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Posted by Harsh Nevatia Jun 13, 2008 |
The third quarter issue of Hinduism Today is out and as ever the content and presentation are excellent. I would like to react to some of the content. This is by no means a judgment on the views expressed by the learned writers; it is simply a statement of my experiences.
The first concerns the article from the Publisher’s Desk “Who is the Greatest God?” The article outlines four views on who is greater Vishnu or Shiva. Historically and academically this has been a pertinent question as explained by Satguru Veylanswamy. But in my interaction with Hindus (most of whom do not profess any academic or sectarian leanings) this question is non-existent. While each of them has their favorite deity, or ishta deva, they are not preoccupied with the position of prominence of their ishta deva. Whether they believe that all deities are manifestations of the same Supreme Being or they have equal respect for other viewpoints I do not know, because the issue has not come up. The issue has, however, been raised in several of the cyberspace forums I participate in and the threads have soon turned bitter, dogmatic and even abusive. It is very unfortunate that today vested interests are using religion to divide humanity. In such circumstances issues that divide are best ignored.
The long article on Madhavacharya “Difference Is Real” by Jeffrey Armstrong is a masterpiece. It details Madhavacharya’s argument that the difference between the jiv atma and the param atma is real as opposed to Shankaracharya’s argument that the difference is illusionary. (Advaita, Vishishta Advaita, Dvaita) As my writings demonstrate, I look for similarities and not differences. Therefore the best line in the article for me was “…Madhav and Shankar agree that liberating the soul from matter is the goal of Vedanta.”