[Advaita-l] Anya devata

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

> Since Sri V Subramanianji and Vidysankar(also I think) accept that a Jnani
> can have a BMI and Vidyasankar has said that an Avataras Life on Earth is
> like a superior Jiva and Bhagavatham asserts all doers of Good to Humanity
> are Avataras,Sri Shankaras life is also like an Avatara.Apart from his work
> on Bhashyas,he has 'minor' achievements like upholding Sanatana
> Dharma,spiritual unity of India,'synthesis' many advaitins see him as an
> 'Avatara' as well.Why is it no conceivable that because of His
> 'lineage'(Krishna Bhakthi') and 'inclinations' towards Loka Kalyana that he
> was 'attached' to Lord Vishnu.

Indeed one can, but that must not be viewed in the same sense as the kind of
sectarian exclusivity exhibited by vIra-vaishNavas and vIra-saivas (I'm using
the word vIra in a fairly loose way here, to convey an attitude, not a specific
group of people). Within the post-Sankaran tradition, the number of very
important authors showing a similar 'attachment' to vishNu is significantly
high, yet the advaita vedAnta tradition is not a vaishNava tradition on the
same footing as other vaishNava traditions. The same statement would hold
true if you substitute the word Saiva for vaishNava too!
 
Regards,
Vidyasankar