Ramanujacharya - the Vashishtadvaita Philosophy

Ramanujacharya was born near Chennai, Tamil Nadu and lived during 1017–1137. He composed philosophical works and committing to writing the special views that were being developed orally by Yamunacharya (the grandson of Nathamuni, the great Alver) and his predecessors, gave the system a solid foundation to the Vasishtadvaita or qualified non-dualism, one of the great Hindu Philosophies. He established Lakshmi-sampradaya, also known as Srivaishnavism.  

​Vasishtadvaita Philosophy:
He propounded the philosophy so called as “Vasishtadvaita” or qualified non-dualism. Under the system, he proclaimed that the unity is not the sublation of all diversity but the subordination of diversity to unity. World, jiva and God (the absolute one) are true and liberation from bondage is also factually true.
 
He refuted the Advaita doctrine of Shankara that the Brahman, the absolute as the non-dual being in whom the world of many is mere appearance ascribed by ignorance and not actually existing. Ramanuja questioned locus of ignorance, if it is in Brahman; Brahman is loaded with evil and becomes unworthy as a spiritual goal.
 
Brahman (God):

1. Brahman is not featureless, attribute-less, indefinite and vague presence unsuited for worship and adoration.
2. It seeks to equate divine personality, known under different sacred names of Purushottama, Narayana, Vasudeva, Krishna etc., with Brahman, the absolute of the Upanishads.
3. The Supreme Being is the person with attributes. He can take any form, pervades every being as their indweller and container. He has fivefold characteristics in his inherent nature (Svarupa) which distinguishes Him from finite beings viz. Satyam (Truth unconditioned and changeless), Jnanam (all comprehending knowledge), Anantam (Infinite or excellances unlimited by categories, time, space etc.), Ananda (immeasurable & immitigable Bliss) and Amalatva (stainlessness or incorruptibility i.e. freedom from the hold of karma). His auspicious qualities (Svabhava) are countless but most important identified are six viz. Jnana (omniscience), Bala (omnipotence), Aishvarya (lordship), Shakti (creative power), Virya (immutability) and Tejas (splendor). Others are Gambhirya (inestimable grandeur), Audarya (generosity) and Karuna (compassion).

Jiva (Soul) & Jagat (Nature):

1. He claimed the plurality of Jivas (Atmans) and changeful order of the Nature are real. Jivas & Jagat (Nature) always exist as a part of Brahman as His body or mode.
2. Jivas and Nature have no existence apart from Brahman and are in inseparable relation. Jivas & Nature are inseparably dependent (Aprathak-siddhi) on Brahman and Brahman is not dependent on Jivas & Jagat (Nature). The cosmic Body of Jivas and Jagat cannot at all be separated, as their dependence on Brahman is eternal. The dependence is not reciprocal. God id controller and Jiva-Jagat form the controlled. God is master and owner and Jiva-Jagat is subservient to God and forms his disposable property.
3. The relationship of Brahman & Jivas has analogy of Human Body which is composed of millions of individual cells. The cells of different organs are distinct in function and have its own individuality. Together, they are bound as the body and they exist and function solely to serve the interest of the individual will, the life energy of the body.  
4. It is karmas, the result of actions of Jivas in previous embodiments that causes the good and evil, enjoyments and sufferings of karma which have necessarily to be enjoyed or suffered.

Jivas are hold of oppressive Karma that generates the spiritual blindness of ignorance and impurity. God is untouched by karma and therefore absolutely pure.
 
Srishti & Parlaya:

1. The mode constituted of the Jivas and nature may undergo change. This is only contraction and expansion, which is called Parlaya (dissolution) and Srishti (Projection). In dissolution the Jivas and Nature exist undifferentiated from Brahman but they do not lose their entity in so far as they have the potentiality to manifest again at the time of Srishti or creation.
2. In the creative process, the Jivas which have become almost one with insentient Prakriti in Parlaya, gain their separate identity and bodies suited for their embodiment according to their deserts in the light of their Karma.

 
Liberation:

1. The forgetfulness of Jiva that he is servant (Sesa) of God (Sesi) is due to karma-born ignorance. When this is removed by enlightenment and the Jiva realizes himself as the eternal and natural attendant of all powerful, all perfect and all blissful Being. Jiva only derives the highest bliss.
2. It is self-awareness of the Jiva as entity distinct from body-mind and its dependent status with the Isvara, generates true devotion (Bhakti).  
3. Salvation or release from the hold of karma does not mean the merging of jiva in Brahman, but attaining to the status of an eternal servant of His, which alone can give unalloyed bliss to the jiva. 

 
His Teachings:

1. Never be slaves to your senses.
2. Go on reading repeatedly the books dealing with the greatness of God and wonders of His creations.
3. Enjoy the utterances of the names and glories of God’s devotees with much relish as the utterances of God’s names and glories.
4. Dedicate yourself to the service of God and His devotees.
5. Devote a portion of the day, at least one hour, to the contemplation of the greatness of your spiritual preceptor and some time every day to the reading of the sacred writings of the Alvers or the Acharyas.
6. One should surrender oneself at the feet of the God. Those, who have surrendered, should not bestow any thought on his future, which is entirely at His disposal. His present life is entirely determined by his past karmas; so it is not proper to grieve over it.
7. The prime cause of salvation is the grace of God; the aspirant has to deserve it at least by seeking it or asking for it.  

 
Reference: Bhakti Schools of Vedanta – by Swami Tapasyananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai.