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Re: Siva as yogi?
Ken Stuart wrote:
>
> Of course, this post ignores all the OTHER scriptures.... :-)
>
> Which is understandable, since they are rejected by his sect, and it
> is appropriate for devotees to respect the decisions of their sect.
>
Which other scriptures? Please be specific.
I notice once again you are using the "his sect vs. my sect" approach,
something I found rather distasteful. I don't regard as a sect a religion
which appeals to people of all cultures and creeds. Perhaps you would care
to explain how a "sect" which has gained followers from the Christian,
Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, and countless other faiths
could be considered a 'sect.' I myself used to be a Smartha Shaivite. But
it was only now that I have given the Vedic/Vaishnava paradigm more
consideration that I actually accepted that there was a being called
Shiva. Prior to that, I was taught, as many Hindus were, that all the
Hindu 'gods' were simply myths to symbolize some impersonal Absolute
Truth. Frankly, I don't think this teaching is very respectful to the
devotees of *any* deity, since it is indirectly telling them that they are
worshipping some mythological concoctions. What say you?
I have noticed that there are some people who take offense at the
scriptural idea that Shiva is Vishnu's devotee, even though (strangely
enough) they themselves do not believe in Shiva. This is a kind of
hypocrisy. I for one have been interested in seeing if there are any
genuine Shiva bhaktas who do not subscribe to this impersonalist
philosophy, but sadly I have found none as of yet.
> However, note that Ram (an incarnation of Vishnu) was a devotee of
> Shiva.
Not according to Valmiki's Ramayanam (the original). The idea that Rama
became a devotee of Shiva is only found in later versions, such as the one
by Tulasidas. And even in that version, Rama became a Shiva bhakta only as
a point of etiquette: He wanted to gain Shiva's approval to kill his other
devotee Ravana.
>
> In the Shaivite scriptures, the word "Shiva" is used for all the same
> aspects of God that "Narayana" is used for in the Vaisnavite
> scriptures.
Again, which scriptures?
>
> A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.......
>
> Be seeing you,
>
likewise,
-- Krishna
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References:
- Siva as yogi?
- From: ms018c@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Matt Stanley)
- Re: Siva as yogi?
- From: Hari Krishna Susarla <susarla.krishna@studentserver1.swmed.edu>
