Vedanta and Philosophy

Pandya

2:43 AM

@MetaEd You're welcome to join the site or discussion here :)

in Hinduism, 26 secs ago, by Pandya

@KeshavSrinivasan Btw, is it possible that one belongs to Sri Vaishnva and believe in Advita?

Keshav Srinivasan

3:56 AM

@Pandya No, the Sri Vaishnava sect believes in Visistadvaita.

@Pandya Visistadvaita is one of the core beliefs of Sri Vaishnavism.

SwiftPushkar

5:12 AM

@TheDestroyer - Namaskaram :) How are you . I think the exact answer of this " why aatma doesn’t get polluted, " in the below question is given in puranas. SO I think this is valid Q , and a little IMP too , and needs answer as database, i am writing answer :)

-1

Q: Differences in religion

Lord Krishna himself said once, “I am not the one who made religion, but the humans did.” And, everyone knows God is one. Then too why are there so many difference between the religions. Example – According to Hindu mythology, aatma can’t get polluted. But, if we see Christianity, the soul can ge...

@KeshavSrinivasan - Vanakkam :)

The Destroyer

5:47 AM

@SwiftPushkar ok. but he is also comparing.

SwiftPushkar

@TheDestroyer - yes , it seems he is not been able to use wording properly , I think because he is a novice. I will try to change wording in Question. :)

The Destroyer

@SwiftPushkar ok.

SwiftPushkar

6:19 AM

0

A: How to treat death?

How to Treat Death ? In Shrimad Bhagavata Purana there is a chapter in which Shree Shuka Deva gives final instructions to Maharaja Parikshit which tells us about your question How to Treat Death ? SB 12.5: Śukadeva Gosvāmī’s Final Instructions to Mahārāja Parīkṣit त्वं तु राजन् मरिष्येति...

Pandya

@KeshavSrinivasan Yes, but suppose one born in family following Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya but his thoughts lean towards Advaita!

Krishn Shweta

@Pandya Was that msg really for me?

or Keshav?

Pandya

@KrishnShweta oh! That was for Keshav! (Just corrected).

Krishn Shweta

Ok..

SwiftPushkar

9:11 AM

@Tezz - Is there any special association of Shiva and turmaric, do u know anything abt this😊like ur question 👍👍

Six = No Idea 😀👍👍

Tezz

9:57 AM

@SwiftPushkar No, I don't know any special association of Shiva and Turmeric... btw where did you get this idea... ?...

@SwiftPushkar haha...

SwiftPushkar

@Tezz - In my state (Maharashtra) the kuladaivata of the state is khandoba which is avatara of Shiva , there in his worship lots of turmeric powder is used ,

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khandoba

Tezz

@SwiftPushkar Oh ok. ...

Keshav Srinivasan

2:27 PM

@Pandya Yes, of course someone may be born into one sect and their beliefs may contradict that sect.

@Pandya I know some atheists who are Sri Vaishnavas by birth.

Pandya

@KeshavSrinivasan "atheist" is different issue.

@KeshavSrinivasan Btw, How do you deal with saying of Vedas that demonstate Shiva/Rudra is not just Jiva?

Keshav Srinivasan

2:54 PM

@Pandya That is a long and complicated subject, and I'm somewhat reluctant to get into it here because of the presence of Shaivites in this room, since I wouldn't want to get into a heated argument or offend them. But suffice it to say that some of it is explained through the Antaryami. And for the full details I would refer you to this website: narayanastra.blogspot.com

Pandya

@KeshavSrinivasan ok. I'll look it.

@KeshavSrinivasan Hmm.. the central ideal looks Antaryami or Narayana right? (i.e Supreme Soul)

Keshav Srinivasan

@Pandya Yeah, Vishnu is the Antaryami of all the gods.

Pandya

Do Sri Vaishnava consider Brahman=Vishnu?

Keshav Srinivasan

@Pandya Yes

@Pandya Yes, it's certainly worse for someone who's born a Sri Vaishnava to become an atheist than to become an Advaitin, but they're both instances of the same phenomenon: having beliefs that deviate from the doctrines of Sri Vaishnavism.

Pandya

@KeshavSrinivasan Then I think there would be no verse in Vedas which say Shiva as Antaryami right?

Keshav Srinivasan

3:08 PM

@Pandya Well, there are certainly verses which at least on the surface seem to say that Shiva is Brahman. There are also verses which at least on the surface seem to say that Indra is Brahman. To see how Sri Vaishnavas interpret such verses I would again refer you to that website.

Pandya

Ok

@KeshavSrinivasan Btw, I think Advaitin should have no problem with such issue as Brahman is the Brahman (not Vishnu or Shiva) for it.

