[Advaita-l] Ekadashi

[Shashi Vishwanath]

Wonderful. A sentiment in praise of Narayana, which all Gurus would approve. A humble request to let this contentious thread, started from mere praise of Narayana on a day sacred to Him, end here.

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> On Jul 21, 2021, at 10:49 AM, Kaushik Chevendra via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> 
> 
>> 
>> 
>> One may ask why would an advaita jnani have bhakthi at all? Because for
>> there to be bhakthi, there needs to be a worshipper and one who is
>> worshipped, which implies dvaita. Still, we do have several examples of
>> Advaita jnanas who have expressed bhakthi bhava, like Shankara himself for
>> example. There does not seem to be any explanation for this. Perhaps it is
>> because the Parabrahmam is of the very nature of love, which is no
>> different from bhakthi?
>> 
> In the bagavatham a statement is said regarding this. It's said that even
> the realised sages worship narayana. That is his divine greatness. It
> attracts anyone.
> 
>> 
>> Om tat sat 🙏
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On Wed 21. Jul 2021 at 16:53, Aravind M via Advaita-l <
>>> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> There is a special topic in kanchi periyava deivatin kural 6th volume
>>> as"uchakata gnanam turavikae"...Janaka though was managing the kingdom got
>>> gnana upadesam from rishis ..How many grihastas in this age got maha vakya
>>> upadesam from a Sannyasi acharya
>>> 
>>>> On Wed 21 Jul, 2021, 4:48 PM Aravind M, <aravindeie13 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Can u tell some of grihasta jeevan muktha gnanis   from kali yugam...
>>>> 
>>>> On Wed 21 Jul, 2021, 2:41 PM Kaushik Chevendra, <
>>>> chevendrakaushik at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> Here is an expert from discourse of mahasanidham.
>>>>> 
>>>>> D: Does Your Holiness opine that householders cannot get jñāna and
>>>>> attain mokṣa?
>>>>> HH: No. They too can attain jñāna and mokṣa. However, their path is
>>>>> tougher. An unmarried mumukṣu (one keen on mokṣa), especially
>>>>> one who is a saṁnyāsin, can remain away from causes of mental
>>>>> distraction and lead a life directed wholly to the attainment of mokṣa.
>>>>> Householders, however, have to live with familial responsibilities
>>>>> and deal with situations that are unfavourable. Nevertheless, it is
>>>>> incorrect to contend that they cannot secure jñāna. Janaka and
>>>>> such other householders were jñānins.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Wed, 21 Jul 2021, 14:11 Aravind M, <aravindeie13 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Why aadi shankara took avatar as a Sannyasi..
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>>> On Wed 21 Jul, 2021, 2:06 PM Kaushik Chevendra, <
>>>>>> chevendrakaushik at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Namaste.
>>>>>>> Grihasthi ashrama isn't something that restricts gnana. As long as
>>> the
>>>>>>> householder has a vairagi bhava and lives in accordance to dharma he
>>> is
>>>>>>> eligible for moksha.
>>>>>>> And unflinching devotion is what I meant when I said "surrender to
>>>>>>> isvara".
>>>>>>> So when a person has unflinching devotion to the Lord and is engaged
>>> in
>>>>>>> isvara nama smarana he is saved.
>>>>>>> On Wed, 21 Jul 2021, 14:00 Aravind M, <aravindeie13 at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> In that march 2021 issue,maha sannidanam mentioned "nama leads to
>>>>>>>> attaining paramatma"..But he never mentioned that we will attain
>>> that in
>>>>>>>> this birth itself staying in grihasta ashrama,doing all lowkkeega
>>> stuffs
>>>>>>>> and also chant name in the name of pseudo-bhakthi as many nama
>>> sankirtan
>>>>>>>> vidwans are doing...only a Sannyasi who got the maha vakya upadesam
>>> is the
>>>>>>>> authority for gnana
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> On Wed 21 Jul, 2021, 12:40 PM Kaushik Chevendra, <
>>>>>>>> chevendrakaushik at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> And this is the statement of bagavtpada in the last stanza of
>>> "bhaja
>>>>>>>>> govindam"-
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> *bhajagovindaM bhajagovindaM govindaM bhajamuuDhamate .
>>>>>>>>> naamasmaraNaadanyamupaayaM nahi pashyaamo bhavataraNe .. (33) *
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> *Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, Oh fool ! Other
>>>>>>>>> than chanting the Lord's names, there is no other way to cross the
>>> life's
>>>>>>>>> ocean.*
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> And the works of "narayaneeyam" and "gudartha dipika" by advaita
>>>>>>>>> acharyas specify the importance of bhakthi. It's not a mere form
>>> of "chitta
>>>>>>>>> sudhi".
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> On Wed, 21 Jul 2021, 11:52 Kaushik Chevendra, <
>>>>>>>>> chevendrakaushik at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> Namaste sir.
>>>>>>>>>> Its true that the attainment of gnana alone leads to liberation.
>>> But
>>>>>>>>>> the aspect of devotion is nowhere given less importance. This has
>>> been
>>>>>>>>>> stated many times by shri abhinava tirtha swamin in his
>>> discourses. In now
>>>>>>>>>> way can knowledge be attained without the grace and of guru and
>>> isvara.
>>>>>>>>>> And for people who completely surrender to isvara, the aspect of
>>>>>>>>>> "krama mukthi" is accepted. So, there is no rule that it has to
>>> come after
