Context: IndianPrime Minister will inaugurate the Statue of Equality, a gigantic statue of Ramanujacharya on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Who was Ramanujacharya?
Born in 1017 in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, Ramanujacharya is revered as a Vedic philosopher and social reformer.
He travelled across India, advocating equality and social justice.
Ramanuja revived the Bhakti movement, and his preachings inspired other Bhakti schools of thought.
He is considered to be the inspiration for poets like Annamacharya, Bhakt Ramdas, Thyagaraja, Kabir, and Meerabai.
He went on to write nine scriptures known as the navaratnas, and composed numerous commentaries on Vedic scriptures.
Why is it called the Statue of Equality?
Ramanuja was an advocate of social equality among all sections of people centuries ago.
He encouraged temples to open their doors to everyone irrespective of caste or position in society at a time when people of many castes were forbidden from entering them.
He took education to those who were deprived of it.
His greatest contribution is the propagation of the concept of “vasudhaiva kutumbakam”, which translates as “all the universe is one family”.
