am deeply bruised by the buffets of Samsara and I
despair of finding a way out of it and felt desolate.
You
condone my faults like a loving father and give me the Divine vision of your
feet, Oh, Father of Manmatha.
I
did not spend my life in devotion for I was foolishly living like a fool. I did
not sing of your glories nor praise you. I request you, the divine charioteer
I
associated myself with evil men and strayed away from the right path. There is
none to protect me except you. Oh, mighty Venugopala
lift me up and protect me.”
This
song is the swan song, the last and the first of the great saint. From the time
he entered Brindavan to this day, thousands rush to
him and receive his grace and return with joy and happiness. He stands as the
magnificent symbol of refuge to all who seek him. In short, resorting to the
Guru and seeking his grace is an act very necessary for spiritual life. Going
to a Guru is not an act of formality, but an absolute necessity.
The
Guru not only shows us the way, but also imparts light, steadies the faltering
steps of the disciples in the path. The Guru makes the faith of the disciples
strong, cautions him about the pitfalls on the path. He gives us the master
plan and grades it according to the differing abilities of the disciple. He
highlights the signposts and lays down the guidelines and chalks out the way.
The spiritual territory is a strange unknown field and one needs a guide if he
is not to lose his path and make mistakes. The Chandogya states: “He who has the Guru knows.” The Guru is the central pivot
on which every spiritual movement moves. The Svetasvatara sets forth: “The philosophical wisdom shines forth in the high-souled devotees, who look up and worship the spiritual
teacher, i.e., the Guru as they do God. The Guru is the gateway to spiritual
life. Faith in God, reliance on the Guru, intense Sadhana,
and Utsaha, that is, joy in religious life–all lead
to please God and through His grace we attain Moksha.”