[Advaita-l] Fwd: Ishvara in advaita vEdAnta

[Amuthan]

namo nArAyaNAya!

dear shrI siddhArtha,

On 11/29/06, Annapureddy Siddhartha Reddy <annapureddy_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> In any case, I was reading the "Dialogues with the Guru" (which is a
> compilation of dialogues with shrI chandrashEkhara bhArati), and he defines
> Ishvara to be nirguNa brahma when conceived of as the lord of the
> vyAvahArika world. Please refer to the dialogue on "The Sandhya Worship". In
> case you do not have a copy, I could type up the relevant portion, and maybe
> we could discuss after that.

there is no doubt that Ishvara is nirguNa brahman conceived of as the
lord of the universe. i had defined Ishvara as dRshyakAraNa and stated
his non-difference from nirguNa brahman in the very beginning. this
doesn't in any way contradict what the mahAsvAmi teaches.

btw, i don't have the book you have mentioned. i'd love to hear
whatever AchArya has taught. if you have the time, please type in the
relevant portions. needless to say, whatever svAmi chandrasekhara
bhArati teaches is final.

(a question to shRNgeri bhaktAs: i've heard that the present svAmi is
addressed as shrIsannidhAnam and his predecessor, mahAsannidhAnam. how
should one address the eariler AchAryAs, like say shrI chandrasekhara
bhArati or shrI nRsimha bhArati?)

On 11/29/06, Annapureddy Siddhartha Reddy <annapureddy_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> vEda is an inanimate entity. The idea is that there is no state that a jIva
> can achieve which can give it complete happiness in the vyAvahArika world
> (svarga, satya lOka etc.). And the contention is that since Ishvara is
> always blissful, Ishvaratva becomes a parallel goal. But in any case, since
> anumAna is strictly subject to shabda in such atIndriya matters, let's stick
> to shabda pramANa. And the pramANa that I am referring to is BSB
> 4.3.10which says that even the conditioned brahma attains nirguNa
> brahma at the
> time of praLaya (unlike your claim).

even if a jIva attains Ishvaratva (i.e. the bliss of Ishvara), it is
not eternal. but this is so only for a jIva. there is nothing like
attaining Ishvaratva or merging into nirguNa brahman for Ishvara
Himself since Ishvara is non-different from nirguNa brahman. such
problems arise only if we imagine Ishvara as having avidyA, which is
certainly not true.

if Ishvara is defined as jagadkAraNa, how does hiraNyagarbha's merging
into nirguNa brahman at the time of pralaya destroy Ishvara? doesn't
the very fact that the universe is projected during the next sRShTi
imply the existence of Ishvara during pralaya? i have already quoted
the necessary shruti-s and smRti-s to show that there is no
destruction for Ishvara during pralaya. please note that accepting the
eternality of Ishvara doesn't contradict the brahma sUtra you have
quoted. (btw, the anumAnAs i've used are not based on some
abhUtakalpanA. i have provided the necessary references from both
shruti and smRti to support them.)

i have nothing more to add. i have expressed whatever i wanted to say
on this issue. there is no point in repeating my arguments again and
again. Ishvara eternally exists - devasyaiSha svabhAvo.ayam. period.

vAsudevaH sarvaM,
aparyAptAmRtaH.