Nirguna Brahman and Lord Krishna

[Guest guest]

Nirguna Brahman and Lord Krishna

 

Madhusudana Sarasvati who is believed to have lived in the sixteenth century A.D. was one of the greatest teachers of Advaita Vedanta. Though an Advaitin, he was at the same time an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna, showing that devotion to a personal god is not at all inconsistent with the tenets of Advaita Vedanta. In one of the verses composed by him he identifies Lord Krishna with the attributeless Brahman (Nirguna Brahman) of the upanishads. The following is an English translation of this verse:

"I know of no Reality higher than Krishna whose hands are adorned by a flute, whose splendour is like that of a fresh rain-bearing cloud, who is clothed in yellow silk, whose lips are like the red bimba fruit, whose face is as beautiful as the full moon, and who has lotus-like eyes".

 

In this verse the form of Krishna is first described and He is then identified with Brahman, which is the only Reality according to Advaita and which is formless.

 

Similarly, Narayana Bhattatiri has, in the very first verse of Narayaniyam, identified Guruvayurappan with the supreme Reality of Advaita Vedanta, Brahman. He says:

 

"Brahman, which is pure Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, which is without parallel, which is absolutely free from the limitations of time and space, which is always free from the control of Maya, which is very well explained by innumerable statements in the Upanishads, but is yet not clearly grasped (by a mere study of the Upanishads), but the realization of whose identity with one's own self is what constitutes the highest Purushartha, namely, liberation from the cycle of birth and death; that very Brahman is present in concrete form in the temple of Guruvayur (in the form of Lord Krishna). What a great good fortune for all humanity!"

 

Here the attributeless (Nirguna) Brahman is first described and it is then identified with Lord Krishna—this is the reverse of the method adopted by Madhusudana Sarasvati, but the conclusion is the same.

 

Narayaniyam is not only a devotional work. It has been described as a 'stotra-kavya'. It is both a stotra and a kavya or literary work of the highest order, comparable to those of great poets like Kalidasa. Not only that, it is a work that expounds Advaita Vedanta. The first ten and the last ten Dasakas contain the essence of all the Upanishads.

S.N.Sastri--

[Guest guest]

Sasthriji has shown that advaita is not against bhakthi by quoting Madhusudana sarasvati. Hers is another example of the same which I ahve already written in my commentary on the Krishna karnamrtha part2.

Madhusudanasarasvati says,

yenaabhyaasena vaseekrthena manasaa yannirguNam nishkriyam

jyothih kimchana yoginahyadhi param pasyanthi pasyanthu the

asmaakam thu thadheva lochanachamathkaaraaya bhooyaath chiram

kaalindhee pulineshu kimapi yanneelam maho dhaavathi

 

Let those yogis see that supreme light, (Brahman) which is actionless and attributeless, with their mind controlled through practice. As far as we are concerned the same Brahman, as a blue light, is running here on the banks of Yamuna to the delight of our eyes.

saroja Ramanujam

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Saroja Ramanujam, M.A., Ph.D, Siromani in sanskrit.

 

www.freewebs.com/asrama3

 

--- On Tue, 9/2/08, S.N. Sastri <sn.sastri wrote:

S.N. Sastri <sn.sastri[Guruvayur] Nirguna Brahman and Lord Krishnaguruvayur Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 3:23 PM

 

 

 

Nirguna Brahman and Lord Krishna

 

Madhusudana Sarasvati who is believed to have lived in the sixteenth century A.D. was one of the greatest teachers of Advaita Vedanta. Though an Advaitin, he was at the same time an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna, showing that devotion to a personal god is not at all inconsistent with the tenets of Advaita Vedanta. In one of the verses composed by him he identifies Lord Krishna with the attributeless Brahman (Nirguna Brahman) of the upanishads. The following is an English translation of this verse:

"I know of no Reality higher than Krishna whose hands are adorned by a flute, whose splendour is like that of a fresh rain-bearing cloud, who is clothed in yellow silk, whose lips are like the red bimba fruit, whose face is as beautiful as the full moon, and who has lotus-like eyes".

 

In this verse the form of Krishna is first described and He is then identified with Brahman, which is the only Reality according to Advaita and which is formless.

 

Similarly, Narayana Bhattatiri has, in the very first verse of Narayaniyam, identified Guruvayurappan with the supreme Reality of Advaita Vedanta, Brahman. He says:

 

"Brahman, which is pure Existence-Conscious ness-Bliss, which is without parallel, which is absolutely free from the limitations of time and space, which is always free from the control of Maya, which is very well explained by innumerable statements in the Upanishads, but is yet not clearly grasped (by a mere study of the Upanishads), but the realization of whose identity with one's own self is what constitutes the highest Purushartha, namely, liberation from the cycle of birth and death; that very Brahman is present in concrete form in the temple of Guruvayur (in the form of Lord Krishna). What a great good fortune for all humanity!"

 

Here the attributeless (Nirguna) Brahman is first described and it is then identified with Lord Krishna—this is the reverse of the method adopted by Madhusudana Sarasvati, but the conclusion is the same.

 

Narayaniyam is not only a devotional work. It has been described as a 'stotra-kavya' . It is both a stotra and a kavya or literary work of the highest order, comparable to those of great poets like Kalidasa. Not only that, it is a work that expounds Advaita Vedanta. The first ten and the last ten Dasakas contain the essence of all the Upanishads.

S.N.Sastri--

[Guest guest]

Respected Sasthriji,

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with us.Looking forward to see more mails from you.Namaskaram.

On 9/2/08, S.N. Sastri <sn.sastri wrote:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nirguna Brahman and Lord Krishna

 

Madhusudana Sarasvati who is believed to have lived in the sixteenth century A.D. was one of the greatest teachers of Advaita Vedanta. Though an Advaitin, he was at the same time an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna, showing that devotion to a personal god is not at all inconsistent with the tenets of Advaita Vedanta. In one of the verses composed by him he identifies Lord Krishna with the attributeless Brahman (Nirguna Brahman) of the upanishads. The following is an English translation of this verse:

" I know of no Reality higher than Krishna whose hands are adorned by a flute, whose splendour is like that of a fresh rain-bearing cloud, who is clothed in yellow silk, whose lips are like the red bimba fruit, whose face is as beautiful as the full moon, and who has lotus-like eyes " .

 

In this verse the form of Krishna is first described and He is then identified with Brahman, which is the only Reality according to Advaita and which is formless.

 

Similarly, Narayana Bhattatiri has, in the very first verse of Narayaniyam, identified Guruvayurappan with the supreme Reality of Advaita Vedanta, Brahman. He says:

 

" Brahman, which is pure Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, which is without parallel, which is absolutely free from the limitations of time and space, which is always free from the control of Maya, which is very well explained by innumerable statements in the Upanishads, but is yet not clearly grasped (by a mere study of the Upanishads), but the realization of whose identity with one's own self is what constitutes the highest Purushartha, namely, liberation from the cycle of birth and death; that very Brahman is present in concrete form in the temple of Guruvayur (in the form of Lord Krishna). What a great good fortune for all humanity! "

 

Here the attributeless (Nirguna) Brahman is first described and it is then identified with Lord Krishna—this is the reverse of the method adopted by Madhusudana Sarasvati, but the conclusion is the same.

 

Narayaniyam is not only a devotional work. It has been described as a 'stotra-kavya'. It is both a stotra and a kavya or literary work of the highest order, comparable to those of great poets like Kalidasa. Not only that, it is a work that expounds Advaita Vedanta. The first ten and the last ten Dasakas contain the essence of all the Upanishads.

S.N.Sastri--