Ramanuja is revered in the Sri Vaishnava tradition as its foremost acharya, the preeminent philosopher and theologian who gave the movement its classical form and enduring structure. He is remembered as a teacher and exemplar who revived and reformulated Vaishnava theology around devotion to Vishnu as the supreme Brahman. Serving as head of the great temple at Srirangam, he did not merely comment on inherited teachings but organized them into a coherent path of worship, doctrine, and community life. In this way, Sri Vaishnavism came to see him as the central spiritual guide whose life and thought define the contours of the tradition.

At the heart of his contribution stands the system of Vishishtadvaita, or “qualified non-dualism,” which he articulated against the backdrop of Advaita Vedanta. In this vision, Brahman is identified with Vishnu, and the individual souls and the world are real, eternal, and inseparable from Brahman, yet not identical with it. They are understood as attributes or parts of Brahman, rather than illusions, and this metaphysical stance gives solid ground to a life of devotion. By presenting the soul–world–God relationship in this way, he offered a theological framework in which loving worship of Vishnu is not only meaningful but metaphysically warranted.

Ramanuja’s writings provided the scriptural backbone for this vision. His commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Upanishads became authoritative texts for Sri Vaishnavas, shaping how these scriptures are read and lived. Through these works, he argued that devotion (bhakti) to Vishnu, supported by knowledge and ritual, leads toward liberation. At the same time, he emphasized self-surrender—variously expressed as prapatti or saranagati—as a decisive spiritual act, highlighting the role of divine grace in the soul’s journey. Liberation, in this understanding, is not achieved by human effort alone but unfolds through the compassionate response of Vishnu to the devotee’s surrender.

Equally significant was his role in integrating and organizing the living practice of the tradition. He harmonized the Sanskrit Vedantic heritage with the Tamil devotional outpourings of the Alvars, thereby legitimizing heartfelt bhakti as a fully valid path to moksha. In temple life and community organization, he established structures for worship and theological education, and he is remembered for welcoming disciples across caste lines and stressing spiritual equality, even while operating within existing social frameworks. Through these intertwined philosophical, devotional, and institutional labors, Ramanuja stands as the figure who gave Sri Vaishnavism its distinctive identity and enduring coherence.