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Re: Non-duality (part 2)
Thanks for your article, Parag. I've included my comments below.
> Subject: Re: Non-duality
> From: Parag Gupta <PXG111@PSUVM.PSU.EDU>
> But, to tell every Hindu he/she must do the same is blasphemy!! To tell
> every Hindu that he/she must not eat meat/fish/eggs and must leave their deitie
> s for Krishna is even more absurd.
The Vegetarianism part is addressed in part 1 of this set.
Then, about leaving all other deities and surrendering only to Krishna --
this is also not just some modern ISKCON idea. It is the word of the Bhagavad Gita.
"sarva dharmAn parityajya
mAm ekam` sharaNam` vraja
aham` tvAm` sarva-pApebhyo
mokShasyiShyAmi mA shucaH" || BG 18.66 ||
Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.
I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.
So, here the Lord is clearly indicating that one should separate
oneself from all the other dharmas that one accepts, such as
materialistic religions, false identification with the body, etc., and
just surrender unto Krishna, to become a Bhakta, as explained in the
verse above it.
"man-manA bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yAjI mAm` namaskuru
mAm evaiShyasi satyam` te
pratijAne priyo 'si me" || BG 18.65 ||
Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage
to Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because
you are My very dear friend.
The famous Sri Vaisnava leader Pillan, a cousin of Sri Ramanuja commented
on one verse of the Tiruvaymozhi [the Tamil Veda].
"What have you achieved by resorting to other gods from beginningless
time? Leave them and take refuge with the sacred feet of the
flourishing Lord!" (4.10.7, translation by Vasudha Narayanan). The
Lord mentioned in this verse is Narayana, the subject of the entire
Tiruvaymozhi. I believe this commentary was in the 12th Century, but
may be wrong (off by a century here or there) about this. So, these
ideas are nothing new in India.
The Srimad Bhagavatam makes it clearer how the devotee is to behave:
"dharmaH projjhita-kaitavo" (1.1.2) -- rejecting all materialistic conceptions
of religion.
"vAsudeva-parA vedA
vAsudeva-parA makhAH
vAsudeva-parA yogA
vAsudeva-parAH kriyAH" || SB 1.2.28 ||
"vAsudeva-param` jn~Anam`
vAsudeva-param` tapaH
vAsudeva-paro dharmo
vAsudeva-parA gatiH" || SB 1.2.29 ||
In the revealed scriptures, the ultimate object of knowledge is Sri
Krishna, the Personality of Godhead. The purpose of performing sacrifice
is to please Him. Yoga is for realizing Him. All fruitive activities are
ultimately rewarded by Him only. He is supreme knowledge, and all severe
austerities are performed to know Him. Religion [dharma] is rendering
loving service unto Him. He is the supreme goal of life.
"mumukShavo ghora-rUpAn
hitvA bhUta-patIn atha
nArAyaNa-kalAH-shAntA
bhajanti hy anasUyavaH" || SB 1.2.26 ||
Those who are serious about liberation are certainly nonenvious and they
respect all. Yet they reject the horrible and ghastly forms of the demigods
and worship only the all-blissful forms of Lord Visnu and His plenary
portions.
Here it is made clear that Vaisnavas _respect_, if not worship, all
the various deities mentioned in the Vedas. However, since they are
serious about liberation, they only look to Lord Visnu, since He is
Mukunda, the source of all liberation.
Actually, this is a key understanding -- ISKCON is not asking anyone
to ignore all the other deities; in fact, I know more than one ISKCON
member who, in addition to worshipping Lord Krishna, worships other
deities like Lord Ganesh and Lord Siva. However, the understanding is
there that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that
the others are His servants (ekala Ishvara kRShNa, Ara saba bhRtya).
For this reason, all these Vedic personalities _are_ worshippable, but
not independently so. This is the practice, for example at Jagannatha Puri,
where in addition to the huge temple of Lord Jagannath (Krishna), there
is a small temple of Lord Siva in the same complex. After an offering is
made to Krishna, the remnants of the food, flowers, etc. are then given
to Siva before being distributed. This is pleasing for Siva, for Krishna,
and for all the devotees.
This same understanding is more pronounced in schools like Madhva
sampradaya which _require_ members to worship other deities, but as
the servants of Krishna. In fact, before one can see Krishna at Udupi
(the headquarters of the Madhva sampradaya), one should first go see
Ananteshvara (Siva) at his nearby temple. Similarly in Vrindavan one
is asked to see Gopisvara (Siva). In fact, ISKCON payed for
renovations to a temple of Hamsa-vahan Mahadev in West Bengal, as this
is an important temple on the Nabadwip Parikram Path.
Yours,
Vijay
