Sakthas

[Guest guest]

beirutkababa had asked

<<Dvait and Vishishta-advait both accept Brham as Sagun

whereas Advaita points to Brham without attributes ?

 

that is the only difference. did i get it correctly?

 

Then Shakta Path...what it should be called ? vis-ad or dvait?>>

 

First the answer is Saktas do not belong to either of these paths.

Because in addition to propagating the idea of Saguna Brahman, these

philosophies had identified the Saguna Brahman, as Sriman Narayana and

Vishnu. Saktas identify Saguna Brahman as MAA.

 

But as I said earlier, subsequent Vedantins debated whether the

reality of Brahman was saguna (with attributes) or nirguna (without

attributes). Belief in the concept of Saguna Brahman gave rise to a

proliferation of devotional attitudes. So many followers of Advaita

started believing in Saguna Brahman even before the advent of

Vishistadvaita and Dvaita schools.

 

Today it is very difficult to find a pure Advaitin. Ramakrishna

Movement has been in the forefront in propagating Advaita Vedanta. But

they also accept Saguna Brahman, as their books on Vedanta also talk

about Ishta Devata which is a Saguna Brahman concept.

 

I had earlier written about Adi Sankara not being the author of

Soundarya Lahari. It is inconceivable that a man who spent his entire

life propagating the concept of Nirguna Brahman would write a poem the

basis of which is Saguna Brahman.

 

There is however an Advaita Vedanta Movement which bases its belief on

teachings of Sankara and Ramana Maharishi. But this is mostly confined

to the West and does not identify itself with Hinduism.

 

For Saktas it is more confusing because the Tantras are supposed to be

based on Sankhya Yoga and not Uttara Mimamsa. The concept of Kundalini

which is central to all the Tantras including SriVidya is not part of

Uttara Mimamsa. Then how do we reconcile the fact that Durga Upanishad

(Devya Adharvasheersham) which we recite is from the Atarva Veda. In

fact the Chandi Navakshari the most famous of all the mantras is

revealed in this Upanishad.

 

I saw the heading of an article Advaita Vedanta and SriVidya in the

Sringeri math web site. But the article is yet to be written. One

person who could or might have thrown some light regarding this was

Swami Rama, who was the Sankaracharya of one of the Maths ( not the

four known ones) and who was also a SriVidya adept. He also belonged

to the Nath/Siddha group. My Guru also belonged to the three groups

(Nath /Siddhas, SriVidya and Advaita). He was an Avadhoota , Saraswati

and Ananda. The lineage is also very old. But I could not ask him

these questions because he always told me that realization comes from

the heart and not the head. It is only Bhakthi for me not Jnana.

 

So where do we stand now? The systems of philosophy and practical

religion are two different things. The religion that most Hindus

practice today has elements of all the systems of philosophy. Hinduism

has always emphasized the maxim

 

“Ano Bhadra Kritvo Yantu Vishwatahâ€. “Let noble thoughts come to us

from every direction “.

 

Jai MAA KAALI !!!