some doubts on advaita

[Guest guest]

Hello,

In an interesting discussion, Sri. Vidyasankar wrote..

>This thing about "really exist" has to be understood in proper perspective.

>In the advaita theory of two truths, saguNa brahman exists and it is

>necessary to surrender to ISwara in the vyAvahArika level. It is only the

>paramArtha truth that nothing but nirguNa brahman exists. So long as one

>lives in and deals with the vyavahAra level, ISwara SaraNa is a superior

 

I am not aware of this 'advaita theory of two truths'. Is it that

for advaitins living in this material world, sarguNa brahman exists

and that they should offer saraNaagathi to Iswaran?

Then who follows the paramaartha truth of nirguNa brahman? I used to

think that for all advaitins, there exists only nirguNa brahman and

it is kinda an abstraction of the God. so i used to wonder about

the idea behind idol worship..etc.

Isn't the concept of nirguNa brahman and the practice of worshipping

the avathaarams (rama, krishna..) which talk abt the guNas of the

Lord contradictory.

 

These are just some doubts. I am really a novice at these. I

haven't understood the concept clearly . can anybody please explain

these in detail?

 

viji

 

vijayt

(Vijay Triplicane)

[Guest guest]

> I am not aware of this 'advaita theory of two truths'. Is it that

> for advaitins living in this material world, sarguNa brahman exists

> and that they should offer saraNaagathi to Iswaran?

 

In the most traditional setting, only sannyasis can be real advaitins in

any proper sense of the term advaitin. Those of us who do not have the

requisite accomplishments that allow us to take sannyasa have to live by

the codes of the SAstras. In this world, saguNa brahman exists as much as

you and I exist, (which we never doubt, by the way), and SaraNAgati is

recommended as a superior spiritual sAdhana. Besides, in order to gain

AdhyAtmavidyA, one must necessarily take SaraNa with a guru also.

 

The difference between the advaitin view and other views on SaraNAgati is

that in our view, SaraNAgati is a means to an end, not the end itself. This

does not preclude the possibility of there being other means to the same end.

 

Regards,

 

Vidyasankar