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Vishishtadvaita
Sri Ramanujacharya, pioneer of Vishishtadvaita Vedanta andthe
foremost Jeeyar of Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya.
Vishishtadvaita Vedanta (IAST Viidvaita Vednta;Sanskrit: ), the
philosophy of the Sri Sampra-daya , is a sub-school of the Vedanta
(literally, end orthe goal of knowledge, Sanskrit) school of Hindu
phi-losophy, the other major sub-schools of Vednta be-ing Advaita,
Dvaita, "Dvaitadvaita" and Achintya-Bheda-Abheda. VishishtAdvaita
(literally Advaita with unique-ness; qualications) is a
non-dualistic school of Vedantaphilosophy. It is non-dualism of the
qualied whole, inwhich Brahman alone exists, but is characterized
by mul-tiplicity. It can be described as qualied monism orqualied
non-dualism or attributive monism.It is a school of Vedanta
philosophy which believes in alldiversity subsuming to an
underlying unity. Ramanuja,the main proponent of Vishishtadvaita
philosophy con-tends that the Prasthana Traya (The three
courses),namely the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and theBrahma
Sutras are to be interpreted in a way that showsthis unity in
diversity, for any other way would violatetheir consistency.Vedanta
Desika denes Vishishtadvaita using the state-ment: Asesha
Chit-Achit Prakaaram Brahmaikameva
TatvamBrahman, as qualied by the sentient and in-sentient modes
(or attributes), is the only reality.
1 PhilosophersThe Vishishtadvaitic thought is considered to have
ex-isted for a long time, and it is surmised that the earliestworks
are no longer available.[1] The names of the earliestof these
philosophers is only known through Ramanuja'sVeda artha Sangraha.
In the line of the philosophers con-sidered to have expounded the
VisishtAdvaitic system,the prominent ones are Bodhayana, Dramida,
Tanka,Guhadeva, Kapardi and Bharuci. Besides these philoso-phers,
Ramanujas teacher Yamunacharya is creditedwith laying the
foundation for what culminates as the SriBhasya.Bodhayana is
considered to have written an extensivevritti (commentary) on the
Purva and Uttara Mimamsas.Tanka is attributed with having written
commentaries onChandogya Upanishad and Brahma Sutras. Nathamuniof
the ninth century AD, the foremost Acharya of theVaishnavas,
collected the Tamil prabandhas, classiedthem, made the redaction,
set the hymns to music andspread them everywhere. He is said to
have received thedivine hymns straight from Nammalvar, the foremost
ofthe twelve Alvars, by yogic insight in the temple at
AlwarThirunagari, which is located near Tirunelveli in SouthIndia.
Yamunacharya renounced kingship and spent hislast days in the
service of the Lord at Srirangam and inlaying the fundamentals of
the Vishishtadvaita philoso-phy by writing four basic works on the
subject.Ramanuja is the main proponent of Vishishtadvaita
phi-losophy. The philosophy itself is considered to have ex-isted
long before Ramanujas time.[2] Ramanuja contin-ues along the line
of thought of his predecessors whileexpounding the knowledge
expressed in the Upanishads,Brahma Sutras and Bhagavad Gita.
Vedanta Desika andPillai Lokacharya, disciples in the tradition of
Ramanuja,had minor disagreements not on the philosophy, but onsome
aspects of the theology, giving rise to the Vadakalaiand Thenkalai
schools of thought, as explained below.Swaminarayan, the founder of
Swaminarayan Hin-duism, also propagated this philosophy and based
theSwaminarayan Sampraday (original name is UddhavaSampraday) on
these ideals.[3]
Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya (1963-), founder of
theInternational Sanatana Dharma Society, is also a follower
1
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2 4 METAPHYSICS
of Visishtadvaita philosophy.[4][5]
2 Key Principles of VishishtadvaitaThere are three key
principles of Vishishtadvaita:
Tattva: The knowledge of the 3 real entities namely,jiva (living
souls; the sentient); ajiva (the insentient)and Ishvara
(Vishnu-Narayana or Parahbrahman,creator and controller of the
world).
Hita: The means of realization, as through Bhakti(devotion) and
Prapatti (self-surrender).
Purushartha: The goal to be attained, as mokshaor liberation
from bondage.
