Greatness of Bhagavad RamAnuja Darsanam (GRD 7)

[Guest guest]

Greatness of Bhagavad RamAnuja Darsanam (GRD 7)

====================================================================

PART I: SECTION 4

COMMON GROUNDS AS BETWEEN ADVAITA, DVAITA AND VISISHTADVAITA and

SECTION 5

DVAITA VIS - A - VIS OTHER SCHOOLS, ESPECIALLY VISISHTADVAITA

===================================================================

[Please read the note and request given while introducing the series.

If anything has been expressed forcefully, it is only to bring home the

point more graphically and not to hurt the feelings of anyone]

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

=====================================================================

SECTION 4

COMMON GROUNDS AS BETWEEN ADVAITA, DVAITA AND VISISHTADVAITA

====================================================================

The Dvaita and VisishtAdvaita and to a certain extent Advaita also

(so far as it pertains to 'Saguna Brahman') agree on the following:-

 

(i) All agree that Sri Narayana is the Supreme deity.

(ii) All agree on his having all the auspicious qualities.

(iii) All agree that He creates, sustains and destroys the world, when due.

(iv) All agree that He has a divine form.

(v) All agree that He takes the various Avatars to protect the virtuous, to

quell evil and to establish Dharma.(ParitrANAya SadhoonAm etc)

========================================================================

SECTION 5

DVAITA VIS - A - VIS OTHER SCHOOLS, ESPECIALLY VISISHTADVAITA

========================================================================

(i) Though the Dvaitins accept Lakshmi as Lord Narayana's Consort, they give

her a slightly lower position than Narayana. Though she also has a divine

form like Narayana and is all pervading (Vibhu) like him, she is only a

JeevAtma but subject only to Narayana.

 

VisishtAdvaitins do not accept this.

 

(ii) Dvaitins hold that JeevAtmas are quite different from one another.

 

VisishtAdvaita holds that though separate they are all alike in all

respects.

 

(iii) Dvaitins group JeevAtmas into two categories, Males and Females.

 

VisishtAdvaita holds that individual souls are neither male nor female.

Sexual connotations do not cling to individual souls.

 

(iv) Dvaitins hold that there are different categories and gradations in

Moksha like

· SaalOkya - being in the same location,

· Saaroopya - acquiring the same form,

· Saameepya - being in the immediate proximity of the Lord and

· Saayujya - being in full and eternal companionship with the Lord.

Individual souls depending on the relative merits attain one or the other of

these four grades.

 

VisishtAdvaita holds that a Prapanna / Bhakti yogi reaches directly this

Saayujya which alone is mOksha. And, other categories are included therein

like a 'Hundred' being part of a 'Thousand'.

 

(v) Dvaitins accept Bhakti as the means to attain salvation;

 

VisishtAdvaita holds that both Bhakti and Prapatti as the means,

the former involving delay and difficulties while the latter is easy

and immediate in securing mOksha for the Prapanna.

 

(vi) The Dvaitins hold that jeevas are eternally different from ParamAtma

like parallel lines and the " twain shall never merge "

 

For VisihtAdvaitins, the Body- soul relationship between JeevAtma and

ParamAtma is the sheet anchor of their Siddhanta.

 

The differences the Dvaitins insist on may be summarized as follows:.

(a) Sentient Chetana JeevAtmas are different from Paramatma.

(b) Insentient Achetana matters are different from Paramatma.

© JeevAtmas are different from the insentient primordial matter

(Prakriti).

(d) JeevAtmas are different inter se from one another.

(e) The various components of Prakriti are all different from one another.

 

Prof. Narayanachariar observes;

" In Advaita, if there is ONLY ONE absolute,

in Dvaita, there are MANY INNUMERABLE absolutes in the form of souls in

addition to God and God's possessing them by External relations. This

benefits neither Him nor them in any way. It is a grand system of

helplessness leaving room only to pessimism in the last analysis instead of

open illusionism "

 

(vii) The Dvaitins do not accept that there is a category of 'Never- born

souls' like Nityasuris; the only Nityasuris being Lord Narayana and Sri

Lakshmi. All others who are in Moksha are only those who have secured

liberation, having earlier been in Baddha- SamsAra.

VisishtAdvaita holds that there are three categories viz.

· Bhaddas (Bonded),

· Muktas (Liberated) and

· Nityas or Nityasooris (Never born)

 

(viii) There are grades of enjoyment of Brahman in mOksha

depending on the relative merits of the released souls.

VisishtAdvaita holds that there is no difference in the enjoyment in mOksha

as between Muktas and Nityas.

 

(ix) According to Dvaitins- Among souls, there are three categories:-

(a) those that are fit for Mukti (Mukti yogyas). This includes five

groups called -

(i) Deva gaNas (Group of divinities) comprising Brahma, Agni, Vayu, Varuna,

Indra and others

(ii) Rishi gaNas (Group of Seers) comprising Narada, Saptarishis and

other sages

(iii) Pitru gaNas (Group of manes) comprising Sira, Aryama and

others

(iv) Chakravarti gaNas (Group of Kings and Emperors) comprising

Raghu, Bharata, Ambarisha, Puru, Sibi and such others

(v) Manushya gaNas:(Group of humans ) who attain Mukti by

meditation on Brahman's various qualities and attributes like truth,

knowledge, bliss, inherent nature etc.

 

(b) Those that are not fit for Mukti (Nitya SamsAris) who have

to eke out existence in this world eternally and

 

© Those who are eternally condemned to suffer in hell on

account of their interminable karma (Tamo yogyas) . This would

include such sinful souls like Daityas, DAnavas, Asuras, PaisAchas

and even among humans who possess evil tendencies akin to these.

 

(x) Dvaitins distinguish between what they call 'Brahma Srushti'

and ' Jeeva Srushti'. The former is the creation of the world by

God; the latter the procreation of progeny by the souls as directed

by their karmas.

 

(xi) The Dvaitins read the MahAvAkya ' Tat Tvam Asi ' by

prefixing the word 'Atma' to it. The conjunction sounds

'Atma atatvam Asi " which when pronounced together means

'You are not that'

 

Prof. Narayanachariar:

" For MAdhva, frankly this is no equation at all. It is anything but that.

The word " Tat " refers to God, free from all imperfections, full of all

auspicious qualities and sole refuge of the world. But, " Tvam " refers ONLY

to SvEtakEtu, the recipient of the UpadEsa. Since there is nothing common

between their natures, the sentence is meant to emphasize the differences

only and not the equation by reading it as " Atattvam Asi " .

 

If taken together, it can have several meanings like

· Thou art FROM Him

· Thou art IN Him

· Thou art FOR Him

· Thou art OF Him and

· Thou art LIKE Him, as Jayathirtha adds in his commentary on " TattvOdaya "

on the lines of " Bimba- Prathibimba vAda " - so dear and peculiar to the

mAdhva system "

========================================================================

GRD 8: SECTION 6: CONCLUSION –

(Comparing and Contrasting the 3 streams) will follow

=======================================================================

 

 

 

______________________________\

_____

Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com