| Sages,Rushis & Saints |
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| Biographies of Great
Indians & Hindus |
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RAMANUJACHARYA |
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Introduction
Chief exponent of the Vishishtadvaita school of Vedanta and a great social reformer.
"If I can bring deliverance to so many, I do not mind being condemned to hell,"
he said, and spread his spiritual message to even the lowliest of classes of people. He
established the Yatiraja Math and the Cheluvanarayanaswami temple at Melkote in Karnataka,
and also renovated many ancient temples. He wrote many philosophical works and preached
the oneness of mankind.Author - 'Raghusuta'
Ramanujacharya
The worshippers of Vishnu are 'Vaishnavas'. They devoutly worship Sri Rama and Sri
Krishna, the incarnations of Vishnu. 'Sri' is Lakshmi. The devotees worship Mother Lakshmi
and through her they try to propitiate Lord Vishnu. These devotees are the Srivaishnavas
and they follow the tenets of Vishishtadvaita.
It was the Alwars, the Vaishnava devotees of Tamilnadu, who widely popularised the
Srivaishnava religion. They lived between the sixth and the ninth centuries of the
Christian era. They were twelve in number. They did not have any caste distinctions. These
Vaishnava devotees were drawn
from all castes of the Hindu religion. Today all of them are worshipped by the
Srivaishnavas.
The tradition of the Acharyas began after the Alwars. 'Acharya' means a teacher. Among
them Yamunacharya wasforemost. The next in succession was Ramanuja- charya. It was he who
provided a good framework to the Bhakti cult. He gave a comprehensive form to the tenets
of Vishishtadvaita. He propounded a philosophy, which could command a universal following. |
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