RAMANUJACHARYA

RAMANUJACHARYA

TOPIC: Art & Culture

Context- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Statue of Equality, a gigantic statue of Ramanujacharya, on February 5 on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Concept-

Who was Ramanujacharya?

• Born in 1017 in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, Ramanujacharya is revered as a Vedic philosopher and social reformer.
• Ramanuja’s philosophical foundation was qualified monism and is called Vishishtadvaita in the Hindu tradition.
• Important writings include:
  • Vedarthasangraha (literally, “Summary of the Vedas meaning”),
  • Sri Bhashya (a review and commentary on the Brahma Sutras),
  • Bhagavad Gita Bhashya (a review and commentary on the Bhagavad Gita)
• He travelled across India, advocating equality and social justice.
• Ramanuja revived the Bhakti movement, and his preachings inspired other Bhakti schools of thought.
• He is considered to be the inspiration for poets like Annamacharya, BhaktRamdas, Thyagaraja, Kabir, and Meerabai.
• He went on to write nine scriptures known as the navaratnas, and composed numerous commentaries on Vedic scriptures.
• Ramanuja is also credited with establishing the correct procedures for rituals performed in temples throughout India, the most famous being Tirumala and Srirangam.

Statue of Equality

• The ‘Statue of Equality’, as it is called, is being installed to mark the 1,000th birth anniversary of Sri Ramanuja.
• It was built of panchaloha, a combination of gold, silver, copper, brass and zinc, by the Aerospun Corporation in China and shipped to India.
• It is the second largest in the world in sitting position of the saint.
• The monument will be surrounded by 108 “DivyaDesams” of Sri Vaishnavite tradition (model temples) like Tirumala, Srirangam, Kanchi, Ahobhilam, Badrinath, Muktinath, Ayodhya, Brindavan, Kumbakonam and others.

Where is the statue located?

• The 216-foot-tall statue, which was first proposed in 2018, is located at the 45-acre scenic Jeeyar Integrated Vedic Academy (JIVA) at Muchintal near Shamshabad on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
• The statue was proposed and designed by ChinnaJeeyar.

Why is it called the Statue of Equality?

• Ramanuja was an advocate of social equality among all sections of people centuries ago, and encouraged temples to open their doors to everyone irrespective of caste or position in society at a time when people of many castes were forbidden from entering them.
• His greatest contribution is the propagation of the concept of “vasudhaivakutumbakam”, which translates as “all the universe is one family”.
• He embraced the socially marginalised and condemned, and asked royal courts to treat them as equals.
• He spoke of universal salvation through devotion to God, compassion, humility, equality, and mutual respect, which is known as Sri VaishnavamSampradaya.