3 Epistemology
3.1 Pramanas
Prama, in Sanskrit, refers to the correct knowledge, ar-rived at
by thorough reasoning, of any object. Pramana(sources of knowledge,
Sanskrit) forms one part of atriputi, (trio), namely,
1. Pramatir, the subject; the knower of the knowledge
2. Pramana, the cause or the means of the knowledge
3. Prameya, the object of knowledge
In Vishishtadvaita Vedanta, the following three pramanasare only
accepted as valid means of knowledge:
Pratyaksa the knowledge gained bymeans of per-ception
Anumana the knowledge gained by means of in-ference
Shabda the knowledge gained by means of shruti
Perception refers to knowledge obtained by cognition ofexternal
objects based on sensory perception. In modernday usage this will
also include knowledge obtained bymeans of observation through
scientic instruments sincethey are an extension of
perception.Inference refers to knowledge obtained by deductive
rea-soning and analysis.Shruti refers to knowledge gained from
scriptures - pri-marily the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the
Bha-gavad Gita.
3.1.1 Rules of Epistemology
There are three rules of hierarchy when there is apparentconict
between the three modes of acquiring knowledge:
Shabda or Shruti, Pramana occupies the highest po-sition in
matters which cannot be settled or resolvedby pratyaksa
(perception) or by anumana (infer-ence).
Anumana occupies the next position. When an issuecannot be
settled through sensory perception alone,it is settled based on
inference, that is, whichever isthe more logical argument .
When pratyaksa yields a denitive position on a par-ticular
issue, such a perception cannot be ignored byinterpreting Shabda in
a way which violates that per-ception.
4 Metaphysics
4.1 Ontology
The ontology in Vishishtadvaita consists of explaining
therelationship between Ishvara (Parabrahman), the sentientbeings
(chit-brahman) and the insentient Universe (achit-brahman). In the
broadest sense, Ishvara is the UniversalSoul of the pan-organistic
body consisting of the Universeand sentient beings. The three
ontological entities are de-scribed below:
4.1.1 Ishvara
Ishvara (denoted by Vishnu-Narayana) is the SupremeCosmic Spirit
who maintains complete control over theUniverse and all the
sentient beings, which together alsoform the pan-organistic body of
Ishvara. The triad of Ish-vara along with the universe and the
sentient beings isBrahman, which signies the completeness of
existence.Ishvara is Parabrahman endowed with innumerable
aus-picious qualities (Kalyana Gunas). Ishvara is perfect,
om-niscient, omnipresent, incorporeal, independent, the cre-ator of
the universe, its active ruler and also its eventualdestroyer.[6]
He is causeless, eternal and unchangeable and is yet the material
and the ecient cause of theuniverse and sentient beings. He is both
immanent (likewhiteness in milk) and transcendent (like a
watch-makerindependent of a watch). He is the subject of worship.He
is the basis of morality and giver of the fruits of onesKarma. He
rules the world with His Maya His divinepower.Ishvara is considered
to have a 2-fold characteristic: he isthe indweller of all beings
and all beings dwell in Ishvara.
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4.1 Ontology 3
Antarvyapi When Ishvara is thought of as the in-dweller of all
beings, he is referred to as the Paramatman,or the innermost self
of all beings.He who inhabits water, yet is within water, whom
waterdoes not know, whose body water is and who controls wa-ter
from within He is your Self, the Inner Controller,the Immortal.He
who inhabits the sun, yet is within the sun, whom thesun does not
know, whose body the sun is and who controlsthe sun fromwithinHe is
your Self, the Inner Controller,the Immortal - Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad 3.7.4-14
Bahuvyapi When Ishvara is thought of as the all en-composing and
the residence of all beings that is, all be-ings reside in Ishvara,
he is referred to as the parama-purusha. The sentient beings and
the insentient universewhich form part of the pan-organistic body
of Ishvara areencapsulated by Ishvara.Sarvam khalvidam Brahma
Chandogya UpanishadIsavasyam idam sarvam Isha Upanishad
4.1.2 Chit
Chit is the world of sentient beings, or of entities pos-sessing
consciousness. It is similar to the Purusha ofSamkhya system. The
sentient beings are called Jvsand they are possessors of individual
consciousness as de-noted by I. The scope of Chit refers to all
beings withan I consciousness, or more specically
self-awareness.Therefore all entities which are aware of their own
in-dividual existence are denoted as chit. This is
calledDharmi-jnana or substantive consciousness. The sen-tient
beings also possess varying levels ofDharma-bhuta-jnana or
attributive consciousnessThe jivas possess three dierent types of
existence:
Nityas, or the eternally free Jivas who were never inSamsara
Muktas, or the Jivas that were once in Samsara butare free
Baddhas, or the Jivas which are still in Samsara
4.1.3 Achit
Achit is the world of insentient entities as denoted bymat-ter
or more specically the non-conscious Universe. It issimilar to the
Prakriti of Samkhya system.
4.1.4 Brahman
There is a subtle dierence between Ishvara and Brah-man. Ishvara
is the substantive part of Brahman, while
jivas and jagat are its modes (also secondary attributes),and
kalyanagunas (auspicious attributes) are the primaryattributes. The
secondary attributes become manifestedin the eect state when the
world is dierentiated byname and form. The kalyanagunas are
eternally manifest.Brahman is the description of Ishvara when
compre-hended in fullness i.e., a simultaneous vision of
Ishvarawith all his modes and attributes.The relationship between
Brahman and Jivas, Jagat is ex-pressed by Rmnuj in numerous ways.
He calls thisrelationship as one of:
sharIra/sharIrI (/ ) (body/indweller); prakAra/prakArI
(attribute or mode/substance); shesha/sheshi (Owned/owner);
amsha/amshI (part/whole); AdhAradeya/sambandha
(supporter/supported); niyamya/niyanta (controlled/controller);
rashksya/rakshaka (redeemed/redeemer);
These relationships can be experienced holding Brahmanas the
father, son, mother, sister, wife, husband, friend,lover and lord.
Hence, Brahman is a personal being.
What does Nirguna Brahman mean?
Ramanuja argues vehemently against understandingBrahman as one
without attributes. Brahman is Nirgunain the sense that impure
qualities do not touch it. He pro-vides three valid reasons for
staking such a claim:Shruti/ Shabda Pramana: All shrutis and
shabdas denot-ing Brahman always list either attributes inherent to
Brah-man or not inherent to Brahman. The shrutis only seekto deny
Brahman from possessing impure and defectivequalities which aect
the world of beings. There is evi-dence in the shrutis to this
regard. The shrutis proclaimBrahman to be beyond the tri-gunas
which are observed.However, Brahman possesses an innite number of
tran-scendental attributes, the evidence of which is given
invakhyas like satyam jnanam anantam Brahma (Tait-tiriya
Upanishad).Pratyaksha Pramana: Ramanuja states that a
contentlesscognition is impossible. And all cognition must
neces-sarily involve knowing Brahman through the attributes
ofBrahman.Anumana Pramana: Ramanuja states that Nirgunatvaitself
becomes an attribute of Brahman on account ofthe uniqueness of no
other entity being Nirguna. Ra-manuja had simplied relationship
between bramha andsoul.According to him though soul is integral
part ofbramha it has independent existence.[7]
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4 6 INTERPRETATION OF MAHVKYAS
4.2 Theory of ExistenceThe three ontological entities i.e.
Ishvara, Chit andAchit are fundamentally real. It upholds the
doctrine ofSatkaryavada as against Asatkaryavada.Briey,
Satkaryavada is pre-existence of the eect in thecause. It
maintains that karya (eect) is sat or real.It is present in the
karana (cause) in a potential form,even before its
manifestation.
Asatkaryavada is non-existence of the eect in thecause. It
maintains that karya (eect) is asat or un-real until it comes into
being. Every eect, then, isa new beginning and is not born out of
cause.
More specically, the eect is a modication of what ex-ists in the
cause and does not involve new entities cominginto existence. This
is called as parinamavada or evo-lution of eect from the cause.
This doctrine is com-mon to the Samkhya system and Vishishtadvaita
system.The Samkhya system adheres to Prakriti-Parinama vadawhereas
Vishishtadvaita is a modied form of Brahma-Parinama vada.
4.2.1 Krya and krana
The krana (cause) and krya (eect) in Vishishtadvaitais dierent
from other systems of Indian Philosophy.Brahman is both the
krana(cause) and the krya(eect).Brahman as the cause does not
become the Universe asthe eect.Brahman is assigned two kranatvas
(ways of being thecause):
1. Nimitta kranatva Being the Ecient/ Instrumen-tal cause. For
example, a goldsmith is assignedNimitta kranatva as he acts as the
maker of jew-ellery and thus becomes the jewellerys
Instrumentalcause.
2. Updna kranatva Being the material cause. Forexample, the gold
is assigned Updna kranatva asit acts as the material of the
jewellery and thus be-comes the jewellerys material cause.
According to Vishishtadvaita, the Universe and Sentientsalways
exist. However, they begin from a subtle state andundergo
transformation. The subtle state is called a causalstate, while the
transformed state is called the eect state.The causal state is when
Brahman is internally not distin-guishable by name and form.It can
be said that Vishishtadvaita follows Brahma-Prakara-Parinama Vada.
That is to say, it is the modes(Jivas and Jagath) of Brahman which
is under evolution.
The cause and eect only refer to the pan-organistic
bodytransformation. Brahman as the Universal Self is un-changing
and eternal.Brahman having the subtle (skshma) chit and
achitentities as his Saareeram/Prakaaram(body/mode)before
manifestation is the same Brahman havingthe expanded (stla) chit
and achit entities as Saa-reeram/Prakaaram(body/mode) after
manifestation.The essential feature is that the underlying entity
is thesame, the changes are in the description of that entity.For
e.g. Jack was a baby. Jack was a small kid. Jack wasa middle-aged
person. Jack was an old man. Jack is deadThe body of a single
personality named Jack is describedas continuously changing. Jack
does not become Jamesbecause of the change.
5 EthicsSouls and Matter are only the body of God. Creation is
areal act of God. It is the expansion of intelligence. Mat-ter is
fundamentally real and undergoes real revelation.The Soul is a
higher mode than Matter, because it is con-scious. It is also
eternally real and eternally distinct. Finalrelease, that comes, by
the Lords Grace, after the deathof the body is a Communion with
God. This philoso-phy believes in liberation through ones Karmas
(actions)in accordance with the Vedas, the Varna (caste or
class)system and the four Ashramas (stages of life), along
withintense devotion to Vishnu. Individual Souls retain
theirseparate identities even after moksha. They live in
Fel-lowship with God either serving Him or meditating onHim. The
philosophy of this school is SriVaishnavism, abranch of
Vaishnavism.
6 Interpretation of Mahvkyas1. sarvam khalv idam brahma from
Chandogya Upan-ishad 3.14.1Translated literally, this means All
this is Brahman. Theontology of Vishishtadvaita system consists
of:a. Ishvara is Para-brahman with innite superlative qual-ities,
whose substantive nature imparts the existence tothe modesb. Jivas
are chit-brahman or sentient beings (which pos-sess consciousness).
They are the modes of Brahmanwhich show consciousness.c. Jagat is
achit-brahman or matter/Universe (which arenon-conscious). They are
the mode of Brahman whichare not conscious.Brahman is the composite
whole of the triad consistingof Ishvara along with his modes i.e.
Jivas and Jagat.
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52. ayam tm brahma from Mandukya Upanishad 1.2Translated
literally, this means the Self is Brahman. Fromthe earlier
statement, it follows that on account of every-thing being Brahman,
the self is not dierent from Brah-man.3. Tat tvam asi from
Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7Translated literally, it means Thou art
thatthat here refers to Brahman and thou refers to jivaRmnuj
chooses to take the position of universal iden-tity. He interprets
this passage to mean the subsistence ofall attributes in a common
underlying substratum. This isreferred to as samndhikaranya. Thus
Rmnuj saysthe purport of the passage is to show the unity of all
be-ings in a common base. Ishvara (Parabrahman) who isthe Cosmic
Spirit for the pan-organistic body consistingof the Universe and
sentient beings, is also simultaneouslythe innermost self (Atmn)
for each individual sentientbeing (Jv). All the bodies, the Cosmic
and the individ-ual, are held in an adjectival relationship
(aprthak-siddhi)in the one Isvara.Tat Tvam Asi declares that
oneness of Isvara.When multiple entities point to a single object,
the re-lationship is established as one of substance and its
at-tributes.For e.g. in a statement:Jack is a tall and intelligent
boyThe descriptors tall-ness,intelligence and boy-ness all referto
a common underlying JackSimilarly, when the upanishads declare
Brahman is theUniverse, Purusha, Self, Prana, Vayu, and so on, the
en-tities are attributes or modes of Brahman.If the statement tat
tvam asi is taken to mean as only theself is brahman, then sarvam
khalv idam brahma willnot make sense.
6.1 Understanding Neti-Neti
This is an upanishadic concept which is employed whileattempting
to know Brahman. The purport of this exer-cise is understood in
many dierent ways and also inu-ences the understanding of Brahman.
