Re: dhyAna - 2
From the Bhakti List Archives
• August 31, 1998
Sri :
Srimate Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha Para Brahmane Namaha
Srimate Sri Lakshmi - Nrusimha Divya PAdukA Sevaka -
Srivan Shatagopa Sri NArAyana Yateendra MahAdesikAya Namaha
Dear devotees,
Namo NArAyanA . pranAmams.
---- cont ---
mAyAvAdIs & ashtAnga yogA : For mAyAvAdIs , a thing called Brahman
which has no attributes whatsoever is the only reality. All other
things are only illusory ie. unreal . So , for them , ultimately ,
there is no one called nArAyanA the supreme Lord with infinite gunAs.
For them there is no God , there is no jIvAtmA , there is no prakruti
(ie. matter ). All these things are only products of illusion.
Brahman which according to them is nirviseshA (attributeless) is the
only reality.
But , as long as one doesn't realize these things , he needs to
practise contemplation on nARAyaNA who has infinite kalyAna gunAs &
follow vedAs. Ultimately , vedAs are also illusion for them .
SankarAchAryA & his teachings though valid for a while , they also
are ultimately illusory for them . RAmakrishnA , RamanA etc have
their own versions of "mAyAvAdA" & have some changes here & there
on the "advaitA" of SankarA .
In other words , if nArAyaNA Himself comes in front of a "mAyAvAdi"
giving the darSan of His most beautiful divya mangaLa vigrahA to him,
& say even speaks with him & say even plays with him , then also the
"mAyAvAdI" somehow convinces himself that it was also an illusion
since anything other than the so called nirvisesha Brahman is only an
illusion . Thats the really pitiful state of mind a "mAyAvAdi"
develops & is in his own world of beliefs. He strains himself to
condition his mind in such a way . Anyway , the prArabdha karmA of a
jIvAtmA makes it undergo all these kind of happenings & makes it
believe in such things .
These mAyAvAdIs too write devotional songs, sings & dances , performs
nAma sankeertanam etc . They believe that these things will slowly
lead them to mokshA which according to them is realization of
themselves being that nirvisesha Brahman. They also speak big things
like "one should shed one's ego" , "there should be no identification
of "I" " etc etc . All these things simply mean that since the
only reality is the nirvisesha Brahman , there is no existence
of "jIvAtmA" => one should shed the ego of thinking that he is a
separate individual.
So , according to Sri VaishnavAs , "mAyAvAdIs" fall under the premier
category of persons performing "Bhagavad apachArams" & their
philosophy is worse than athiesm . Atleast an athiest doesn't
care about God . But a "mAyAvAdi" accepts that God is there for a
while & then rejects finally . This doesn't mean that Sri VaishnavAs
deride them etc . No one can change the vidhi (ie. fate) of a jIvAtmA.
It will sail according to its deeds.
( avaravar tama tamadhu aRivaRi vagai vagai ........
avaravar vidhi vazhi adaya ninRanare ) .
Lets imagine that two persons are eating something . One can at the
outset describe their way of eating nicely & conclude that both are
doing the same thing . On closer scrutiny one can be seen to eat beef
& the other person eating Bhagavad prasAdam. Similarly ,the
devotional song of a "mAyAvAdI" & that of a parama Sri vaishnava
bhAgavathOthamA may be similar & one can keep eulogizing both to be
of the same cader . Unfortunately , the intention with which the
"mAyAvAdi" has composed it makes the whole song to be unfit for
singing , just like adding a drop of poison into the milk before
eating it .
Composing devotional songs is not a big deal. The _real_ "devotional
fervour" is the thing that is important . AzhwArs are those for whom
the divine wisdom has been directly benedicted by Sriman nArAyaNA (
madi nalam aruLiyavan ) & thus each & every letter of their pAsuram
will be highly relished by nArAyaNA. The purity of the pAsurams
shouldn't even be compared with some mundane devotional song of some
"mAyAvAdI" for whom both the seeker & the person to be
sought are same => there is no meaning to "devotion" for him.
Be it SankarA ,madhu soodhana saraswati , nArAyana theerthar ,
RAmakrishnA , RamanA , Sai bhAbA & other hosts of "mAyAvAdIs" , for
all of them seeker & the sought are the same => devotional songs are
only non sensical for them in the ultimate reality . Anyway in the
ultimate reality , such devotional songs are also non-existent
for them. Seriously adiyen doesn't know whether to laugh or shed
tears at their philosophy .
The member who has raised the above question must have had all these
things in his/her mind & thats why is surprised at the references
to "mAyAvAdIs" by some other members.
