Confusions with respect to "Bhaja Govindam"

[Guest guest]

Dear Vaishnavas,

Namo Narayanaya!! Am trying to be a

staunch Sri Vaishnava, but I get great inspiration

from "Bhaja Govindam" by Adi Shankara. Verses like,

 

"Bhagavad Gita Kinchita Dhita

Ganga Jalalava Kanika Pita

Sahrdapi yena Murari Samarca

Kriyate Tasya Yamena na carca"

 

Which means, "If one reads a little but of the

Bhagavad Gita, drinks a drop of water from Ganga, or

if he worships Murari even for a small moment, he

won't have any tiffs with Yama".

 

The verse above stresses the importance of Bhakti,

likewise, there are other similar verses:

 

"Iha Samsare Bahu Dustare

Krpaya Pare Pahi Murare"

 

which means, "this Samsare is full of miseries, please

save me oh Murari, by your grace"

 

or

"Geyam Gita Nama Sahsram

Dhyeyam ShriPati RupaMajashram"

 

"The Bhagavad Gita and Vishnu Sahasram should be sung,

the form of Vishnu should be meditated upon"

 

So, one can see that Bhaja Govindam has many such

verses stressing the importance of Bhakti. BUT, there

is a big catch!! In the third verse, he says,

 

"Mayamayam idam Akhilam Hitva

Brahma Padam Tvam Pravisha Vidhitva"

 

"Leaving this world which is Illusory (Mayamayam),

knowing the state of Brahman, enter into it"

 

Which is 100% pure Advaita.

 

Well, my point is, should a Sri Vaishnava (or any

Vaishnava for that matter) listen to Bhaja Govindam??

 

My points of contention would be:

 

* It is basically Sung by Adi Shankara, the proponent

of Advaita Philosophy, the very doctrine that our

Acaryas took pains to defeat.

 

* The third verse stresses the importance of Merging

with the "Brahman", clearly stating that God is

impersonal.

 

* If we say that Adi Shankara himself stressed the

importance of chanting the name of Lord Hari, what

about his works on other devatas, like Soundarya

Lahiri, etc....??

 

Other Schools of Vaishnava Theology are very strict in

this matter: Don't listen to even a word from any

Advaitin or Mayavadi. What is the take of our

SriVaishnava Acaryas??

 

I personally like "Bhaja Govindam" a lot.. but then, I

really want to know the rules and regulations

emphasized by our Acaryas on these matters.

 

Sorry for the long query, and my apologies if anybody

yawned while going through the mail.

 

Adiyen Dasan,

Vimal.

 

[ Please be constructive in your responses. I would like

to initially point out that the understanding of 'mAyA'

is up to the reader. 'mAyA-mayam idam akhilam' is

certainly acceptable to those following Sri Ramanuja's

view as long as we take mAyA to mean the wonderful,

mysterious, aspect of God. It is this aspect that

is emphasized in the Svetasvatara Upanishad description

of the Parabrahman as 'mAyinam tu mahesvaram' -- He is

the great overlord who is the wielder of mAyA.

 

As an aside I enjoy listening to Bhaja Govindam too and

it appeals to me as a truly inspired composition.

-- Moderator ]

[Guest guest]

Sri Moderator,

Kindly excuse me for addressing you as

"moderator", as I do not know who the moderator is

right now.

When I went through your short-note at

the end of my posting, to quote you,

 

"I would like to initially point out that the

understanding of 'mAyA'is up to the reader.

'mAyA-mayam idam akhilam' is certainly acceptable to

those following Sri Ramanuja's view as long as we take

mAyA to mean the wonderful,mysterious, aspect of God"

 

but Adiyen is not disputing that point, I am confused

when I go through the very next verse,

 

"Brahma Padam Tvam Pravisha Vidhitva",

 

which suggests that we should "merge" with the

brahman.. or my understanding maybe wrong.

 

Nevertheless, I am want to know, how should a

Vaishnavan treat works of Advaitins like Adi

Shankara??

 

Adiyen Dasan,

Vimal

[Guest guest]

> but Adiyen is not disputing that point, I am confused

> when I go through the very next verse,

>

> "Brahma Padam Tvam Pravisha Vidhitva",

>

> which suggests that we should "merge" with the

> brahman.. or my understanding maybe wrong.

 

Hello Vimal,

 

I am the Moderator who made the comments.

 

There is nothing wrong in the idea of 'entering'

Brahman, as the word 'praviSa' suggests. Take for

example, Bhagavad Gita 18.55b:

 

tato mAm tattvato jnAtvA viSate tad anantaram |

 

[in the highest stage of bhakti-yoga], knowing

Me in reality, [the yogi] then enters [Me].

 

My suggestion is to enjoy Bhaja Govindam. It was

written by Sri Adi Sankara who was a great saint

and philosopher (despite whatever disagreements

we may have with his metaphysical viewpoints) and

is addressed to Krishna. Why not appreciate it

for what it is?

 

Thanks,

Mani