[Advaita-l] SureshwarAcharya' views on divinities

[V Subrahmanian]

Sri Natraj Maneshinde posted:


Vartikakara Bhagavan Sureshvaracharya on Trimurti Aikya
=========================

Bhagavan Sureshvaracharya, following the words of Bhagavatpada, has
explicitly stated in his Brihadaranyaka Bhashya Vartika that the same
Nirguna Paramatma tattva is worshipped as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

स्वतस्त्वकरणोऽदेहो निर्गुणोऽभेद एव च ।
चिदाभासस्वमोहोत्थकार्यैस्तद्वानिवेक्ष्यते ॥३७॥

[By itself, the antaryāmi, is without any organs, bodiless, nirguna, with
no difference whatever. Owing
to the delusion that one has organs, body, etc. the antaryāmi appears to be
one endowed with body, etc.]

चतुर्धा प्रविभज्यैनं सात्वताः पर्युपासते ।
तथा हैरण्यगर्भीयास्तथा पाशुपतादयः ॥३८॥ ( Vartika on Brihad.Up 3.7)

[This one do the Sattvatas worship after having divided him into four
parts, similarly (do the) worshipers of Hiranyagarbha and similarly, the
Pasupatas and others.]

यः पृथिव्यामितीशोऽसावन्तर्यामी जगद्गुरुः ।
हरिर्ब्रह्मा पिनाकीति बहुधैकोऽपि गीयते ॥ ३७७ ॥ ( Vartika on Brihad.Up 1.4)

[The Br.Up. ‘he who, stationed in the pṛthvī devatā impels the
mind-body-organs of that devatā….’ who is the antaryāmī, jagadguru, even
though one, is variously spoken of as Hari, Brahmā and Pinākī (Śiva).]

As Bhagavatpada had no qualms in regarding Umapati-Shiva, Vishnu, Surya etc
as Parabrahman, so also, Bhagavan Vartikara sees the same Parabrahman in
Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva. To this day, Smarta-s have adhered to this teaching of
their Purvacharya-s and beheld the various Bhagavat-swaroopa-s as
manifestations of the one Paramatman.

We will ever be thankful to Shri Subrahmanian Vaidyanathan ji for bringing
such verses to light. For more details on Vartikakara's veiws on
'Antaryami', please read the following article :
https://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2017/05/22/sureshvaracharya-on-antaryami/