doership, pre-ordained etc

[Govind Rengarajan]

On Sat, 20 Sep 1997, Gummuluru Murthy wrote:

>      interpreted by vishishhTa-advaita and dvaita as "with what
>      is given to you by the Lord, enjoy". Here again, there is no
>      mention of contribution by humans to their own uplift either
>      in worldly or paramArthic matters. Thus again, "I" would

        Just so that this point is clarified, there are two schools
        of thought in the visishtAdvaita (Sri Vaishnava) tradition
        (both belonging to Sri rAmAnujA tradition). One school
        emphasizes the need for *complete* surrender which in itself
        takes place only under God's grace. Whereas, the other
        school prescribes two paths - one, *complete* surrender
        (prapatti), and the other, a bhakti mArgA with dedicated
        and devoted practise of one's visEsha dharmA.

        In the former school, free will is given importance only so
        much as to be willing to receive God's compassion and grace.
        In the latter school, the necessity of free will at the
        vyAvahArikA level is recognized, and is encouraged (towards
        turning one's mind in a single-minded devotion to God).

        govind rengarajan

        PS: This post was not meant to be a digression in
        the discussions of free will in the advaita tradition,
        but only to clarify the Sri Vaishnava philosophy in these
        matters.