1 An Overview of Sri Ramanuja Mission’s (SRI) Glorious Past All of us are extremely fortunate and blessed to witness one of the most joyous moments in the history of Sri Ramanuja Mission, Inc. of Srirangam Srimad Andavan Periashramam (SRI) – the inauguration of the initial temple (the balalayam) and Prana Prathishtai of archa moorthies at SRI New Jersey Ashramam. Indeed, this is SRI’s first step in fulfilling the great vision of our reverential Acharyan, HH Sri Ranga Ramanuja Mahadesikan. I am privileged and honored to summarize SRI’s glorious activities from inception in March 1998 to inauguration of the balalayam on May 27, 2016 with great pride and humility. Emergence of SRI and its Objectives In the 1992-93 timeframe, Sri Kannan mama (F/O of Sri Kesavan Kannan) was proactively reaching out to families in Maryland and Virginia (after his retirement in India) with a desire to impart Vedic knowledge and provide guidance in sustaining rich Vedic traditions. I was fortunate to meet him at a Pooja function in Virginia. Kannan mama was a devout sishya of Srimad Andavan Ashramam and had performed numerous Kalakshepams at the lotus feet of HH Thirukudandai Andavan. Smt. Janaki Kannan, Sri Kesavan Kannan, Smt. Mythili Kannan, Sri Bharadwaj Jagannathan, Sri Varadharajan and I used to attend mama’s Kalakshepams on Sri Rahasya Traya Saram at his Maryland home. During 1996-97, Kannan mama was serving as a priest at Sri Ranganatha Temple in New York where we met Sri Poondi Vijayaraghavan mama along with Srimans Shyamsundar Sreenivasan and Venkat Sreenivasan. Poondi mama recalled that when he went to Chennai several years ago in 1994 for his son’s poonal ceremony he visited Andavan Ashramam to pay his respects to HH Srimushnam Andavan. HH asked Poondi mama to come after one week and when he went back HH blessed Poondi mama with a complete set of 11 Purvacharya’s padukas! Poondi mama never expected this and just brought them to New Jersey. It was Sri Parathasarathy Sreenivasan mama of Besant Nagar (F/O Shyam and Venkat) who trained New Jersey bhagavathas in performing Paduka and Perumal Thiruvaradhanam, as and when he visited New Jersey from Chennai. Padukas started gracing bhagavatha’s homes in and around New Jersey on the weekends. Sreenivasan mama’s handwritten Acharya Thanians were laminated and used for many years while performing Paduka Thiruvaradhanam. Time and again, Sri Kannan mama used to share with us his desire to start a branch of Srimad Andavan Ashramam in the U.S. and he was passionate about naming it Sri Ramanuja Mission. In April 1997, Kannan mama reached out to HH Sri Mushnam Andavan and sought his blessings to start an official branch of the Ashramam and name it Sri Ramanuja Mission [HH Sri Mukham 1]. An Executive Committee (Sri Kannan mama as President, Sri Poondi Vijaya Raghavan as Vice President, Sri Kesavan Kannan as Treasurer and me as Secretary) was formed and the organization was registered as a non-profit organization in the state of Maryland on March 2, 1998. The committee after due diligence drafted the charter and the bylaws of the organization. According to the charter, SRI has four stated objectives. It is important to restate these objectives here verbatim, as rest of this article will focus on how these objectives have been comprehensively and meticulously followed and implemented throughout the organization’s history. 1. In furtherance of the mission of the Acharyas (spiritual leaders) Sri Ramanuja (1017-1137 CE), Sri Vedanta Desika (1268-1369 CE) and Srirangam Srimad Andavan Periashramam (India) of the Sri Vaishnavite religious tradition, to promote the awareness and understanding of Sri Vishistadvaitha or Sri Ramanuja philosophy in the USA, India, and around the world. 2. To serve the community at large, in a unified way, by disseminating knowledge about the several aspects of Sri Vaishnavism through discourses, training, and other means.
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1
An Overview of Sri Ramanuja Mission’s (SRI) Glorious Past
All of us are extremely fortunate and blessed to witness one of the most joyous moments in the history of Sri
Ramanuja Mission, Inc. of Srirangam Srimad Andavan Periashramam (SRI) – the inauguration of the initial
temple (the balalayam) and Prana Prathishtai of archa moorthies at SRI New Jersey Ashramam. Indeed, this is
SRI’s first step in fulfilling the great vision of our reverential Acharyan, HH Sri Ranga Ramanuja Mahadesikan.
I am privileged and honored to summarize SRI’s glorious activities from inception in March 1998 to inauguration
of the balalayam on May 27, 2016 with great pride and humility.
