Ramanuja's revelation to the Vishistadvaita Vedanta school in the work Gita Bhasya

Abstract

The consequences of industrialization in contemporary society are creating pessimistic feelings about the human condition. Re-examining the thoughts of Ramanuja - the founder of the Vishistadvaita school - through the scripture Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā with Gita Bhasya of Bhagavad Ramanuja - can open up ways of living that meet the needs and aspirations of people in contemporary society. The article's content is developed mainly by applying the method of determining language (typology) and interpreting signs (semeion/sign) of hermeneutics. The authors attempt to faithfully recount Ramnuja's ideas from the perspective: of Brahman - Atman - The path of merging Atman with Brahman to escape from the cycle of birth and death, as a basis for approaching the basic content of the qualitative non-dual school (Vishistadvaita Vedanta) as well as determining the meaning of this perspective in contemporary society. Brahman, in Ramanuja's interpretation, is not only the Supreme Being but also the Source of Light with the qualities of infinite love, compassion, and grace. Each entity of Life will become Atman when receiving the Jiva ray from Brhanman. Liberation in spiritual contemplation is the complete and intact radiance of the ray (Jiva) that Brahman has projected into each Living entity, the path of merging Atman with Brahman. This path includes Jnana Yoga (enlightened knowledge), Karma Yoga (righteous action), and Bhakti Yoga (devotion). If we remove the theistic mist from Ramanuja's thought, we can realize that the humanistic values in Ramanuja's Gita Bhasya can contribute to building global ethics - religious ecological ethics - opening a new direction for the practice of happiness in the life of contemporary humans.