Tasting Transcendental Bliss in Taveuni
We are spending three days on a remote Fijian island known as Taveuni. And even here on Taveuni we are in a remote place. After a arriving on a small propeller-driven airplane we landed on a very short landing strip which was just at the edge of the ocean. The terminal was small shed. There was no conveyor belt for the luggage. We claimed our luggage from a cart that had been wheeled the thirty yards from the airplane to the tiny shed. We were greeted with respectful obeisances by a contingent of Krishna's devotees who gave each of us (myself, Vishnupriya Mataji, and Jairama Prabhu) a flower garland. Finally after a grueling but beautiful drive along the bumpy often gravel road along the coast we arrived at our remote quarters.
It's so remote that there is no running water and no electricity. We are staying with a farmer and his family who are devotees. The house is very simple, practically no more than a tin shack, but the atmosphere is very, very sublime. You wouldn't believe the kirtan we had last night with a living room full of devotees from the surrounding area. It was enough to make you practically jump right out of your skin. (Yes, it was recorded and will be made available soon, if the recording came out okay.)
We are surrounded by a forest of wild growing fruit trees at the foot of a beautiful green mountain. The breezes blowing off of the Pacific are absolutely sublime, just as Krishna describes the Bhagavad-gita:
pavanah pavatam asmi
"Of purifiers I am the wind."
--Bhagavad-gita 10.31
The internet connection here is really bad. It's the worst I've seen anywhere in the world. (And I have seen a lot of them.) This morning so far I have tried to get on the internet four times and each time after 20 seconds I was disconnected. So there is no question of uploading any of the photos of the breathtaking beauty or the super-ecstatic Krishna consciousness activities. If you get this "Thought for the Day" today consider it to be by the mercy of Krishna.
Venugopal
I am not negating Shankarcarya's interpretation of the Vedas as distortion. Shankaracarya is an incarnation of Shiva. It is he himself who negates his interpretation of the Vedas as distortion. I am simply repeating what Shankaracarya has himself stated about his nirgunistic teachings.
Lord Shiva was ordered to incarnate as Shankaracarya and introduced a misinterpretation of the Vedic literatures that was similar to Buddhism for the purpose of defeating Buddhism and reintroducing Vedic culture back into India. Then, in keeping with the Lord's plan, other acharyas came who gradually presented the full and complete understanding of Vedic wisdom. That Shankaracarya (Lord Shiva) knew that his nirgunistic presentation of Vedic wisdom was misleading and incomplete is confirmed by his own statement to Goddess Durga as is quoted below from the Padma Purana:
mayavadam asac-chastram
pracchannam bauddham ucyate,
mayaiva vihitam devi
kalau brahmana-murtina
"[Lord Siva informed goddess Durga, the superintendent of the material world:] 'In the Age of Kali I take the form of a brahmana and explain the Vedas through false scriptures in an atheistic way, similar to Buddhist philosophy.'"
Therefore your statement, "This is not right.", is not right.
You are stating, "After all ultimate form of worship is formless Nirguna Brahman." But this is half-hen logic. Brahman is both saguna and nirguna (with qualities and without qualities). Why do you only want to worship half of Brahman? This is incomplete.
When it is said that Brahman is nirguna (without qualities), this means that Brahman is completely devoid of any material qualities. And when it is said that Brahman is saguna (with qualities), this means that Brahman is full of unlimited varieties of spiritual qualities. These two concepts are not contradictory. Brahman is simultaneously overflowing with oceans of spiritual qualities, and at the same time is completely devoid of all material qualities.
How can we understand this? Isn't a saintly person full of all saintly qualities and at the same time devoid of all type of sinful qualities? If it is possible for a human being to be with and without qualities, certainly God can simultaneously be with and without qualities.
Perhaps you are unaware of the philosophical synthesis of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The followers of the formless Nirguna Brahman hold to the philosophy of advaita (oneness.) And the followers of the Saguna Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth with form, hold to the philosophy of dvaita (two-ness). Sri Caitanya amalgamated both philosophies into what is the ultimate philosophical perfection, that the Supreme Absolute is simultaneously, inconceivably one and different. To take either half of Brahman only is incomplete. We should not be the like the farmer who only wanted the half of the hen that lays eggs and did not want the half of the hen which eats.
