Context: Works are apace on the 216 ft tall statue of 11th century reformer and Vaishnavite saint Ramanujacharyulu to be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the sprawling 40 acre ashram of Tridandi Chinna Jeer Swamy at Muchintal on February 5.
Key Facts about the statue

• The 216-foot outdoor statue will be the world's second-largest statue featuring a sitting posture.
• The statue is made of 'panchaloha,' a five-metal alloy consisting of gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc.
• The inner sanctorum, deity of Ramanujacharya is made of 120 kilos of gold, to commemorate the 120 years the saint spent on earth.

Ramanujacharya
Life

• Ramanuja or Ramanujacharya was an Indian philosopher, theologian, social reformer.
• He was born in 1017 in Tamil Nadu, and was named Lakshmana.
• He was also referred to as Ilaya Perumal which means the radiant one.
• He studied under Yadvaprakasha, a follower of the Advaita system of the Vedanta Shankara.
• He crafted his own doctrine called bhakti.
• It emphasised the unconditional love of a devotee to a personal god.
• He later became the priest of a temple and began teaching about moksha.
• He was one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism.
• He disappeared at the age of 120 in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu in 1137 CE.

Contribution

• He brought about a socio-cultural revolution by preaching that every human being is equal, irrespective of religion, gender, race, caste, or creed.
• He strongly opposed caste discrimination and allowed entry of all into temples.
• He named subjugated classes Thirukkulathar-Born Divine.
• He made 'bhakti' the major force within different traditions of Hinduism.
• He propagated theories that assert that there exists a plurality and distinction between 'Atman' (soul) and 'Brahman'.
• There is a unity of all souls and that the individual soul has the potential to realise identity with the Brahman.

Major Works

• Vedarthasangraha (Summary of Vedas meaning)
• Sri Bhashya (a review and commentary on the Brahma Sutras)
• Bhagavad Gita Bhashya (a review and commentary on the Bhagavad Gita)
• His philosophical foundation is called Vishishtadvaita in the Hindu tradition.
• His ideas constitute one of three subschools in Vedanta.