RAMANUJACARYA (1017-1137) was the principal acharya in the Sri sampradaya, one of
the four main lines of Vaisnava teachers and disciples. His Vedanta-sutra commentary -
Sri-bhasya establishes the doctrine known as Vasistadvaita, “qualified nondualism.”
A staunch proponent of the philosophy of pesonalism, he taught that although the
Supreme Lord and the individual souls are qualitatively one, there is still a difference
between them, for the Lord is infinite and the living entities are infinitesimal.
Srila Ramanujacharya traveled extensively throughout India, teaching personalism and
defeating proponents of monistic philosophy . He founded seventy-four centers of
Sri Vaisnavism and initiated seven hundred sannyasis (renounced monks),
twelve thousand brahmacharis (celibate students), and thousands of householders,
including king s and wealthy land owners.
Comments