  The Shri Vaishnavas provide our third example of a monotheism that is “tainted” by elements apparently in tension with it. The Shri Vaishnavas identify Vishnu with the Brahman. According to Ramanuja (1017?–1137?), Brahman is personal. Indeed, he is the supreme person (paratman), creator and Lord, who leads souls to salvation. Far from having no (positive) attributes, as some Vedantins maintain, Brahman is the sum of all “noble attributes”—omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and all-merciful. He is also advitya (without rival). Shiva, Brahma, and the other gods of the Hindu pantheon are Brahman’s agents or servants, created and commissioned by him. (They have the same status, in short, that angels have in the western religious traditions.)