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Categories: Hinduism | Vaishnavism | Indian religious figures | Indian philosophers | 1017 births | 1137 deaths
Ramanuja
Sri Ramanuja Acharya (1017 - 1137 AD) was an Indian philosopher. He held the Vishishtadvaita or Nondualist belief that the world and Brahman were united, like a soul and a body are. His version of Indian Nondualism differed from Shankara's because he acknowledged the existence of differences, and believed that the identity of an object as a part was as important as the unity of the whole. Most importantly, he believed that Brahman was not devoid of attributes but was expressed as a personal God, full of infinite good qualties, as Vishnu.
Some state that he was an incarnation of Adishesha.
Like Adi Sankara before him, he was critical of the caste system. He said, "Does the wearing of a sacred thread make one a Brahmin? One who is devoted to God (Vishnu) alone is a Brahmin."
cited from Sri Ramanuja, His Life, Religion, and Philosophy, published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, India