Context
The prime minister will unveil the statue of unity in Hyderabad in February
About
- It will be a 216 ft tall sitting statue of the saint and social reformer Ramunujacharya of the 11th century.
- It will be the world's 2nd tallest statue in sitting position[the tallest is the Great Buddha in Thailand at 302 ft].made of panchaloha i.e made of five metal viz. Gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc.
- The inner sanctorum deity of Sri Ramanujacharya is built of 120 kilos of gold to commemorate the 120 years the saint spent on earth.
Sri Ramanujacharya
- Born in 1017 CE in Tamil Nadu. He propagated the philosophy of Sri Vaishnavism and is famous as the chief proponent of the Vishishtadvaita subschool of Vedānta.
- He is also known for his social work against casteism and social hierarchies, proclaiming that all living beings had the right to Realization.
- He wrote nine works that came to be known as the Navratnas including three major commentaries, the Vedartha-Sangraha, the Sribhasya, and the Bhagavadgita-Bhasya aimed at providing a philosophical foundation for devotional worship
Vishistadvaita
It is a non-dualistic school of Vedanta philosophy. It is non-dualism of the qualified whole, in which Brahman alone exists, but is characterized by multiplicity. It is a school of Vedanta philosophy that believes in all diversity subsuming to an underlying unity.