[Advaita-l] [advaitin] rAma-krishna-shiva-durga etc. are not same in shAstric vyavahAra!!!

[Bhaskar YR]

praNAms
Hare Krishna

Off the list some one said :  we can agree that para brahman is Ishwara/sOpAdhika/upAsya/jagat kAraNa but he (Ishwara) is NOT apara brahman!!??  But according to my understanding :

The same one and only brahman called as para/apara/Ishwara depending upon the context :


  1.  Brahman is Para brahman when it is made the subject of enquiry as reality (jneya brahma to be realized through vedAnta vAkya janita jnana).
  2.  Brahman is apara or lower brahman when it is recommended in the shruti-s as an object of meditation or upAsana in the form of manOmaya, bhArUpa, prANa shareera etc.
(c ) Ishwara or the sarvashakta/sarvajna when it is said in the places, as the cause and ruler of the world in which individual souls like us also there.

Here IMHO the mAyOpAdhi forms of vishNu or shiva etc. either comes under the category of (b) or (c) since we the mortals do have the upAdhi vishesha vishNu or shiva for the upAsana and they are also the srushti, sthiti and saMhAraka.  ( both shiva and vishNu kindly pardon me for assuming your status with my little conditioned mind _/\_ ) And from the siddhAnta drushti this upAdhi is kevala avidyA kruta and nothing else as per bhAshyakAra it is just because in this scenario jeeva taking his upAdhi is and as reality and at the same time seeing jagat as different from him and obviously Lord is there to rule him.  bhAshyakAra in 2-1-27 :  And inasmuch as the special aspect of brahman factiously created by avidyA, is a mere play of words.  The fact of brahman being impartible remains uncontradicted.

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar