Ramanand Swami 4.2.2002

Ramanand Swami born Rama Sharma to a Brahmin family in Ayodhya in 1738. His parents were Ajay Sharma (father) and Sumati (mother). He was considered to be the incarnation of Uddhava, a close friend of Krishna. Ramanand was the founder and head of the Uddhav Sampraday. Ramanand Swami adopted of the Vishishtadvaita doctrine of the Vaishnava which was first propounded by Ramanuja several centuries earlier. In his travels to Srirangam in southern India in his early life, Ramanand Swami said that Ramanuja gave him diksha (initiation) in a dream and appointed him in his line as an acharya. Ramanand Swami then travelled north to Kathiyavad to spread his philosophy. Before dying in 1802, Ramanand Swami passed the reins of the Uddhav Sampraday to Swaminarayan.