[Advaita-l] Advaita and other philosophies

[rohit ubhayaker]

Dear  Saadhakas ,
 
While  on  this  topic  of  "Advaita vs  the  other  schools" ,  I  would  like  to  make  certain  observations  especially  because it  was  mentioned  that  all  non- Advaitic  schools  decided  to  concentrate  their  energies  on  our  Darshana .

   The  Maadhva  school  claims  antiquity  from  the  time  of  Lord  Hamsa .  They  say  that  their  first  Aachaarya  among humans  was  Shri  Para Teertha  Svaami . The  appendage  "Teertha"  is  clearly  a  Dasnanaami  one . Again  one  of  the  Shankara  Digvijayas ( Shri  Aanand Giri's  version )  declares  that  while  on  Digvijaya , Shri  Hastaamlakaachaarya  converted  many  Braahmans  to  Advaitic  Vaishnavism  nearabout  Rajatapeetha  ( Udipi ).This  is  indirectly  supported  by  the  biographers  of  Shri  Madhvaachaarya . They  say  that  his  Guru  Shri  Achyutapreksha  Teertha  was  an  Advaitin .
   Until  the early  half  of  the  18th  century , the  Gaudiya  Vaishnavas  did  not  consider  themselves  to  be  a  branch  of  the Udipi  Maadhvas . They  started  this  tradition  during  an  all- Vaishnava  Sammelana  near  Jaipur  in  Raajasthaana .Until  this time  they  maintained  that Shri  Krishna  Chaitanya  Mahaaprabhu  was  a  reformer  of  the  old  Advaita  school , as  his  Guru  was  Shri  Keshava  Bhaarati , an  Advaitin devotee  of  Shri  Krishna.
   The  Gaanapatyas  centred  around  Morgaon  near  Pune are  unique  among  Vedaantins . Their  most  revered  saint  is  Shri  Ganesha  Yogeendra  Svaami , whom  they  call  an  Avataara  of  Lord  Vinaayaka  Himself . Their  uniqueness  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  acknowledge  Bhagavaan  Shrimad  Aadi  Shankara  as  a  Guru  in  their  Paramparaa  ( which  they  claim  is  descended  from  the  Shringeri  Matha ).  They  follow  the  Advaitic  school , though  their  philosophy  is  more  like  Shrivaishnavism , with  Vishnu  being  replaced  by  Vinaayaka .However  they  are  not  fanatical , though  they  do  claim  that  Lord  Ganapati  is  the  highest . They  say  that  in  Kaliyuga , when  the  religion  of  devotion  to  Ganapati  was  about  to  disappear , Shri  Aadi  Shankara  saved  it . They  also  state  that  Shri  Shankara  visited   Morgaon and  reformed  the  worship  of  Shri  Mayooreshvara Vinaayaka  there .THIS  SEEMS  TO  BE  THE  ONLY  SCHOOL
 /BRANCH 
 OF  ADVAITA  WHICH  ACKNOWLEDGES  SHRI  AADI  SHANKARA  AS  GURU. Thus  this  school  of  philosophy  is  unique.

With  love ,

Rohit  N. Ubhayaker.



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