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Sri Sampradaya
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Sri Sampradaya or Sri Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava sect within Hinduism. Its origin may date back to around 10th century and its formation is associated with a collection of the devotional hymns and songs by Alvars being organized by Nathamuni, who is considered to be the first guru of the sect.Nathamuni appeared as the pioneer who wrote Sanskrit works systematizing the Sri Vaishnava theology, largely in debate with Gauttama philosophy of Buddhism.
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Sri Sampradaya or Sri Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava sect within Hinduism. Its origin may date back to around 10th century and its formation is associated with a collection of the devotional hymns and songs by Alvars being organized by Nathamuni, who is considered to be the first guru of the sect.Nathamuni appeared as the pioneer who wrote Sanskrit works systematizing the Sri Vaishnava theology, largely in debate with Gauttama philosophy of Buddhism. He was followed by Yamunacharya a celebrated grand-teacher of Ramanujacharya.
In this tradition Vishnuis believed to be the source of all avatars. Vishnu is the name of God in the whole Vaishnavism and he is also known as Narayana, Vasudeva and Krishna and behind each of those names is a devine figure with attributed supremacy in Vaishnavism and each associated tradition believed to be distinct historically. Name of the tradition is originating from Sri being the name of Lakshmi. Two different tilaka or pundra makings are worn by the representative of two different sect within the Sri Sampradaya following Ramanujacharya: Ten-galais and Vada-galais, both ascribing the markings to the footprint of Vishnu on the forehead. Some leaders or acharyas are strict Iyengar brahmanas and will only take renunciation of sannyasa at a very late age, while others live in a monastery, Matha (Eg: One in Kurnool district).
The associated movement is sometimes called Sri Vaishnavism and is a Vaishnava sect of Hinduism centered around a temple at Srirangam, and a philosophical system of thought culminating in the philosophy of Visishtadvaita espoused by Ramanujacharya.
Followers of Sri Vaishnavism, as Vaishnavas, generally worship Vishnu as the supreme God. The prefix Sri is used for this sect because they give special importance to the worship of the Goddess Lakshmi,the consort of Vishnu, who they believe to act as a mediator between God and man. A major portion of Sri Vaishnava theology is based upon this tenet. Iyengars, a subcaste of Tamil Brahmins, follow this tradition.
Origin
Earlier sources do not mention Sri, the consort of Vishnu. Sri becomes part of Vishnuism at a later stage and apparently Sri was worshiped independently before her cult was integrated into Vaishnavism. Now she is considered inseparable from Vishnu, who carries the mark of sri-vasa, ineradicably representing Sri, his consort. In later Gaudiya traditions she is identified with expansion of Radha. This most prominent form of South Indian Vaishnavism is called Sri Vaishnavism, because of its strong emphasis on the role of Sri, drawing largely from alvars popular goddess roots.
Sri Vaishnavism is believed to have originated in the devotional hymns and songs of the said Alvars, a group of saints of the medieval Bhakti movement in South India.
All such hymns and songs were organized by Nathamuni, who is considered as the first guru of the sect. His work was consolidated and expanded by Yamunacharya, who is believed to one of the grandsons of Nathamuni. Thereafter, Ramanujacharya continued to develop the theology of Sri Vaishnavism. The theology centers primarily around the belief that devotion to, and worship of, Vishnu is the only way to Moksha (salvation), but Sri (a reference to Lakshmi) is the link or medium between the devotees and Vishnu. If humans can win the compassion of Sri, the salvation and forgiveness of the devotees will be ensured, according to the belief.
Philosophy
Most of the people belonging to Sri Vaishnavism follow Vishistadvaita philosophy, although it is not implied that every Sri Vaishnavaite has to be a Vishistadvaitin. Sri Vaishnavism is characterized by various distinct beliefs. One of them is the role of a guru or acharya in the attainment of the Paramapurushaartham (a name given to Moksha). Also, the followers have a special place for the 4000 divya prabandams (sacred hymns) written by the Alvars, along with the Vedas.
Schools
There are two primary subsects of Sri Vaishnavism: the Vadagalai and Tenkalai. After continuing as a single sect for over three hundred years, the sect split into two major branches around the 14th century.
- The Markatanyaya branch, or "school of the monkey", believes that just as young monkeys cling to the bodies of their mothers for safety, human beings endeavoring to seek God's blessings should likewise actively cooperate and strive to come closer to God, and cling to Him for safety. This branch is said to have followed classical tradition, and was headquartered at Kanchipuram, one of the seven holy cities of the Hindus. The most prominent exponent of this view is Vedanta Desika of 13th century. This school accords equal pride of placement to Sri (Lakshmi) and Vishnu. Authority for such a view is traced back to the vedic exhortation "Iswarigm Sarva Bhootanaam" occuring in the Sri Suktam as well as to the Chatussloki of Sri Yamunacharya.
- The Marjaranyaya branch, or "school of the cat", believes that as the mother cat carries her kittens around without asking anything in return from the kittens, God showers His benevolence and blessings on the devotees without any active action on the part of the devotees. There is a point where parental influence must be reduced as it is only through certain levels of independance that a child can prove his or her devotional merit. The most prominent exponents of this view are Pillai Lokacharya and Manavala Mamuni. This school treats Sri or Lakshmi as dependent on Vishnu.
Further reading
- Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dallapiccola
External links
See also
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