Page 8 - Ramanuja and Equality Book.pmd

• The entire Universe and everything in it is a manifestation
of the Supreme Being.

• The key purpose of life is to serve the Supreme Being,
which implies serving society, as the entire Universe is
apart of the Supreme Being.

He dispelled concepts that spoke about the universe being an
illusion and became the preceptor of the Bhakthi movement
- a movement born out of mystical devotion and ripened
knowledge, and which united people from all walks of life into
serving the Supreme Being and society. All the Bhakti schools
derive inspiration from Ramanuja’s teachings. He stood as an
inspiration for mystic poets like Kabir, Meerabai, Annamacharya,
Bhaktha Ramdas, Thyagaraja and many others.

He was a great scholar and wrote nine scriptures detailing
the essence of Vedic knowledge, without any adulteration of
speculation, or other self-manifested thought processes. These
works include four commentaries on the key message of the
Upanishads and the Brahma Sutra, a commentary on Sri Bhagavad
Gita, three prose works of devotion focusing on surrendering
to the Supreme Being, and a manual of daily worship. For the
past one thousand years, these works have been celebrated and
studied methodically by scholars of all schools throughout the
world.

SRI RAMANUJACHARYA,
AN ICON OF EQUALITY AND SOCIAL REFORM

He was the epitome of Egalitarian thought, embracing those
discarded by society, enlightening otherwise-darkened lives.
He blessed them with the divine mantras and the 5 divine
samskaras to lead a life of courage and inspiration. In addition
to opening temple doors to all walks of society, He reserved 50%
of temple responsibilities for various communities, including the
downtrodden, in Srirangam.

He bridged the gap between literate and illiterate, rulers and the
ruled. He gave impetus to the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,

7