UPSC Prelims 2022 Q95: Ramanuja and Vishishtadvaita — Explained
The world's second tallest statue in sitting pose of Ramanuja was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India at Hyderabad recently. Which one of the following statements correctly represents the teachings of Ramanuja?
- The best means of salvation was devotion.
- Vedas are eternal, self-existent and wholly authoritative.
- Logical arguments were essential means for the highest bliss.
- Salvation was to be obtained through meditation.
Answer: (a) The best means of salvation was devotion.
Statement-wise explanation
- a: correct — Ramanuja held that the best way to salvation was intense, loving devotion (bhakti) to Vishnu, joined with total surrender (prapatti) to him. God's grace then lets the devotee reach the bliss of union with him. The NCERT Class 7 history textbook (Our Pasts II) puts it this way: the best means of attaining salvation was through intense devotion to Vishnu. Britannica credits him with giving bhakti an intellectual basis through his commentaries on the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.
- b: incorrect — That the Vedas are eternal, have no author (apaurusheya) and carry authority of their own is the signature doctrine of the Purva Mimamsa school of Jaimini and Kumarila. Ramanuja accepted the authority of the Vedas, as every Vedanta teacher did. But this statement describes Mimamsa ritualism, not what is distinctive in his teaching. For him, scripture points to a personal God reached through devotion.
- c: incorrect — Treating logical argument as the main path to the highest goal is the Nyaya position. Nyaya teaches that liberation comes from right knowledge of its sixteen categories (padarthas), gained through valid means of knowledge. In the Sri Bhashya, Ramanuja argued that reasoning alone cannot establish Brahman, and that scripture and devotion are needed. He used argument to defend his school, not as the path to bliss.
- d: incorrect — Ramanuja did describe bhakti as steady, loving remembrance of God (upasana), so the word 'meditation' can look close. But for him the deciding factors are love for Vishnu, surrender and God's grace, not meditation as a technique like the eight-limbed practice of the Yoga school. The textbook phrase for his path is devotion, not meditation.
How to eliminate
This is a static Art & Culture question with a current-affairs hook, and it is written to match the NCERT Class 7 line on Ramanuja. Basic knowledge settles most of it. Ramanuja is the best-known teacher of the bhakti tradition after the Alvars, and the statue was described as honouring the 'Bhakti saint' Ramanujacharya. Next, check whether each statement is the trademark of another school. 'Vedas are eternal, self-existent and wholly authoritative' is Mimamsa. 'Logical arguments' is Nyaya. 'Meditation' is the Yoga school, and also how many people describe Shankara's path of knowledge. Each wrong statement belongs to a different darshana, which makes them easier to reject. 'Meditation' is the hardest to drop, because Ramanuja defined bhakti as loving, constant remembrance of God. Choose the word the textbooks use: devotion. Fact to remember: Ramanuja taught Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism), and for him salvation comes through bhakti and surrender (prapatti) to Vishnu, aided by God's grace.
Know more
Ramanuja (Ramanujacharya) was born at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. Tradition dates his life to c. 1017–1137, and the 2022 celebrations marked his 1000th birth anniversary. He worked mainly at the Srirangam temple and was deeply influenced by the hymns of the Alvars. His main works are the Sri Bhashya (on the Brahma Sutras), the Vedarthasangraha and the Gita Bhashya.
Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism). Brahman is real and is a personal God, Vishnu-Narayana, full of good qualities (saguna). Souls (chit) and matter (achit) are real too. They are like God's body and depend on him, but they are not illusions. Even in liberation, the soul is united with God but stays distinct from him. This sets him against Shankara, for whom the world is maya and the self is identical with a Brahman without attributes.
Path to liberation. Bhakti together with prapatti (complete surrender), made fruitful by God's grace. Ramanuja also welcomed devotees from outside the higher castes. That is why the Hyderabad statue is called the Statue of Equality.
| School | Teacher | Century | God–soul relation | Main path |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advaita | Shankara | 8th | Identical; world is maya | Knowledge (jnana) |
| Vishishtadvaita | Ramanuja | 11th–12th | One, but soul stays distinct | Bhakti + prapatti |
| Dvaita | Madhvacharya | 13th | Always separate | Bhakti, by God's grace |
Other darshanas the options borrow from: Mimamsa (Vedas eternal and authorless), Nyaya (logic and valid knowledge), Yoga (meditation).
Later split: the Vadakalai school (Vedanta Desika) holds that the devotee must also make an effort, like a baby monkey holding on to its mother. The Tenkalai school holds that God's grace alone saves, like a mother cat carrying her kitten.
In the news
On 5 February 2022 (Basant Panchami), the Prime Minister dedicated the 216-feet 'Statue of Equality' of Sri Ramanujacharya at Hyderabad to the nation. The statue is made of panchaloha and is described as among the world's tallest seated metallic statues. The event was part of the Sri Ramanuja Sahasrabdi Samaroham, the 1000th birth anniversary celebrations.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Ramanuja: The question asks about this teacher's doctrine, so his life, works and setting at Srirangam give the context.
- Vishishtadvaita: His school of Vedanta; the four statements test what it says about God, the soul and the way to release.
- Bhakti movement: The wider movement Ramanuja is placed in; knowing how it defines the path to God helps you judge the statements.
- Advaita Vedanta: Shankara's rival school, a useful contrast when you weigh statements about meditation and knowledge as means of release.
- Saguna bhakti: Helps place Ramanuja's personal Vishnu, a god with attributes, among Indian ways of conceiving God.
- Madhvacharya: The third great Vedanta teacher; comparing the three schools helps you keep their paths to liberation apart.