In the overall sense,this phrase is accepted to refer to the
indescribable natureof Brahman who is beyond all
rationalisations.Taittiriya Upanishad 2-9-1 passage yato vacho
nivartan-the.. (words recoil, mind can not grasp...) etc., statethe
same concept regarding Brahman . The visishtad-vaita interpretation
is that these passages do not indicatea black hole, but the
incompleteness of any statementor thought or concept concerning
Brahman. Brahmanis these and more. This interpretation is
consistent withsarvam kalvidam brahma. Antaryami Brahmanam
ofBrihadaranyaka Upanishad passage yasya prithvi sari-
ram yasya atma sariram is also interpreted to show thatBrahman
is not a zero point - nirvisesha chinmatra (anentity which has
nothing except existence)The typical interpretation of Neti-Neti is
not this, not thisor neither this, nor that. It is a phrase meant
to conveythe inexpressibility of Brahman in words and the
futilityof trying to approximate Brahman with conceptual mod-els.In
VisishtAdvaita, the phrase is taken in the sense ofnot just this,
not just this or not just this, not just that. Thismeans that
Brahman cannot be restricted to one specicor a few specic
descriptions. Consequently, Brahman isunderstood to possess innite
qualities and each of thesequalities are innite in extent.
7 Purpose of human existenceThe purpose or goal of human
existence is calledpurushartha. According to the Vedas, there are
four goalsnamely artha (wealth), kama (pleasure), dharma
(righ-teousness) andmoksha (permanent freedom fromworldlybondage).
According to this philosophy, the rst threegoals are not an end by
themselves but need to be pur-sued with the ideal of attaining
moksha.
7.1 MokshaMoksha means liberation or release from samsara, the
cy-cle of rebirth.
7.2 Bhakti as the means of attaining mok-sha
Bhakti Yoga is not the solemeans of liberation in
Vishish-tadvaita. Through Bhakti (devotion), a Jiva ascends to
therealm of the Lord, where it continues to delight in Hisservice.
Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga are natural out-comes of Bhakti, total
surrender, as the devotee acquiresthe knowledge that the Lord is
the inner self. A devo-tee realizes his own state as dependent on,
and supportedby, and being led by the Lord, who is the Master.
Oneis to lead a life as an instrument of the Lord, oering allhis
thought, word, and deed to the feet of the Lord. Oneis to see the
Lord in everything and everything in Him.This is the unity in
diversity achieved through devotion.[8]However Sri Ramanuja and the
Vishishtadvata traditionaccept Saranagati, total surrender at the
Lords lotus feetalone as the sole means to moksha, liberation from
sam-sara and going to Vaikuntha. This is a distinguishing fea-ture
of this school of philosophy, as both Adi shankarasadvaita and
ananda tirthas dvaita accept bhakthi for mok-sha. Swami Ramanuja
has supported this opinion withvarious citations directly from the
vedas, and various in-cidents highlighting sharangathi as means to
moksha,overbhakthi. Observing total surrender at the lords feet
guar-antees moksha at the end of this birth, and in the time
be-
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6 10 CONCLUSION
tween sharanagathi and death, the surrendered soul mayspend his
time piously by involving in devotion. So bhak-thi is not a moksha
sadhana, but just for anubhava in theVishishtadvaita Sampradaya
8 Thenkalai and Vadakalai schoolsof thought
Swamy Sri Vedanta Desikan as in Kanchipuram
Vedanta Desikan, one of the foremost learned scholarsand
philosophers of medieval India, wrote more than ahundred works in
Sanskrit and Tamil. All are charac-terised by their versatility,
deep spiritual insight, ethicalfervour and excellent expressions of
devotional emotionin delightful style. His Paduka-sahasram is a
classic ex-ample. He was a great teacher, expositor, debater,
poet,philosopher, thinker and defender of the faith of
Vaish-navism. The Vadakalai sect of Sri Vaishnavism
associatethemselves with Vedanta Desikan.Pillai Lokacharya
literally meaning Teacher for thewhole world is one of the leading
lights on the Sri Vaish-nava Vedanta philosophy. His work Sri
Vachana Bhu-sanam is a classic and provides the essence of
Upan-ishads. The Tenkalai sect of Sri Vaishnavism looks upto him
apart from Swami Ramanuja and Swami Man-avalaMamuni. He was a
senior contemporary of VedantaDesika. He is said to have been born
as an amsa(essence) of Kanchi Devaraja (Varadaraja) Perumal
todocument and immortalize Ramanujas message in themonth of Aippaci
under the star Thiruvonam (Sravana),
in the year 1205 CE.[9] He is said to have lived for106 years,
during which time, he also helped to safe-guard the idol of
Ranganatha at Srirangam from Musliminvaders.[9] Pillai Lokacharya
conrmed the basics ofthe Sri Vaishnava system in his 18 monumental
workspopularly known as Ashtadasa Rahasyangal (the eigh-teen
secrets) also called the Rahasya granthas (doc-trines that explain
the inner meanings) out of which SriVachana Bhushanam and
Mumukshuppadi are the mostfamous. ManavalaMamuni expanded on and
popularizedLokacharyas teachings arguments in Tamil.
