Guest guest Posted March 19, 2001 Report Share Posted March 19, 2001 I want to thank Shreenivaas Vijamuri for his response on Mahalakshmi ( now that he has discovered that he is my brother-in-law - I dare to disagree with him!) Malolan Cadambi and lakshmikumar for referring me to Shree Vedanta Deshika-s answers to related questions of these type. Like all scientific investigations answer to any question will lead to more questions and more funds needed for investigations etc. The answers are informative and educational but raised lot more questions as well. I did not know that Lakshmi was born to Bhrugu before - I presume this is the same Bhrugu of the tittiriiya upanishad- Bhrugu valli -who was the student of VaruNa, his father - Interestingly Lord says in Giita in Vibhuuti yoga - maharishhiiNaam bhR^iguH aham - I am BhR^igu maharshii among all the mahaa rushiis. In another story - Shree Venkateswara descendence to the Earth as Sriinivasa - there is a story circulated where Bhrugu goes to Brahma loka, VaikunTa and Kailasa to find out who is the most compassionate Lord among the Trinity - and ended up kicking Lord Vishnu on the chest for which Lakshmi gets annoyed for kicking her own abode. I get puzzled about someone cursing Lord NaaraayaNa who is very abode of everything - May be this is all his Leela - In that case being leela, no other explanation is required or valid. VaikunTa loka is different from VaikunTa - interesting information. In terms of loka-s - seven above and seven below - I heard satyaloka or Brahmaloka where saatvik guNa is predominant - First time hearing about VikunTa loka different from VaikunTa - a mirror image of VaikunTa!- Why mirror image though? I want to thank all the respondees and for the reference provided. Hari Om! Sadananda -- K. Sadananda Code 6323 Naval Research Laboratory Washington D.C. 20375 Voice (202)767-2117 Fax:(202)767-2623 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2001 Report Share Posted March 20, 2001 Dear Sri Sadananda, As your nephew, perhaps I should now step in to mediate :-) Before continuing into more details on these issues, I think that it is important to note the relative importance of stories such as the ones that you suggest below in the context of our satsampradAyam. There are two different types of stories contained within our sAstras, the purAnas and itihAsas. The latter of these include Sri Ramayanam and Mahabharatam, and as the name would suggest (itihAsa - it happened like this), are considered by our AchAryas to be accurate historical accounts of specific incidents in the time of the vibhavAvatharas. PurAnas, on the other hand, are stories that are "ever new." While we really can never be sure about their historical significance, we must recognize that these accounts have taken a certain amount of poetic license in order to foster devotion in those who read or hear them. What is of great importance to a SriVaishnava is the saulabhyam or accessibility of the Lord and His Consort to this Universe that seemingly remains so distant and detached from Them. Consequently, what is emphasized are some of the Divine Couple's anantakalyAna guNas. The purAnas describe Their kindness (as is the case in the Bhrigu incident), Their good natured mischief as children, Their superhuman tendencies, etc., all in an effort to reveal to us one of the most important qualities of the Divine, His Accessibility and Willingness to Save. AchAryas and AzhwArs go to great lengths to describe how these qualities come from the Divine Love for all the beings in this Universe. It is a Love that far surpasses anything that we could even begin to feel in return, and is of such a level that it can actually motivate the Lord to totally sacrifice His position as the solely independent Reality such that He can "rely" on the simple affections of His devotees. I think that seeing these stories for what they are worth in their context may deepens one appreciation of them, but at same time put them into proper context. Regarding the mirror image idea, this requires a deeper understanding of the purAnas in relation to the upanishads. As I am far have not been taught much about this yet from my teachers, I will defer this to more erudite members of this forum. adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan Mohan - K. Sadananda <sada <bhakti-list> Monday, March 19, 2001 7:34 AM Story of Maha Lakshmi and Jaya Vijaya-s > I want to thank Shreenivaas Vijamuri for his response on Mahalakshmi > ( now that he has discovered that he is my brother-in-law - I dare > to disagree with him!) Malolan Cadambi and lakshmikumar for referring > me to Shree Vedanta Deshika-s answers to related questions of these > type. > > Like all scientific investigations answer to any question will lead > to more questions and more funds needed for investigations etc. > > The answers are informative and educational but raised lot more > questions as well. I did not know that Lakshmi was born to Bhrugu > before - I presume this is the same Bhrugu of the tittiriiya > upanishad- Bhrugu valli -who was the student of VaruNa, his father - > > Interestingly Lord says in Giita in Vibhuuti yoga - maharishhiiNaam > bhR^iguH aham - I am BhR^igu maharshii among all the mahaa rushiis. > > In another story - Shree Venkateswara descendence to the Earth as > Sriinivasa - there is a story circulated where Bhrugu goes to Brahma > loka, VaikunTa and Kailasa to find out who is the most compassionate > Lord among the Trinity - and ended up kicking Lord Vishnu on the > chest for which Lakshmi gets annoyed for kicking her own abode. I > get puzzled about someone cursing Lord NaaraayaNa who is very abode > of everything - May be this is all his Leela - In that case being > leela, no other explanation is required or valid. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2001 Report Share Posted March 21, 2001 >Dear Sri Sadananda, > >As your nephew, perhaps I should now step in to mediate :-) > >I think that seeing these stories for what they are worth in >their context may deepens one appreciation of them, but at same >time put them into proper context. > >adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan >Mohan Thanks Mohan for bringing the vision behind these pauraaNic stories. I wholehearted agree with you. There is a message of the ananta kalyaaNa guNa-s of the Lord emphasized in all these pauraaNic stories - good over evil and love and compassion of the Lord for his devotees. I recognize that - my questions on the pauraaNic issues are more information than questioning the motivation. I did not know that Lakshmi was born to BR^igu until Shree Srinivaas pointed out. I understand the saadhana aspect and how these stories help us inculcate bhakti. Other questions related to Jiiva and hierarchy of jiiva-s, avidya are more trying to understand fundamentals of VishishhTadviata. As I am studying them, unless these questions are answered to ones satisfaction, it is difficult to proceed. These are essentially labor pains one has to go through - I am questioning my understanding and the concepts and not the aachaarya-s. I have great regard for all of them and our sages who were so compassionate to pass on the knowledge to the generations to come. Thanks for taking time to respond. Hari Om! Sadananda -- K. Sadananda Code 6323 Naval Research Laboratory Washington D.C. 20375 Voice (202)767-2117 Fax:(202)767-2623 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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