Praying other deities. . .

[Guest guest]

When praying to Vishu, or Narayana, you are not neglecting all the other

deities. All the other gods are merely parts of the Supreme Lord-- Just

as a leaf is part of a plant. The plant is Vishnu, and the separate

leaves are separate gods. Therefore, if you choose to pray to the

Supreme Lord, who encompasses all, you are not neglecting the others.

All the demigods are servants of Vishnu and they are satisfied when

their Master is worshipped.

 

It is stated in the Sri Isopanisad:

 

andham tamah pravisanti

ye 'sambhutim upasate

tato bhuya iva te tamo

ya u sambhutyam ratah

 

"Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods enter into the darkest

region of ignorance, and still more do the worshippers of the impersonal

Absolute."

 

(If requested, I can supply the word for word translation)

 

I have a question-- I am from Northwest India, and recently went to

visit a South Indian

friend. She told me that they believe in the holy trinity: That there

are three gods-- Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva. She said that this is

similar to the Christian holy trinty of the Father, the son, and the

holy ghost. How does this relate to Sri Vaishnavism, if at all?

 

-- Anjuli

[Guest guest]

>

> I have a question-- I am from Northwest India, and recently went to

> visit a South Indian

> friend. She told me that they believe in the holy trinity: That there

> are three gods-- Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva. She said that this is

> similar to the Christian holy trinty of the Father, the son, and the

> holy ghost. How does this relate to Sri Vaishnavism, if at all?

>

> -- Anjuli

 

This is not at all related to the traditional beliefs of SriVaishnavism,

which like all other Vaishnava schools, is exclusive in its recognition

that Sriman Narayana alone is the Supreme.

 

I have read that there are some sAmpradayams who recognize the trinity to

be representative of the three gunAs of Brahman. This view is extended to

say that since Vishnu is the manifestation of Sattva Guna, it is He who in

reality is the Brahman.

 

The idea of a trinity from the above mentioned context, though, seems to

have evolved recently, perhaps during the Hindu Reform Movements of the

early twentieth century. It is an obvious hybrid of Christian - more to

the point Catholic - theology and the popular views of present day Hindu

culture that most scholars call neo-advaita or pan-Hinduism. Included in

this is the notion that the very name GOD is analogous to an acronym for

Generator (Brahma), Operator (Vishnu) and Destroyer (Shiva).

 

These types of ideas, while certainly good in popularistic, secularized

approaches to religion, really do not seem to have much substantiation in

vEdic thought, and consequently, should be weighed with due discretion for

serious students of sAmpradayam.

 

adiyEn,

 

Mohan