Advaita in the Vishnu Purana?
Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian
>I came across a translation of the Vishnu Purana and found therein
>an episode which was very, very much like Advaita in its pristine form.
>No wonder Adi Sankara referred to it.
>
>The story is so beautiful that it's not possible to be unmoved by it
>spiritually...
>
>I'm referring to the Book 2, Chapter 14 of the Vishnu Purana...
Thanks for sharing the story with us and taking the time to type out the story
for us. It's a story which Ramana Maharishi used to tell to his devotees to
make the point that Jnanis may even look like madmen, but one should not think
low of them for that reason.
>Book 2, Chapter 15
>
>Parasara continued," Having terminated these remarks, the Brahman repeated
>to the silent and meditating prince a tale illustrative of the doctrines
>of Unity. "Listen, prince, to what was formerly uttered by Ribhu, imparting
>holy knowledge to the Brahman Nidagha..." ...
>
Ribhu Gita contains the discourses between Ribhu and Nidagha (the one mentioned
above). It is an Advaitic classic. The Ribhu Gita is in the Skanda Purana. If
Parasara had access to the internet and had read srh he would have known the
supreme concept of "tamasic" puranas and read the Bhagavatam instead. Readers
may remember that the Skanda Purana is tamasic, as was pointed out by an
enlightening post to the srh. Instead, unfortunately our man followed Ribhu and
is presently languishing in the "planet of the faithless". This itself shows
how important the internet is.
I hope Parasara receives a second chance and will come upon enlightening Dvaitin
www pages which are known for their historical accuracy and profound
interpretations (especially ISKCON's pages). When he reads in the srh archives
about what fate Advaitins have to suffer (viz. being dismissed to the "planet
of the faithless") he'll of course be scared out of his wits, become a dvaitin
and hence be saved.
Ramakrishnan.
--
Two monks were arguing about a flag. One said, "The flag is moving." The other
said, "The wind is moving." The sixth patriarch happened to be passing by. He
told them, "Not the wind, not the flag; mind is moving." - The Gateless Gate
--
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Giri
>Sankar Jayanarayanan <kar...@Eng.Auburn.EDU> wrote:
>>I came across a translation of the Vishnu Purana and found therein
>>an episode which was very, very much like Advaita in its pristine form.
>>No wonder Adi Sankara referred to it.
>>
>>The story is so beautiful that it's not possible to be unmoved by it
>>spiritually...
>>
>>I'm referring to the Book 2, Chapter 14 of the Vishnu Purana...
>Thanks for sharing the story with us and taking the time to type out the story
>for us. It's a story which Ramana Maharishi used to tell to his devotees to
>make the point that Jnanis may even look like madmen, but one should not think
>low of them for that reason.
I also wish to thank Kartik for taking the time to type the
story. Just a very minor correction, the story of Bharata runs from
Book 2, chapter 13 to book 2, chapter 15 of the vishhNu purANa.
[snipped]
>Ribhu Gita contains the discourses between Ribhu and Nidagha (the one mentioned
>above). It is an Advaitic classic. The Ribhu Gita is in the Skanda Purana. If
>Parasara had access to the internet and had read srh he would have known the
>supreme concept of "tamasic" puranas and read the Bhagavatam instead. Readers
>may remember that the Skanda Purana is tamasic, as was pointed out by an
>enlightening post to the srh. Instead, unfortunately our man followed Ribhu and
>is presently languishing in the "planet of the faithless". This itself shows
>how important the internet is.
[snipped]
>Ramakrishnan.
ribhu gItA is a classic. I just came across a translation by
the Ramana Maharishi's organization [SAT] and it was great and would
recommend it to everyone who is interested in Advaita.
I think Mr. Ramakrishnan is mistaken when he remarks that Ribhu
and others are LANGUISHING in the "planet of the faithless". Let us see the
inhabitants of the planet. FEW of them are
Gaudapada, Govinda {guru of Adi Shankara},
all the disciples of Shankara, the complete lineage of shankara-achrayas
of various maTh-s, Ramana Maharishi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, and last, but
not the least, my guru. I would call this great company to be in and is
certainly better than the "planet earth" and I certainly would not
LANGUISH in their company.
Ramakrishnan, hope to see you there too, make sure to reserve
a seat for me :-)
Giri
--
{I don't speak for anyone, much less myself}
http://www.geopages.com/RodeoDrive/1415 <---> Yoga and Spirituality page
Brahma Satyam, Jagat Mithya, Jivo Brahmaiva Na Parah. - Shankara
'I want to know God's thoughts, the rest are details' -- Albert Einstein
Giri
of the slokas can be found in
ftp://jaguar.cs.utah.edu/private/sanskrit/sanskrit.html.
and can be printed in both English and Devangari script in Sanskrit.
A prelude to this is the Lalitaa sahasranaama and Lalitaa
Trishati. Lalitaa sahasranaama, slokas, introduction can be found in
postscript format at the above site and in html format at
http://www.geopages.com/RodeoDrive/1415/lalita.html. Lalitaa trishati
is currently being prepared by Shrii Ramakrishnan.
Please send all corrections, suggestions and opinions to me.
Thanks very much.
Giri
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Before i begin, let me offer myself at the feet of
the Divine Mother, shriimat mahaatripurasundarii.
