Pushti-marga and Gaudiya Vaishnavism

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

In another thread someone has posted some points from Sri Vallabha's philosophy of shuddhadvaita-vada. Here are a few statements from the Gaudiya vaishnava acharya Sri Bhaktivinoda Thakur's Sri Tattva-sutra and Sri Amnaya Sutra which state the same truths.

 

1. This Ultimate Reality is infinite and all comprehensive.

om harih, tattvamekamevadvityam, harih om

 

"The Supreme Reality is one without a second."

 

sa ca satyo nityo 'nadir ananto deshakalaparicchedat

 

"The Surpeme Lord is the eternal reality without a beginning or an end, unbound by the influences of time and space."

 

tacchaktitastatvadhikyamiticenna tadabhedat

 

"His transcendental potency is not a separate isolated principle, but it is only identical with Him."

 

sadaikarupah purnatvat

 

"Due to His absolute fullness, the Supreme Lord ever remains the same. There can be no change in Him during the creation or destruction of the cosmic universes."

 

2. The diverse names and forms to be found in this universe are but the manifestations of the self same Ultimate Entity. In other words that One Ultimate Entity has become Many.

om harih, svarupa-tadrupavaibhava-jiva-pradhana-rupena taccaturddha, harih om

 

"The super prominent qualified phase of the Supreme is eternally existant in the four fold forms of Svarupa (the divine form), Tadrupa vaibhava (divine variegatedness), Jiva (the individual souls) and Pradhana (Maya, the material cause of the phenomenal universe)."

 

om harih, acintya bhedabhedatmakam, harih om

 

"These four types of eternal revelations are simultaneously distinct and non-distinct from each other, which is a supra-logical fact."

 

3. The power of this Ultimate Reality are simply incomprehensible. And one very peculiar characteristic of this aspects is the fact that even the mutually conflicting qualities can reside together in it.

om harih, nityam acintya shaktikam, harih om

 

"That reality is eternally existant and also endowed with inconceivable infinite potency.

 

aguno 'pi sarvashaktirameyatvat

 

"The Supreme Lord is all-powerful due to His inscrutability although He transcends the phenomenal qualities."

 

4. This Ultimate Reality is endowed with all divine quality. In other words, it is not attribute-less as some other philosophers are disposed to think.

 

5. The ultimate Reality is both personal and impersonal. And the personal aspect repeatedly incarnates itself.

om harih, nityam savishesham, harih om

 

"The reality is eternally endowed with transcendental qualifications."

 

om harih, nityam nirvisheshamca, harih om

 

"The Supreme Reality is simultaneously unqualified."

 

om harih, viruddha dharma samamjasyam tadacintya shaktitvat, harih om

 

"Owing to the inconceivable potency of the Supreme, both the mutually opposite characters of qualifying and non-qualifying natures are perfectly assimilated in the Supreme, beyond the scope of any controversy."

 

viruddhasamanyam tasminnacitram

 

"The perfect assimilation of innumerable mutually contradicting qualities is not uncommon to Him."

 

om harih, svena dhamnatmashaktyaca so 'pyavatarati, harih om

 

"Divine manifestations of Bhagavan, the Lord's personal form, descend to this mundane world, along with His transcendental abode by the power of His own internal potency."

 

6. All this activity is only a sport on part of this Ultimate Reality.

paropi cijjadabhyam vilasi vishvasiddheh

 

"Although the Supreme Lord is transcendental, the mundane universe, consisting of sentient and non-sentient principles, is created only due to His sportive lila."

 

karunyam tatkriya heturnanyadaptakamatvat

 

"Kindness alone is the cause of His activities since He is devoid of any desires and wants. He is the Lord of ever fulfilled desires."

[Guest guest]

 

Very nice topic Jndas, congratulations! You had proved that Bhaktivinoda has 'borrowed' some points from Vallabha's philosophy. Did all the Gaudiyas have accept it?

 

[amanpeter]

Originally posted by Satyaraja dasa:

Very nice topic Jndas, congratulations! You had proved that Bhaktivinoda has 'borrowed' some points from Vallabha's philosophy. Did all the Gaudiyas have accept it?

So if any two should agree on some aspect of the Absolute Truth, one must have `borrowed` from the other? Does God not have the right or the ability to reveal anything to anyone at anytime? "For the sincere seeker, Truth is simple and readily apparent everywhere; for the duplicitous, confusion runs rampant and complications become endless." There but for the GRACE of God...RADHE! RADHE! RADHE!