neti neti

[Anand Hudli]

Ravi Mayavaram <msr at COMCO.COM> writes:
>
>
>  If one can say mAyA is the door to this dualistic world, then Ishwara
>  is the door, way and the means to liberation.

 This brings up an interesting question. What is the stand of
 advaita on bhakti (devotion)? There are at least two views among
 adavitins. One is that bhakti makes the aspirant's mind pure and
 makes him eligible for jnaana. The other view is that bhakti is
 sufficient in itself to carry one to mokshha. So there seems to be
 a contradiction here, especially in light of such emphatic comments
 by Shankara as "vidyaiva ajnaanahaanaaya" (knowledge alone destroys
 ignorance). But the two views have been reconciled by Madhusuudana
 Saraswati, who was himself a great bhakta and a foremost advaitin.
 According to him, bhakti by itself will lead one to Brahmaloka
 eventually. While there, the jiiva will, without any effort, get the
 knowledge of the upanishads and get liberated. Brahmaloka is that
 region where the last vestige of maayaa still remains.
 By putting forward this view, it can be seen that Madhusudana has
 satisfied Shankara's criterion that only jnaana can destroy ajnaana.
 At the same time, the jiiva who has reached Brahmaloka by being
 devoted to God, has not had to go through the usual rigorous
  discipline of sannyaasa, etc. to gain that jnaana. So it is
 possible, according to this  reconciliation by Madhusudana,
 to be completely immersed in bhakti and still achieve the same end as
 those who strive for jnaana.

 Anand




______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com