<Prev |  Next>

A huge crowd usually gathered to attend the discourses (Upanyasa) of Sri Ramanuja at SriRangam. A dumb man was also one among the many who attended the discourses regularly. This man was neither a scholar nor could he perform any penance. He could hardly understand a word of Sri Ramanuja’s discourse. Still, he never missed even a single day of the discourse. He was a very sincere devotee of Sri Ramanuja. He was filled with joy at the mere ‘darshan’ of Sri Ramanuja and enjoyed watching the gestures of his Guru while he was rendering discourse. He loved his Guru dearly and was unreservedly devoted to him.

Observing the devotion of his disciple who was dumb and could neither understand nor practice anything told in the discourse, Sri Ramanuja was filled with compassion for him. He addressed this disciple with endearing words and took him inside a room. Having closed the door behind him, Sri Ramanuja, placed his Lotus Feet on the head of the devotee and blessed him thus-“This act of mine would suffice to raise you to the highest state called ‘Mukti’ (liberation)!”

Watching the entire scene through a hole in the door, one of the foremost disciples of Sri Ramanuja exclaimed, “Oh! Ruined am I by the study of Shastras. Alas! I was not born dumb! If only I were, my Guru’s Lotus Feet would have blessed me also!” Thus, the disciples of Sri Ramanuja, considered the Lotus Feet of their Guru as superior to everything else in the world. Such was their Guru Bhakti!

<Prev |  Next>

Home • e-MM • Contact

Radhe Krishna