[Advaita-l] A Vedantic message

[Bhaskar YR]

That means prakRti is also brahman and there is no shakti that is different from brahman and brahman alone is the material and instrumental cause of the universe?

praNAms Sri Kalyan prabhuji
Hare Krishna

Yes, there is no bheda among  Shakti and Shakta and shakta's shakti's effect (kArya).  Hence it has been said by bhAshyakAra that : prakrutishcha upAdAnakAraNaM cha abhyupagantavyaM nimitta kAraNam cha.  kAraNasya AtmabhUtA shaktiH, shakteshcha AtmabhUtaM kAryaM, sA shaktiH brahmaiva ahaM Shakti shaktimatOH ananyatvAt. yA mUlaprakrutiH abhyupagamyate tadeva cha nO brahma.  Hence it is untenable to equate this mUla prakruti / akshara / mAyA / avyAkruta / Shakti etc. with anishta 'avidyA'.  Anyway, this is a different topic.   Is this Shakti an  external force that nirguNa brahma assumes at the time of creation?? No, it is in the svabhAva of that brahmaN, itareya first mantra bhAshya confirms that brahma's inherent svabhAva is its sarvajnatvaM and sarvashaktitvaM.  But when the Ishwara assumed as separate entity along with other separate entities like jeeva and jagat etc. then Ishwara's omniscience and omnipotence etc. come within the sphere of avidyA because in avidyA kshetra only these differences (dvaita bhAva) arise.  

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar