By the end of the 20th century CE, and after more than 200+ years of colonial and post-Independence history in India when the community of “ubaya-vedantins” in Tamil Nadu experienced wrenching social tumult and developments that occurred and swept through the land, the Sri Vaishnava identity itself underwent significant transformation.
The “ubaya-vedantin‘s first language, Sanskrit was considered all but “dead“. His traditional educational values — Vedic, Vedantic and Dharmic studies — were rendered obsolete and irrelevant. The social order, “varna-ashrama“ in which Sri Vaishnavas had for centuries been held in high esteem, stood outlawed by the new Constitutional order. The control of their temples which they had held in long hereditary continuity was wrested away from them under new laws and statutes and it passed into the hands of the State. Their access to the wealth of the temples was taken away while temple riches were being expropriated at will by the State in every which way possible under sanction or cover of law. Their claim to priestly rights, traditional entitlements and privileges in the temple-ecosystem was whittled down drastically — and from being once-upon-a-time principal actors, custodians and curators, they got reduced to mere employee or minion-status within the temple environs. The rulers and governments of the day, far from being their benefactors or patrons — as the kings of the Vijayanagara dynasty had been to all Sri Vaishnavas, again, once upon a time in history — were openly antagonistic towards them. Their most sacred scriptures, literature, liturgical practices and customs were mocked at openly — as being quaint, superstitious, socially discriminative and irrelevant — by large sections of the rest of society that had been primed and programmed now for decades by propaganda to turn hostile to all things considered “Aryan Brahminism“. They were forced to migrate in large masses out of their simple, rural habitats in the villages and into the roiling anonymous melting-pots of India’s burgeoning urbania… and in desperate search of modern, secular education, of employment and careers. Thousands of families had even moved on leaving behind their Sri Vaishnavite roots to immigrate to the far shores of North America to pursue lucrative but forlorn careers….
All the above social developments incrementally over the years profoundly changed the Sri Vaishnava identity of the 21st century in several ways. But then the community itself was never fully conscious of. It was even in denial of some of the changes overwhelming it — the loss of hereditary-privileges and status in temples, for example. The community seemed to console itself through the thought that it had probably turned only deciduous but had in no way been deracinated in any way. Said a well-read Sri Vaishnava friend to me in these haltingly articulated words:
“Look, there is no question, the Sri Vaishnava identity today in the 21st is not exactly what Sri Ramanujacharya in the 11th century CE might have presaged it would be. As a priestly caste, we have changed, of course. No doubt about it. As a community we might have ourselves shed some long-held traditions, customs and cherished ways of life… Many of us have have certainly drifted away far from our origins and embraced newer identities in the modern world. But that doesn’t mean we have wholly abandoned the core “siddhaantham” of Sri Ramanujacharya! It doesn’t change who we are as followers of Ramanujacharya…. even today many of us feel proud to humbly designate ourselves as “adiyen raamanuja daasan”: a slave of Sri Ramanuja!”
Such protestations of the contemporary Sri Vaishnava along above vehement lines that the legacy of Sri Ramanujacharya indeed lives and continues to define and describe present-day Sri Vaishnava identity are indeed not entirely baseless. But then perhaps hold water only at a superficial level. What in other words is meant to be conveyed through such defensive-sounding argument really is this:
“Take a good look around you! Are there not still so many Sri Vaishnavites proudly wearing their caste-mark — the “dvaadasa urdhva-pundhram” — on their foreheads, chest and arms?
“There are still more than a handful of good “veda-paatashalas” in the State, aren’t there? We have hundreds of young Sri Vaishnavas pursuing traditional education there — vedaadhyaayanam, divya-prabhadham and Agama saastra… ?
“At least more than a dozen Sri Vaishnava temples out of the 100-odd in Tamil Nadu that are still managed by private trustees of the community still command enormous wealth, don’t they? They still attract millions of devotees and pilgrims all the year round, don’t they?
“Don’t we also see today several “muttams”, monasteries and “ashrams” of the Sri Vaishnava sects and denominations headed by seers, jeeyars, Acharyas and gurus thriving everywhere with thousands of their disciples and followers flocking around them?
“Do we not see how grand and even lavish are the scale on which some Sri Vaishnava flagship temples — such as Sri Rangam, Tirumala, Kanchipuram, Melkote, Sri Villiputtur, Tiruvellikeni, Kumbhakonam and Azhwar-Tirunagari and others — celebrate age-old Sri Vaishnava temple festivities and rituals that were in fact initiated by Sri Ramanujacharya himself — the “kumbhaabhishekams”, the “nithyapadi utsavams”, the “brahmothsavams”, “garuda-sevais”, “pavitrotsavams”, “vasanthotsavams”, “veedhi-purappaadus”, grand “thadhi-aaraadanais” etc.?