This introduction deals with the background on the name of
tripurasundarii. It is one of the best epithets to describe the Devi
meaning that she is the belle of all the three worlds. The word tripura
can be interpreted variously. The kaalikaa purANa says that by the will of
pradhaana, the body of Lord Shiva became triple : the upper part became
Brahma, the middle part became VishhNu and the lower part became Rudra. As
these three pura-s (bodies) are in Lord Shiva, he is called Tripura (three
bodied) and his wife is known as tripuraa. In the kaamakalaa vilaasa
(13,14), the honored sage, abhiyukta, mentions that Devi created all the
three forms and she is before all (purobhava), because she is in the form
of all the three (trayiimayi) and exists even after the disolution of the
three worlds and recreates them again. In the brahmANDa-purANa, it is
mentioned that the Goddess tripurasundarii rules over the entire universe
and She is the supreme empress, and Brahma, VishhNu and Shiva are mere
functionaries in her empire. The Lalitaa Sahasranaama [verse 123] portrays
Her as being attended by Lakshmi and Saraswati on either side. Shrimad.h
Shankaracharya, in his Saundrayalahirii, mentions that Brahma, VishhNu and
Shiva started their cosmic processes when the Supreme Shakti knitted Her
brow for a split second.
The Devi mantra consists of three syllables, and her fifteen
lettered mantra panchadashaakshari is composed of three kuuTa-s (peaks).
She resides in three naaDi-s (nerve channels), namely sushhumnaa,
pingalaa, and iDaa. She is the ruler of the three Shaktis - ichchha
(will), kRiya (action), and GYAna (knowledge). She pervades all the three
worlds - heaven, earth and the nether world. She is the controller of all
the three bodies - sthUla (gross), suukshhma (subtle), and kaaraNa
(causal). She is the self which is present through the three states of
existence - jaagrat (waking), svapna (dream), and sushhupti (deep sleep).
Though she is above all guNa-s, She pervades the three modes of energy-
sattva (purity), rajas (mobility) and tamas (inertia).
Love and joy are the inherent qualities of beauty. Sundarii means
belle and beauty. Shankaracharya, while explaining Chandogya upanishhad 7,
31:1, mentions that all longing and desire is a source of pain, and in
what is finite there is no bliss. He mentions that the Infinite alone can
produce bliss. When bliss takes on a form, it is sundarii sarvaa.nga
sundarii (lalitaa trishati, verse 130) and Shankara comments on this name
of the Devi as the one who possesses all the marks of beauty and has all
the qualities of perfection and is thus the source of Bliss.
May the Divine Mother guide us in our every action and thought, and may
She confer upon us the greatest gift of all, moksha (liberation).
AUM tat sat.
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kadambavanachaariNiiM munikadamba kaadambiniiM
nitambajita bhuudharaaM suranitambiniisevitaam.h .
navaamburuhalochanaaM abhinavaambudashyaamalaaM
trilochanakuTumbiniiM tripurasundariimaashraye .. 1..
kadambavanavaasiniiM kanakavallakiidhaariNiiM
mahaaha.rmaNihaariNIM mukhasamullasadvaaruNIm.h .
dayaavibhavakaariNIM vishadalochanIM chaariNIM
trilochanakuTumbiniiM tripurasundariimaashraye .. 2..
kadambavanashaalayaa kuchabharollasanmaalayaa
kuchopamitashailayaa gurukR^ipaalasadvolayaa .
madaaruNa kapolayaa madhura giita vaachaalayaa
kayaa.api ghananiilayaa kavachita vayaM liilayaa .. 3..
kadambavanamadhyagaaM kanakamaNDalopasthitaaM
shhaDamburuhavaasiniiM satatasiddhasaudaaminiim.h .
viDambitajapaaruchiM vikachachaMdrachuuDaamaNiM
trilochanakuTumbinIM tripurasundariimaashraye .. 4..
kuchaaJNchitavipaJNchikaaM kuTilakuntalaalaMkR^itaaM
kusheshayanivaasinIM kuTilachittavidvoshhiNIm.h .
madaaruNavilochanaaM manasijaarisaMmohinIM
mataN^gamunikanyakaaM madhurubhaashhiNImaashraye .. 5..
smaraprathamapushhpiNIM rudhirabinduniilaambaraaM
gR^ihiitamadhupaatrikaaM madaviDhaNa.rnetraaJNchalaaM .
ghanastanabharonnataaM galitachUlikAM shayaamalaaM
trilochanakuTuMbiniiM tripurasundariimaashraye .. 6..
sakuN^akumavilepanaaM alakachuMbikastuurikaaM
samandahasitekshaNAM sasharachaapapaashaaN^akushaam.h .
asheshhajanamohinIM aruNamaalya bhuushhambaraaM
japaakusumabhaasuraaM japavidhau smaraamyambikaam.h .. 7..
pura.ndarapura.ndhrikaaM chikurabandhasairaMdhrikaaM
pitaamaha pativrataaM paTapaTiira chachaa.r{}rataam.h .
mukundaramaNImaNI lasadalaMkriyaakaariNIM
bhajaami bhuvanaaMbikaaM suravadhuuTikaacheTikaam.h .. 8..
.. iti shriimad.h sha.nkaraachaaryavirachitaM tripura sundarii
ashhTakaM samaaptaM ..