Digest Number 563 ( Once upon a time...

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Mani and Sri Ramkumar,

 

I have been going through your mails.

 

I feel that there is no necessity for a beginner like

me to add anything in this area after Sri Mani's

explanation.

 

As Sri Mani said, the vAkya quoted is not from ViShNu

purANa and is from Sri Bhashya.

 

When we mean saguNa ( He is having the ananta kalyANa

guNAs ) and when we say nirguNa ( He is free from all

the bad guNAs - hEya guNAs which we have ).

 

Thanks for bringing out the difference between the

words 'nirguNa' ( which has something to do with guNAs

and so with vishistAdvaita ) and 'nirviShESha'.

 

In this context, I would just like to add one last

thing :

 

Sri Ramanuja here clearly recommends that the bound

souls or embodied souls ( mUrtam ) are not worthy for

meditation as they are bound by the third power of

ViShNu - Karma.

 

Also the umembodied souls ( amUrtam ) cannot be

comprehended by beginners in yOga. It is only possible

for the experts. Also these souls, were once under the

control of karma.

 

Sri Ramanuja recommends the worship of the Lord with a

form Unique to Him. The form with which we all worship

him in Tirumala, SriRangam, Kaanchipuram, Melukote

etc. This is not an imagination by our Alwars or

riShIs. It is a real one and explains one by one all

the great qualities of the Lord Sriman Narayana which

are known to us in the form of ViShNu SahasranAma.

 

This clearly puts aside the arguments of people who

say that all God's are one and the different forms

which are worshipped are just the different forms or

faces of the same almighty.

 

No doubt, its true that all forms have Srimnan

Narayana internally as their antaryAmin ( this is the

mUrtam form of the Lord ) and so can be considered as

the different faces of the Lord.

 

But He has His unique form ( amUrtam form ) different

from his antaryAmin or embodied form which is the best

recommended one for worship or meditation.

 

That worship or the meditation on that supreme form

and longing for saayujya with that form is bhakti

which is the culmination of jnAna. Bhakti is not some

means for jnAna or lower than jnAna ( as mentioned by

Sri Tandon (I don't remember the name correctly) in

the hindunet discussion - for which Sri Mani answered

).

 

Forgive me for my mistakes.

 

Jai Sriman Narayana

Maruthi Ramanuja Das