SrI: SrImatE nArAyaNa yateendra mahAdESikAya namaH namO nArAyaNa! Dear members, I am posting this article to explain the tenets of SrI VaishNavism regarding this issue again, since some views of Neo-Advaitins like SrI RAmakrishNa, the master of SrI VivEkAnanda, which are not supported by SAstras were posted earlier : Lord NArAyaNa is as such an aatma ("spirit" as used by some), and is all-pervading ie.vibhu. Hence He is omni-present. But, He while seated as Para-VAsudEva at SrI VaikuNTham also descends to the material world with His divine suddha-sattva form for the pleasure of His devotees + lOka-kshEmam {thru upadEsam of SAstras etc}. One such avatAram is the archA-avatAram, which is for the devotees to have very easy direct loving reciprocation with Him, serve Him, develop bhakti / perform Prapatti etc. It is through this avatAram that Lord directly makes Himself available to His devotees. The archa-avatAram is the object of worship which is non-different from Para-VAsudEva at SrI VaikuNTham. As explained earlier, a picture/photo/doll etc representing Lord is not archa-avatAram due to the lack of consecration as per Aagama SAstras. However, since it resembles Lord as He is in other avatArams, the pictures etc are very sacred and devotees gets the oppurtunity to meditate/reciprocate lovingly with thoughts filled upon Lord SrIman NArAyaNa. There are many specific ways of performing worship to Archa-avatArams - Be it either as SAlagrAma Or Vigraha. Lord's Form is made up of Suddha-Sattva and not merely made of materialistic substances like clay. Suddha-Sattva material as such is highly luminous - the radiation of light from Lord's thirumEni (divine form) is described very well in various Scriptures. But many do not see this luminosity from the thirumEni of Lord in archA-avatAram because, its finally Lord who makes a person to see His divine Form completely, based upon the qualifications {in terms of bhakti} present in that devotee. While the likes of AzhwArs were able to cognize the suddha-sattva thirumEni of Lord with its multitude splendour, the likes of me can only cognize whatever Lord chooses to reveal. The ardent devotees of Lord would have certainly experienced the splendor of Lord's form during His vibhava-avatAras like that of RAma and KrishNa, while the likes of DuryOdhana could never experience it. ParamAtma, who is characterized by Satyatvam,jn~Anatvam,anantatvam etc {Which is also called as Divya-Aatma-Swaroopam <DAS>}, eternally has a form as at SrI-VaikuNTham. Those who claim that they meditate upon God without His divine form, should actually be meditating upon DAS characterized by Satyatvam etc. But, its almost an impossibility, especially for the people of this progressing kali-yuga. The penultimate chapter of SrI VishNu PurANam describes the various stages of bhakti yOga, wherein the yOgi starts with the meditation of PerumAL <DAS> alongwith divine body + ornaments + weapons, and slowly reduces one by one {weapons, ornaments etc} in the focus of meditation and finally attains the *sAkshAtkAram* {realization} of the divyAtma-swaroopam as "satyam,jn~Anam,anantam,nirmalam etc" without the divine body. Only at this stage of Bhakti Yoga, can one claim that he sees God everywhere. Then, the yOgi can finish the upAsana of his liking from the Upanishads and attain moksham - eternal Bhagavad anubhavam and kai~nkaryam to the Divya-Dampati. But, even the performance of jn~Ana yOga is almost impossible these days {not for merely ordinary people; To also those who are well versed in SAstras, VairAgya,bhakti etc}. While one can know that God is everywhere because of the teachings by SAstras, its extremly difficult to meditate upon and that too to attain the SAkshAtkAra {Full realization}. The pre-requisite for meditating upon the "infinite" Lord is the "SAkshAtkAram" upon the finite JIvAtma, which is also "jn~AnAnanda" in its swaroopa like Lord. The twin disciplines of karma-jn~Ana yOga should appropriately be practised to perfection to meditate upon JIvAtma and attain its sAkshAtkAram. The intermediete step involved in this process is the continuous meditation upon Lord's Divya-ma~ngaLa-vigraha {Divine Form made of Suddha-Sattva}, which burns the sins that obstruct the yOgi from attaining JIvAtma SAkshAtkAram {For more details, refer Bhagavad GIta} - Here, the focus is not upon the meditation upon DAS, but on the thirumEni of Lord, which by itself is "SubhAshrayam". Only after attaining JIvAtma SAkshAtkAram,which is beyond the reach of almost everyone at present, can one start the process of bhakti-yoga. Its just a fancy, if one claims that he is meditating upon God without Form, while he has no idea of what is meditating upon "jn~Anatvam", "anantatvam" etc aspects of God - While for that matter, he would not see even Lord's thirumEni will its multitude splendour in the first case. -------- Lord is always personal because of His infinite kalyAna guNAs. Just because Either He is all pervading Or He is different from His Divine Form, it does not mean that He is impersonal. The infinite qualities like mercy, easy accesibility to devotees etc of Lord NArAyaNA are different from the qualities of His form like fragrance of His body, shape of His eyes, ears etc. Some refer to Lord NArAyaNA alongwith His suddha sattva body as "Personal God", and while referring Him (DAS) directly, they use he terminology "impersonal" (ie. referring to Lord alone, and not along with His suddha sattva body). But, some refer to the "nirvisEsha Brahman" (attributeless Brahman) of advaitins also as Brahman, which is impersonal. So, this may cause some terminology confusion; but from the context, one can understand what the author is trying to explain. It is also to be noted that meditation on DAS ie. Lord NArAyaNa which is characterized by many attributes is completely different from the theory proposed by mAyAvAdins regarding the meditation on Brahman which is nirviSEsha (attributeless ) . ------ Teaching SAstras unto others is not at all a forbidden act in SAstras. On the contrary it is regarded as the highest form of service to the human kind and also Lord {Refer Bhagavad GIta's conclusion by Lord KrishNa <18.68-69> wherein such a person is regarded as the most dearmost / One who performs best service unto Him ; Refer PradhAna Satakam of SrI VEdAnta DESika in declaring this as the most important form of service of Lord etc}. But, only the issues like the qualifications of one who is teaching and the one who is being taught, the subject matter which is taught, the mind-set with which it is being taught etc are the issues that needs to be taken care off appropriately. AzhwAr, yemperumAnAr, dESikan thiruvaDigaLE SaraNam aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan, anantapadmanAbhan KrushNArpaNam.
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