[Advaita-l] A Vishnu stuti authenticated by Shankara bhagavatpAda

[Raghav Kumar]

Namaste Sujal ji
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya.
Your questions are very relevant. Most of us start sAdhana with japaM of
bhagavAnnAma and that devotion only grows deeper upon advaita adhyayanam.

In vedanta sAmpradAya we accept that different pramANas have mutual
abAdhitatvaM  - they should not contradict each other. So wherever a given
scriptural text clashes directly with yukti or reason, we have to either
find some flaw in the reasoning or suitably reinterpret the scriptural
verse.

We have the yukti-s such as
sAvayavatvAt anityatvaM vRkShavat
That which has parts is non-eternal like a tree

sAkaratvAt anityatvaM jaDatvaM ghaTavat
That which has a form is non-eternal, inert like a pot.

An advaitic bhakta would consider it an insult to BhagavAn nArAyaNa to look
upon His svarUpam or his tattvaM to be a form with four arms and sleeping
on SeshanAga or even all-forms. His glory is diminished thereby and He is
reduced to being inert and non-eternal. To imprison Him to one particular
form as special and denying his other equally blessed forms is also a
diminishment of His power. A genuine bhakta would not be parochial.

As you correctly pointed out advaita vAsana needs sAdhana whereas dvaita is
our starting point for any human being. This basic ignorance or stupidity
of dvaita is the basic capital we all start with.  It does not need any
teaching or sAdhana to conclude that there are so many objects and beings
some higher and some lower. But to arrive at advaitic understanding that
the many are One who is the Self needs especial grace.

But statements such as Rudra-Shiva was the son of BrahmA the first born,
etc are useful since they help us develop titikShA and also gratitude that
nArAyaNa has saved us from first reaching a conclusion based on some
emotion and then trying to find logic to justify the a priori conclusion. I
wish to thank Sri Subramaniamji for his lucid posts and loads of patience.

I am reminded of the shvetAshvatara upaniShad 4.12 which says that Rudra
was prior to the birth of hiraNyagarbha or brahmA ji.  The rough
translation is - May He, who created the gods and supports them; who
created the cosmic soul BrahmA; who confers bliss and wisdom on the
devoted, destroying their sins and sorrows, and punishing all breaches of
law – may He, Rudra, the great seer and the lord of all, endow us with good
thoughts !

The next verse beginning yA te rudra shivA is also part of Rudraprashna
too  IV-13: Let us offer our worship with oblations to that blissful Divine
Being who is the lord of the Devas, who governs the bipeds and the
quadrupeds and in whom the worlds rest.

The same Rudra is also mentioned in kaivalyopaniShat as umAsahAyam and it
should put to rest any speculation.

Om namo nArAyaNAya

Raghav

On 14-Aug-2016 6:43 pm, "Sujal Upadhyay via Advaita-l" <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Pranams,
>
> Gayatri ji, I have a few questions. Please can you answer them.
>
> According to you, is Brahman a person?
>
> If viShNu is praised, then does it mean Siva is naturally denigrated?
>
> According to you, who is Brahman as per Adi Sankara. When bhagavadpAda says
> nArAyaNa, is it a person or is it nirAkAra tatva i.e. nArAyaNa tatva?
>
> Do you consider viShNu sahasranAma bhAshya as genuinely written by Adi
> Sankara himself?
>
> What is your opinion about Siva sahasranAma present in mahAbhArata?
>
> How do you judge if any upanishad or in general any verse is an
> interpolation?
>
> Do you consider anything that is not quoted as an interpolation or possible
> interpolation and it is a weak proof?
>
> Lastly, do you adhere to or are inclined to any philosophy like dvaita,
> advaita, etc or are you studying scriptures with analytical approach?
>
> Lastly, do you meditate? if yes, then how and on what? I know that you may
> ask it is not necessary and irrelevant question to ask, as you are merely
> pointing out what you have read and to read and understand, there is no
> need to meditate. However, meditation makes one's mind subtle and broadens
> understanding. shAstra-s and words of bhagavadapAda are not just dry
> philosophy, but experiences. Saints speak from direct experience and the
> very point of scriptures is to raise our consciousness to th highest level
> and be free from birth and death i.e. achieve moksha.
>
> I know that some questions may be private and you may not wish to answer. I
> will respect your privacy. Hence it is left upto you to answer these
> questions.
>
> Hari OM
>
>
>
> 2016-08-14 18:29 GMT+05:30 D Gayatri via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>:
>
> > Namaste
> >
> > Here, I will present another Vishnu stuthi in the Mahabharata that is
> > authenticated by Shankara bhagavatpAda himself (and I am not talking
> > of BG here). In this stuti, Vishnu is again praised as the vedAntic
> > brahman and Shankara authenticates this in his BSB.
> >
> > The topic in BSB is that in the chhandogya upanishad, Vaisvanara
> > should be taken to mean brahman and no other mundane meaning should be
> > attached to it. Shankara gives some reasons why this should be so and
> > in BSB 1.2.25, Shankara quotes the Mahabharata again -
> >
> > ​<message clipped>
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
>
> To unsubscribe or change your options:
> http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
>
> For assistance, contact:
> listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
>