Rules, Systems and Us

Some people don’t like rules or systems. From their point of view, why get so worked up for a life of 70 years or so? Life is meant to be enjoyed and help others. Don’t complicate stuff, enjoy, help others and be happy. Not a bad view point at all.

But how much ever anyone tries, we get embroiled in problems. There are times in life when we just can’t enjoy, when we are confused about life and look for answers which no one is able to give us. There are times when we think honestly that we are helping others, but actually end up harming them.

How much ever we try to convince ourselves, we find that we find many things happen in our life which we don't control, don't know the meaning of and don't understand how to deal with.

A tried and tested system of life actually helps us not to complicate stuff in life, frees us form certain major stuff and enjoy. Most importantly, it helps us and others around us to be “really” happy. And that is why we need a philosophy that guides our life.

Whether we realize it or not, all of us have a center of life from where we get our inspiration, security, strength, purpose and happiness in life. What we need to see is whether that center of life is something that can really give us all these at all times.

For some people, money and the comforts and pleasure that it can get, is everything in life. But money as we all know is an unstable entity. The moment something happens to our wealth, we are devastated. Same is the case with other possible centers of life like pleasure, health, social service etc. Some of these would be part of our lives but can’t be the center of our lives.

A philosophical system of life which is tried and tested over the ages, which is based on timeless and eternally valid principles, would give us the inspiration, security, strength, purpose and happiness that I need and free me to be “really” happy.

It would be a beacon light that would guide us in times of darkness and sunlight. It would help us to be great human beings, who would be an asset to the society.

That is what Vishishtadvaita actually is.

Introduction - What it is

It’s good to have problems in life – for without them, we don’t get any wiser. It’s like learning cycling - we can’t possibly learn cycling without falling off the cycle at least few times. How many times we fell off isn't important; what is important is how much did we learn.

If only life were as simple as learning cycling! 

 

There are books describing how human body works. But who'll describe to us how to live life effectively? Is there a code or such technology that help us breeze through life? Like a perfect rain gear in times of rain, a perfect vehicle, which helps us in reaching our destination soon, safe and sound?

I believe the Srivaishnavic philosophy helps us do just that. There may be many philosophies in the world which may claim to do the same. This is one “way of life” philosophy that has deeper and yet simpler answers to complex questions of life.

 

This is a humble attempt by the author to share what he has learnt of this great philosophy by listening to various lectures by scholars for a period of about 2 years and counting. This piece is a humble attempt to communicate the basics of the philosophy in contemporary idiom and phraseology so that all of us appreciate its greatness and its relevance to our lives today. Whether we buy into it or not is rather peripheral, but as a first step, we need to try and understand why we are doing what we are doing.

If we take srivaishnavism today, sections of people think of this as another “caste” or “sub-caste”, with some “rituals” and some “beliefs”.  

 

It would be wrong to term "Srivaishnavism" as a religion, caste or sub-caste; it is actually a philosophy of life based on a true and complete interpretation of the Vedas. But not many of us don't know the philosophical part though. Due to the vagaries of time, we have stuck on to the rituals and lost understanding of their deeper meaning and background. So now, the rituals look empty stuff to us, whereas they were only front-ending a great philosophy of life.

 

This loss of meaning has led to more conflicts and more problems in our lives today.

 

This is not a fault of any particular section of people though. This is something that has happened over a large period of time due to various factors. And there are many great elders who are doing quite their bit to educate all of us on the essentials of srivaishnavic philosophy and its relevance in today's life. But for the yeomen service of our elders, ordinary people like me wouldn't have known even this little. 

 

Let's delve into what this philosophy is, what it is not and why it is relevant today!