[Advaita-l] Isvara and Saguna Brahman

[Aravind Mohanram]

Dear all,
 
According to Sankara, is Isvara synonymous with Saguna Brahman?
 
Regards,
 
Aravind.

latha vidya <lathavidya at yahoo.co.in> wrote:
Namaste.

Could it be that the Brahma Jnani is the Knower of the Truth but has not been able to get firmly established in It ? It may be like how we wake up from a grand dream, but still can not come out of its aura and hence continue to ponder over the dream for a long time?! Also, like an actor who gets so invoved in the role that he is playing that at the close of the shooting he is still immersed in the role knowing fully well that he is only an actor playing that role?!

Namaste,
Latha Vidyaranya

S Jayanarayanan wrote:
What svAmi vidyAraNya means by GYAna (that is different from mukti) is
crystal clear: it is saMyak (perfect/complete) as well as aparoksha
(immediate/direct). aparoksha brahmavidyA is final realization, where
Brahman is not merely known "through the upanishhads" or "through the
upadesha/Ishvara", but as Brahman-itself, directly with no mediacy. It
is in spite of such knowledge that mukti is not yet achieved. I had
posted some relevant extracts from the JMV, which is now at
http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/public/advaita-l/2003-August/012752.html

Ramana Maharshi has spoken of lack of firmness in Self-realization, but
I don't have the exact references. Vidyasankar had posted a similar
reference in Shankara's commentary on BR^hadaaraNyaka upanishhad.

-Kartik

--- "M. S. Ravisankar" wrote:
> I went through some of the messages in the original thread. I have a
> feeling that the word j~nAna is used ambiguously in the texts, that
> is,
> sometimes as j~nAna and sometimes as vij~nAna. It may be the cause
> for the
> issue that how a brahma-j~nAni need not be a mukta. May be the
> statements
> such as "brahmavit brahmaiva bhavati" denote brahma-vij~nAna and when
> it
> happens, the release is immediate.
> 
> My 2c.
> 
> Ravi
> (according to giita bhaashhya, vij~nAna is svAnubhava yukta j~nAna)
> 
> 
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: S Jayanarayanan [mailto:sjayana at yahoo.com]
> > Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 11:22 AM
> > To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
> > Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] The "Royal Way"
> >
> >
> > I said the jIvanmukti-viveka (JMV) of svAmi vidyAraNya mentions the
> > Royal Way, it comes under the second chapter.
> >
> > As I don't have the JMV with me anymore, I can only quote from
> memory:
> > "First sAdhana-chatushhTaya then brahma-GYAna - this rAja mArga
> (Royal
> > Way) is well-known. But when King Janaka heard the (ashhTaavakra or
> > avadhuuta) gItA, he immediately realized Brahman. This is no doubt
> due
> > to his former sAdhana and puNya..." And then the JMV goes on to
> explain
> > how Janaka had to eliminate his vAsanas to attain mukti, as he did
> not
> > have perfect sAdhana chatushhTaya.
> >
> > Since the JMV mentions it as "well-known", and since we already
> know it
> > to be the first thesis of Shankara in his BSB, I presumed that it
> was
> > the "well-known Shankaran way". Shankara himself does not use that
> > phrase, as far as I know. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
> >
> >
> > --- venkata subramanian wrote:
> > > i saw in one of your postings, wherein you have said about the
> Royal
> > > Way - of the Acharya Pada.
> > >
> > > Could you please give me where it is found.
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> 
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