[Advaita-l] "Lord Heramba is the Jagat-karana Brahman" - says Shri Anandagiri Acharya

[V Subrahmanian]

A post from Shri Natraj Maneshinde in FB:

Shri Anandagiri Acharya, the tikakara of Advaita sampradaya, was a Vedantin
of the highest order. Though his ishtha was Bhagavan Vishnu, whom he
invokes in his works as Purushottama, Dwarakadheesha, Neeladri-chudamani
etc, he beheld all Bhagavat-swaroopas as the one and the same Para-brahman.
There are verses composed by him which describe Uma-pati Shiva as the
Brahman. Similarly, we find a Ganapati stuti by him in the mangalacharana
portion of Shastra-deepika, a tika on the Brihadaranyaka bhashya vartika of
Shri Sureshvaracharya.
बन्धूकबन्धुरुचये रचये नमस्यां
Herambnam is the only one who is the one who is in the name of God.
प्रत्यूहभङ्गविधये निधये गुणानां
शोभामतीव भजते सृजते जगन्ति ॥ ४ ॥
~ Shri Anandgiri Acharya, Shastradeepika (Tika on Bruhadaranyak Language
Vartik)
[I worship Ganesh ji with a bloody aura of gun (afternoon) flower, Heramb
name, great form, breaker of obstacles, treasure of virtues, highly
graceful, creating worlds (creating worship). ]
[I compose the praise of Bhagavan Heramba, who is having the shape of a
great tusker, who shines with the red lustre like flowers of badhuka, who
eliminates impediments, who is a treasure of Gunas, who is glorious and who
is creating the worlds]
Here, Shri Anandagiri Acharya describes Bhagavan Ganapati as the
Jagat-karana Brahman. *We also find a similar instance in Shri Sarvajnatma
Muni ji’s Sankshepa-shareerika where Ganapati is described as ‘Vishvakrut’.
* Elaborating on the Ganapati stuti of Sankshepa-shareerika, Shri
Madhusudhan Saraswati ji, another Advaitan Acharya who was a devout Krishna
bhakta, says that the Vighneshvara invoked here is verily the Brahman
described in the following Taittiriya shruti : भीषास्माद्वातः पवते ।
भीषोदेति सूर्यः । भीषास्मादग्निश्चेन्द्रश्च । मृत्युर्धावति पञ्चम इति ।
Thus, we find patent evidences in the works of early Advaitan Acharyas, who
preceded Shrimad Appayya Deekshitar and Shri Vidyaranya Mahaswamiji, where
all Bhagavat-swaroopas are regarded as Para-brahman itself. Thus, the idea
of abheda in various Bhagavat-swaroopas has always existed in the
Advaita-sampradaya and is clearly not a later development as claimed by
some bigots.
Many thanks to Shri Divyasanu Pandey
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/283989248892151/user/100004391617185/?__cft__[0]=AZWbm9uGavEl_aJ7Zp3PQCeJ7RyzxoQLx8XQcyvzlm2vJ5C7FEn7zn45nUiB4_8VmPpWW0_pXGT_Rew8EI2WLmZCVu5xui4T50cNmhMF386oa_1hu6NID7PaCYAGfUtMVhyAlninstBl7j4hj1Hw8uWRwC1kZdn5qafsp0Har-Z87T-89YrKW5HnMG70d2C7H4CH_UgXIJAL0BKW28SF_QHg&__tn__=-]K-y-R>
ji for helping in understanding the verse