Keshav Srinivasan

@Pandya I would also refer you to the last four Sutras of Adhyaya 1 Pada 1 of the Brahma Sutras, which discuss a passage in the Kaushitaki Upanishad which seems to say that Indra is the supreme being. How that passage is dealt with in the Brahma Sutras and their commentaries is how passages regarding Shiva are dealt with.

@Pandya Yeah, Advaitins see Nirguna Brahman as superior to both Vishnu and Shiva.

The Destroyer

4:31 PM

@Tezz Did you start reading Shaiva Siddhanta?

@SwiftPushkar It seems your answer is not answering the question.

0

A: How to treat death?

How to Treat Death ? In Shrimad Bhagavata Purana there is a chapter in which Shree Shuka Deva gives final instructions to Maharaja Parikshit in time of his death ,which was due in seven days which tells us about your question How to Treat Death ? SB 12.5: Śukadeva Gosvāmī’s Final Instructio...

@Tezz I know a blog where you can learn Shaiva Siddhanta. It describes Shaiva Siddhanta in detail.

Dec 31 '16 at 6:39, by The Destroyer

https://saivaphilosophy.blogspot.in/2010/01/saiva-agamas.html

Keshav Srinivasan

5:03 PM

@TheDestroyer If you're interested in Shaiva Siddhanta, I've posted numerous questions related to it: hinduism.stackexchange.com/…

@TheDestroyer Also, I've read quite a few Shaiva Siddhanta works as you can see in my Meta answer here:

8

A: Which texts have you read?

Note: I don't generally read Hindu scriptures and works linearly from beginning to end. So here is a list of some of the texts I've read, in whole or in part: Samhitas of the Vedas: Rig Veda Samhita Taittiriya Samhita of the Yajur Veda Vajasaneyi Samhita of the Yajur Veda Sama Veda Samhita At...

@TheDestroyer I have an interest in Shaiva Siddhanta because it's basically the Shaivite counterpart to Sri Vaishnavism. Just as the Sri Vaishnava sect is based on the Pancharatra Agamas and the poems of the 12 Alwars, the Shaiva Siddhanta sect is based on the Shaiva Agamas as the poems of the 63 Nayanars. And just as almost all Vishnu temples in Tamil Nadu are run by Sri Vaishnava priests, almost all Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu are run by Shaiva Siddhanta priests.

Keshav Srinivasan

5:25 PM

@TheDestroyer By the way, all Sri Vaishnavas belong to the Vedanta school, but only a small minority of Shaiva Siddhantina belong to the Vedanta school. Srikantha Sivacharya and Appaya Dikshitar belonged to that small minority.

@TheDestroyer Srikantha Sivacharya believed in a philosophy very similar to the Sri Vaishnava philosophy of Visistadvaita, except with Vishnu replaced by Shiva.

@TheDestroyer Appaya Dikshitar was an interesting figure. He was a Shaiva Siddhantin, but he also believed in Adi Shankaracharya's philosophy of Advaita. So he wrote a work called the Shivadvaita Nirnaya in which he argues that Srikantha Shivacharya's commentary on the Brahma Sutras only seems to advocate a Visistadvaita-like philosophy on the surface, but properly interpreted it actually advocates Adi Shankaracharya's philosophy of Advaita.

@TheDestroyer You can read it here: archive.org/details/Sivadvaita.Nirnaya.by.Appayya.Diksita I think it's ridiculous. If you read Srikantha's commentary on the Brahma Sutras it clearly advocates a Visistadvaita-like philosophy, not Advaita.

@TriyugiNarayanMani Just so you know, I just deleted your comment so spambots don't find your email address. But now I have your email address.

@TriyugiNarayanMani What is the Goladhyaya?

Triyugi Narayan Mani

@KeshavSrinivasan Thanks. Goladhyaya is the name of one chapter.

I am.searching the answer of your question related to nine parts of India.

Keshav Srinivasan

@TheDestroyer By the way, Appaya Dikshitar was a staunch Shaivite. He spent a lot of his time arguing that Shiva is superior to Vishnu.

@TriyugiNarayanMani Do you know the chapter number?

@TriyugiNarayanMani Oh ok

Triyugi Narayan Mani

@KeshavSrinivasan No. But I found the reference here vedabase.com/en/cc/antya/2/10 You may be interested.

The Destroyer

@KeshavSrinivasan I think if we interpret all Scriptures completely and properly, they advocate Advaitam.

SwiftPushkar

@TheDestroyer - ok ,it seems i haven't got the meaning of question , can u pls. further clarify , so that i will make necessary changes in my answer 😊👍👍

The Destroyer

5:39 PM

@KeshavSrinivasan Thanks for the links. I will go through Sivadvaita.

@SwiftPushkar I think main question is about bringing back people from death.

Keshav Srinivasan

@TheDestroyer We're not talking about a scripture, we're talking about Srikantha Sivacharya's commentary on the Brahma Sutras.

