Vedic Religion

[Shrisha Rao]

> A crucial point that Shankara makes along with his refutation of the
>  vyUha theory (vAsudeva-saMkarshhaNa-pradyumna-aniruddha) of creation
>  of the pancharAtra's is that shANDilya was not satisfied by studying
>  the vedas and so he resorted the pancharAtras. It is amazing how
>  Ramanuja, Madhva, and other Vaishnava schools end up following
>  ShANDilya's footsteps in spite of Shankara's warning!

That by itself is no objection, though, is it?  After all we have
Narada in the Chandogya saying `R^igvedaM bhagavo.adhyemi yajurvedaM
sAmavedamAtharvaNam.h', etc., or that he has already studied all the
four Vedas, and yet seeks Sanatkumara's advice!

I'm also not aware of any explanation for why the Mahabharata, the
Bhagavata and other Puranas, and the shathapatha-brAhmaNa laud the
Pancharatra, if the latter is so objectionable.

>  more pronounced. In GauDIyas, for example, the shift is so great that
>  Vedas and their study becomes secondary or can even be viewed as
>  unnecessary!

However, they don't study the Pancharatra either, so the less said
about them the better.

Regards,

Shrisha Rao

>  Anand