“Do we see any lack in the numbers of legions of Sri Vaishnava pundits, scholars and prachaaraks still practicing various priestly vocations all across the state…. such as adhyaayins, adhyaabaagam, purohitam, archakas, upannyaasakar, pravachanam-vidwan, etc. ?
Is there not a true efflorescence of Sri Vaishnavite tradition and customs today to be seen in the colorful temple ritual of music, dance and drama known as the delightful “araiyar sevai” service conducted at such great temples as Sri Rangam, Sri Villiputtur or Tirukoshtiyur?
Are there not so many private research institutes and foundations today that are devoted to propagation of Vedic scripture, Tamil Divya Prabhandham literature and the philosophy of Ramanuja’s Visishtadvaita?
“Just recently in the year 2019, we were all witnesses, weren’t we, to the great festival of Athi Varadhar at the Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple in Kanchipura? The festival saw a turnout of over 1o million people visiting the temple in Kancheepuram to worship the idol of Athi Varathar which, as is well known, is one carved out of a huge Athi tree (fig tree) and lies inside the four pillars of a stone cavern or “mandapam” submerged deep upon the waterbed of the temple-pond called Pushkarni Anantha Saras. The idol is taken out once in 40 years and is worshipped for 48 days. (It is believed that worshipping the idol of Athi Varathar once in a person’s lifetime is unparalleled divine blessing). Ten million devotees from all across the state thronged to visit Kanchipuram, didn’t they?
Thus, the argument of our doughty friend would have us believe, given everything said above, is this: How could anyone as unbiased witness or historian ever characterize the present-day Sri Vaishnava identity to be “deracinated”?! Are they all not, on the contrary, all robust and clear signals that in fact only establish the fact that Ramanujacharya’s legacy still survives and remains vibrant amongst millions of followers worldwide today… and that the community too remains quite true to his ideals and values still?
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While the above argument is quite popular today amongst many within the Sri Vaishnava community who choose perhaps to remain in stubborn if not blithely moral denial of the Decline and Fall of “ubaya-vedanta“, it unfortunately exposes their lack of understanding of how profoundly the legacy of Ramanujacharya and the Sri Vaishnava identity has undergone transformations over the last 200+odd years. And some of such changes in imperceptible but nonetheless unmistakable and lasting ways are not perhaps those that would do great credit to the memory or glory of Ramanujacharya. To even begin honest soul-searching on the matter would presuppose good awareness about the complex nature of the metamorphosis that has set in. And it would, in fact, require a broader philosophical perspective without which comprehending the complexity might not be possible at all.
Fortunately, there is available such a framework to come to our aid. To all serious students of classic Greek Philosophy it would be quite familiar… It is called the “Theseus Conundrum“.
https://www.utne.com/mind-and-body/ship-of-theseus-identity-ze0z1311zjhar/
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In ancient Greece, there was a legendary king named Theseus who supposedly founded the city of Athens. Since he fought many naval battles, the people of Athens dedicated a memorial in his honor by preserving his ship in the port. This “ship of Theseus” stayed there for hundreds of years.
As time went on, some of the wooden planks of Theseus’ ship started rotting away. To keep the ship nice and complete, the rotting planks were replaced with new planks made of the same material.
Here is the key question: If you replace one of the planks, is it still the same ship of Theseus?
Now, for the purpose of our inquiry into whether the legacy of Ramanujacharya and the Sri Vaishnava identity has changed or not, let us for a moment take the Theseus storyline and replace the term Theseus with Ramanujacharya and the term “the ship of Theseus” with “the ship of Ramanuja siddhaantha” i.e. his spiritual legacy.
Let us now take the narration of the analogical story forward…
This question about a mythical ship is indeed the poster-child for one of the most interesting problems in all of philosophy, namely the problem of identity. How do things stay the same even after they change? At what point does an object or entity become different? When we talk about a certain object or entity and say that “it changed,” what exactly is “it”?
What happens if you change two of the ship’s planks or two of the “siddhaantham’s” salient elements, distinctive features, facets or aspects? Would that make it somehow less of the original ship than after one plank or element is changed? What if the ship consists of a hundred planks and forty-nine of the planks are changed? How about fifty-one changed planks? What about changing ninety-nine of the hundred planks? Is the single plank at the bottom of the ship enough to maintain the original lofty status of the ship? And what if all of the planks are changed? If the change is gradual, does the ship still maintain its status as the ship of Theseus or that of Ramanujacharya? How gradual must the change be?
There are no objective, correct answers. Some people might maintain that changing one plank… or even one element of the “siddhaanthic” legacy…. changes the ship and makes it no longer the ship of Theseus…. or that of Ramanujachaarya. Others claim that as long as there is at least one plank from the original, it is still the original. There are also those who maintain that the changed ship is always the same as the original ship because it has the form of the original…. and that is indeed the very crux of the popular argument of most contemporary Sri Vaishnavas like our doughty friend above! None of these different positions is wrong. However, there is no reason to say that any of them is correct either.
What happens if we switch the old wooden planks for more modern plastic planks? Then, as we change more and more of the planks, the ship will be made of a different material than the original. What happens if the people who replace the planks make mistakes in putting in the new planks and the ship has a slightly different form?
Another question: Does it matter who is making all these changes to the ship—that is, whether one group of workers does it or another? In other words, in the case of Ramanujacharya’s legacy and the modern-day Sri Vaishava identity, would it matter or not who makes the changes, the Tenkalai sectarian group or the Vadakalai? If the ship is to be preserved for hundreds of years, then surely many different people will have to be making the changes. What if we make so many changes to the boat that it can no longer float out to sea? Can we still call it the ship of mighty Theseus or Ramanujacharya if it cannot perform the same function as the original?
One more scenario. Imagine that every time a plank is changed, rather than consigning the old planks to the scrap heap, we store them in a warehouse. After some time, all the old planks are assembled into a ship. This new construction is made to look exactly like the old ship with the planks in their original position. Question: Which ship has the right to call itself the ship of Theseus… or the ship of Ramanujacharya… the ship with the replaced planks or the ship constructed out of the old planks?
A common answer to some of these questions is that the ship remains the same because the changes happen only very gradually. However, it is not clear why gradualist change should make a difference. How gradual must the changes be in order for the original ship to maintain its status? Is there a minimum speed limit for changes? Who sets it?
What does it mean for a certain institution…. like, say, the great institution of Ramanujacharya’s spiritual legacy.... to be that institution? When we say that a certain object or entity changes, we mean that it had a certain property beforehand and after the change it does not. In the beginning, the ship of Theseus had planks that Theseus touched …. and the legacy of Ramanujacharya and the Sri Vaishnavite identity had salient elements and distinctive hallmarks ….which Ramanujacharya himself had fashioned. At the end, there were planks and elements that he did not touch or fashion with his own hands. That is a change in the properties of the ship.
The fundamental question of Identity therefore is: What are the core properties of the ship of Theseus… and in our case, the ship of Ramanujacharya upon which the Sri Vaishnava identity has always in the last 1000 years been sailing?
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Real and honest soul-searching (in the modern sense of the term, and not the theological) is quite hard to come by within the Sri Vaishnava community known today for its insularity and for having long been accustomed to maintaining complete reticence in matters related to its turf, its “sampradaayam“, the state of its faith, practices and institutions. And in the last 200-odd years, hardly has any spiritual leader of any eminence or social standing emerged from within the community of Sri Vaishnavas — be it jeeyar, Acharya, head of “muttam”, seer, guru or popular prachaarak— ever been known to urge or goad the community into look within itself and undertake honest re-appraisal of its adherence, fidelity and commitment to the great vision, ideals and ideas of Sri Ramanujacharya. Such reticence or inhibition on the part of Sri Vaishnava Acharyas themselves to be more vocal and candid while actively engaging in honest and open public dialogue or discourse on significant matters related to the present-day state of “sri raamanuja siddhaatham” and “sampradaayam” only lulls their followers and disciples into smug, self-satisfied comfort of thinking that “God is in his Heaven — All’s right with the world!”
There may be several reasons, some discernible and some not so evident, as to why the Acharyas themselves seem to focus far more on the woods at the expense of the trees but one of them is certainly this:
There is ever increasingly growing societal pressures upon them as spiritual and community leaders to place far greater priority and premium upon what is so-called as “greater obligations to social upliftment” than on their traditional and purely spiritual or religious remit. A researched feature article published in INDIA TODAY dt. 30 June 1988 on some aspects of this subject proved to be so presciently topical that it even got republished five year later in November 2013!(https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/religion/story/19880630-hindu-mutts-brush-aside-age-old-religious-taboos-to-embrace-liberal-attitude-798244-1988-06-29). A few extracts are worth quoting here just to contextualize the situation of the Sri Vaishnava community in 2023:
QUOTE: “The winds of ideological change are breezing through that once-steadfast symbol of orthodoxy and religious obduracy – the Hindu mutts of south India. Spearheading this remarkable transformation are the heads of the mutts themselves, many of whom have broken out of their religious cocoons to embrace a new creed – activism.
“…… the 20th century Swamiji has arrived. The heads of the mutts no longer sit in religious ivory towers chanting the Vedas or meditating. They are coming out into the rough and tumble of the real world to practise what they preach – the upliftment of the poor and the outcasts of Indian society.
“….Shankaracharya mutt in Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu’s Chingleput district has … started practical training courses for Harijan school drop-outs in Kancheepuram and Chingleput in various handicrafts – making chalk pieces, incense sticks, and phenol.
