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Re: Shiva and Vishnu
In article <3um2r2$r53@babbage.ece.uc.edu> Anshuman Pandey writes:
>This debate of whether Shiva or Vishnu is the greatest is absurd. Isn't
>it just a matter of faith?
Well, I don't know if I would call any legit search for knowledge absurd.
However, it is absurd in the sense that it's been going on for thousands
of years -- it's listed as such in the Bhagavatam 10th Canto -- and likely
won't be resolved to everyone's satisfaction on alt.hindu. While the point
of the debate is not absurd, the suggestion that it will be quickly resolved
herein is.
However, it's not just a matter of faith. We can find the answers in the
teachings of the previous acharyas and the Vedic literatures. We just
have to have a little bit of faith to start with.
>It seems that most of the quotes given by those pushing Vaisnava
>philosophy always put the word Visnu or Krsna in paranthesis after the
>word brahman or prajapati or some other supreme being appears.
As for the first, refer to Bhagavad Gita, where Arjuna declares "param
brahma param dhama pavitram paramam ..." etc. As for the second, note
that the name "prajapati" more accurately describes Lord Vishnu than
anyone else -- although in a lesser sense, it describes Daksa and other
progenitors, in another sense, it indicates Lord Brahma (the father of
Daksa, etc), but it more appropriately refers to Lord Vishnu, who is the
source of Lord Brahma. We see Lord Krishna reffered to as
"prapitamaha" (great-grand-father; Lord Brahma is often called
"pitamaha" or grandfather), "sarva-loka-mahesvara" (the controller of
all worlds; Lord Siva is sometimes called "mahesvara"), etc. in
Bhagavad Gita, "prajapati" [in addition to many other "pati" titles]
in Bhagavatam, etc. Similarly, "svayambhu" ("self-born" which often
refers to Lord Brahma, but more appropriately to Lord Vishnu) appears
in Vishnu Sahasranama, etc.
>Anshuman Pandey
-- Vijay
