| Abstract
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The Manual of Daily Worship (Nityagrantham) of Rāmānuja (1017–1137) is a work of applied, liturgical theology, in a major Hindu tradition. It describes the daily worship of an advanced devotee, melding together purifications, ritual offerings, recitation of mantras, meditations, and acts of surrender to God. As such, it richly fills out the spiritual and intellectual profile of Rāmānuja as an exemplar of integral spiritual, intellectual, and practical religion. This essay argues that he thus has much to offer to our reflection on religions and religions across Asia, and more particularly, offers fruitful insights and challenges regarding how to understand, study, and practice religion even now. The author is an American Roman Catholic priest and a Jesuit, who himself has learned deeply from Hinduism and from Rāmānuja’s tradition over the decades. The Manual of Daily Worship (Nityagrantham) of Rāmānuja (1017–1137) is a work of applied, liturgical theology, in a major Hindu tradition. It describes the daily worship of an advanced devotee, melding together purifications, ritual offerings, recitation of mantras, meditations, and acts of surrender to God. As such, it richly fills out the spiritual and intellectual profile of Rāmānuja as an exemplar of integral spiritual, intellectual, and practical religion. This essay argues that he thus has much to offer to our reflection on religions and religions across Asia, and more particularly, offers fruitful insights and challenges regarding how to understand, study, and practice religion even now. The author is an American Roman Catholic priest and a Jesuit, who himself has learned deeply from Hinduism and from Rāmānuja’s tradition over the decades.
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