Pillai Lokacharya
Hindu philosopher and religious leader
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Early life
Lokacharya is described to be a pupil of Kalijit and of his father, Vadakku Thiruveedhi Pillai. In the early 14th century CE, when Tiruvarangam, his hometown, was greatly affected by the invasion of Malik Kafur from the north, he left Tiruvarangam with Utsavara to protect Nampillai, the Utsavara of Aranganatha temple, from foreigners, and was enthroned in 1311 CE at Jyotishkudi near Yanimalai village, near Madurai at the age of 106.
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Philosophy
Lokacharya emphasized that divine grace is present even in unconscious or unintended acts. Lokacharya believed that God's grace is spontaneous (nirhetu, 'without cause'), and should be sought not only through bhakti or active devotion, but met by prapatti, a passive acceptance of God's grace that is supposed to be freely given. Bhakti was instructed to be of the marjara (cat) type, as opposed to the clinging monkey type of the school of Desika. By this, he meant that man has merely to lay down his burdens and give himself up completely to God, like a kitten held in its mother's mouth. No exertion was regarded to be needed on the part of the devotee; all that is required is complete and utter surrender. This reflects the views of the Alvars.
Lokacharya is the author of several works called Ashtadasa Rahasyangal (Eighteen Secrets) which were added to by his disciples and influenced a large following. His teachings shaped the Tenkalai school, which regards the Tamil Prabandham as canonical and emphasizes unconditional grace.
In his text of the Srivachana Bhushana, Lokacharya expresses his belief in the unconscious purification of human acts even in their physical and mental planes. A person may go round a temple or any spiritual environment, and may call another who is named after God. Pillai writes that God gives credit for his having been in a holy environment and for addressing the Lord by His name—“En uraicconnay, en peraicconnay”.
Death
Pillai Lokacharya is said to have fallen ill due to a fall from a nearby hill (today known as Yanamalai) and died in 1311 CE. In his final teachings, he advised his disciples, such as Koorakuloththama Dasa and Vilanjsolai Pillai, that Srisailesa was working for the king at Madurai, and that they should bring him back into the Sri Vaishnava fold. His samadhi temple still exists near Narasimha temple at Othakadai, near Madurai.
According to legend, as he was dying, he started touching the ants and other such insects near him, with the belief that all those animals that were touched by a Sri Vaishnava would reach Vaikuntha, the abode of Vishnu. Pillai Lokacharya is said to have lived to 118 years.
Legacy
One of Pillai Lokacharya's best known disciples was Manavala Mamunigal, a theologian within the Sri Vaishnava tradition, who is revered in the Tenkalai (southern) denomination.