9 Traditions following Vishshtad-vaita
Sri Sampradaya of south India. Sri Ramanandi Sect of Northern
India, it has thelargest monastic order in whole India.
Sri Swaminarayan Sampraday of Gujarat.
9.1 Visishtadvaita and Sri Vaishnavism
The Absolute Supreme Reality referred to as Brahman, isa
Transcendent Personality. He is Narayana, also knownas Lord
Vishnu.Amanwho has discrimination for his charioteer and holdsthe
reins of the mind rmly, reaches the end of the road;and that is the
supreme position of Vishnu. - 1.3.9 KathaUpanishadBeyond the senses
are the objects; beyond the objects is themind; beyond the mind,
the intellect; beyond the intellect,the Great Atman; beyond the
Great Atman, the Unmani-fest; beyond the Unmanifest, the Purusha.
Beyond the Pu-rusha there is nothing: this is the end, the Supreme
Goal.-1.3.10,11 Katha UpanishadIn terms of theology, Ramanujacharya
puts forth the viewthat both the Supreme Goddess Lakshmi and
SupremeGod Narayana together constitute Brahman - the Ab-solute.
Sri Lakshmi is the female personication ofBrahman and Narayana is
the male personication ofBrahman, but they are both inseparable,
co-eternal, co-absolute and are always substantially one. Thus, in
ref-erence to these dual aspects of Brahman, the Supreme isreferred
to in the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya as SrimanNarayana.
10 ConclusionNarayana is the Absolute God. The Soul and the
Universeare only parts of this Absolute and hence,
Vishishtadvaitais panentheistic. The relationship of God to the
Soul and
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7the Universe is like the relationship of the Soul of Manto the
body of Man. Individual souls are only parts ofBrahman. God, Soul
and Universe together form an in-separable unity which is one and
has no second. This isthe non-duality part. Matter and Souls inhere
in that Ul-timate Reality as attributes to a substance. This is
thequalication part of the non-duality.
11 See also Turiya
12 References[1] Chandrankunnel, Matthew (2008). Philosophy of
Quan-
tum Mechanics. New Delhi: Global Vision PublishingHouse. p.
945.
[2] Jones, Constance (2007). Encyclopedia of Hinduism.New York:
Infobase Publishing. p. 490. ISBN0816073368.
[3] Williams, Raymond (2001). Introduction to Swami-narayan
Hinduism. Cambridge: University of CambridgePress. p. 35. ISBN 0
521 65279 0.
[4] Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya (2013). SanatanaDharma: The
Eternal Natural Way. Dharma Sun Media.Retrieved 7 September
2014.
[5] Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya (2010). The Vedic Wayof
Knowing God. Dharma Sun Media. Retrieved 7September 2014.
[6] White Yajurveda 32.3
[7] J.L.Mehta VOl3
[8]
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=$-$9014610686337442954
[9] Chandrankunnel, Matthew (2008). Philosophy of Quan-tum
Mechanics. New Delhi: Global Vision PublishingHouse. p. 946.
13 External links Biographies of Ramanuja and Vedanta Desika
Ramanuja and VisishtAdvaita more information Advaita and
VisishtAdvaita more information
http://www.vaishnava.com/shrivaishnavaintro.htm
http://www.hinduweb.org/home/dharma_and_philosophy/vvh/vvh.htm
http://www.hinduweb.org/home/dharma_and_philosophy/vvh/raghavan.html
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8 14 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
14 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses14.1
Text
Vishishtadvaita Source:
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PhilosophersKey Principles of Vishishtadvaita
EpistemologyPramanas Rules of Epistemology
MetaphysicsOntologyIshvaraChitAchitBrahman
Theory of ExistenceKrya and krana
EthicsInterpretation of MahvkyasUnderstanding Neti-Neti
Purpose of human existenceMokshaBhakti as the means of attaining
moksha
Thenkalai and Vadakalai schools of thought Traditions following
VishshtadvaitaVisishtadvaita and Sri Vaishnavism
ConclusionSee alsoReferencesExternal linksText and image
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