Emergence of SRI and its Objectives
In the 1992-93 timeframe, Sri Kannan mama (F/O of Sri Kesavan Kannan) was proactively reaching out to
families in Maryland and Virginia (after his retirement in India) with a desire to impart Vedic knowledge and
provide guidance in sustaining rich Vedic traditions. I was fortunate to meet him at a Pooja function in Virginia.
Kannan mama was a devout sishya of Srimad Andavan Ashramam and had performed numerous Kalakshepams
at the lotus feet of HH Thirukudandai Andavan. Smt. Janaki Kannan, Sri Kesavan Kannan, Smt. Mythili Kannan,
Sri Bharadwaj Jagannathan, Sri Varadharajan and I used to attend mama’s Kalakshepams on Sri Rahasya Traya
Saram at his Maryland home. During 1996-97, Kannan mama was serving as a priest at Sri Ranganatha Temple
in New York where we met Sri Poondi Vijayaraghavan mama along with Srimans Shyamsundar Sreenivasan and
Venkat Sreenivasan.
Poondi mama recalled that when he went to Chennai several years ago in 1994 for his son’s poonal ceremony he
visited Andavan Ashramam to pay his respects to HH Srimushnam Andavan. HH asked Poondi mama to come
after one week and when he went back HH blessed Poondi mama with a complete set of 11 Purvacharya’s
padukas! Poondi mama never expected this and just brought them to New Jersey. It was Sri Parathasarathy
Sreenivasan mama of Besant Nagar (F/O Shyam and Venkat) who trained New Jersey bhagavathas in performing
Paduka and Perumal Thiruvaradhanam, as and when he visited New Jersey from Chennai. Padukas started gracing
bhagavatha’s homes in and around New Jersey on the weekends. Sreenivasan mama’s handwritten Acharya
Thanians were laminated and used for many years while performing Paduka Thiruvaradhanam.
Time and again, Sri Kannan mama used to share with us his desire to start a branch of Srimad Andavan Ashramam
in the U.S. and he was passionate about naming it Sri Ramanuja Mission. In April 1997, Kannan mama reached
out to HH Sri Mushnam Andavan and sought his blessings to start an official branch of the Ashramam and name
it Sri Ramanuja Mission [HH Sri Mukham 1]. An Executive Committee (Sri Kannan mama as President, Sri
Poondi Vijaya Raghavan as Vice President, Sri Kesavan Kannan as Treasurer and me as Secretary) was formed
and the organization was registered as a non-profit organization in the state of Maryland on March 2, 1998. The
committee after due diligence drafted the charter and the bylaws of the organization.
According to the charter, SRI has four stated objectives. It is important to restate these objectives here verbatim,
as rest of this article will focus on how these objectives have been comprehensively and meticulously followed
and implemented throughout the organization’s history.
1. In furtherance of the mission of the Acharyas (spiritual leaders) Sri Ramanuja (1017-1137 CE), Sri
Vedanta Desika (1268-1369 CE) and Srirangam Srimad Andavan Periashramam (India) of the Sri
Vaishnavite religious tradition, to promote the awareness and understanding of Sri Vishistadvaitha or Sri
Ramanuja philosophy in the USA, India, and around the world.
2. To serve the community at large, in a unified way, by disseminating knowledge about the several aspects
of Sri Vaishnavism through discourses, training, and other means.
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3. To translate, publish, and distribute the ancient scriptures and holy literature that form the spiritual basis
of Sri Vishistadvaitha or Sri Ramanuja philosophy.
4. To encourage and maintain, in USA, India and around the world, for the members of this organization and
society at large, holy places of worship temples dedicated to the Supreme Lord Sri Lakshmi Narayana
(Lord Sri Vishnu).
SRI’s timeline interwoven with these objectives, people, places and events is summarized in the following
sections. These historical events are deeply connected with various bhagavathas who were the initial building
blocks of SRI’s expanding activities throughout the U.S.
1997-2000
In the initial years of its formation, SRI focused on bringing Acharya sookthis for wider distribution and in a
better format. In association with Sri Ahobila Muth, USA, SRI pioneered the effort of compiling, editing and
providing brief Tamil commentaries for each of the 19 Tamil Prabandhams (Sri Desikaprabandham) of Sri Swami
Desikan rendered by Sevillimedu Srinivasachariar. Three 90-minute cassettes were produced with high quality
recording instruments and the tapes were released on the auspicious occasion of Sri Desikar Thirunakshatram on
October 23, 1997. Over 250 sets were distributed throughout the U.S.
SRI’s second project involved creating recordings of Sri Chatusloki, Sthothrarathnam, and Gadyatrayam. SRI
took up the primary responsibility for the recording which was done in Virginia. Sri Saranatha Bhattar chanted
the slokas and appropriate English commentaries were added. A 90-minute tape was released on the auspicious
occasion of Sri Ramanuja Jayanthi on May 1, 1998. Sri Ahobila Muth donated the proceeds of this sale for the
construction of Sri Ranganatha Temple in New York.
