Life of Sri Ramanuja

Book excerpt: Rare and blessed is the occasion when a saint, an illumined soul, Swami Ramakrishnananda, a direct-disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, undertakes the task of writing a biography of an Acharya, a world-teacher, Sri Ramanuja. No writer, however erudite and accomplished, can bring to his work that revealing insight which a saint does by virtue of his illumination. From this point of view, the biography of Sri Ramanuja in Bengali, authored by Swami Ramakrishnananda, is a unique work. Whether one belongs to the ranks of orthodox followers or to those of the heterodox, going through the pages of this book, one would surely feel the devotional fervour the author had for Sri Ramanuja. The book was translated into English by Swami Buddhananda, Interspersed with more than 150 colour photographs, annotated with many additional notes, and additional material appended, this new edition of the book, brought out to commemorate Sri Ramanuja’s 1000th Birth Year, will surely communicate the transforming power of the great life of a mighty and magnanimous world-teacher written by an illustrious apostle of another great world-teacher.