 |
| Sri Sathya Sai in Prasanthi Campus Hostel |
Adi Shankaracharya’s Advaita
 |
| Sri Adi Shankaracharya (AD 788-820) |
Advaita is unity in diversity. He taught such unity. Why is it that the Advaita philosophy is not reigning supreme in the world? It is because what is preached is Advaita (Non dualism) and what is practised is Dvaita (Dualism). That Advaita religion lacks the edge. If oneness of everything is proclaimed, then why are these statements like, “Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya” (God is real, world is illusory) or “Sarvam Vishnu Mayam Jagat” (The world is pervaded by God)? As the dualistic path is made use of to teach Non-dualism, the Advaita philosophy becomes weak. There should be no differentiation of master and servant. Starting at a tender age, Adi Shankaracharya went around the country, debated with all and achieved victory for his doctrine. Shouldn’t there have been an element of desire in his heart, if he wanted to debate and conquer others? Desire as such is born out of duality. It is not a product of non-dualistic state. As a consequence of such an anomaly, Advaita was subjected to further discussion and debate and some others came up with new theories.
Ramanujacharya’s Visishtadvaita
 |
| Sri Ramanujacharya (AD 1017-1137) |
Ramanujacharya founded Visishtadvaita. What is Visishtadvaita? Beings and things are different but there is a unitary Divine aspect within all of them. So, Ramanujacharya emphasised on this aspect. When a thing exists, then naturally there is a complimentary thing also in existence. Reflection is seen only when there is an object. Resound is heard only when there is a sound. So there is a reality and there is its reflection and this was well explained by Ramanujacharya. His philosophy is that a human being can merge in God through effort.
There is a unique analogy for this, in milk. When milk is warmed and set, it congeals into curd. When curd is churned, butter emerges. Butter is clarified into ghee by heating. Now, where did the ghee come from? Butter is the source of ghee. Milk is the source of butter. Every drop, every molecule of milk has butter in it. But it is not perceptible. Only after due processing, does butter get formed. Here milk is non-dualism. The essence of the milk is butter. What remains is buttermilk. There is no butter in buttermilk and vice versa. Therefore, butter is as important as it is the quintessence of milk. We need not bother about buttermilk at all. Butter should be our focus. This was what Ramanujacharya enunciated as Visishtadvaita.
Madhvacharya’s Dvaita
 |
| Sri Madhvacharya (AD 1238-1317) |
Even this was not accepted as correct. Man is man and God is God. Man may experience God but cannot become one with Him. This was Madhvacharya’s Dvaita philosophy. He was an ardent devotee of Krishna. He always considered it right to treat Krishna to be different and separate from himself and enjoy this association with Krishna. If I become Krishna, I cannot experience and understand the joy of His sweetness. Krishna must remain as Krishna and me, His servant. I am the seeker and He is the giver. He is the hero and I, the heroine of this drama. Madhvacharya wished for such close relationship. He tried to associate whatever he did, with Krishna. ‘Krishna is everywhere, yet He is different from me’, was his concept. Even Purandaradasa spoke of this concept in his song, ‘Nanyeke Badawa, Nan Yake Paradesi’. “You are my progenitor, my mother and father; You are my friend. As long as You are there for me, I do not need others. I do not need the world. How can I be a stranger? How can I be a pauper? No, I am the wealthiest O Krishna! You alone are there for me. You be Yourself and I myself. We have the intimate bond, which is love. Love is the current. Just as the bulb glows when connected with current wire, I too need this wire of love between You and me. Let us never be disconnected. Who is the fountainhead of this world? You, of course. There is none other than You. You are the painter”, said he.