Half-hen logic kills the hen. Similarly to perceive only oneness or only duality is also incomplete. It is trying to put a limit on God. Those who have achieved the highest stage of spiritual enlightenment perceive the Absolute as simultaneously with spiritual form and without material form.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
It's so remote that there is no running water and no electricity. We are staying with a farmer and his family who are devotees. The house is very simple, practically no more than a tin shack, but the atmosphere is very, very sublime. You wouldn't believe the kirtan we had last night with a living room full of devotees from the surrounding area. It was enough to make you practically jump right out of your skin. (Yes, it was recorded and will be made available soon, if the recording came out okay.)
We are surrounded by a forest of wild growing fruit trees at the foot of a beautiful green mountain. The breezes blowing off of the Pacific are absolutely sublime, just as Krishna describes the Bhagavad-gita:
pavanah pavatam asmi
"Of purifiers I am the wind."
--Bhagavad-gita 10.31
The internet connection here is really bad. It's the worst I've seen anywhere in the world. (And I have seen a lot of them.) This morning so far I have tried to get on the internet four times and each time after 20 seconds I was disconnected. So there is no question of uploading any of the photos of the breathtaking beauty or the super-ecstatic Krishna consciousness activities. If you get this "Thought for the Day" today consider it to be by the mercy of Krishna.
Answers According to the Vedic Version
Question: Is God Formless?...
You have tried to negate Shankaracharya's interpretation of Veda as distortion. This is not right. After all, the ultimate form of worship is formless Nirguna Brahman. It is all about awareness and consciousness. The means can be any method. The Guru's guidance is to be followed.Venugopal
Answer: Simultaneously With and Without Form
You have nicely stated that the guru's guidance is to be followed. So why do then you argue with the Guru's guidance? You are contradicting your own words.I am not negating Shankarcarya's interpretation of the Vedas as distortion. Shankaracarya is an incarnation of Shiva. It is he himself who negates his interpretation of the Vedas as distortion. I am simply repeating what Shankaracarya has himself stated about his nirgunistic teachings.
Lord Shiva was ordered to incarnate as Shankaracarya and introduced a misinterpretation of the Vedic literatures that was similar to Buddhism for the purpose of defeating Buddhism and reintroducing Vedic culture back into India. Then, in keeping with the Lord's plan, other acharyas came who gradually presented the full and complete understanding of Vedic wisdom. That Shankaracarya (Lord Shiva) knew that his nirgunistic presentation of Vedic wisdom was misleading and incomplete is confirmed by his own statement to Goddess Durga as is quoted below from the Padma Purana:
mayavadam asac-chastram
pracchannam bauddham ucyate,
mayaiva vihitam devi
kalau brahmana-murtina
"[Lord Siva informed goddess Durga, the superintendent of the material world:] 'In the Age of Kali I take the form of a brahmana and explain the Vedas through false scriptures in an atheistic way, similar to Buddhist philosophy.'"
Therefore your statement, "This is not right.", is not right.
You are stating, "After all ultimate form of worship is formless Nirguna Brahman." But this is half-hen logic. Brahman is both saguna and nirguna (with qualities and without qualities). Why do you only want to worship half of Brahman? This is incomplete.
When it is said that Brahman is nirguna (without qualities), this means that Brahman is completely devoid of any material qualities. And when it is said that Brahman is saguna (with qualities), this means that Brahman is full of unlimited varieties of spiritual qualities. These two concepts are not contradictory. Brahman is simultaneously overflowing with oceans of spiritual qualities, and at the same time is completely devoid of all material qualities.
How can we understand this? Isn't a saintly person full of all saintly qualities and at the same time devoid of all type of sinful qualities? If it is possible for a human being to be with and without qualities, certainly God can simultaneously be with and without qualities.
Perhaps you are unaware of the philosophical synthesis of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The followers of the formless Nirguna Brahman hold to the philosophy of advaita (oneness.) And the followers of the Saguna Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth with form, hold to the philosophy of dvaita (two-ness). Sri Caitanya amalgamated both philosophies into what is the ultimate philosophical perfection, that the Supreme Absolute is simultaneously, inconceivably one and different. To take either half of Brahman only is incomplete. We should not be the like the farmer who only wanted the half of the hen that lays eggs and did not want the half of the hen which eats.
Half-hen logic kills the hen. Similarly to perceive only oneness or only duality is also incomplete. It is trying to put a limit on God. Those who have achieved the highest stage of spiritual enlightenment perceive the Absolute as simultaneously with spiritual form and without material form.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Comments
Post a Comment