The Way and Journey’s End

Abstract

In this chapter we shall be concerned with Rāmānuja’s understanding of the way to liberation and of the nature of this final state. In respect of the liberating relationship between the human individual and the Lord there seem to be two movements to Rāmānuja’s thought: one is ‘from above’, from the Lord’s side; this concerns the divine initiative in the salvific process, which initiative may be referred to as ‘election’. The other is ‘from below’, from the point of view of the individual’s response to the divine initiative. We may call this response yoga. Let us consider each activity in turn.