 |
| Purandara Das (AD 1484 - 1564) |
“Chitrambulu Trailokya Pavitrambulu” (the wonders of the world are magnificent and mysterious). Indeed how wonderful are the works of God! In India itself there are more than 80 crore people. Are there any two identical persons among them? No. There is so much dissimilarity. Who created such variety? Can any scientist do this? Even twins have dissimilarities somewhere in teeth or eyes. God can be the only painter of such myriad variety, none else. (Continuing with Purandaradasa’s song) “The tree that grew on the rocky hill – was it sown, watered and fertilised by anyone? None at all! It is You who nurtured the tree on the rocks. Who fixed the red beak on the green parrot? How well it matches! Who painted the dazzling colours of the peacock? How beautifully they shine! It is all your creation.” Today if something is painted, it looks artificial. God’s creation, on the other hand, is genuine. It is not possible for others to do it. “Who fed the frog born within a rock? Is it not You?” Thus, Madhvacharya described God as someone superior to himself. “God is the Master, I am His servant; God is the object and I am the reflection. God is the sound and I am the resound.” He made this kind of dualistic differentiation. He enjoyed infinite bliss and oneness in such duality itself.
The Essence of All Religions is the Same
Out of the three philosophies mentioned above, some liked one and some another. Thus came about the sects of Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva - a personal preference and choice of the people. These are only creations of the preachers. But any one individual as such did not create Hinduism. Hinduism is not proprietary to India. It is for the welfare of the entire mankind. That is why it is said ‘Hin’ stands for ‘Himsa’ (violence) and ‘Du’ stands for ‘Dooram’ (distance). The land that distances itself from violence is the Hindu-land. Ever since, till date, the Hindu religion seeks the well-being of all nations and welfare of all creatures. This is called the Sanatana Dharma, (‘The Eternal Faith’). Why? This is because, there is no founder for this religion, nor is there a date of origin; while other religions have a well-defined chronology. However, Hinduism made itself amenable to certain restrictions and regimentation. And because of these, this timeless faith is serviced till today and none could touch it. It only grows and never diminishes. It belongs to all countries. It applies equally to all humans. There should be no differentiation in the name of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and so on. If the names exist, let it be so. But students should never entertain any differences whatsoever. Respect all religions. Whatever is there in your religion is also there in the other religion. If you stick to your religion sincerely, there will be no necessity to criticise others, is it not? But today one calls himself Hindu but does not honour Hinduism. Those of Islam do not honour their religion. Christians do not honour their religion. Truly, the personal beliefs are undergoing drastic changes today. Islam implores us to treat fellow men as brothers and coexist. But do the Muslims follow this? Christianity teaches the heights of forbearance, saying, ‘If somebody slaps you on one cheek, show him the other cheek’. But today’s Christians are indulging in violence. They all talk very highly about their own religion, but do not practise what the religion teaches. It is good to respect and revere one’s own religion. It is also good to respect other religions. In case you are not inclined to respect other’s religion, stay indifferent. But, never criticise them. It is necessary for students of today to cultivate such broad mindedness. Today’s students are the future of India. Do not show any dislike or discrimination towards others and their religions, whosoever they may be. Understand that the essence of religions is one and the same. This is the Sanatana Dharma.
You all know that juice is extracted from several oranges. Some ripe, some unripe and some even spoilt. They mix the extracted juice well and have it as a soft drink. In this do you taste any particular type of orange? No. But when you take separately, the fruits may taste sweet, some bitter or rotten. When all are mixed up it tastes uniform. Similarly, all feelings are of kindness (Karuna). In that kindness, there are no separate feelings of hatred, sorrow and the like. When all such feelings mix together, we get Karuna (kindness). So there can be differences in the paths. But that does not affect the essence inherent in them. Will crooked sugarcane taste less sweet? It has the same juice. Similarly, your mindset may be crooked but the religion you follow has no faults in it.
Religions vary, the way is one.
Materials vary, matter is one.
Jewels vary, gold is one.
Colours of the cows vary, milk is one.
Species vary, life is one.
Races vary, birth is one.
You don’t find that one human is delivered from the mother’s womb and another drops from the sky! All are equal at birth.
Source: The Universal Religion, Discourse 16, My Dear Students Volume 2; Divine Discourse delivered on July 23, 1989 at Prasanthi Nilayam
No comments:
Post a Comment