Re:Demi God worship

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhagavathas,

It was nice reading the opinions of people of the

list regarding this topic and i would like to share my

understanding of the vedanta darshana of

Sri Ramanuja ,popularly known as visistaadvaitha

with respect to the topic in question.

 

The essence of Visistaadvaitha philosophy is the

"Existence of One supreme Reality known as Brahman or

Narayana having the cit(finite conscious entity called

jiva) and acit(matter) as his modes or attributes

along with other infinite auspicious qualities

inherent in it and a life led in this

world by an individual soul based on the above

understanding will finally lead him to the

experience(Darshana or intution) of that One supreme

reality,having attained which there is nothing more to

be attained or desired".

 

So,Visistaadvaitha philosophy is not just a theory but

also a "Way of Life",which has to be lived and the

nature of realities propounded by it has to be

realized if one wishes to attain the Highest,as the

Upanishads Say"The Knower of Brahman attains the

highest".Sri vaishnavism is the practical

visistaadvaitha vedantha and it looses its meaning if

the philosophy behind it is forgotten.

 

A common factor all theistic philosophies in the world

agree is that there is only one supreme creator or

God.

All this leads to the conclusion that there might be

any number of philosophies and corresponding religious

faiths,but all lead to the same Goal i.e one God.

As all of us are parts or amsas of the one supreme

God,

we all live,move and have our being in that one whole.

 

As God is the center of existence in all of us,all

terms finally connote him in reality.

If we worship the supreme reality by asserting that

he is Narayana or Shiva or Allah,all are correct and

will hold good as it points to the same supreme

reality as "his qualities",which are true facts.

Even,worshipping a jiva,which is a part of God

qualified as a Demi God is not wrong provided the

knowledge of the one supreme qualified all pervading

reality is not lost.If we are confused as to who among

the gods we know is the supreme reality,we should not

worry as we know that there is only one supreme

reality called as vishnu,narayana,shiva or vasudeva

based on "his qualities",who is infinitely

powerful,merciful and always ready to educate his

erring conscious amsas in ignorance and take them

to their highest good.

 

In short,all that is required is understanding the

essentials of any theistic philosophy based on one's

personal appeal and following the same sincerely

with the view of attaining the one common Goal pointed

to by all and not getting lost in speculation or

dogmatism or fanaticism.

 

The above is only my opinion and all errors are mine

and can be ignored.

 

Sri Krishnaarpanamasthu

Suresh B.N.

 

 

 

 

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