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Re: Digest Number 563 ( Once upon a time...

From the Bhakti List Archives

Maruthi Pavan • March 21, 2002 


Dear Sri Mani and Sri Ramkumar,

I have been going through your mails.

I feel that there is no necessity for a beginner like
me to add anything in this area after Sri Mani's
explanation.

As Sri Mani said, the vAkya quoted is not from ViShNu
purANa and is from Sri Bhashya.

When we mean saguNa ( He is having the ananta kalyANa
guNAs ) and when we say nirguNa ( He is free from all
the bad guNAs - hEya guNAs which we have ).

Thanks for bringing out the difference between the
words 'nirguNa' ( which has something to do with guNAs
and so with vishistAdvaita ) and 'nirviShESha'.

In this context, I would just like to add one last
thing :

Sri Ramanuja here clearly recommends that the bound
souls or embodied souls ( mUrtam ) are not worthy for
meditation as they are bound by the third power of
ViShNu - Karma.

Also the umembodied souls ( amUrtam ) cannot be
comprehended by beginners in yOga. It is only possible
for the experts. Also these souls, were once under the
control of karma.

Sri Ramanuja recommends the worship of the Lord with a
form Unique to Him. The form with which we all worship
him in Tirumala, SriRangam, Kaanchipuram, Melukote
etc. This is not an imagination by our Alwars or
riShIs. It is a real one and explains one by one all
the great qualities of the Lord Sriman Narayana which
are known to us in the form of ViShNu SahasranAma.

This clearly puts aside the arguments of people who
say that all God's are one and the different forms
which are worshipped are just the different forms or
faces of the same almighty.

No doubt, its true that all forms have Srimnan
Narayana internally as their antaryAmin ( this is the
mUrtam form of the Lord ) and so can be considered as
the different faces of the Lord. 

But He has His unique form ( amUrtam form ) different
from his antaryAmin or embodied form which is the best
recommended one for worship or meditation.

That worship or the meditation on that supreme form
and longing for saayujya with that form is bhakti
which is the culmination of jnAna. Bhakti is not some
means for jnAna or lower than jnAna ( as mentioned by
Sri Tandon (I don't remember the name correctly) in
the hindunet discussion - for which Sri Mani answered
). 

Forgive me for my mistakes.

Jai Sriman Narayana
Maruthi Ramanuja Das



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