Respected Swamins/Bhagavathas, Some days back there was a query from one of the members to clarify whether Brahman is identified with Lord Narayana, whether there is any authority to state that Vaikunta is His abode. I have attempted to answer the queries. Brahman is the ultimate reality which evolves itself as this world. Brahman isthat which spontaneously bursts forth as nature and it is also the ultimate cause 0f this universe. This is accepted by all the aasthika schools of philosophy. In Vaishnava philosophy as propounded by Sri Ramanuja Brahman is identified with Lord Narayana. The following is available in Narayana sooktham which is recited as part of Purusha Sooktham . naaraayanaparamm brahmatattvam, naaraayanahparah..... He is param jothi, He is paramaatma, and so on. sa brahma, sa shivaha, saeindrah, paramah swaraat and so on. This is established in Varahapuranam, Ramayanam, Mahabharatham, Vishnupuranam, BhagavathGita, Harivamsam, Bhagavatham etc. Sage Vyasa has said in sahastranama sataam, satyam, punahsatyam, udhruthya bhujamuchhyathe vedaat shastram param naasti, na deivam kesaavath param. All the above are accepted as pramanams or authority. Vaikuntam is described in Kaushitaki upanishad. Sri Ramanuja has followed this in his Vaikunta Gadyam Brahman is described as Nirguna in the Upanishads. Sri Ramanuja says Nirguna means without bad qualities. So we say Lord Narayana is endowed with all auspicious qualities. This is available in the Vedas. Sri Ramanuja fuses the immanent Upanishadic Absolute withthe transcendent God of the Panchantra or Bhavatha theism. God as the perfect personality is devoid of all demerits and possesses all merits. He has His consort Lakshmi, the symbol of power and mercy. He is called Naaraayana or Vaasudeva. He lives in His citadel Vaikunta which is made of Suddha satthva or Nitya vibhuti. His qualities like knowledge, power, and mercy etc are eternal, infinite, numberless, unlimited, undefiled, and matchless.(Tattva-traya) (pancharaathram is accepted as pramanam or authority). I may be excused if I have wounded the feelings of anybody or if my information is imperfect or based on ignorance. Adiyen, T S Rajagopalan. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
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