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murli • December 4, 1995 


My greetings all of you Lakshmi Narayana Devotees:

I have been contemplating on a philosophical issue for some time now.
It is the position of Lakshmi (Sree) according to the Visishtadwaita
Darshana. In my understanding, vidwans (scholars) within the Visishta-
dwaita philosophical doctrine have conflicting versions of the status
of Lakshmi as Para-Brahman.

In the guru-parampara as described by Swami Vedanta Desika in his
Rahasya-Traya-Saram (RTS), I am given to understand that the upadesham
came from Lord Narayana to Goddess Lakshmi, and then on to Senesha (the
Senadhipati of Narayana) and then so on and so forth to our present
acharyas. If Lakshmi is Parama-Purusha (as some Visishtadwaitins believe)
what was the need for the upadesham to be given to her. This might be
a very naive question or rendition of things the way it has been presented
now. But if someone on the net can give a coherent (if not detailed)
explanation to this paradox of sorts, it would be very helpful. I am
sure there are some really very well-read and knowledgeable readers
who subscribe to this news group.

Thank you in advance, Adiyen, Muralidhar Rajagopalan.