Shiva is not the same as Vishnu

[Guest guest]

The "Is Shiva a demigod?" thread was sort of left on hold after I

posed the challenge that if Shiva is on the same level as Vishnu, his

worship should be accepted by Gaudiiya Vaishnavas a cause for

liberation. Of course, no such thing is accepted by our aachaaryas,

but now I wish to post something from Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-

giitaa purport 7.4 which says this pretty explicitly.

 

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The words maam eva are also significant. Maam means unto Krishna

(Vishnu) only, and not Brahmaa or Shiva. Although Brahmaa and Shiva

are greatly elevated and are almost on the level of Vishnu, it is not

possible for such incarnations of raajo-guNa (passion) and tamo-guNa

(ignorance) to release the conditioned soul from the clutches of

maayaa. In other words, both Brahmaa and Shiva are also under the

influence of maayaa. Only Vishnu is the master of maayaa; therefore

He can alone give release to the conditioned soul. The Vedas confirm

this in the phrase tvam eva viditvaa or "Freedom is possible only by

understanding Krishna." Even Lord Shiva affirms that liberation can

be achieved only by the mercy of Vishnu. Lord Shiva says:

mukti-pradaataa sarveShaa.m viShNur eva na sa.mshayaH.

"There is no doubt that Vishnu is the deliverer of liberation for

everyone.

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I think the above is very clear regarding the Gaudiiya position

regarding Shiva and Vishnu.

 

1) Shiva, despite being almost on the level of Vishnu, cannot give

liberation.

2) Shiva even directs those seeking liberation to Vishnu

3) Shiva is not free from the influence of maayaa.

 

>From the above, several more points can be derived:

 

For example, if it is argued that the "Shiva" referred to above is

the incarnation of the "Sadaashiva" who is an expansion of Mahaa-

Vishnu, and whose abode lies at the interface of the material world,

then such an argument could lead us to believe that while "Shiva"

cannot give liberation, worship of "Sadaashiva" can since he is the

same as Vishnu.

 

This argument is unacceptable. When Vishnu descends to the material

world, He remains ever free and transcendental to the guNas. If

Sadaashiva's incarnations are not free from maayaa, then it naturally

follows that even Sadaashiva is NOT on the same level as Vishnu and

is thus not worshippable as Vishnu is. Thus, even if Sadaashiva is

free from maayaa, his position as being less than Vishnu is revealed

by the fact that his incarnations are not free from the influence of

maayaa. This is in contrast to Vishnu, who is ALWAYS free of maayaa

even though descending into the material world. If two things are the

same, then they must have identical properities. Vishnu being free

from maayaa even when taking avataara is not shared by Sadaashiva.

Hence, Sadaashiva is not on the same level as Vishnu and his worship

does not directly lead to liberation.

[Guest guest]

Narasimhan