In the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya, the Acharya has been revered as God. Scriptures regard the Acharya along with the mother and the father as one of the most venerable individuals. The tradition of revering the preceptor has been thriving through the ages.
Many stories in the Upanishads, the Puranas and the epics highlight the essence of the guru-sishya relationship which forms the bedrock of spiritual tradition. The role of a guru goes beyond mere transmission of the essence of the scriptures for, he also imparts the essence of living a disciplined and principled life; and the ideal disciple trains himself to have unshakable faith in the guru.
Gurus teach humility, which is a key for personal, artistic and spiritual growth. The Acharya removes the dirt in the precious stone of Jivatma whose sheen can be regained.
The Lord also entrusts Acharyas with the responsibility of leading the Jivatma from the darkness of ignorance to enlightenment. Just as the darkness in a cave can be dispelled with the light from a lamp, the ignorance can be removed by the valuable instruction of the Acharyas.
Far-reaching influence
In the system of Visishtadwaita, the Guru has far-reaching influence in shaping the spiritual and philosophical outlook of succeeding generations.
The Acharya parampara led by Sri Ramanujacharya has produced many sishyas to propagate the Visishtadwaitasystem. The foundation the sishyas get from gurus helps them continue in the field long after they had passed away.
One among the great Acharyas is SrimanKambarajapuramSeshadriIyengar, who devoted his life for the propagation of the ideals of Acharyas and Azhwars by teaching NalayiraDivyaPrabandam (4,000 verses) to sishyas.
Just as rain bearing clouds absorb the salt water from the ocean and distribute it as pure rainwater for the benefit of people, great preceptors such as Sri SeshadriIyengar have been able to impart to their disciples the essence of the NaalayiraDivyaPrabandam in the most palatable form.
Setting a personal example
Sri SeshadriIyengar practised the tenets with sincerity, thereby setting a personal example for his disciples. Though he is not physically present, his sishyas continue to follow his ideals in protecting the VadagalaiSamparadaya in Tirumala and Tirupatidivyadesams.
Born in Kambarajapuram near Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu, SrimanSeshadriIyengar migrated to Tirupati for his education. He learnt NalayiraDivyaPrabandam in the Patasala set up by Sri Yamunacharya. Sri T.A. Gopalacharya and Sri T.A. Krishnamacharya also learnt DivyaPrabandam in the same school and are contemporaries of Sri SeshadriIyengar. The great scholar D.T. Tatacharya was the principal of the school.
Sri SeshadriIyengar felt that the DivyaPrabandam, considered the fifth Veda, should be taught to students to propagate its ideals and ensure the benefits of reciting them in the divyadesam of Tirupati reached them. He also wanted to propagate the ideals of Sri Vedanta Desika through his teachings.
Dearth of Vadagalai sishyas
Those days there were not many VadagalaiSamparadaya followers who could recite DivyaPrabandam in Tirupati and Tirumala. Sri SeshadriIyengar took upon the task of filling the void and decided to produce sishyas from VadagalaiSamparadaya. He started teaching DivyaPrabandam to adults and the children.
Those who learnt DivyaPrabandam from him are now propagating the VadagalaiSampradaya in the holy town of Tirupati.
The compilation of 4,000 hymns sung by the 12 Azhwars is called the NalayiraDivyaPrabandam. These are recited in Vaishnavadivyadesams and temples. During Brahmotsavams in Tirumala and Tirupati, the goshti led by the Jeeyangars recites the DivyaPrabandam in front of vahanas during the procession. With the aim of propagating those beautiful and devout verses, Sri SeshadriIyengar started teaching the hymns at his home to adults and the children alike, while performing his routine duties.
The sishyas
The sishyas who successfully learnt DivyaPrabandam from Sri SeshadriIyengar include: Sriman Padur Rangarajan, Sriman PranatarthiharaVaradachar, Sriman Pazhaveli Ramanujam, Sriman K. Parthasarathi, Sriman Vadyar Narayanan, Sriman Tamarapu Rangarajan, Sriman Kambarajapuram Seshadri (Murali), Sriman Kambarajapuram Srinivasa Raghavan (Sampath), Sriman P.M. Mukundarajan, Sriman V.R. Srinivasan, Sriman V.S. Rajagopalan, Sriman V.S. Murali, Sriman MalolaNarasimhan, Sriman Chakravarthi Ranganadhan, Sriman Thattai Srinivasan, Sriman B.T. Satish, Sriman ThattaiGovindarajan, Sriman K.V. Rangaramanujam, Sriman M.V. Varadarajan and Sriman M.R. Ravi.
Among them, Srinivasan, Ranganadhan, Govindarajan and Satish joined the DivyaPrabandam classes while studying II and III standards. The Guru used to appreciate the parents for initiating kids into learning DivyaPrabandam at the tender age and said they learnt the hymns only with the blessings of Azhwars and Acharyas and the Lord Narayana. The Guru opined that those who learnt DivyaPrabandam will definitely achieve great heights in their lives. His words have become reality. Many of the sishyas are now in great positions in society. Some are bank managers, some are working in the U.S., and some are employed in big firms.
Among the sishyas, Satish is employed in the U.S., Govindarajan in Hyderabad, Srinivasan in Chennai. Ranganadhan in Tirupati, Rangaramanujam in Chennai. Whenever they get time, they participate in the DivyaPrabandamgoshti in Tirupati and Tirumala. The Guru wanted all of them to participate in the goshti in Tirumalabrahmotsavams without fail and the sishyas are adhering to the order.
Love for sishyas
Sri SeshadriIyengar has immense love for his sishyas and he treated them as his children. Along with teaching the hymns of DivyaPrabandam, he used to give stipend to motivate the kids. He used to supply hot milk and sweets to the kids during their stay in Tirumala. Whenever he takes sishyas to Brahmotsavams in Tiumala, he used to treat them with great care and affection. He will ensure good accommodation and food and comfortable stay. During TirumalaBrahmotsavams, all the sishyas used to stay in Ahobila Math for 10 days and recite the DivyaPrabandam hymns in front of Lord Venkateswara. Right from the morning to going to bed, Sri SeshadriIyengar will ensure that all needs are taken care of.
After he completed the teaching of NalayiraDivyaPrabandam to his students, the Guru told them that it was with the blessings of the Lord that they had learnt the hymns. It is not easy to learn DivyaPrabandam while continuing their studies in school.
In Sri VaishnavaSampradaya, there are two sects: Vadagalai and Thengalai. During those days Tengalai sect was dominating the goshti in Tirupati and Tirumala. Vadagalai population was dwindling. Sri SeshadriIyengar somehow wanted to improve the situation and restore the prestige of VadagalaiSampradayam by improving the number of Vadagalaisishyas. He used to enjoy when his sishyas in the tender age recited the hymns with perfection and devotion in the goshtis in front of the God.
One of his disciples, Sri ChakravarthiRanganadhan, is now training some sishyas in DivyaPrabandam by fulfilling the wishes of Sri SeshadriIyengar. Sri Ranganadhan is also giving lectures in many places, propagating the ideals of the Guru.
The centenary
The centenary of Sri SeshadriIyengar was celebrated in a grand manner by sishyas in Tirupati in 2017. To mark the occasion, his disciples arranged for the recital of NalayiraDivyaPrabandam for three days in Tirupati. On the august occasion, prominent pandits were brought to recite the hymns and were honoured. A book was released on the occasion. The guests recalled the yeoman services of Sri SeshadriIyengar to propagate the ideals of Acharyas and Azhwars.
