Tag Veda

What Is Pancharatra Of Sri Vaishnavism

Pancharatra is a system of mental attitude and worship followed by the Vaishnavites.

This has been popularized by Sri Ramanuja, Philosopher and Social Reformer of South India (11 A.D)

Vedic Thoughts contain Theology and Philosophy.

It has various thought streams, Non Dualism, Dualism, Qualified non dualism.Monotheism,Henotheism and Polytheism.

The purport of the Vedas is to provide the platform for individuals to evolve spiritually.

With this in mind, the Seers have shared their experiences and suggest ways of Realizing Reality or God.

The choice is left to the individual.

In The Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna, to wards the close of the Gita informs Arjuna,

'I have taught you that which is the secret among secrets.

Are your doubts dispelled?

Are you clear in your Mind?

Now that you heard Me, think according to your disposition, choose what is Best for you and follow'( Chapter 18)

Hinduism prescribes many a Route to realize God.

1.The Path of Physical and Spiritual exercise, Raja Yoga,

2.The Jnana Yoga, The Path of Knowledge,

3.The Karma Yoga, The Path of Action , and

4.The path of Devotion, Bhakti Yoga.

Any of these may be followed.

It depends on one's dispositions, Svabhava.

All the three Acharyas , Adi Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhvacharya take their premise from the three Mahavakyas,

'Aham Brahma' I Am Brahman, Reality.

'Tat Tvam Asi',You are That.

Soham Asmi 'He is That.

Interpretations of these Acharyas differ.While Shankara advocates Non Dualism, Ramanuja, The Qualified Non Dualism and Madva Dualism.

I had an interesting discussion with Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Swamiji of Sri Sringeri Mutt, who is my Guru, about 40 years back.

I asked him that if The Veda is the Ultimate Authority, and if all the three Acharyas have taken the same three Mahavakyas to found their systems, why there is a difference in their conclusions?

He replied,

Acharyas know that the dispositions of the Individuals vary.

You will be able to follow things that suits your Nature.And as the Vedas say the Truth is One, but it is spoken of as Many'

(Ekam Sat Vipra bahudha vadanti)

Therefore the Acharyas have provided different approaches to reach God.

One may follow any of these.

There is no question of what is Right and What is Wrong.

That is left to reason, which is useless in Spiritual Development.

You follow what suits you and do not bother.

You are here to realize Brahman, not to prove One is Right and another is wrong"

Of these three approaches, Vaishnavism places importance on The Bhakti Yoga. The Path of Devotion.

The path of devotion is the total surrender to God.

Ramanuja systematized the Bhakti Yoga and popularised the Pancharatra system.

What is Pancharatra?

Rig Veda Date Components Details

The Rig Veda is the oldest among the four Vedas , the Scared Scriptures of the Hindus.

The Rig Veda, as is known now, is the oldest among the Four, the other three being Yajur, Sama and Atharva.

Date of The Rig Veda varies, by modern perception , ranging between 2000 BC to 1000 BC.

The Hindu tradition has it that the Vedas are self-sustaining and they are without a beginning.

One view,

'It is one of the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language. Philological and linguistic evidence indicate that the Rigveda was composed in the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent, roughly between 1700–1100 BC[5] (the early Vedic period). There are strong linguistic and cultural similarities with the early Iranian Avesta, deriving from the Proto-Indo-Iranian times, often associated with the early Andronovo and Sintashta-Petrovka cultures of c. 2200 – 1600 BC."

It is the oldest book in any Indo-European language and contains the earliest form of all Sanskrit mantras that date back to 1500 B.C. - 1000 B.C. Some scholars date the Rig Veda as early as 12000 BC - 4000 B.C. The Rig-Vedic ‘samhita’ or collection of mantras consists of 1,017 hymns or ‘suktas’, covering about 10,600 stanzas, divided into eight ‘astakas’ each having eight ‘adhayayas’ or chapters, which are sub-divided into various groups. The hymns are the work of many authors or seers called ‘rishis’. There are seven primary seers identified: Atri, Kanwa,Vashistha, Vishwamitra, Jamadagni, Gotama and Bharadwaja. The rig Veda accounts in detail the social, religious, political and economic background of the Rig-Vedic civilization. Even though monotheism characterizes some of the hymns of Rig Veda, naturalistic polytheism and monism can be discerned in the religion of the hymns of Rig Veda'

Mantra pushpam