[Advaita-l] Ekadashi

[Kaushik Chevendra]

The discussion was a very welcome one. As the Lord was constantly
remembered on the day of dvadasi.

On Wed, 21 Jul 2021, 22:05 Shashi Vishwanath, <raghavadasa at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > 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.
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> >>>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> -
> >>>>>>>>>>> Regards
> >>>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>> -Venkatesh
> >>>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>
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