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Re: brahman and "ugly" things

From the Bhakti List Archives

Balakrishnan M • August 21, 2002 


--- pradeepjanakiraman 
wrote:

> For the utthama-bhakta, or the jnani or the
> jivan-muktha, there is 
> complete "sama-dhrusti", or seeing everything with
> equanimity. There 
> is no "raaga-dwesham", "paksha-paadham" at all. 
> 

Yes, confirmed by Sri Krishna in many slokas in Gita
such as

vidya vinaya sampane brahmane gavi hastini
suni caiva sva pake ca panditah sama darsinah (Gita
5.18)

The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see
equal vision a learned and a gentle brahmana, a cow,
an elephant, a dog and a dog eater. 

yo mam pasyati sarvatra sarvam ca mayi pasyati
tasyaham na pranasyati sa ca me na pranasyati (Gita
6.30)

For one who sees me everywhere and sees everything in
me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to me


> There's a slokam from the Bhagavatam where Sri Suka
> says "brahmeti, 
> paramatmeti, bhagavan iti shabdyate"...where he
> means that people 
> refer to the same thing, by different terms
> a) Vedantis & Advaitis -> Brahmam
> b) Yogis following Patanjali's Sutras, Kriya Yoga
> etc. -> Paramatma
> c) Bhaktas - Alwars, Mira, Panduranga Bhaktas ->
> Bhagavan.


vadanti tat tattva vidas tattvam jay jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate (Bhagavatam
1.2.11)

The absolute truth is realised in three phases of
understanding by the knower of the absolute truth, and
all of them are identical. Such phases of the absolute
truth are expressed as brahman, paramatma and
bhagavan.


Bala.

[ It should be pointed out that according to Sri Ramanuja,
  whose interpretation of the Gita appeals to the mind as
  being the most internally consistent, the "phases of understanding" 
  mentioned by both Bala and Janakiraman are absent. In
  Sri Ramanuja's interpretation there is no distinction made
  between Brahman, Paramatman, and Bhagavan. They denote
  the same single Supreme Being. To make a distinction between
  the three is without basis in the prasthAna-traya, according
  to Sri Ramanuja. -- Moderator ]


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