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Re: REQUEST : GARUDA - info needed
Dinu Roman <inside@gate.net> writes:
> I am currently doing a research on GARUDA, the vehicle of the indian god
> VISHNU. I understand Garuda has a buddhist counterpart as the vehicle
> of Buddha Amoghasiddhi. It seems there is also a counterpart of Garuda
> in the Tibetan myuthology. Could you please help me to get more
> information on this topic (myths, legends, philosophical speculation,
> worship, practice, etc. related to Garuda).
> Thank you.
Garuda plays a prominent role in the Vedas and in Vaishnavism.
There are many stories told about him in the Vedas and Puranas.
Of particular interest is how he played a role in the rivalry
between his mother and her co-wife, the progenitor of all snakes,
and how he subsequently impressed Lord Vishnu enough to have
the latter chose him as his vehicle. These tales are colorfully
told in the Amar Chitra Katha children's picture book series.
Apart from these tales, however, Garuda is also a very important
religious and philosophical character in the personal devotions
of Vaisnava Vedantins. Perhaps more than anywhere else, he is honored
in the tradition of the 11th century philosopher-saint Ramanuja,
the founder of the Visistadvaita school of Vedanta philosophy.
In this tradition, Garuda is revered as one of the nitya-sUris,
those supreme seers of infinite consciousness described in the
Vedas as being in constant communion with the Supreme Lord.
Philosophically, Garuda is symbolically seen to represent
the Vedas themselves. Yamunacharya, the predecessor of Ramanuja,
describes Garuda explicitly as ``vedAtmA vihageSvara:'' --
the divine eagle who consitutes the Vedas. Being the embodiment of
these spiritual thoughts and sounds, it is but natural
that Vishnu (one of the principal names for the Supreme
Reality in Vedanta) is conveyed to mortal beings by
this great eagle. Just as the Vedas bring us to an
awareness of Vishnu the Supreme Brahman through their sounds,
Garuda, being His vehicle, brings Him to us.
Several poems in the Visistadvaita tradition are addressed
to Garuda. The best known are the garuDa daNDaka and
garuDa pancASat by Vedanta Desika (1268-1369), one of the
most illustrious and extraordinarily gifted followers of
Ramanuja.
Mani
P.S. I can email a rough translation of the Garuda Dandaka
to those who are interested.
