Sanatana Vedic Dharma and Budhism !!!

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Krishna ! Guruvayoorappa ! . Dear Bhaktas !

Sanatana Vedic Dharma is founded on the Vedas which are literary incarnations of the Supreme God . `Yajna' (Vedic sacrifice) is a sacred activity which is to be performed with selfless discretion . The animals sacrificed in a Vedic Yajna attain `Muktí ' ( liberation) .

Misuse of the Yajnas in Kali-Yuga

In the age of deterioration (Kali-yuga) , many Brahmins who were the custodians of the Vedas became greedy and they started misusing the Yajnas to earn money and power . The indiscrete performance of so many fake `Yajnas' for selfish gains caused mass slaughter of innocent animals . Sage Gautama Budha decided to stop this practice and he established a new religion "Budhism" for this purpose . This new religion denied the supremacy of the Vedas, as a temporary measure . ( Budha himself said that it it was for 500 years) . Although Budhism became quickly popular , it's continuation beyond the expiry date practically undermined Sanatana Dharma .

Denial of the Vedas proved to be extremely negative in the long run . The "impotent" (blindly non-violent) administrators and rulers of Budhist legacy became a liability to the sacred land of `Bhaarata' since such a dogma could not prevent them from enjoying life in the wrong way as well .

Consequently , the divine Sage Adi Shankara took birth in `Bhaarata' to reestablish supremacy of the Vedas .

Adi Shankara's Mission

Adi Shankara stopped the erosion of Sanatana Dharma . He defeated the Budhist monks and brought back them and their followers to the parent Vedic faith . He established the "Smarta" practice to enable each man to select an "Ishta Deva" ( Chosen God) according to individual taste and in-born qualities . A `Sattvic' follower of the Vedas could have Vishnu as Ïshta-Deva' and a `Rajasvic' follower coluld have Durga . It was a practical approach which proved to be successful in the long run . Even today , Vedic Brahamanas are following the mentioned system .

No Misunderstanding about Adi Shankaracharya

Adi Shankara was on a divine mission and there were many stages in that . It is improper to quote Him out of context and brand Him as "Mayavaadi" . The misdeeds of some of His lesser successors can not be attributed to Adi Shankara .

As we see in the historical records at Guruvayoor , Adi Shankara was very dear to Bhagavan Sree Krishna . As specifically instructed by Bhagavan, Adi Shankara formulated and established the Pooja rituals and other regulations of Guruvayoor temple. Even today , Adi Shankara is revered at Guruvayoor temple as Bhagavan Krishna's authorized representative.

The divine book Srimad Narayaneeyam ( which has the stamp of approval by Krishna) says in it's verse 90.5 to 6 :

" Sri Acharya Shankara too who is very well known to be impartial , honours You ( Maha-Vishnu or Sree Krishna) alone as first among all Deities . He for instance has interpreted Sahasranama and the like as pertaining to You alone and in the end attained liberation being engrossed in praise of You .

Moreover, he ( Acharya Shankara) has described You the Lord of all , at the commencement of the Mantra Saastra ( Science of Mantras) as superior to the Trimurtis and having a complexion like that Kaliya flower . As for `pranavam ` (AUM) there, after having spoken about meditation on the `Nishkala Brahman' he interpreted You alone as the `Sakala' ( manifested form) and none else " .

Vedic Deities

Adi Shankara and His successor-Acharyas like Paramachaya Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati have not accepted Budhism as a path of Sanatana Dharma . Therefore, it is inappropriate to call any Vedic Deity as a form of Budha .

Many secular ( irreligious) historians of this era are trying to superimpose Budha's attributes and even form on the ancient Vedic Deities . A Deity is not a mere image in stone but it is the replica of God that breathes life . Each ancient vedic temple has a history of divine intervention . For instance the divine `Aura' ( Deva Chaithanyam) of Lord Saasta ( Ayyappa) exists on the Deity of Sabarimala temple . It is this divine "Aura" that stayed intact for many centuries attracting millions of devotees .

Om Namo Narayanaya !!!

