Ramanuja and Kanchi-Purna

Ramanuja reached Kanchi with a heavy heart and recounted to Kanchi-purna everything he had witnessed. Purna mourned deeply over the loss of his Acharya, made worse by the thought that all the projects they had planned together were now thwarted. But recovering himself, he consoled Ramanuja: "Lord Varada is all-knowing and all-powerful. Let us submit to His will. He will make good our loss by appointing you in his stead for our faith." So saying, he conducted the Sri-churna-paripalana and the Tiru-v-adhyayana (ritual observances) for his departed Acharya.

Ramanuja again took up as before the Tiru-manjana service — carrying the holy bathing water for Lord Varada. As his friendship and respect for Kanchi-purna deepened, he recognized great spiritual worth in this staunch devotee of Lord Varada.

One day Ramanuja earnestly begged Kanchi-purna to become the sponsor for his soul — to be his Acharya.

"Come, holy Ramanuja!" said Purna. "You desire this of me because you believe me worthy of such a position. But know that I am an unworthy nobody, whom Lord Varada has perhaps chosen to regard as someone. You are clearly acting on this principle:

"This saying holds with regard to our soul-relation. But it cannot be applied to external conditions of birth and social order as laid down in the Vedas. You must not outwardly profess bonds to me that contradict the typical social system of Varna (caste) and Ashrama (stage of life). Yours is the body of a Brahmin; mine is the body of a Vaisya. As long as these last, we must respect these temporary distinctions for the sake of the social fabric, which we cannot violate."

Ramanuja accepted the lawfulness of the caste system. Yet he felt it ought to be set aside in special cases where spiritually advanced souls like Kanchi-purna were concerned. So the next day he resolved to invite Purna to his home for a feast.

"Accept, sir, a meal in my hut," Ramanuja prayed.

"Most gratefully," said Purna, not wishing to disappoint him.

Ramanuja was delighted at the thought of receiving the remnants of food eaten by a spiritual elder — even though Purna belonged, by birth, to a lower class in society. Returning home, he asked his wife to prepare a sumptuous meal for a distinguished guest. He himself bathed, performed all the ceremonies prescribed for a householder, carried the daily service-water to Lord Varada, worshipped his household Deity (also a form of Varada), and then left to bring his guest to his door.

He went by the south street and turned west toward Purna's retreat. But Purna had already left — by a different route. He had prayed to Lord Varada as usual, completed his daily services there, and gone on to Ramanuja's cottage. Not finding Ramanuja at home, he asked the wife to serve him food immediately, as he had to return to the temple for urgent service.

She did so, and he left. She then pushed aside the leaf-plate he had eaten from with a stick, purified the spot with water and cow-dung, and — considering herself impure from the contact — bathed again.

Ramanuja, not finding Purna at his cloister, retraced his steps home. Seeing that his wife had bathed a second time, he asked her why.

"Sir, your Sattada (non-Brahmin) guest came, ate, and is gone. Since he was a low-caste man, I purified the place where he ate, and I have bathed."

"Ignorant woman!" he cried in anger. "What have you done! How you have frustrated my plans!"

"What shall I do next?" Ramanuja pondered. "What I wished has failed. Perhaps it is God's will that I should not violate caste restrictions even in special cases. So be it."

He went again to Purna's cloister. "Sir, forgive me for pressing you to do something against your will. But now grant me another favor. I have a few doubts in my mind. I beg you to place them before Lord Varada — whose beloved worshipper you are — and bring me His answers."

"Willingly I shall submit them to Him," Purna promised.

That night, when all the temple duties were over, Mahapurna stood before Lord Varada in silent contemplation, hands folded.

"I think you have something to ask of me," said Lord Varada.

"Yes, Lord! Ramanuja has a few doubts he has asked me to submit to You and bring answers to — though he has not spoken them aloud."

"I know them," said Varada. "He is asking Me these doubts in the same way I once asked Sandipani for knowledge. He knows the sweetness of God-service by birthright. He knows My will and acts upon it. He has learned many things in many places. He has six doubts in his mind. Here are the six answers:

Kanchi-purna reverently received this message and withdrew. The next morning he hailed Ramanuja joyfully and gave him the divine reply.

"Were these your doubts, sir?" he asked.

"Yes, your Holiness. I prostrate to you for this most heartily," Ramanuja said.

Purna was struck by this remarkable confirmation. From that day on — suiting the action to the word — he looked upon Ramanuja as the destined Savior.