“……a 15-day moral training course was completed for 45 Harijan students in south Madras. Three-month courses are also planned to teach radio and TV repairing techniques to boys and tailoring to girls. These are open to all communities. Said the smiling Head of the Mutt who is fostering what is almost a social revolution in south India: “I also intend to start exclusive vocational training programmes for the tribals of Berhampore in Orissa and Narasinghapur in Madhya Pradesh, and the Adivasis of Ranchi in Bihar.”
“This liberalism is evident in other mutts too. Vibudesa Theertha Swamiji, 60, of the ultra-conservative Admar mutt in Udipi near Mangalore in Karnataka – one of the eight Madhva (Madhvas are a Brahmin sub-sect) mutts established in Udipi over eight centuries ago – is now doing social work among Harijans. The Swamiji had financed and supervised the construction of over 100 houses in Sangameshwara village in Chikmagalur district and 52 houses in Bhairathi Bende village near Bangalore, all for Harijans. And last fortnight, he adopted two Harijan villages in Kolar district for improvement.
“……. Previously, Hindu mutts directed their services only to those communities to which the heads of the mutts belonged. Only now have mutts begun to cater to people of all communities and castes.“
“….. Conservative Hindu mutts have opened their doors not only to Hindus of all castes and communities, but also to people of other religions. A Muslim is one of the most ardent devotees of Swami Jayendra Saraswati. Last fortnight, three nuns were among the devotees at the Sankaracharya mutt in Karnataka’s Sringeri. And, in an event which could not have been dreamt of in olden days, Hindu religious leaders participated in the Muslim Id Milan festival in the Sri Krishna mutt auditorium in Udipi town four years ago.
“……The life-style of the gurus has itself undergone a sea change. Gone are the days typified by the 95-year-old Swami Chandrasekara Saraswati of the Kanchi mutt, the pontiff in retirement. His mission in life was to spread the message of Hindu religion and the Vedas. And what was more, to spread it by going round the country on foot.….. It would have been hard in the past to imagine the Paramacharya enjoying the luxury of air-conditioning, let alone jetting around the country. ….. Said Sugunendra Theertha Swamiji of the Puthige mutt: “In the old days, Udipi Swamijis would only walk everywhere to spread the message of religion.” He said that Swamiji Vidyamanya Theertha of Palimar mutt in Udipi was the first to board a flight 25 years ago. “Now of course an Udipi Swamiji taking a flight has become commonplace,” he added.
“Most Hindu mutts have also started educational institutions. The Sringeri mutt in Karnataka has just started a school in Bangalore affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education. The English-medium educational institutions started under the auspices of the Udipi Admar mutt in recent years cater from the nursery to the degree level. Lingayat mutts (Lingayats consider themselves a superior Brahmin community in Karnataka) have, during the last two decades, started an entire array of schools and colleges, offering both professional and liberal courses. The Adi Chunchunagiri mutt – the only one of the Vokkaliga community – in Karnataka’s Hassan district has also recently started a medical college. Always in the forefront in social work, Swami Jayendra Saraswati, under the auspices of the Jan Kalyan movement, last month organised a blood donation camp for wounded IPKF soldiers from Sri Lanka.
“Hindu gurus cite a variety of reasons for the motivation that mutts display now for social work…… Explained Swami Jayendra Saraswati: “The reason for our social work is to sincerely do service to the people. Another motive is to spread the feeling of humanitarianism. The third, most important reason is to dispel the impression that only other religions do missionary and social work.” UNQUOTE
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The nub of the matter thus today has boiled down to this indubitable fact that increasing competitiveness to engage in “missionary social work” by Hindu Acharyas, muttams, jeeyars and gurus — and the full-time investment of their time, large financial and organization resources and passion in effort perforce demanded of them — has led to slowly decreasing span of attention that they are able to give to their other primary or core mission viz. to nurture and sustain the original vision, spiritual values and ideals of their “saastra–sampradaayam“.
When Acharyas and Jeeyars have no choice but to succumb to societal pressures that compel them into vying with each other and competing to gain the rewards of high-profile “missionary social work”, it is inevitable that it comes only at a very high and heavy price — i.e. compromises that have to be made in genuine and exemplative spiritual endeavor which alone set standards and show the way for adhering to original “sampradaayam“… the original ship of Theseus. And here the many Acharyas, Jeeyars, Muttadipathis and gurus of the Sri Vaishnava tradition, sects or denominations too are no exceptions either to the above trend of Smarthaas, Advatins or Madhwas…
An Acharya after all, can be either be a good Yogi or a good Commissar. How can he hope to do justice to his role as a bit of both as well?
(to be continued)
Sudarshan Madabushi