Ramanuja, also called Ramanujacharya, or Ilaiya Perumal (Tamil: Ageless Perumal [God]),
(born c. 1017, Shriperumbudur, India—died 1137, Shrirangam), South Indian Brahman theologian
and philosopher, the single most influential thinker of devotional Hinduism.
He encouraged the general population toward a devotional expression of Hindu spirituality by
teaching that the Divine entails rather than transcends all qualities.
Ramanuja was considered a brilliant boy of extraordinary intelligence and as a youth studied the
Vedanta, one of the six classical systems of Indian philosophy. According to tradition, Ramanuja died
in 1137 at 120 years of age.
Ramanuja believed and taught his disciples that devotion was not merely the means to liberation but
the goal of all spiritual endeavors.