The Destroyer

@KeshavSrinivasan Btw. what does he say on Shudra verse in Brahma Sutra?

@KeshavSrinivasan ohh ok.

SwiftPushkar

@TheDestroyer - Yes I know that , In SB there is one story of Krishna & arjuna bringing back dead son's of a Brahmana , but that is not what I answered , its well known story , so given the another answer 😊

Keshav Srinivasan

@TheDestroyer Srikantha Sivacharya agrees with all the other commentators on the low-caste point.

@TheDestroyer Before you read the Shivadvaita Nirnaya, you need to read Srikantha Shivacharya's commentary on the Brahma Sutras, because the former work is about the latter work.

The Destroyer

@KeshavSrinivasan But at least Brahma Sutras don't mention explicitly Varna depends on birth alone. It was Shankara who intepreted it was only birth bsed. But i doubt his interpretation in BS. In BG, he never mentioned explicit birth only varna system.

@KeshavSrinivasan Ok. Shivaadvaita sounds cool. But i don't think it would be factually correct. They can't call any God as Jiva especially Vishnu.

Keshav Srinivasan

5:46 PM

@TheDestroyer You can read Srikantha's commentary here: archive.org/details/TheVedantaSutrasWithSriKanthaBhashya

@TheDestroyer Shivadvaita is the name of Srikantha Sivacharya's philosophy. It comes from Shiva + Advaita. Most people believe Shivadvaita is similar to Visistadvaita, but Appaya Dikshitar believed it was the same as Adi Shankaracharya's Advaita.

The Destroyer

@KeshavSrinivasan Thanks! I will see his interpretation also besides Shankara.

Keshav Srinivasan

@TheDestroyer Not just Adi Shankankaracharya, every single commentator on the Brahma Sutras.

The Destroyer

@KeshavSrinivasan But in Bhagavadgita, Shankara never said explicit birth alone based Varna System.

Keshav Srinivasan

@TheDestroyer Adi Shankaracharya also discusses the birth-based caste system in his Upanishad commentaries.

The Destroyer

@SwiftPushkar But main question is bringing back someone to life after death.

@KeshavSrinivasan only birth based or birth in accordance with Guna? Birth+ Samskara + Guna is proper, as per me.

Keshav Srinivasan

5:53 PM

@TheDestroyer By the way, like I said Appaya Dikshitar was an interesting figure. He was a writer for hire, i.e. he would write about whatever subject kings would pay him to write about. So he even wrote a commentary on the Yadavabhyudayam, which is an epic poem about Krishna composed by the Sri Vaishnava Acharya Vedanta Desikan.

SwiftPushkar

@TheDestroyer - ok , I will make changes & will add ref.from puranas tomorrow 😊👍👍💐

Keshav Srinivasan

@TheDestroyer Even though he was strongly against the Sri Vaishnava sect.

The Destroyer

@KeshavSrinivasan ohh..ok. btw, i just saw his proper name now. I thought it was Ayyappa Diskhitir instead of Appaya Diskshitir. Haha.

Keshav Srinivasan

@TheDestroyer Haha

The Destroyer

@KeshavSrinivasan I think he might be against Sri Vaishnavism but not against Sri Krishna.

@KeshavSrinivasan btw, did you see my above conversation with Chinmay on Sri M's new book. He says he met Sri Krishna in one of his previous births.

yesterday, by Chinmay Sarupria

@TheDestroyer No but he did mention about Krishna playing flute on full moon night and then his meeting with him where Sri Krishna told him about his future births, he met Krishna once more in Mahabharatara war

@KeshavSrinivasan Surprisingly, Krishna says Mahatavar Babaji is his manifestion.

yesterday, by Chinmay Sarupria

@TheDestroyer Lord Krishna said Mahavatar Babaji is my manifestation.

Keshav Srinivasan

6:01 PM

@TheDestroyer Yeah, but it's funny that he wrote a commentary on a Sri Vaishnava work.

The Destroyer

@KeshavSrinivasan Maybe he wanted money.

Keshav Srinivasan

@TheDestroyer I'm skeptical of anything that Sri M or any other follower of Mahavtar Babaji says.

@TheDestroyer Yeah, that's exactly the reason. Kings used to commission him to write works on whatever subjects they wanted. A Vaishnava king commissioned him to write a commentary on the Yadavabhyudayam.

The Destroyer

@KeshavSrinivasan But i think atleast few stories are true. Adi Shankara said whole world was just illusion but many people didn't believe his words in beginning. So, atleast few of such miraculous stories of Babaji may be true.

Keshav Srinivasan

6:30 PM

@TheDestroyer Of course there's a chance that they're true, but by default I'm skeptical until I find a good reason to believe something.

SwiftPushkar

GN All TC , bye , 👍💐

Keshav Srinivasan

@SwiftPushkar Good day for me, good night for you :-)

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Vedanta and Philosophy