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Srimate Ramanujaya namah
When Ramanuja reached the age of sixteen Keshava Dikshita arranged his marriage to a beautiful
girl named Rakshambal. But only a month after the wedding, Keshava Dikshita succumbed to a
fatal illness and died. The whole family was plunged into grief and after the obsequial rites were
over, decided to move to Kanchi in order to escape the memories of Keshava Dikshita, as well as
facilitating the higher education of Ramanuja. He had studied Sanskrit and the Vedas under his
learned father, and was now keen to study Vedanta philosophy. At Kanchi resided a very famous
scholar named Yadava-prakasha who was considered an authority on Vedanta. Yadava-prakasha
was delighted to have such a talented disciple. Ramanuja observed all the disciplines expected of
disciples, such as intense study of the doctrines and personally serving his guru. Yadava-prakasha
too loved Ramanuja very much, and he soon became the favourite, and chief disciple.
But as time went on, differences began to emerge between Ramanuja and Yadava-prakasha. Yadava-prakasha was an uncompromising adherent of the Non-dualist philosophy (Advaita) and spurned the worship of a Personal God. Yadava-prakasha's philosophy differed slightly from that of Sankaracharya and the form of Advaita that he taught is known today as Yadaviya Siddhanta and is only an impersonalist form of the Bhedabheda philosophy. According to Yadava-prakasha this changeful and ever-perishing universe is the Cosmic form of Brahman. This form as cosmos is real and not a mere appearance. At the source, beyond time, space and causation is the Supreme Reality which is Existence, Consciousness, Bliss Absolute (sat-cit-ananda). In Ramanuja's mature years this system is very bitterly criticised as worse than Mayavada (illusionist philosophy). He compares such a Brahman (Ultimate Reality) to a man who is pampered and decorated on one side, while his other side is being scorched or hammered. But these philosophical differences were not very clear at that time, and Yadava-prakasha was considered an authority on Advaita. Yadava-prakasha's exact philosophical position is rather controversial, none of his works are extant, and the only inkling into his views are the ones that Ramanuja has mentioned and refuted in his commentary (Bhashya) on the Vedanta Sutras.
Ramanuja was a manifestation of love and devotion to a Personal God. So the teachings of
Yadava could not please him for very long. This difference in outlook gradually began to
manifest openly in spite of Ramanuja's strenuous effort to restrain himself. One day Ramanuja
was giving Yadava an oil massage while he expounded a passage from Chandogya Upanishad
(1.6.7) in order to clarify a point to one of the disciples.
tasya yatha kapyasam pundarikam evam akshini
Yadava, strictly following Sankara's interpretation of the passage, explained it as "His eyes are even as a lotus flower; red as posterior of a monkey". Such a comparison of the eyes of the Lord with a vile part of an animal was too much for Ramanuja to bear, and hot tears flowing from his eyes fell onto Yadava-prakasha's thigh. Yadava thereupon asked him the cause of his grief. Ramanuja answered and said; "Revered Sir, I am deeply pained to hear a noble person such as yourself make such a base comparison. What an offence it is, to compare the lotus-like eyes of the Supreme Person with the posterior of a monkey!" Yadava-prakasha became intensely annoyed and challenged Ramanuja to give a better explanation, if he could. Ramanuja replied that kapi-asam is interpreted as follows; kam jalam pibati = "he who drinks water" ie. kapih = the sun and the verbal root as indicates blooming . The word asam therefore means blossomed. In this way the entire word kapyasam comes to mean "blossomed by the sun". The passage would then read;
"The eyes of that Supreme Person are as lovely as the lotuses blossomed by the rays of the sun".
Yadava-prakasha pretended to admire Ramanuja's skill in interpretation saying that this was an indirect interpretation not a literal one. Another time, Yadava-prakasha interpreted the Upanishad passage: satyam jnanam anantam brahma, as meaning, 'Brahman is Truth, is Knowledge, and is Infinity.' Ramanuja objected to it and said that the passage means that Brahman is endowed with the qualities of truth, knowledge and infinitude. These qualities are His, but not He, just as 'my body is mine, I'm not the body.'
Yadava-prakasha gradually came to the realisation that Ramanuja would eventually become a great scholar and establish the doctrine of Personalism and would become an invincible opponent of Advaita. So he finally decided that the best way to prevent such a catastrophe was to dispose of Ramanuja. He took his other disciples into his special confidence and conspired to murder him. It was decided that the whole school would go on a pilgrimage to the holy Ganges. Ramanuja also was persuaded to join the group. At a convenient place on the way they planed to murder him. They could all then absolve themselves of this sin by taking a bath in the holy Ganges.
At an auspicious time the party set out. After some days' travel they reached Gondaranya at the
foot of the Vindhyas. In a remote jungle Yadava-prakasha decided that the time was right to carry
out their wicked plan. But Ramanuja was secretly appraised of their intention by Govinda his
cousin and co-disciple who was travelling with them. During the night Ramanuja fled. When the
time had come and Yadava-prakasha and his gang could not find Ramanuja they assumed that he
had been killed by some wild beast and rejoicing that their purpose had thus been accomplished
they continued their journey.
Ramanuja travelled as fast as he could through the dense forest, towards evening, he collapsed
under a tree out of exhaustion and fell asleep. When he awoke it was afternoon the following day.
Suddenly a hunter couple appeared and befriended him. They intimated that they were going
south to Rameshvaram on pilgrimage and invited him to join them. They took him to a
convenient place to rest that night near the banks of a river. At dawn the following day theycontinued their journey and after a while they reached a well. The wife of the hunter requested
Ramanuja to bring her water to drink. Ramanuja went down to the well and himself drank its
sweet and cool water and brought up some quantities of it for the hunter couple. But to his
surprise they had disappeared, and in place of the forest, Ramanuja found himself surrounded by
temple towers and rows of houses. Being confused he asked a passer-by where he was and was
surprised beyond measure to be told that it was Kanchi-puram, the city of his residence.
Ramanuja now felt as if he was aroused from a sleep and recognised that the place was really
Kanchi-puram so familiar to him.
Intoxicated with God-love he repeatedly circumambulated the well with tears flowing down his
cheeks. His mother was surprised to see him standing on the doorstep and was deeply shocked
when he revealed to her all that had happened. But the family resolved to act as nothing had
happened.
When Yadava-prakasha and party returned after some months, Ramanuja rejoined the Gurukula,
and carried on his studies and the service of his teacher as assiduously as before. Yadava-prakasha
was at first terrified on seeing Ramanuja, as he was convinced that he was dead. But
seeing Ramanuja's humility, he took it for granted that the former knew nothing about his evil
designs. He behaved very lovingly to Ramanuja and again began instructing him in Vedanta.
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