Teachings of Ramanujacharya

Teachings of Ramanuja blend philosophical discussions along with devotional worship. His teachings bring together the intellectuals and the simple religious. Ramanuja had the responsibility of carrying spiritual teachings of the Vaishnava teacher Yamunacharya though the disciple did not meet the Guru. He achieved the purpose during his lifetime. He sought Guru Goshtipurna and got initiated in the Narayana Mantra (Ashtakshara) that grant salvation. He was very compassionate towards mankind that  he taught this to all despite the Guru warning him to keep it as a secret. 

The force of Ramanuja`s teaching is to submit oneself to God and give up apprehension. He taught people that their present situation is due to past Karma. This would go away and the future can be shaped by a life sticking to Dharma. One should avoid the company of the worldly people. Ramanuja`s teachings help to strengthen the Visistadvaita theory of Vedanta. His arguments were against Shankara`s rival school of Advaita Vedanta. 

Ramanuja`s system of Vedanta was his respective interpretations of the Upanishads and Brahma sutra Bhasya. Ramanuja assumed three interrelated theories as regards to the unity and diversity of Brahman: the "Body of God" doctrine, samanadhikaranya and the sarira-sariri bhava. 

Ramanuja stated in his Vedarthasamgraha text that the universe is made up of souls, matter and Brahman. He asserted that souls and matter are dependent on Brahman as well meet the criteria of Brahman`s existence. The relationship between finite souls and matter is that of inseparability. His system of though is known as qualified non-dualism as Brahman is supposedly qualified by chita and achita. Such qualities are distinct from God yet consist of interrelated modes of God`s body. 

He used the concept of organized postulation in order to show how two aspects of Brahman can be different from each other yet they cannot be different. The universe though distinct from Brahman is a part of Brahman. It is a quality and not an independent principle that is capable of functioning on its own. 

Ramanuja taught that souls and matter are dependent on Brahman for their existence. Brahman is the supreme Soul who is present in finite souls and matter. Brahman dwells in the souls unknown till it reaches liberation. The finite souls realize their divine nature but do not become identical with God. 

According to him Brahman is both the inner-controller and inner-ruler that is present in all souls and matter. The world is real and a part of Brahman. Finally he taught that God`s grace is accessible to anyone irrespective of caste so long as they devote themselves to Lord. Self-surrender is the key to spiritual liberation. He insisted that humans are unable to be saved by their own efforts and the grace of God is required. God`s grace is available to those who surrender themselves to God thereby admitting their full dependence on him. Brahman facilitates these souls to achieve Moksha through his grace.

Ramanuja or Ramanujacharya (c. 1017–1137 CE; IAST: Rāmānujā; [ɽaːmaːnʊdʑɐ] ) was an Indian philosopher, Hindu theologian, social reformer, and one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism. His philosophical foundations for devotionalism were influential to the Bhakti movement.

Ramanuja's guru was Yādava Prakāśa, a scholar who was a part of the more ancient Advaita Vedānta monastic tradition. Sri Vaishnava tradition holds that Ramanuja disagreed with his guru and the non-dualistic Advaita Vedānta, and instead followed in the footsteps of Tamil Alvārs tradition, the scholars Nāthamuni and Yamunāchārya. Ramanuja is famous as the chief proponent of Vishishtadvaita subschool of Vedānta, and his disciples were likely authors of texts such as the Shatyayaniya Upanishad. Ramanuja himself wrote influential texts, such as bhāsya on the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, all in Sanskrit.

His Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism) philosophy has competed with the Dvaita (theistic dualism) philosophy of Madhvāchārya, and Advaita (non-dualism) philosophy of Ādi Shankara, together the three most influential Vedantic philosophies of the 2nd millennium. Ramanuja presented the epistemic and soteriological importance of bhakti, or the devotion to a personal God (Vishnu in Ramanuja's case) as a means to spiritual liberation. His theories assert that there exists a plurality and distinction between Ātman (soul) and Brahman (metaphysical, ultimate reality), while he also affirmed that there is unity of all souls and that the individual soul has the potential to realize identity with the Brahman.

The mummified body of Ramanuja is preserved at the Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam using sandalwood paste and saffron.

