If advaita stands, all other systems(including dvaita) fall

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Thu, 9 Jan 1997, M Suresh wrote:

> In that case the realization  of Brahman by persons like Ramakrishna
> Paramahamsa, Ramana Maharishi, Mirabai etc., will have to be denied.
>

So what if it does?  That they are not knowers of Brahman doesn't imply
they were bad or irrelevant people.

Mirabai was a vaishnava and would be rather offended to learn she had
"realized Brahman" anyway.

> Also access to Brahma vidya will have to be restricted to persons of
> a geographical region.  Persons like Jesus christ will be out.
>

Again so what?  From the Vedic viewpoint it matters not a bit what Jesus
did or didn't do.

> Also Brahma  vidya would have been  unknown in the pre-vedic  era if
> the eternity of vedas is not admitted.
>

There is no pre-vedic era.  The Vedas are nitya and apaurusheya.

> Therefore IMHO  while the  study and knowledge  of shastras  is very
> important for realization of Brahman  because they echo the ultimate
> truth of Brahman  the best,  so are practical methods like devotion,
> meditation  and  contemplation.  The  study of  shastras  cannot  be
> considered indispensible  for all  persons because the  truth though
> beyond  the senses  and  the mind  is within  oneself  and what  one
> eternally  is.  Therefore  no  external  aid  should  be  considered
> indispensible.
>

Devotion, meditation etc. are all goal oriented.  You cannot achieve a
goal unless you _know_ what it is.  This is where the shastras come in.

> I was not talking about the equivalence of the whole of Buddhism and
> advaita.  I was only saying  that the highest teachings  of buddhism
> and advaita, namely emptiness and Brahman are equivalent.
>

Even there the onus is on you to prove a one to one equivalence between
the two and as they are opposites, you cannot do this.

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