srImathE rAmAnujAya namah

The six assertions

Prologue

rAmAnuja was performing service (of bringing water from the holy well for the daily
thiru ArAdhana use in the temple) at Lord varadarAja's temple in kAnchipuram. He had
already learnt an interpretation of vEdAnta from yAdava-prakAsa, which was a variant of
advaita. During his studies, he had on various occasions, corrected yAdava-prakAsa’s
interpretations of vEdAnta, which was not liked by yAdava-prakAsa and ultimately led to
rAmAnuja leaving his gurukulam. Though he knew that the interpretation of vEdAnta
taught to him by yAdava-prakAsa was faulty, he was not clear about the true religion. He
was searching for the true religion, and the true means to salvation.

Thiru-k-kachchi nambi (or kAnchipUrNa), a disciple of srI AlavandAr, was a great

devotee of Lord varadarAja. He was performing the service of fanning the Lord - (thiru
Alavatta-k-kainkaryam in tamizh).

rAmAnuja knew about the greatness of thiru-k-kachchi nambi, and requested his
guidance in understanding the true religion. Not belonging to the Brahmin community by
birth, thiru-k-kachchi nambi refused to be the teacher of rAmAnuja due to the prevalent
social circumstances at that time. Inspired by Lord Varadaraja, Thirukkacchinambi
conveyed six messages to Ramanuja. These assertions have been the guiding lights not
only for rAmAnuja, but also for anyone that wants to understand the true religion.

Lord VaradarAja - Kanchipuram

 srImathE rAmAnujAya namah

Assertion 1

aham Eva para tattvam – I alone am the Supreme Being

This represents the answer to the question of “Who is the Ultimate Being?” - In the
Vedas, mention is made of numerous deities and we see so many deities that are
propitiated through various offerings. As the Lord Himself says in several scriptures like
Bhagavad-Gita - the Lord SrImannArAyaNa alone is the ultimate being. The word alone
is very important. Many people claim that some other deities are equal or superior to
Lord SrImannArAyaNa, and this statement of the Lord conveyed by Thirukkacchinambi
negates that argument.

In Sri Bhagavad gIta, Arjuna says the same – “na thvat samasthyabyadhika: kuthOnya:”
(11.43); nammAzhvAr says in thiruvAymozhi – “oththAr mikkaarai ilayaaya
maamaayaa”, both of which mean that there is nobody equal to or superior to Lord
SrImannArAyaNa.

Assertion 2

darsanam bhEda Eva ca - the true religion has differences among the entities

 This is a very important concept in the true religion. The differences that the Lord
says are
 Between the Lord (Isvara) and the jIva (cit)
 Between the sentient and insentient beings (cit/acit)
 Between the individual sentient souls
 During rAmAnuja’s time, and even now, many people say that (i) there is only one
soul (ii) everything we see and feel are an illusion caused by lack of knowledge (iii)
all of things we see are the same as the ultimate soul, and this will be apparent once
the illusion is removed through the right learning
 The above position is negated here by saying that in the true religion, there are
differences among the tattvas.
 This assertion helped rAmAnuja (and therefore helps us) in understanding the true
nature of the tattvas - i.e. there are three tattvas – the chit, acit and Isvara that are
different from each other. Once that is known, the question of the relationship among
them naturally arises, and per our religion, the cit and acit emanate from Isvara and
are completely dependent and subservient to Him; the true state of the cit being
complete servitude to the Isvara.
 This sets the foundation for the ultimate nature of a human being – since every living
thing is different, the concept of service to other beings arises.
 This answer also helps us in one key practical aspect of our daily lives - our ego. By
knowing that the individual soul is NOT the supreme soul, we tend to understand that
we are not all-powerful and all knowing, and this helps us in reducing the amount of
"self" in us.
 srImathE rAmAnujAya namah

Assertion 3

upAyEshu prapattissyAt – The means of attaining salvation is to abstain from

taking one’s own effort to attain salvation and be completely dependent on the Lord
for it.

 This assertion is the key tenet of the rAmAnuja sampradAya. The only means to
attain salvation is to understand that the Lord alone is the goal and the means. Having
understood this, one should have complete faith in the Lord, give up all his efforts to
attain salvation, and be completely dependent on Him for salvation.
 Through this assertion, we understand that the burden of releasing us from the cycle
of birth and death is the Lord’s, not ours. He will release us from this cycle at the
appropriate time, without placing any condition on us.

Assertion 4

antima smriti varjanam - remembrance of the Lord at the time of death is not a
precondition for salvation

 One of the more prevalent beliefs in rAmAnuja's time, and perhaps even now, is that
an essential condition to getting release from the cycle of life and death is
remembrance of the Lord at the time of death. This condition in negated this
assertion.
 On a practical basis, if there is such a condition, it will lead to tremendous uncertainty
and tension for any human being. He (or she) will be preoccupied with worrying
whether he will be able to have remembrance of the Lord at the time of death. This
worrying will make it difficult for the person to channel his mind onto more
productive activities in this life, and instead the mind will always be worrying about
the eligibility for salvation if the remembrance is not there.
 The taking away of this condition frees up the mind of the human-being to
concentrate on productive tasks like performing service to the devotees of the Lord,
instead of worrying about remembrance of Him at the time of death.

Assertion 5

dEhAvasAnE mOksham ca – mOksha will be attained immediately after the soul

leaves the body

 This assertion removes any doubts that a person may have regarding the timing of
when he will get salvation. In the 3rd assertion, it is conveyed that complete faith in
the Lord (as the goal and the means to the goal) would lead to salvation. In the 4 th
assertion, we are assured not to worry about the common belief at that time as to what
will lead to mOksham.
 So, the following question is natural – “OK - I have complete faith in the Lord. My
elders have always taught me that if I remember Him at the time of death, I will get
mOksha immediately, and now it is conveyed not to worry about that. Then, since I
 srImathE rAmAnujAya namah

have complete faith in Him, when will I get mOksham? Is it now? Is it after a few
years? When?”
 This question by the statement that the salvation will occur immediately after the soul
leaves its body.
 Some religions advocate the concept of jeevan muktha, where a person living on this
earth can attain salvation in his current state. That concept is negated here by saying
that salvation will occur once the soul leaves the current body (i.e. salvation is not
possible when the soul is in earthly bodies)

Assertion 6

mahApUrNam samsraya – reach the feet of mahApUrNa (periya nimbi) and learn
from Him

 This instruction gives rAmAnuja the name of the right teacher he needs to learn from.
rAmAnuja had already learnt from yAdava-prakAsa, but his teachings were not
leading him anywhere. So, it was important for him to know who the right teacher
was to learn the right religion from, and periya nambi is suggested as the right teacher
here.
 This instruction, when applied to us, means that we have to find the right teacher and
learn from him.
 The word nambi is important. Nambi is a tamizh word that can used to denote a
person in whom one can repose complete faith, and be assured of success. Such faith
can be reposed only on someone that is complete, and has no defects. So, the
AzhvArs and AchAryas have used that word to denote many divya dEsa perumALs –
thiru-k-kurungudi nambi, naRaiyUr ninRa nambi etc.; The same word has been used
in the names of great AchAryas in whom the disciples can repose complete faith –
mARanEri nambi, thiru-k-koshtiyUr nambi , periya nambi etc. – The Sanskrit word
pUrNa is an approximate translation of the completeness of such a person, and hence
periya nambi is called mahA pUrNa

Lessons from these 6 assertions for us, in our present day lives are:

1. Believe in Lord srIman nArAyaNa as the ultimate Lord.

2. We are different from the Lord, and are different from insentient beings like stones
3. Our true nature is servitude to the Lord and His devotees.
4. Have complete faith in the Lord, and abstain from self-effort to attain salvation
5. Salvation will occur only after death and it is for the Lord to decide who to liberate.
6. Find a teacher who can teach us the true religion and way of life, and learn from him

EPILOGUE

Thiurkkacchinambi, inspired by Lord Devaraja (meaning the Lord of the eternals)

worshipped at Kanchipuram, conveyed the above six messages to Acharya Ramanuja, for
the benefit of mankind. These six aphorisms are beautifully embedded in thiruvAimozhi
5.8. This decad of thiruvAimozhi was inspirational for the earlier Srivaishnava Acharya
Sriman Nathamunigal to retrieve the entire 4000 verses of divya prabandham and spread
the message of Azhwars. The six aphorisms as found in thiruvAimozhi 5.8 are as follows:
 srImathE rAmAnujAya namah

Lord SArngapANi – Kumbakonam

1) The first aphorism that the Lord alone is the ultimate being is conveyed thru the
phrase in 5.4.4 “ellA ulahumudaiya oru mUrtI!” which addresses Him as the Lord
in Whose exclusive possession are all universes.
2) The second aphorism that the Lord, ourselves and insentient matter are different,
is mentioned in the very beginning of the decad (5.8.1) where Nammazhwar
distinguishes himself and the Lord by saying to the Lord that You have made me
weep and toss like restless water (nIrAy alaindhuharaiya urukkuhinRa
nedumAlE!). He further distinguishes himself from his body saying adiyEn (me
Your servant) and adiyEn udalam (the body of Your servant).
3) The third aphorism that the we have no means to salvation other than Lord
Himself is conveyed from 5.8.8 where the Azhwar says “Oh Lord of wonderful
will, reclining in Thirukkudandhai (Kumbakonam), wielding the discus,
whether you end my despair or not, you are my sole refuge”. (kaLaivAy
thunbam kaLaiyAdhozhivAy kaLaigaN matthilEn vaLaivAy nEmippadaiyAy!
Kudandhaikkidandha mAmAyA!). Here by referring to the reclining posture of
the Lord, it is conveyed that He is devising His own ways for our protection. By
the word “mAmAyA!” which means “Oh, Lord of wonderful will!”, it is
conveyed that all that happens is by His will, to the extent of our liberation. Also
His wielding the discus stands for virOdhi nirasanam or removal of the
impediments to our union with Him.
 srImathE rAmAnujAya namah

4) The fourth aphorism that liberation is only after death, is indicated again in 5.8.8,
where the Azhwar says “When my body languishes and this life comes to an
end, grant that I may hold on to your feet relentlessly.” (thaLarAvudalam
enadhAvi Sarindhu pOmpOdhu, iLaiyAdhu una thAL orungappiditthuppOdha
iSai nIyE).
5) The fifth aphorism that remembering the Lord at the time of death is not a pre-
condition for liberation, is again understood from 5.8.8, where it is conveyed that
it is the Lord Who removes the obstacles for uniting with the soul and Who grants
eternal servitude upon the soul leaving the body.
6) The sixth aphorism that it is necessary to hold to the teachings of the right
preceptor is conveyed from 5.8.11. Here, it is said that those who sing the songs
of nammazhwar are adored by deer-eyed ladies. In divya prabandham, Lord alone
is the real man and all others are symbolized as female. Hence this statement
conveys that those who follow the teachings of nammazhwar are admired by
fellow beings who visualize the supreme.