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Unlock This CourseRama and Krishna are figures of story and worship. Shankara and Ramanuja were different: they were teachers who thought deeply about the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras (short verses that sum up the teaching of the Upanishads) and the Bhagavad Gita and explained what they mean. Both belonged to the tradition called Vedanta. They asked the same big question: what is the relationship between the soul, the world and God? They gave different answers, and Hinduism has been shaped by both.
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Shankara lived about the 8th century CE. Tradition says he was born in Kerala in southern India, became a sannyasi (renouncer) when young and died young. He wrote commentaries on the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Gita. He is also said to have travelled across India, debating with other teachers.
Shankara taught that only Brahman is truly real. Remember that Brahman is the one ultimate reality, and Shankara focused on Brahman without qualities (nirguna). This is why his teaching is called Advaita, 'not two': there is no second reality beside Brahman.
The atman, the true self inside every living thing, is not a small piece of Brahman. It is Brahman itself. Shankara used the saying from the Upanishads, 'That you are'. The real you is the one reality.
If this is so, why does the world look full of separate things? Shankara said the world of separate things is maya. Do not think he meant the world is nothing or a lie. He meant it is not finally real in the way Brahman is, because it changes and passes away. We take the changing world for the whole truth, and that mistake is avidya (ignorance).
A pot makes a useful picture. The space inside a clay pot seems cut off from the space outside. Break the pot and it is clear there was only ever one space. In the same way the atman seems separate from Brahman only while we are ignorant.
For Shankara, liberation (moksha) comes through knowledge. A person hears the teaching, thinks about it and meditates until they know for certain that the atman is Brahman. This is the path of jnana. Ritual and devotion can help prepare the mind, but knowledge is what frees a person.
Tradition says Shankara founded monasteries (mathas) in different parts of India, including Sringeri in the south. Some of these mathas still train sannyasis today and are headed by teachers who are seen as his successors.
Ramanuja lived in the 11th and 12th centuries CE, in southern India. He taught at the great temple at Srirangam, and wrote a commentary on the Brahma Sutras and the Gita. He agreed with Shankara that Brahman is the one ultimate reality. But he disagreed about the nature of God, the soul and the world.
Ramanuja said Brahman is not without qualities. Brahman is a personal God, Vishnu, who is loving, wise and powerful. Remember saguna Brahman: for Ramanuja this is the fullest truth about God.
Souls and the world are not an illusion. They are real, but they depend on God completely, as a body depends on a soul. God is the soul of everything. This is 'qualified' non-dualism: one God, but with real souls and a real world as his body.
This matters for liberation. If the soul is real and different from God, then moksha cannot mean becoming the same as God. For Ramanuja it means living with God for ever and loving him. The way to this is bhakti, loving devotion, together with God's grace. A person cannot earn God's help, but God gives it to those who surrender to him with love.
Many Hindus who meditate or study the Upanishads follow Advaita ideas, and many who sing to Vishnu in the mandir follow Ramanuja's. Others borrow from both. Their teachings help Hindus to answer questions such as 'Who am I?' and 'How do I reach God?', and they show that Hindus can disagree while both remaining Hindus.
Do not say Shankara thought the world does not exist: he said it is not finally real. Do not say Ramanuja denied Brahman: he said Brahman is Vishnu. Do not mix up the two: Shankara is knowledge and the formless; Ramanuja is devotion and a personal God. Do not just list beliefs: say how they shaped Hindu life.
(a) Outline two teachings of Ramanuja. [4 marks]
(b) Explain why Shankara is important for Hindus. [6 marks]
(c) 'Ramanuja's teaching is more useful to Hindus today than Shankara's.' Discuss this statement, considering the arguments for and against. In your answer you should include reference to teachings, other (divergent) points of view and your own reasoned opinion. [10 marks]
(a) Ramanuja taught that Brahman is a personal God, Vishnu (1), who loves his devotees and can be worshipped in the mandir (1). He also taught that souls and the world are real (1) and belong to God as a body belongs to a soul (1).
(b) Shankara taught Advaita Vedanta, which says only Brahman is finally real (1). Hindus on the path of knowledge follow this, because it teaches that the atman is Brahman (1). He explained the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Gita in his commentaries, which Hindus still study (1). Tradition says he founded mathas, which keep the life of renunciation and teaching alive (1). His view of the world as maya helps Hindus not to be attached to things that pass away (1). He shows that liberation can come through knowledge, which is one of the main paths in Hinduism (1).
(c) Plan. For: devotion is open to everyone, whatever their learning; a loving God gives comfort and is worshipped in the mandir; grace gives hope to people who feel unable to reach liberation alone. Against: Advaita is still widely taught and gives a deep answer to who we are; some Hindus say knowledge is the only way to end rebirth; many Hindus use both. Conclusion: Ramanuja's teaching is easier to apply to daily worship, but Shankara's is just as useful for those who study, so the answer depends on the Hindu's path.
In a question on a teacher, give what they taught and then say what difference it made to Hindus, such as a school, a path to liberation or a way of worship.