[Advaita-l] Shankara authenticates Shiva

[Shashi]

Perhaps there might be some merit 
To Mr. Venkataraghavan's approach -
There seem to be very devout Siva Bhaktas and very devout Vishnu bhaktas. Neither wants to see their God denigrated. Moreover, not only does it cause pain, but as Advaita is a philosophical system and not necessarily a theological one, this discussion might seem out of place - this seems to be the argument.
and it is well worth considering. 

Everyone, however should note D Gayatris contention has merit as well. 
One could interpret certain 
posts on this forum as excessively
Pro shaiva. A good example is a recent post about the origin of the Sudarshana Chakra.

Lord Sudarsana is universally honored among Vishnu Bhaktas.
The Sudarshana mantra invokes 
Lord Sudarshana •as a manifestation of Mahavishnu•. The emotion behind the worship of Lord Sudarshana is 
deep: it is the feeling of protection, 
grace, strength, and support. It is THE symbol of Lord Vishnu watching over his saranagatas. By worshipping Lord Sudarshana,  one feels profoundly connected to Lord Vasudeva. One can imagine what it does to a Vishnu Bhakta when he hears that "Sudarshana was a gift from Siva to Vishnu for Vishnus Bhakti to Siva." What's the implication: there is nothing about Vishnus essence that allows him to protect - his power comes from elsewhere. Vishnu himself is powerless to protect those who now before him. 

I know the poster did not have these ideas in mind. He is a devout worshipper of Siva and a worshipper of Vishnu. Moreover this story has scriptural basis in the writings sacred to Siva Bhaktas. But if D Gayatri should be careful about respecting the sentiments of Siva worshippers, 
so should everyone be careful of everyone else's religious sentiments. 
Because there was a Madhva or a Srivaishnava who disrespected Lord Siva please nobody disrespect Lord Vishnu. Let everyone show respect both to Lord Siva and to Lord Vishnu. 

Shashi 



Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 19, 2016, at 5:42 AM, Venkatraghavan S via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> 
> Gayatri ji ,
> «This is what I do not understand. When Shiva is talked of as supreme and
> Vishnu is denigrated, it does not bother you. Why does it bother you so
> much if the opposite point of view is presented»
> 
> Where and by whom was Vishnu denigrated on this forum? If anyone did that,
> they're wrong.  If you are angry about that, point out that the denigration
> is unacceptable and move on.
> 
> Your approach to denigrate and pull down Shiva, deny his Ishvaravatva,
> attribute that denial to Shankaracharya etc. is counter productive - two
> wrongs don't make a right.
> 
> If somebody did say Shiva was supreme, as long as they didn't denigrate
> Vishnu, that is OK. You also may call Vishnu supreme, as long as you don't
> disparage Shiva.
> 
> This is directed to everyone - Can we please move on.
> 
> Regards,
> Venkatraghavan
> 
>> On 19 Aug 2016 9:13 a.m., "Venkatesh Murthy" <vmurthy36 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Namaste
>> 
>> Well said Venkatraghavan sir. We do not know Vishnu is Supreme or Siva
>> is Supreme. But let the Moderators become Supreme now and stop this
>> madness.
>> 
>> On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 12:54 PM, Venkatraghavan S via Advaita-l
>> <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>>> This is a totally pointless debate and the same points are being repeated
>>> ad nauseam.  I request posters to either stop voluntarily, or
>>> alternatively, request the moderators to intervene to close this thread.
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
>>> http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
>>> 
>>> To unsubscribe or change your options:
>>> http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
>>> 
>>> For assistance, contact:
>>> listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Regards
>> 
>> -Venkatesh
> _______________________________________________
> Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
> 
> To unsubscribe or change your options:
> http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> 
> For assistance, contact:
> listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org