Tengalai is one of the two primary subsects of the Shrivaishnava
religious group, with Vadagalai being the other.
The Shrivaishnavas are worshippers of the deity Vishnu
(bhakta), and their origins may be traced back to the Alvars, a group of twelve
poet-saints who lived in southern India during the seventh and tenth centuries
and wrote devotional poems.
The Alvars' religious outpouring was structured and
systematized by the philosopher Ramanuja (11th century), who is regarded as the
Shrivaishnava founder, two centuries later.
Ramanuja believed that Brahman, or Supreme Reality, was a
personal god rather than an impersonal abstract concept, and that the most
significant kind of religious activity was devotion (bhakti).
His philosophical position, Vishishthadvaita Vedanta,
emphasized both of these convictions, and thus stood in opposition to the
Advaita Vedanta school, which was founded by the philosopher Shankaracharya and
believed that the Supreme Being was impersonal and that realization (jnana) was
the best spiritual path.
The Tengalais and Vadagalais separated many centuries after
Ramanuja, and it was caused by differing ideas on what an individual must do to
achieve ultimate soul freedom (moksha).
The Tengalais emphasize the importance of complete
submission (prapatti) to God's mercy, through which devotees are rescued
without having to do anything; the Vadagalais emphasize the importance of
devotees exerting themselves on their own behalf.
Pillai Lokacharya (14th century), who is also the
community's most revered person, was the Tengalai's founder.
