What Advaita means to me
I have just recently discovered this wonderful website where I may retain my identity and post my thoughts every so often. To start it off I thought I would post my thoughts on Advaita and how it affects my everyday life.
For those who are unaware of Advaita, or even never heard of the word, it is a branch of philosophy in Hinduism that forms the part of Vedanta, which means the end of the Veda's. Advaita is not something new nor is it in anyway different from Hinduism. Advaita is in fact a philosophy that was rediscovered or basically propagated by his Divine and God realized Adi Shankaracharya.
Adi Shankaracharya is one of those philosopher saints one does not find too often, if any at all. His charisma, intelligence, rationality and humility are what define him. Adi Shankaracharya taught the components of Advaita which teaches one that in the end the soul and God, in Sanskrit Brahman, is one and the same and it is up to us to realize that unity. Okay, that’s fine and good. However, I have given an oversimplified explanation and I will state this right now that I am not an expert on Hinduism, Advaita, or India, but I am posting my thoughts about what I believe it to be and what it means to me.
Okay so now you’re thinking, I am God, shouldn't I be able to perform miracles like God and have the same powers as God. The answer is no. According to Advaita I am God too, however I still do not have miraculous powers either. This is where realizing God comes in. Unlike Shankaracharya we have not realized God, and like every ardent spiritualistic achiever, we are trying to realize that Unity. God realization is accomplished by highly evolved souls and saints, so how does the common man like you and me begin the quest for the ultimate.
Advaita teaches that people can worship their chosen God which eventually leads them to realize the merging of the soul to God. Chosen God? Yes Chosen God! God, that’s a concept which has different interpretations from people of different cultures and religions. God that is the ultimate reality is presented in two forms the un-manifest and the manifest. The world we see is the manifest form of Brahman, and therefore all the Gods in the Hindu Pantheon are different representations of God. Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesh, Devi Durga, Devi Kali, Devi Saraswati, Devi Parvati, Devi Laxmi are all but representations of God. Which ever form appeals to you, by all means worship that form with sincerity and devotion without any contemplation of whether or not worshipping that form will send you to hell, according to religions like Islam and Christianity.
Advaita really appeals to me. I feel that Advaita can really help unify people who believe in different Gods (Non-Semitic Gods) and I have no trouble worshipping any Hindu/Pagan deity as they are all one and the same. To be honest, I worship different Gods on different Days, and I feel the same presence of the Diving no matter which God or Goddess, be it Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Ganesh or Zeus. Advaita has really helped me get my peace of mind; it allows me to discover the truth for myself. Advaita does not bind me to any doctrinal instructions, and I don’t have to fear hell fire just because I worship different Gods or Goddesses. I hope Advaita can help you find your peace of mind, I hope we can all realize Brahman one day.
Jai Laxmi-Narayana.
-Muski
For those who are unaware of Advaita, or even never heard of the word, it is a branch of philosophy in Hinduism that forms the part of Vedanta, which means the end of the Veda's. Advaita is not something new nor is it in anyway different from Hinduism. Advaita is in fact a philosophy that was rediscovered or basically propagated by his Divine and God realized Adi Shankaracharya.
Adi Shankaracharya is one of those philosopher saints one does not find too often, if any at all. His charisma, intelligence, rationality and humility are what define him. Adi Shankaracharya taught the components of Advaita which teaches one that in the end the soul and God, in Sanskrit Brahman, is one and the same and it is up to us to realize that unity. Okay, that’s fine and good. However, I have given an oversimplified explanation and I will state this right now that I am not an expert on Hinduism, Advaita, or India, but I am posting my thoughts about what I believe it to be and what it means to me.
Okay so now you’re thinking, I am God, shouldn't I be able to perform miracles like God and have the same powers as God. The answer is no. According to Advaita I am God too, however I still do not have miraculous powers either. This is where realizing God comes in. Unlike Shankaracharya we have not realized God, and like every ardent spiritualistic achiever, we are trying to realize that Unity. God realization is accomplished by highly evolved souls and saints, so how does the common man like you and me begin the quest for the ultimate.
Advaita teaches that people can worship their chosen God which eventually leads them to realize the merging of the soul to God. Chosen God? Yes Chosen God! God, that’s a concept which has different interpretations from people of different cultures and religions. God that is the ultimate reality is presented in two forms the un-manifest and the manifest. The world we see is the manifest form of Brahman, and therefore all the Gods in the Hindu Pantheon are different representations of God. Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesh, Devi Durga, Devi Kali, Devi Saraswati, Devi Parvati, Devi Laxmi are all but representations of God. Which ever form appeals to you, by all means worship that form with sincerity and devotion without any contemplation of whether or not worshipping that form will send you to hell, according to religions like Islam and Christianity.
Advaita really appeals to me. I feel that Advaita can really help unify people who believe in different Gods (Non-Semitic Gods) and I have no trouble worshipping any Hindu/Pagan deity as they are all one and the same. To be honest, I worship different Gods on different Days, and I feel the same presence of the Diving no matter which God or Goddess, be it Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Ganesh or Zeus. Advaita has really helped me get my peace of mind; it allows me to discover the truth for myself. Advaita does not bind me to any doctrinal instructions, and I don’t have to fear hell fire just because I worship different Gods or Goddesses. I hope Advaita can help you find your peace of mind, I hope we can all realize Brahman one day.
Jai Laxmi-Narayana.
-Muski
posted by Muski at 1:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home