Role Of Acharyas

Shri Vallabha Charya
Chaitnya Mahaprabhu

Shri Jagatguru Shankracharya

Role of the Acharya
By Sri.M.V.Ananthapadmanabhachariar

Courtesy The Hindu

Sastras throw light on the nature of the universe, the Supreme Being and the individual soul to enable us to perceive the relationship between them. But it is not easy to master the knowledge contained in the Sastras and that is why time and again the Lord descends to the earth to establish the validity of the scriptures and reinforce the value of salvation for the Jivatma. The Bhagavad Gita remains an unparalleled sacred text because Lord Krishna, who is the embodiment and source of all knowledge, in the role of a preceptor, teaches the quintessence of the Sastras so that the Jivatma understands the need to strive for salvation, The Lord also entrusts Acharyas with the responsibility of leading the Jivatma from the darkness of ignorance to enlightenment since ignorance is the greatest hurdle in this quest. Just as the darkness in a cave can be dispelled with the light from a lamp, the ignorance accumulated through countless births can be removed by the valuable instruction of the Acharyas.
Vedanta Desika illustrates the role of the Acharya in creating the spark of awareness in the Jivatma about its relationship with the Lord with the story of a king who lost his infant during a hunting spell.
In due course, the child, who grew up into a handsome young boy among the forest dwellers, was spotted by some Sages who immediately realised the lad as not belonging to the hunting race because his appearance reflected royal lineage. Further enquiry confirmed their hunch and they led the boy to his rightful father, the king, who eagerly welcomed his long lost son. Likewise, the Jivatma is unaware of its true lineage and associations and is lost in its wanderings through the cycle of birth. Unless it has the good fortune of meeting a preceptor who can clarify its nature and its relationship with the Supreme Brahman, and also recommend its cause to the Lord in an appropriate manner, it may not realise its real nature.
Another analogy of the Jivatma as a precious stone whose sheen is hidden in the mire of dirt illustrates the role of the Acharya through whose instruction the sheen can be regained.