SRI’s crown jewel project was recording the entire Sri Desika Sthothramala (28 titles and over 800 slokas) with
English commentaries using local talents Sri Shyamsundar and Sri Venkat Sreenivasan, which was started in
October 1997. Six volumes of CDs were released in two sets: the first 3 volumes in August 1999 and the second
3 volumes in April 2001. Over 500 copies of the 6-volume CD sets were distributed across the U.S.
HH Sri Ranga Ramanuja Mahadesikan upanyasams via tele-bridge commenced in 1998. The New Jersey
sathsangam grew in numbers and Srimans Shyamsundar Sreenivasan, Venkat Sreenivasan, Murali Thirumalai,
and Narayanan Veeraraghavan volunteered in conducting Prabandha and Desika Sthothramala classes through
tele-bridge. A similar sathsangam grew in the Virginia where Veda, Prabandha and Sri Desika Sthothrams were
taught to local bhagavathas on the weekends. Veda classes were taught by Sri Rajeeve Karamchedu, and Sri
Desika Sthotrams by Sri Ananad Iyengar. The sathsangam sustained little over five years (2001-2006) with more
than 20 bhagavathas attending classes in person.
SRI also took active part in sathsangams organized by other associations (such as NAMA and Sri Ahobila Muth)
and SRI’s members presented papers and extended support to these associations serving the cause of Sri
Vaishnavism.
It was very unfortunate and a great loss to SRI as Sri Kannan mama attained Acharya thiruvadi in March 1999.
As my mentor and teacher in the U.S., he was one of the founding members of SRI with a clear vision to build a
temple in the U.S. He personally engraved this thought in SRI’s charter as objective #4. While discussing this
objective with us he said, “It may be difficult and too ambitious to include such a goal in our charter” and added
after a pause, “but with bhagavath sankalpam it may happen.” 18 years later, as we are inaugurating the balalayam,
Kannan mama’s vision has come true through his Acharya bhakthi and unconditional faith.
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The first official Paduka Thiruvaradhanam was conducted in April 1999 when the Virginia and Maryland
committee members along with Sri Balaji Ramanujam made a trip to Smt Shyamala and Murali Thirumalai’s
home in New Jersey to celebrate HH Thirukudandai Andavan’s TN [Photos 1-3]. This grand event was followed
by the arrival of Sri Ramanujar archa moorthy in June 1999. This archa moorthy of Sri Ramanujar came from
Velamur (the birth place of HH) and was worshipped by HH Srimushnam Andavan in his purvashrama days. At
the directions of HH, the archa moorthy was handed over to SRI by HH purvashrama thirukumarars (Sri Sriman
Narayanan and Sri Yamunachar) at Sri Velamur Temple and the Prana Prathishtai was performed in the U.S. in
May 2000 [Photos 4-5]. This great aradhana moorthy was initially brought to the U.S. for establishment in an
existing temple. However, Sri Ramanujar chose to stay with SRI to bless the organization and its devotees in the
years to come. No wonder abhimanies in the U.S. refer to this archa moorthy of Sri Ramanujar as “Than Nigar
Illa Thirumeni” (meaning second to none), following the three traditional archa thirumeni of Sri Ramanujar in
South India.
SRI’s two major events outside New Jersey happened during the summer of 2000 when HH Srimushnam Andavan
Thirunakshathra celebration was conducted in Boston through many volunteers, including Sri Sumanth Kaushik,
Sri Sunder Kidambi, Sri A.S. Rajagopalan, Sri Muralidhar Rangaswamy and Sri Kannapiran. This was followed
by another celebration in Maryland in June 2000 when HH Tridandi Srimannarayana Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyar
offered his mangalasasanam [Photo 6].
SRI also spearheaded efforts in celebrating Sri Nigamantha Mahadesikan & Sri Manavala Maamunigal
Thirunakshatram at Aurora Temple in Chicago, Illinois through the efforts of Vaikuntavasi Sri Krishnamachari
and Smt Kalyani Krishnamachari. Krishnamachari’s reverberating chanting of Sri Paduka Sahasram during
Paduka Thiruvaradhanam is still ringing in my ears!
2001-2005
Sri Ramanuja Jayanthi celebrations in 2001 at Bridgewater temple in New Jersey marked yet another milestone
for SRI in terms of expanding the sathsangam. The celebration was organized in association with Jeeyar
Educational Trust (JET) of HH Tridandi Srimannarayana Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyar and Sri Ahobila Muth. Many
Srivaishnava organizations like NAMA, VEDICS, Sri Vedantha Desika Sabha and Sri Desika Darsana Sabha
participated in the celebrations. The social and cultural programs included a scintillating upanyasam by U. Ve.
Sri Velukkudi Krishnan swami on Ramanuja Vaibhavam. The final set of Desika Sthothramala CDs (volumes 4-
6) was released during the celebrations.
