Rāmānujācārya
11th–12th century · Śrīperumbudūr & Śrīraṅgam, Tamil Nadu · Viśiṣṭādvaita
Rāmānuja was born at Śrīperumbudūr near Kāñcīpuram and became the great teacher of the Śrī Vaiṣṇava tradition at Śrīraṅgam. His philosophy, Viśiṣṭādvaita or “qualified non-dualism”, holds that God (Nārāyaṇa) is the one reality, with souls and the world as his real body — distinct, yet inseparable from him. The path is loving devotion and surrender (prapatti).
His chief works are the Śrī Bhāṣya on the Brahma Sūtra, the Vedārtha Saṅgraha and a commentary on the Gītā. He organised temple worship, lived for years at Melkote in Karnataka, and welcomed people of all castes into devotion. Tradition gives him a life of about 120 years.
Tradition tells that his teacher Tirukkoṣṭiyūr Nambi gave him a sacred mantra after many refusals, warning that revealing it would cost him liberation. Rāmānuja climbed the temple tower and proclaimed it to everyone below, saying he would gladly suffer if all these people could be saved. Moved, his teacher embraced him.
Viśiṣṭādvaita · Śrī Bhāṣya · Śrīraṅgam · Śrī Vaiṣṇava