on advaita and society (was Re: [Advaita-l] New member introduction: Asad Mustafa Rizvi)

[Ramanathan P]

Sri Ramana exemplified renunciation and non-attachment, and his 
  saintliness is unquestioned in any corner of Hinduism or the world. I believe 
  sincere followers of the "Vishnu God" would revere him as a 
  mahapurusha, for the primary criterion for spiritual greatness is purity and 
  "self"-surrender. The Bhaktha says "surrender to God" and the Jnani says 
  "Surrender". Sri Ramana said that total "self"-surrender is equivalent to 
  final realization.
   
  As far as Hinduism is concerned, the gratifying quality is that we 
really do agree that all religious paths lead to the Goal. Our 
disagreements have a special nature. If you observe, the Advaitin will say that 
  the Dvaitin will indeed by following his/her path reach the final 
  realization of Truth, which is Advaita. We say Advaita after Dvaita. And the 
  Dvaitin/Visishtadvaitin will say that ultimately by following the 
pursuit of Self, the Advaitin will realize that there is something more: the 
Absolute Personality of the God-head and eternal distinction of soul 
and God. Therefore they say Dvaita after Advaita, for the Advaitins. 
   
  The sectarian Hindu's view of others: "Follow your way. It will 
ulltimately lead to my version of God." It is NEVER: "Follow your way and 
you will perish."
   
  Sri Krishna has said that whatever way we approach Him, in that very 
manner, He will strengthen our faith in Him and guide us. This is the 
great saving principle of this noble religion.
   
  Ramanathan


Vishy <vishy1962 at yahoo.com> wrote:
  advaita is not for kids. and as svAmi vivekAnanda puts it, most of us
are 'moustached babies' 

Very well said and very much true.It is really a strong medicine and meant only for matured mind... ofcourse irrespective of religious base

Amuthan wrote:
namo nArAyaNAya!

On 1/26/07, Ram Garib wrote:
>
> Mostly what hindus believe in, is an amorphous set of
> beliefs influenced by advaita, dvaita and several
> other schools. This is unavoidable since there is no
> 'book' that is universally accepted by all hindus. But
> even otherwise, I would say that average hindu's
> beliefs are more aligned to dualistic scheme than
> non-dualistic.

true. hinduism in present day india is by and large the effect of the
bhakti movement of the medieval ages.

digressing from the main topic, i think it is impossible to have a
society which is established solely based on advaita. accepting the
world we live in as real, giving a reality to our personality (==
considering ourself as a human being) etc. are indispensible to be an
active member of the society. but none of these have any basis in
reality according to advaita. it is indeed quite natural that all
human societies are dualistic in outlook. naisargiko.ayaM
lokavyavahAraH.

the closest a society can come to advaita is by believing in some form
of divine union with god. but there it ends. advaita is more of an
experiential reality that transcends every form of god and religion
than a theoretical philosophy and is best understood by saMnyAsIs who
are bold enough to crush their own personality to non-existence, burn
their passions to ashes and renounce all their cherished and fancy
conceptions for the sake of the truth.

advaita is not for kids. and as svAmi vivekAnanda puts it, most of us
are 'moustached babies' :)

vAsudevaH sarvaM,
aparyAptAmRtaH.
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