Ishwa helper Reged: 03/03/02 Posts: 553

Re: Examination of Jesus [Re: sickofviolence] #15877 - 05/06/02 06:50 AM Edit Reply Quote

Hmm, SOV, these are are three different systems separated in time! All the Advaita systems go back mainly to the BrahmaS�tra of B�dar�yana Vy�sa V�sishtha and partly on the Upanishads and BhagavadG�t�. But there are great differences: A. Shankara said: �Man is identical with Brahman or the Eternal Soul,� and established his Kevala Advaita philosophy. B. R�m�nuja said: �Man is a ray or spark of (and supported by a personal) God,� and established his Vishishtadvaita philosophy. C. M�dhva said: �Man is the servant of God,� and established his Dvaita philosophy. (quotes, slightly edited, from: http://www.sivanandadlshq.org/download/hinduismbk.htm#_VPID_96) The Kevala-Advaita system of Adi-Shankara Acharya is pure non-dualism, really going back to the BrahmaS�tras and Upanishads. According to some he lived in ca. 509 BC during Sh�k�ri Vikram�ditya. Many posts and threads are dedicated to his philosophy on this forum. The next step was the Vishishta-Advaita of Yamuna Acharya (end of 10th century AD) and his later successor R�m�nuja Acharya (beginning of 11th century AD). This Vishistha system claims to go back to a certain Vrttis of Baudh�yana (not known to me, yet), a commentator on the BrahmaS�tra of the 4th century BC. This was a Shr�-Vaishnava form or qualified form of Vaishnavism Note: The system was Vaishnava. The Vaishnava are more in the Saguna-Up�san� or BhaktiYoga or emotional plane as the Advaita is more on the Nirguna-Up�san� or Jn�naYoga or analytical and evolved in certain Shaiva circles. The Bh�gavata-Vaishnavas concentrate the most on V�sudeva Krshna and Gop�la Krshna as Avat�ra of Vishnu. Vishistha means qualified. It is Advaita but concentrating on the attributes, of an organic and controlling personal N�r�yana-Vishnu. As Shankara's system concentrates on unity, Vishishta concentrates on plurality and Dvaita on duality. The Dvaita-Advaita system was also a kind of further development to the Vaishnava thinking but strongly reacting to Shankara's abstract monistic system, now by AnandaT�rtha, also called M�dhava Acharya (13th century AD). M�dhava's system was also based on a Vaishnava system of thinking, also claiming to go back on the Vrttis of Baudh�yana (4th century BC). But this was the Sad-Vaishnava form or non-qualified (strict dualistic)Vaishnavism: Param�tman is strictly different from J�v�tman (one distinctive dualism) as J�v�tman is strictly different from Jada.(another distinctive dualism). Then comes some more Vaishnava systems:: 1. the Bhedabheda philosophy of Nimb�rka Acharya of the 11th century AD (dualistic monism: midway between Dvaita and Kevala) 2. the Shuddha-Advaita philosophy of Vallabha Acharya (15th century AD). He calls the M�y� principle of Shankara as a second (unreal) principle and thus makes Shankara's system a dualistic one (real versus unreal). Therefore makes his system the Shuddha or pure: Nirguna and Saguna are both real and not separate. I think Vallabha has misunderstood what Shankara's M�y� principle meant. Besides, Vallabha believes in the Bhakti tradition of a personal God which is separate from J�v�tman and Jada but as a parallel supervisor. 3. the Achintya Bhedabheda philosophy of Chaitanya (15th century AD): The world and souls depend on God, though they are separate and distinct from Him. They are neither one with God nor different from Him. There is an incomprehensible difference�non-difference (Achintya Bhedabheda). Chaitanya insisted further on the unity of Godhead which underlies the multitude of idols of popular worship.