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ARTICLE : Shankara and Vaishnavism (was Re: ARTICLE : Just say no...)
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To: ghen@netcom.com
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Subject: ARTICLE : Shankara and Vaishnavism (was Re: ARTICLE : Just say no...)
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From: Sankar Jayanarayanan <kartik@Eng.Auburn.EDU>
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Date: Sun, 29 Sep 1996 17:29:55 -0500
Mani Varadarajan wrote:
> Sankaracarya, in his undisputed philosophical works, *invariably*
> equates saguNa brahman with nArAyaNa, vAsudeva, or hari.
I too have read in at least two books that Shankara favored Vaishnavism among
the many devotional paths. Mayeda, in his upadeshasahasri, says that Shankara
"tended toward Vaishnavism."
I believe that Narayana is the foremost among the Vedic deities,
(that's what my Guruji says) but that Shiva is a Self-realized person.
Especially his being dressed up as an ascetic, it somehow creates that feeling.
But it should be noted that in the Vishnu purana, Krishna tells Shiva,
"That which you are, that I also am. People see distinctions only due to
ignorance."
Moreover, in any of the puranic stories that I have read, Vishnu never offers a
boon to an asura. It is usually (-- always?) Brahma or Shiva who offer boons
to the likes of Hiranyakashipu or Ravana. Does anyone know of an instance when
Vishnu offered a boon to a devotee who is not in the saatvic mode? (My father
made this observation because he is a devotee of Rama and supports Vaishnavism
in many cases :-))
-Kartik