Anyway , mAyAvAdIs may follow either X yogA or Y yogA , but
their goal is entirely different. They might follow the same angAs
of ashtAnga yogA also in the belief of obtaining mokshA (alias
self-realization for them since there is only one thing called "self"
& all other things are unreal) according to their theory. Just
because mAyAvAdIs are prone to do such meditations , the pure process
of ashtAnga yogA cannot be looked down.
The possible reasons for a person to refer to "mAyAvAdIs" might be
as follows. adiyen is obviously not saying that the following are the
reasons for the references made by bhakti list members. Their
reasons might be outside the reasons adiyen is giving .It is entirely
member dependent & he/she will have their own reasons. But we shall
just discuss a possible few reasons in general.
a. A person may be a thorough believer in what "mAyAvAdIs" say.
b. A person might be unaware of the philosophical intricasies
of the "mAyAvAdIs" (ie. their actual beliefs) & might just
consider them also as great devotees of nArAyaNA just like other
Sri Vaishnava AchAryAs while there is no ultimate meaning to
devotion for mAyAvAdIs.
c. A person may have half knowledge in Sri Vaishnavam & half
knowledge in "mAyAvAdism" & is in a confused state as to
what is right & what is wrong , thereby refers to both
Sri Vaishnava AchAryAs & "mAyAvAdIs" .
d. A person might want to "show off" his knowledge regarding his
mastery/partial knowledge over "mAyAvAdism" .
e. A person who is after fame might think that glorifying mAyAvAdIs &
their instructions might please some other "mAyAvAdIs" , completely
forgetting the central principle of Sri Vaishnavam that it is
one's svaroopam to glorify his poorvAchAryAs & Sriman nArAyaNA &
his existence is merely for the pleasure of Sriman nArAyaNA , for
this is the final essence of vedAs & its actual understanding.
( this doesn't mean that Sri vaishnavAs doesn't glorify mAyAvAdIs
at all. Whatever good deeds they have done needs to be
applauded on a merit basis. This also doesn't mean that a Sri
VaishnavA should indiscriminately make "mAyAvAdIs" on par with
his AchAryAs & keeps glorifying them & in that process
display their ignorance ie. lack of discrimination through
knowledge).
f. A person having studied mainly the books of "mAyAvAdIs" can only
quote from there , though at present he is very keen in following
Sri Vaishnavam.
g. A person may want to portray himself as a great follower of all
sorts of philosophies like "mAyAvAdism" , Sri vaishnavam etc, by
which he feels that he has risen above everyone while displaying
the fact that he doesn't know either "mAyAvAdism" or "Sri
vaishnavam" properly .
There are many many other possibilities .But , with respect to
some of the refernces by the bhakti list members to mAyAvAdIs on
say "prAnAyAmam", they might have felt that "prAnAyAmam" is after
all "prAnAyAmam". Its going to be same whether a "mAyAvAdi" talks
about it or a Sri Vaishnava AchAryA talks about it. In a way its
true. One can extend this idealogy to some of the other things.
When the presented matter is the same irrespective of the
source ,some might feel that there is no harm in referring to
mAyAvAdIs.But the correspondent feels that there is no need to
quote a mAyAvAdi , while one can refer to one's own AchAryA's
words. This is also a genuine question .
But , the member may be unaware of such writings of Sri
vaishnava AchAryAs , but in full earnest interest wanted to share
his/her knowledge that will help others ..
The books of the mAyAvAdIs in english are in hundreds & almost
everyone somehow reads them on their own since they don't have any
spiritual guidance from a Sri Vaishnava AchAryA . Due to the lack
of AchArya sambandhA , they start developing their own views &
idealogies from various books .This may be leading to various ill
effects which one might not be aware of. Finally it is through the
mercy of a sadAchAryA that Sriman nArAyaNA will bestow His
blessings. It is not one's own sanskrit knowledge or things like
that which is the reason for one's understanding of sAstrAs. It is
Sriman nArAyaNA who is going to reveal it through a sadAchAryA.
Till that dawn of "true divine knowledge" because of the mercy of
a sadAchAryA, one will be wavery in his mind in confusion.
Bhagavad dhyAna sopAnam of SwAmi Desikan is there. But ,it is
still for a much superior bhaktAs. Because of various sins,the
attraction for perumAL's divya mangaLa vigrahA won't come easily.
Rather , one would like to avoid them. Without following the Do's
& Dont's of sAstrAs properly , one cannot hope to meditate on
Sriman nARAyaNA's divya mangaLa vigrahA steadily .
Neverthless , we have to try to meditate properly . Any
single pAsuram from Divya Prabandham is sufficient to boost our
devotion & be charged in meditating about nArAyaNA's divya mangaLa
vigrahA , qualities etc .
Namo NArAyanA
adiyen
anantha PadmanAbha dAsan
Sarvam Sri KrishnArpanamastu
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