Vaishnavam and Islam

[Azygos]

 

 

*. Brahman the impersonal god

*. Ishvara the highest conception of brahman by the MIND (personal god)

U must remember that for every thought in mind, there is a form as its counterpart.....

Can anyone in this world, envisage an omnipotent, omnipresent, brahman....NO......

hence, in the path of devotion (bhakti yoga) u need anthropomorphic forms of Ishvara

for prayer and worship

 

*. According to dualistic theories like the vaishnavs, as preached by Prabhupara and

(dvaita by madhavcharya), the brahman and jiva are seperate

*. When it comes to visitadvaita (qualified monism) of Ramajuna, there is both a transcendal aspect and a personal god....

*. In advaita (absolute monism) it is maaya which creates the barriers of time, space and causation and hence

the illusion of duality........everything is brahman........how to overcome maaya? by Jyana, by the

knowledge of discrimination.

 

Vivekananda explained all three to be complementary to each other with advaita being the highest truth

and final conclusion of vedanta

 

THE NEED FOR RELIGION? It is very true that god cannot be found in books.....the scriptures are aids

to realizing the divinity within. Without those scriptures, it is like finding the goal without a map which

is an arduous task, indeed.....Religion is REALIZATION, this is all we need to remember....thus, we

dont need to study all religions.....just follow the one which suits our temperament, our culture, our beliefs

 

The path of Bhakti is the path of love for the divine........it is constant remembrance........initially the symbols

or idols are needed to concentrate the mind solely on god but in a higher state of realization they are no

longer useful / nor they are needed. In Bhakti, one surrenders absolutely to god.

* It is true, that Ramakrishna Paramhansa said that in this kali yuga, bhakti is the best path but Vivekananada

preached karma and gyana in the west. Since, we have by now imbibed some of the proclivities of the west,

bhakti cannot be the ideal for every Hindu in the present scenario.

* In Bhakti the atman does not merge with the brahman. Infact, the bhakta enjoys god

THe allegory given by Ramakrishna was "If god is syrup, by gyana u become the syrup itself. In bhakti, u can pour

the syrup into a cup and drink and enjoy it. So what would u like, becoming the syrup itself or drinking it"

 

However, for an agnostic the path of Bhakti is not the ideal path.......The path of gyana should be followed by him

along with Raja yoga (medidation)

 

A good karma is more of a prerequisite for realization. However, i;m not sure whether solely good karma can

give the highest realization. It may cause us to be born in higher materialistic worlds with more senses,

longer lives, lesser disease but after having utilised the fruits of karma, one has to return to the earth, the

karmabhoomi. Death is a certainty even in those higher materialistic worlds and misery and sorrow and joy

are all evanescent in higher worlds too.

 

I feel, its unfortunate that dualistic teachers including Prabhupara become so fanatical in their beliefs.

They feel that only their path is right, and gyana and monism are false. This is the problem with

every dualistic religion. (like Islam and Christianity too)

 

Since both vaishnavism and Islam are dualistic philosphies (also saivism) hence it is quite

natural that both will have certain common characteristics. However, while Islam is a highly

violent and fanatical religion, vaishnavism preaches love for all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Srila Prabhupada on Islam

14th March 1975

http://www.prabhupadavani.org/Conversations/Text/174.html

 

Islam

Islam means submission to God. God is infinite and we are finite, so our only duty is to serve Him. The ultimate goal of Islam is to love God. Allah says ‘The more you strive towards Me, the more you love Me, the closer I come to you’. Islam is therefore a basic form of Vaishnava dharma (the religion of devotion to Vishnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead).

 

Mohammed

Allah is God, the Greatest, and Mohammed is his subordinate servant. Mohammed is a messenger of God and Islam teaches to worship Allah, not Mohammed.

 

Holy Name

All the names of God are beautiful. The word Allah indicates God, therefore it is non-different from God. The chanting of this name should be constantly practiced in Mosques. In order to make spiritual progress, a Muslim should constantly chant the name ‘Allah’. The name Allah is authorised, because Mohammed has indicated that it is a name of God. As God’s representative, Mohammed is authorised to give the name of God.

 

Practices

A true Muslim should not amend the words of Mohammed, especially in regards to injunctions such as praying five times a day. If one wants to follow Islam, he should not mix teachings – he should follow the Koran strictly.

 

Form of God

The reason prominent schools of Islam reject the form of God is because as soon as one thinks of form, the tendency is to think of a material form, such as the beautiful face of a woman. This is degradation and so the important thing is not to conceive material form. The real meaning of God without a form is that God has no material form. However, God does possess a spiritual form. The Koran has a lack of knowledge of the form of God, but does not explicitly deny it.

 

Nature of God

There is a lack of a clear conception of the nature of God, although the Koran describes Him as the Supreme Judge, and He possesses supreme knowledge.

 

History

There was a time when Iran was an Aryan (God-conscious) civilisation.

 

Branches

Sufism is a branch of Islam similar to bhakti (devotion), because it preaches loving service to God.