2001 also marked another expansion of Sri Ramanuja sancharam to Cincinnati, Ohio (in May) through
coordination from Smt Radha and Sri Poondi Ramanujam and family (Sri Sriram, Smt Preethi, Sri Balaji and Smt
Rohini). Since then, Udayavar has been on sancharam to this city year after year over 15 years. This is one of the
states that Sri Ramanujar has most frequently visited in recent years. In the same year, SRI’s coordination and
sancharam activities expanded to Hindu Cultural Society in Buffalo, New York.
In July 2002, for the first time, Sri Ramanujar and Padukas took their longest sancharam to the Midwest in Iowa
City, Iowa. Sri Aravamudhan, Sri Ganesh Rajagopalan and Sri Mukund Nadipuram coordinated the sancharam
and Sri Kesavan Kannan participated in the whole trip. Incidentally, the Bhoomi Pooja of the IOWA Hindu
temple was blessed by and performed in the holy presence of Sri Ramanujar [Photos 7-8].
2004 marks the arrival of Sri Rukmini Sathyabhama Sametha Sri Venugopala Perumal in a beautiful silver dolai
that was specially designed by HH for ease of transportation, assembly, and operations within the U.S. It was a
blissful coincidence for SRI that Perumal chose to arrive here in the U.S. on July 21, 2004, the day of Andal
Thirunakshathram (thiruvadipuram). We were enthralled to imagine how Sri Ramanujar (Thiruppavai Jeeyar and
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elder brother of Andal) would have cherished the coincidence of Perumal’s arrival on Andal’s thirunakshatra day!
SRI held a 10-day Veda and Prabandha parayanam and performed a grand Prana Prathishtapana on September
11, 2004 in New Jersey in the holy presence of Sri Ramanujar. 108 Kalyana Utsavams were performed on this
day and attendance was overwhelming as hall capacity was exceeded and bhagavathas stood in line to enter and
have darshan of Perumal and Udayavar [Photos 9-11].
It was Perumal and Udayavar’s presence that gave us the courage and strength to start a traditional 21-day
adyayana utsavam in Virginia that was tailored for practice in the U.S. during weekends (3 to 5 pm) and weekdays
(7:30 to 9 pm). This adyayana utsavam format was initially developed by Kannan mama in 1997 (to include Sri
Desika Prabandha Parayana Kramam) and implemented in 2004 with help, guidance, and participation from the
Ramanujam family, Sri Srinivasa Gopalan (Upilli) and Sri A.M.R. Kannan. Since 2004, the adyayana utsavam
is part of SRI’s routine annual activity with overwhelming bhagavathas participation both in person and via tele-
bridge.
2006-2010
As HH was constantly thinking about an ashramam outside India, he gifted an archa moorthy of Dwadasa Nama
Chakrathalwar and Nrusimhar to SRI. HH blessed SRI that Chakrathalwar would speed up the Ashramam
establishment activities. Sri Madhu Rangarajan was fortunate in bringing this archa moorthy from Chennai to the
U.S. Following a grand 10-day Veda and Prabandha parayana in Virginia, the Prana Prathishtapana was
completed in New Jersey on September 4, 2006 [Photos 12-13].
In May 2006, HH Thirukudandai Andavan's Upanyasam Golden Collection CDs were released by U. Ve. Sri H.
R. Krishnaswamy Iyengar, Bangalore (son-in-law of Dr. N.S. Anantharangachar).
In May 2007, SRI added Detroit to its annual sancharam list when Detroit, Michigan bhagavathas requested
sancharam during Memorial Day weekends through Sri Raman Ranganathan’s efforts and coordination. In
addition to Dolai, special Kalyana Utsavam at bhagavathas’ residences were introduced for Sri Venugopala
Perumal.
In September of 2007, Atlanta, Georgia joined SRI’s annual sancharam list due to the efforts and coordination of
Sri Padmanabhan Raman during Labor Day weekends. Atlanta bhagavathas have made this a special “Krishna
Utsav” (since 2009) with a variety of annual themes, including Kalyana Utsavam, Garuda Vahanam, Deepa
Alankaram, Kannadi Sevai, and Kalpa Vruksham.
Following HH instructions and blessings to start an Ashramam in the U.S., SRI started an ctive fundraising
campaign through bhoomi dhanam and began looking for suitable land in New Jersey [HH Sri Mukham 2].
During 2008-2010, SRI focused its efforts on finding property in South Brunswick, New Jersey.
2011-2016
By the end of 2010, SRI’s sancharam and outreach activities expanded to many other places including North
Carolina (Theppothsavam through Sri Thiruvenkatachari Rajagopalan and Sri Melpaakkam Srinivasan),
Indianapolis (Sri Vijay Pattangi), Texas (Sri Veeraraghavan), Philadelphia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York