had Ramananda as his disciple." –George A. Greirson (1920).Other scholars state that Ramananda's education started in Adi Shankara's Advaita Vedanta school, before he met Raghavananda and began his studies in Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita Vedanta school. Literary works Ramananda is credited as the author of many devotional poems, but like most Bhakti movement poets, whether he actually was the author of these poems is unclear. Two treatises in Hindi, Gyan-lila and Yog-cintamani are also attributed to Ramanand, as are the Sanskrit works Vaisnava Mata Bhajabhaskara and Ramarcana paddhati. However, poems found in the original and well-preserved manuscripts of Sikhism and handwritten Nagari-pracarini Sabha are considered authentic and highlight the Nirguna (attributeless god) stream of thought in Ramananda. Philosophy Ramananda developed his philosophy and devotional themes inspired by the south Indian Vedanta philosopher Ramanuja, however, evidence also suggests that Ramananda was influenced by Nathpanthi ascetics of the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy. Antonio Rigopoulos states Ramananda's teachings were "an attempt towards a synthesis between Advaita Vedanta and Vaishnava bhakti". He adds that the same link can be found in the 15th-century text of Adhyatma Ramayana, but there is no historical proof that Ramananda's teachings inspired that text. Shastri has proposed the theory that Ramananda's complex theological schooling in two distinct Hindu philosophies explains why he accepted both Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman, or god with attributes and god without attributes, respectively. Shastri suggests his theory offers an explanation why Ramananda's disciples co-developed saguna and nirguna as the two parallel currents in the Bhakti movement. However, this theory lacks historical evidence and has not gained wide acceptance by scholars. The Ramananda literature that is considered authentic, states Enzo Turbiani, suggest a milestone development in metaphysical principles of the Bhakti movement. Ramananda asserts that austerity and penances through asceticism are meaningless, if an individual does not realize Hari (Vishnu) as their inner self. He criticizes fasting and rituals, stating that the mechanics are not important, and that these are useless if the individual does not take the opportunity to reflect and introspect on the nature of Brahman (supreme being). Ramananda states that rote reading of a sacred text is of no benefit, if the person fails to understand what the text is trying to communicate. Legacy Ramananda is often honored as the founder of Sant-parampara (literally, the tradition of bhakti sants) in north India. His efforts, in a time when Ganges river plains of north