Reformation

The Sri Vaishnavite order prior to Ramanuja was not averse to people from other castes as both Kanchipurna and Mahapurna were non-Brahmins So when Ramanuja revolted against the discrimination that had crept within the caste system, he was simply following the same lines as the Alwars and helped the people who were considered to be untouchables (dasa, dasulu, dasu), to get absorbed into the Sri Vaishnava Bhakthi Movement, encouraging them to attain Spiritual enlightenment by teaching them Sri Alwar Divyaprabandham. He called these downtrodden classes as Tirukulattar, meaning "of noble descent" in Tamil, and was instrumental in admitting them into the temple in Melukote. Ramanuja's liberal views also led to the reorganization of rituals in Srirangam and the involvement of non-brahmin people in the Vaishnava worship. This policy change contributed to the enhancement of social status for artisanal and other non-brahmin caste groups, especially the weavers (SenguntharKaikola Mudaliyar) who were one of the chief beneficiaries. After the period of Ramanuja, the Sri Vaishnava community split on this issue and formed the Vadakalai (northern and Sanskritic) and Thenkalai (southern and Tamil) sects.  Both sects believe in initiation into Sri Vaishnavism through Pancha Samskara. This ceremony or rite of passage is necessary for one to become a Sri Vaishnava Brahmin. It is performed by Brahmins and non-Brahmins in order to become Vaishnavas.

Writings

The Sri Vaisnava tradition attributes nine Sanskrit texts to Ramanuja – Vedārthasangraha (literally, "Summary" of the "Vedas meaning"), Sri Bhāshya (a review and commentary on the Brahma Sutras), Bhagavad Gita Bhāshya (a review and commentary on the Bhagavad Gita), and the minor works titled Vedāntadipa, Vedāntasāra, Gadya Trayam (which is a compilation of three texts called the Saranāgati Gadyam, Sriranga Gadyam and the Srivaikunta Gadyam), and Nitya Grantham.

Some scholars have questioned the authenticity of all but the three of the largest works credited to Ramanuja – Shri Bhāshya, Vedārthasangraha and the Bhagavad Gita Bhāshya.

Philosophy

 

The figure of Ramanuja in Upadesa Mudra inside the Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam. It is believed to be his preserved mortal remains.

Ramanuja's philosophical foundation was qualified monism, and is called Vishishtadvaita in the Hindu tradition. His ideas are one of three subschools in Vedānta, the other two are known as Ādi Shankara's Advaita (absolute monism) and Madhvāchārya's Dvaita (dualism).

Ramanuja accepted that the Vedas are a reliable source of knowledge, then critiqued other schools of Hindu philosophy, including Advaita Vedānta, as having failed in interpreting all of the Vedic texts. He asserted, in his Sri Bhāshya, that purvapaksin (previous schools) selectively interpret those Upanishadic passages that support their monistic interpretation, and ignore those passages that support the pluralism interpretation. There is no reason, stated Ramanuja, to prefer one part of a scripture and not other, the whole of the scripture must be considered on par. One cannot, according to Ramanuja, attempt to give interpretations of isolated portions of any scripture. Rather, the scripture must be considered one integrated corpus, expressing a consistent doctrine. The Vedic literature, asserted Ramanuja, mention both plurality and oneness, therefore the truth must incorporate pluralism and monism, or qualified monism.

This method of scripture interpretation distinguishes Ramanuja from Ādi Shankara. Shankara's exegetical approach Samanvayat Tatparya Linga with Anvaya-Vyatireka, states that for proper understanding all texts must be examined in their entirety and then their intent established by six characteristics, which includes studying what is stated by the author to be his goal, what he repeats in his explanation, then what he states as conclusion and whether it can be epistemically verified. Not everything in any text, states Shankara, has equal weight and some ideas are the essence of any expert's textual testimony. This philosophical difference in scriptural studies, helped Shankara conclude that the Principal Upanishads primarily teach monism with teachings such as Tat tvam asi, while helping Ramanuja conclude that qualified monism is at the foundation of Hindu spirituality.

Comparison with other Vedānta schools

 

Ramanuja depicted with Vaishnava Tilaka and Varadraja (Vishnu) statue.

Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita shares the theistic devotionalism ideas with Madhvāchārya's Dvaita. Both schools assert that Jīva (human souls) and Brahman (as Vishnu) are different, a difference that is never transcended. God Vishnu alone is independent, all other gods and beings are dependent on Him, according to both Madhvāchārya and Ramanuja. However, in contrast to Madhvāchārya's views, Ramanuja asserts "qualified non-dualism", that souls share the same essential nature of Brahman, and that there is a universal sameness in the quality and degree of bliss possible for human souls, and every soul can reach the bliss state of God Himself. While the 13th- to 14th-century Madhavāchārya asserted both "qualitative and quantitative pluralism of souls", Ramanuja asserted "qualitative monism and quantitative pluralism of souls", states Sharma.

Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita school and Shankara's Advaita school are both nondualistic Vedānta schools, both are premised on the assumption that all souls can hope for and achieve the state of blissful liberation; in contrast, Madhvāchārya believed that some souls are eternally doomed and damned. Shankara's theory posits that only Brahman and causes are metaphysical unchanging reality, while the empirical world (Maya) and observed effects are changing, illusive and of relative existence. Spiritual liberation to Shankara is the full comprehension and realization of oneness of one's unchanging Ātman (soul) as the same as Ātman in everyone else as well as being identical to the nirguna Brahman. In contrast, Ramanuja's theory posits both Brahman and the world of matter are two different absolutes, both metaphysically real, neither should be called false or illusive, and saguna Brahman with attributes is also real. God, like man, states Ramanuja, has both soul and body, and all of the world of matter is the glory of God's body. The path to Brahman (Vishnu), asserted Ramanuja, is devotion to godliness and constant remembrance of the beauty and love of personal god (saguna Brahman, Vishnu), one which ultimately leads one to the oneness with nirguna Brahman.

Influence

Harold Coward describes Ramanuja as "the founding interpreter of Sri Vaisnavite scripture." Wendy Doniger calls him "probably the single most influential thinker of devotional Hinduism". J. A. B. van Buitenen states that Ramanuja was highly influential, by giving "bhakti an intellectual basis", and his efforts made bhakti the major force within different traditions of Hinduism.

Major Vaishnava temples are associated with the Ramanuja's tradition, such as the above Srirangam Ranganatha temple in Tamil Nadu.

Modern scholars have compared the importance of Ramanuja in Hinduism to that of scholar Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) in Western Christianity.

Sri Ramanuja Shrine at The Ranganathasamy Temple in Srirangam

Ramanuja reformed the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple complex, undertook India-wide tours and expanded the reach of his organization. The temple organization became the stronghold of his ideas and his disciples. It is here that he wrote his influential Vishishtadvaita philosophy text, Sri Bhashyam, over a period of time.

Ramanuja not only developed theories and published philosophical works, he organized a network of temples for Vishnu-Lakshmi worship. Ramanuja set up centers of studies for his philosophy during the 11th- and 12th-century, by traveling through India in that era, and these influenced generations of poet saints devoted to the Bhakti movement. Regional traditions assert that his visits, debates and discourses triggered conversion of Jains and Buddhists to Vaishnavism in Mysore and Deccan region.

The birthplace of Ramanuja near Chennai hosts a temple and is an active Vishishtadvaita school. His doctrines inspire a lively intellectual tradition in southern, northern and eastern states of India, his monastery and temple traditions are carried on in the most important and large Vaishnava centres – the Ranganātha temple in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, and the Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.

The Statue of Equality in Hyderabad, planned by Chinna Jeeyar, is dedicated to Ramanuja.

Disciples

·       Kidambi Aachan

·       ThirukurugaiPiran Pillan

·       Nadadhur Azhwan

·       Mudaliyandan

·       Koorathazhwan

·       Anantazhwar

Names

He is also known as Śrī Rāmānujāchārya, Udaiyavar, Ethirājar (Yatirāja, king of monks), Bhashyakarar, Godāgrajar, Thiruppavai Jeeyar, Emberumānār and Lakshmana Muni^[1]

·       ‘Ilayazhwar’ by Periya Thirumalai Nambi

·       ‘BoodhaPuriser’ by Sriperumbudur Adikesava Perumal

·       ‘Am Mudalvan Evan’ by Yamunāchārya

·       ‘Ethirajar’ and ‘RamanujaMuni’ by Kanchi Perarulala Perumal

·       ‘Udayavar’ by Srirangam PERIYA PERUMAL

·       ‘Emperumanar’ by Tirukozhtiyur Nambi

·       ‘Tiruppavai Jeeyar’ by Periya Nambi

·       ‘Lakshmana Muni’ by Tiruvaranga Perumal Arayar

·       ‘Sadagopan Ponnadi’ by Tirumalaiyandan

·       ‘Sri Bashyakarar’ by Kalaimagal

·       ‘DesiKendiran’ by Tirupathi Thiruvenkatamudayan

·       ‘Koil Annan’ by Srivilliputhur Kothai Nachiyar

(Source internet)