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Re: Questions
>ntiwari@rs3.esm.vt.edu (N. Tiwari) wrote:
>
>Sankaran Jayanarayanan (Kartik@eng.auburn.edu) wrote:
>: -Question 2- TO THE ADVAITINS-
>
>: If the world is illusory, why practise anything at all?
>: Why renounce the world since that is illusory?
>: Why not just have a good time in this world instead of
>: practising religion, since they are all Maya anyway?
>
>Precisely, because the world is illusory. So, while you
>are killing your time in gambling, the ensuing happiness
>is also illusory. And since you cannot have a "good time"
>for all the times in this world, it better that you start
>aspiring for something more wise. Or else, sooner or later,
>the 'good times' may be very well replaced by "bad times.'
I'd like to add something here. There IS no need to do anything. IF you can
accept both good and bad with the SAME equanimity, there is absolutely no need
to do anything. In fact this state is precisely called 'realization'. Prime
examples of this kind are Dattatreya, Suka, Rishaba etc. In Avadhuta Gita Lord
Dattatreya says that a realized person may look as if he is enjoying himself
etc, but he preserves the same equanimity under ALL circumstances. He also
denounces all meditation, vedas, puranas, gurus etc as an illusion. However,
it is easy to preserve 'equanimity' when things are going right, but not
otherwise :-) (personal experience). So purification of the mind is necessary.
One can adopt various means - tantra, yoga, Vedic worship, Islam, Zen or
whatever catches one's fancy.
>: "Shiva is the lord of cosmic devastation. Sakti is the
>: goddess of the total material nature, or prakriti. Because
>: Shiva is very easily pleased, those who desire rapid
>: material advancement for little effort are especially
>: interested in worshiping him and Sakti."
>
>: But on reading your piece about Shiva, It seems as if the
>: ONLY aim of the worship of shiva is to have material
>: advancement(though you have not explicitly mentioned ONLY).
>: You have not touched upon the aspect of worship of Shiva
>: for reaching That Purusha.
>
>You yourself answered your question. It is in: "ONLY".
Well, as with all interpretations by these ISKCONites, this has to be taken
with all the salt in the Pacific ocean. Lord Krishna describes Shiva in the
Sahasranama (in Paadma purana) as "Jnana-prada". The meaning is quite obvious.
This interpretation by ISKCONites, IMO is just to gratify their own ego that
they are worshiping Vishnu, and for spiritual growth as opposed to material
growth. If you see the poems of the main Shaivite saints, they always pray for
knowledge, and destruction of their ego (Manickavachagar, Sambandar et. al).
Many of these poems are quite advaitic in nature, in fact.
Ramakrishnan.