Krishnadaya

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SRIRAM SUBRAMANIAN <abheri > wrote

Hare Krishna Guruvayurappa !!Dear Sri Radhakrishnanji, Thanks for your appreciation of my article. You will observe that I have not contradicted your statement (about Sankaracharya's beliefs) anywhere in my original mail. The information about Sabarimala Ayyappan and the connection to Buddhism is interesting. I heard about it earlier too.In fact, Sankaracharya's philosophy of mayavada is sometimes considered as "Veiled Buddhism" (pracchanna bauddha).Here is a quote regarding Sankaracharya popularizing Panchayatana.

''One of the very first tasks of Sankara was to promote religious harmony among the Hindus. As we saw earlier, he sought to unite them on the basis of the principle of unity which is Advaita. Well may Hinduism consist of several cults but there should be no conflict among them, nor exclusive claims to truth and holiness. It was because he sought to purify and consolidate the six major Hindu cults that he is called shanmata-sthapakacharya (the establisher of the six faiths, viz. Saiva, Vaishnava, Sakta, Saura, Ganapatya and Kaumara). One of the concrete ways in which Sankara promoted the spirit of harmony among the various cults was by popularizing the Panchayatana form of worship. According to this mode, the representations of five deities – Aditya, Ambika, Vishnu, Gananatha, and Mahesvara-are together worshipped, the principal seat being offered to that one of the five that is the chosen deity (ishta-devata) of the devotee. According to the Markandeya-Samhita Sankara told his disciples that the followers of Advaita should perform the panchayatana worship. '' [uNQUOTE]-sriram=========================================="P.R. RADHAKRISHNAN" <pallassanas wrote:

Dear Sri. Sriram,

I saw your article in these columns. It was nice. However, shall I correct you by saying that Adi Shankara believed only in ONE GOD Theory. However, he has written many Sthothras on GANAPATHI, DEVI, LORD SHIVA, LORD VISHNU Etc. It is indented for people like us to have any UPASANA MURTHY but to believe only in ONE GOD. In fact, if you go through the essence of his ADVAIDA SIDDANTHA, you can find similarities with that of BUDDHIST Theory. BUDDHISM was spreading all over India and Hinduism was declining. It is he who brought back the glory of HINDUISM. " SHIVAYA VISHNU ROOPAYA " is the essence

I am an AYYAPPA BHAKTHA. I have gone to SABARI MALAI more than 24 times. Only now for the past one and a half years I am not going to SABARIMALAI due to old age. Why I say this, is not to mistake me in what I am writing now. If you look at the deity at the temple you can find similarities with that of GOUTHAMA BUDDHA. According to our STHALA PURANA, PANDALA MAHARAJA and ADISHANKARA went to the place and performed Pooja placing a small Shila or Idol made of stone. , which is replaced now since it was broken by some miscreants. In fact the CHINMUDRA and other postures of LORD AYYAPPA is almost identical to that of Gauthama Buddha. I doubt whether this is a part of revival of Hinduism. BUDDHISM had spread to South India .Kindly give a thought to this theory. You can see this at SRI LANKA were the majority people are Buddhists.

ADI SHANKARA never said to believe in many GODS. EKO DEVA is his theory. It was meant to revive HINDUISM. Some SHAIVITES and VASHNAVITES differred from him and started VEERA SHAVITES and VEERA VAISHNAVITES. I remember an incidence which happened when I was a child. First let me say that I am an IYER . This happened in Calicut ( KOZHIKODE) . We had an Iyengar family as our neighbour. We used to go to their home and they used to come to our home. In fact we were like persons from the same family. However, my Grand mother never used to sip a drop of water from their house . Similarly their grand mother also never used to take even water from our house although we , children used to eat from both houses. .This was , later I came to know that they were VAISHNAVITES and we were SHAIVITES. How do you like this incidence.

Once again I say ""EKO DEVA SARVA BHOOTHESHU GOODA SARVA VYAAPEE SARVA BOOTHAANDARAATHMA, KARMAADYAKSHA SARVA BOOTHESHU VAASA SAAKSHEE CHETHO KEVALO NIRGUNASCHA " . This is the definition of GOD.

"OM NAMO BHAGAVATHE VAASUDEVAYA, OM VISVASMAI NAMAH, OM NAMO NARAYANAYA. "

P.R.RADHAKRISHNAN