[Advaita-l] Dhyana of both, Vishnu and Shiva, is Sattvika - says Shri Ekanath ji Maharaj

[V Subrahmanian]

Shri  Natraj Maneshinde writes:


Shri Ekanath ji Maharaj is one among the greatest Advaitin Acharyas whose
words have made a deep impact on the Astikas, particularly on those
belonging to Maharashtra. His reverence for Bhagavatpada and Advaita
siddhanta is patently evident in his works. One such work is the ‘Ekanathi
Bhagavata’ - a sublime Marathi commentary on the 11th skanda of Bhagavata.

 Bhagavatpada holds both Vishnu (avataranika of Geeta bhashya) and Uma-pati
Shiva( Kena pada/vakya bhashya 3.1, 3.2,3.12) as the Ishvara tattva.
Advaita doesn’t admit two Ishvaras and hence we consider Shiva, Vishnu etc
as the manifestations of the same Mayopadhika-brahman. Such being the case,
we should not find it surprising, if Ekanath ji Maharaj adheres to the same
principle of Hari-hara abheda in his Ekanathi Bhagavata following the
footsteps of Bhagavatpada, whom he invokes in the Mangalacharana of his
Bhagavata commentary. Once such instance, where Ekanath ji sees Shiva and
Vishnu in the same light will be discussed here.

Unfortunately, a few people consider Bhagavan Shiva’s worship as Tamasic.
Such a view is not acceptable to Advaitins and hence certainly not
acceptable to Ekanath ji Maharaj. To him, worship of both Shiva and Vishnu
is absolutely Sattvika and leads an aspirant to moksha.

There occurs a discussion in 11.13 of Bhagavata as to what are the 10
sattvik things which help an aspirant attain sattva. Ekanath ji Maharaj
writes (Ekanathi Bhagavata, 13th chapter) :

करावें सात्त्विकसेवन । ते सात्त्विक पदार्थ कोण कोण ।
ऐक त्यांचेंही निरूपण । दशलक्षण सांगेन ॥६०॥

[ It is said that one must resort to Sattvika things. What exactly are
these Sattvika things? This will be explained here by means of elaborating
on 10 features of Sattvika padarthas]

आगमोऽपः प्रजा देशः कालः कर्म च जन्म च ।
ध्यानं मन्त्रोऽथ संस्कारो दशैते गुणहेतवः ॥ ४ ॥ ( Shrimadbhagawat 11.13.4)

[ Scriptures, water, people, place, time, karma, janma, dhyana, mantra and
Samskara - these 10 factors contribute to a Guna]

Based on this verse of Bhagavata, Ekanath ji explains how each of these can
engender Sattva in us. Please note that the context here is strictly
restricted to Sattva and not Rajas/Tamas.

Commenting on Janma, Ekanath ji interprets it to mean the second Janma a
person receives on obtaining deeksha from Sadguru. And, what does the
Sadguru do to bestow sattva?

 त्या सद्‍गुरूपासून जाण । शैवीवैष्णवीदीक्षाग्रहण ।
अथवा उपदेशी निर्गुण । चैतन्यघन निजबोधें ॥९१॥

[ Such a Sadguru initiates one into Shaiva or Vaishnavi deeksha. Or, He may
impart the Upadesha of Nirguna Brhaman leading to the realization of
Chaitanya-ghana Brahman]

Thus, the Sattvika deeksha not merely consists of Vaishnava sadhana but
Shaiva sadhana as well.

Further, while commenting on Dhyana, Maharaj writes

सत्त्वोपाधि शरीर साचें । चैतन्यघन स्वरूप ज्याचें ।
तो श्रीविष्णु ध्येय सात्त्विकांचे । ध्यान त्याचें करावें ॥९४॥

[ The object of Dhyana of Sattvikas should be Bhagavan Vishnu who has a
Sattvopadhi shareera and who is essentially Chaitanya-ghana]

अथवा धवळधाम गोक्षीर । कर्पूरगौर पंचवक्त्र ।
ध्यानीं आणावा शंकर । संसारपार तरावया ॥९५॥

[ Or, the sattvikas, in order to transcend the samsara, can meditate on
Bhagavan Panchavaktra Shankara, who is white hued like the milk of a cow or
camphor]

या मूर्तींचें ध्यान करितां । हारपे ध्येय ध्यान ध्याता ।
ठसावे चैतन्यघनता । सात्त्विकता हें ध्यान ॥९६॥

[ By meditating on these murtis (Shiva or Vishnu), the triad of
dhyana-dhyana-dhyeya is destroyed. The sadhaka remains firm in the
Chaitanya-ghana Brahman. This is the true Sattvika dhyana]

Let’s remind ourselves again that the entire context here is related to
Sattva only. And, Ekanath ji clearly says , with absolutely no hesitations,
that dhyana of Vishnu or Panchavaktra-Shankara is Sattvika and helps one to
cross the ocean of Samsara. Also, this gradually leads to the state where
one becomes firm in the Chinmatra Nirguna Brahman.

Therefore, like any other Advaitin Acharya, Shri Ekanath ji Maharaj,
doesn’t subscribe to the bigoted notion that worship of Shiva is Tamasic.
This conviction of Ekanatha ji of beholding Shiva and Vishnu in the same
light, reminds us of the following verse of Bhagavan Sureshvaracharya and
its tika by Shri Anandagiri Acharya.

//यः पृथिव्यामितीशोऽसावन्तर्यामी जगद्गुरुः ।
हरिर्ब्रह्मा पिनाकीति बहुधैकोऽपि गीयते ॥

[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).]

Anandagiri: कथं श्रुत्यवष्टम्भेन ईश्वरस्य कारणत्वं, मूर्तित्रयस्य इतिहासादौ
सर्गस्थितिलयेषु यथायोगं कर्तृत्वश्रुतेः, अत आह । यः पृथिव्यामिति । प्रकृतो
हि ईश्वरः स्वरूपेण एकोऽपि मूर्तित्रयात्मना बहुधा उच्यते पृथिव्यादौ तस्यैव
अन्तर्यामित्वेन स्थितिश्रुतेः, न च तद्विरोधे पुराणादिप्रामाण्यं
सापेक्षत्वेन दौर्बल्यादिति भावः । स पूर्वेषां गुरुरितिन्यायेन अन्तर्यामी
इत्यस्य व्याख्या जगद्गुरुरिति ।

 Anandagiri says: How is it that while Isvara is the jagatkāraṇam according
to the Shruti, the itihāsa, etc. say that there is the causehood as
appropriately assigned to the trimūrti-s in creation, sustenance and
dissolution? [the idea is: while the shruti says Brahman, Ishvara, is the
jagatkāraṇam, we find the itihāsa, purāna, etc. distributing that to three
different entities functionally?] The above verse of Sureshvara is
answering this question: Even though Ishwara is one only, he is spoken of
as many, Hari, Brahmā, Pinākī. Why is it that Ishwara is admitted to be one
only? Since it is one Ishwara alone (not many) that is taught in the shruti
as the antaryāmin. If the purāṇa-s, etc. say something different (three
different individuals performing distinct functions), then since these
texts are dependent on the Shruti for their prāmāṇya, they do not enjoy the
status of the shruti; they are durbala, weak, only when they say something
contradictory to the Shruti. Since He, Ishwara, is the Guru of everyone
(including devatā-s) this antaryāmin, Ishwara, alone gets the epithet of
‘Jagadguru’. //

( courtesy :
https://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2019/12/04/a-sureshwara-vartika-on-trimurti-abheda-cited-by-anandagiri-in-the-bsb-gloss-the-true-nature-of-brahman/
)