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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00039 Nov 2001

 
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adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan!

My name is Mohan Raghavan, although many of the
members of this group will probably know me under my
secular name, Mohan R Sagar. I was born in Mylapore, 
but I have spent virtually my entire life here in
Denver, Colorado, which as Sri Varadhan can tell you,
is a beautiful city nestled against the backdrop of
the majestic peaks of the Rocky Mountains. I am a
civil engineer, working for the State of Colorado?s
Department of Transportation.

I was blessed to receive emperumAnAr sambhandam
(samAsrAyanam) in 1983, at the Feet of
thiruvenkatamudAyan at Thirumalai, from my father, who
belongs to the periya thirumalai nambi AchArya purusha
paramparai. Although both sides of my family can
trace our origins back through achArya purusha
paramparais in kanchipuram, all of us hail from
branches that settled in Andhra during the 14th
century under the invitation of the Vijayanagaram
Empire. Consequently, while the pride in our
spiritual path and our love for Ramanuja remain as
strong as ever, our familiarity with the nuances of
our tradition have become diluted over the years.

My own interest in SriVaishnavam came within months
after taking samAsrAyanam in Thirumalai, when my
Western philosophy professor, an elderly Jewish Rabbi,
inspired and guided me in my study of Ramanuja
SiddhAntam. Much of this came through perusing
through bookstores and libraries (the Norlin library
at the University of Colorado has a good collection of
old books on SriVaishnavam), gathering and trying to
understand whatever I could. Needless to say, the
more I read, the more I fell in love with the
tradition and its teachers. 

My true interest and exposure to the religion came
after my marriage. My wife, Madhuri, introduced me to
her achAryan, HH Sri Tridandi Sriman Narayana Ramanuja
Jeeyar during his first visit to the US in 1994. The
impact that this amazing individual has had on my life
ever since then has been indescribable. It is soon
after meeting with HH that I came to know our Sri T A
Varadhan, who patiently guided me through the
"doorway" that HH Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamy had opened,
which led me to the all the wonderful bhAgavathas that
form our worldwide SriVaishnava thondarkulam.

Currently, I am blessed to be taking a lead role in
the International Ramanuja Society, an educational and
humanitarian organization dedicated to preserving and
promoting emperumAnAr darshanam in a simple, practical
way such that it can be remain open to everyone,
irrespective of race, caste, creed or gender. I hope
to be able to share more about the Society and its
ongoing programs in future postings.

What fascinates me most about Ramanuja sampradAyam is
its accessibility and humane outlook. To me, it is
the perfect spiritual path, rising leaps and bounds
over other India-based religions in its combination of
tradition, scholarly understanding and a magnanimous
and inclusionary outlook. 

I am happy and honored to be a part of this list, and
am looking forward to learning and celebrating the
treasure of treasures that is emperumAnAr darshanam. 
I am happy to be sharing the messages in this list
with my wife, Madhuri (HH Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamy
sishyan), and my brother in law, Ranganath (koil
kandAdai vamsam, HH Sri Vanamamalai Jeeyar sishyan).

adiyEn dAsAnu dAsan
Mohan







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