>>>>>>>>>> many births.
>>>>>>>>>> Regarding the power of nama smarana, here is a link to the
>>>>>>>>>> discourses of jagadguru - "
>>>>>>>>>> http://www.tattvaloka.com/jagadguru-speaks". The discourse in
>>> March
>>>>>>>>>> 2021 under " Chant the names of Lord and attain highest good" the
>>> power of
>>>>>>>>>> nama smarana is given. There is also a discourse in telugu given
>>> by him in
>>>>>>>>>> 2013 regarding the greatness of smarana- "
>>>>>>>>>> https://youtu.be/LqLkkwWm1cY".
>>>>>>>>>> From jagadgurus discourses it's evident the power of nama smarana
>>>>>>>>>> and bakthi shouldn't be compared to other rituals. Bakthi indeed
>>> is
>>>>>>>>>> superior to them.
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> And I have no way indicated inferiority of other gods. It was
>>>>>>>>>> ekadashi, a special day to narayana and vaishnavas. And hence I
>>> had a few
>>>>>>>>>> thoughts about the immeasurable daya and splendor of narayana and
>>> shared it
>>>>>>>>>> in the group. And other than a praise of him and a rememberance
>>> of him, it
>>>>>>>>>> had no other intention.
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> Om namo narayana.
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> Thank you.
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, 21 Jul 2021, 10:24 Venkatesh Murthy, <vmurthy36 at gmail.com
>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>> Namaste
>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>> Our Sampradaya has laid down Panchayatana Puja to worship
>>> Ganesha,
>>>>>>>>>>> Shiva. Vishnu, Shakti and Surya. There is a reason for this. We
>>> should not
>>>>>>>>>>> become fanatics of one God and quarrel with devotees of other
>>> Gods. It will
>>>>>>>>>>> be a big obstacle for us if we become fanatics. Every God is a
>>> form of
>>>>>>>>>>> Saguna Brahma. No God is inferior and nobody is superior.
>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, Jul 21, 2021 at 5:44 AM Kaushik Chevendra via Advaita-l <
>>>>>>>>>>> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>>> Namaste subbu sir.
>>>>>>>>>>>> Thank you for your kind words.
>>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>>> On Tue, 20 Jul 2021, 23:18 V Subrahmanian, <
>>>>>>>>>>>> v.subrahmanian at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Dear Kaushik,
>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>>>> You have beautifully articulated the position of the Shastra
>>> and
>>>>>>>>>>>> our
>>>>>>>>>>>>> sampradaya.  Your post, though short, is full of wisdom.
>>> Thanks
>>>>>>>>>>>> for
>>>>>>>>>>>>> sharing your thoughts.
>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>>>> warm regards
>>>>>>>>>>>>> subbu
>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Tue, Jul 20, 2021 at 9:14 PM Kaushik Chevendra via
>>> Advaita-l <
>>>>>>>>>>>>> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The differences between the school of advaita and dvaita are
>>>>>>>>>>>> many. But the
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CHATNTING of harinama and sublime devotion to vishnu is the
>>>>>>>>>>>> common and
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> most
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> important aspect in both the school. In the age of kali, it
>>> is
>>>>>>>>>>>> said that
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> no
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> penance, austerity, charity etc has the same fruit as the
>>>>>>>>>>>> rememberance of
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> hari nama. The last verse in "bhaja govindam"says "There is
>>> no
>>>>>>>>>>>> other
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> measure to escape samsara other than rememberance of hari
>>>>>>>>>>>> nama". It's said
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> that narayana finds some excuse to lift people from samsara.
>>>>>>>>>>>> Such is his
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> daya ,he is the uplifter of sinners,he is "patita pavana". He
>>>>>>>>>>>> always
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> protects his devotees. People who hated hari, such as kamsa,
>>>>>>>>>>>> sisupala etc,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> too were given mukti because they constantly thought about
>>> him.
>>>>>>>>>>>> He is an
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ocean of daya and forgiveness. Being sarvasaktha isvara he
>>>>>>>>>>>> underwent
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> samsara as rama, to show us how to live a life according to
>>>>>>>>>>>> dharma. He
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> gave
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> the essence of Upanishads in the form of krishna to save the
>>>>>>>>>>>> people of
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> kali.  Today being ekadashi, this day belongs to narayana.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Just a few thoughts I had on this auspicious day.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Om namo narayanaya.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Archives:
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
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>>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>> -
>>>>>>>>>>> Regards
>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>>> -Venkatesh
>>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> 
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