Shuddhasattva
Well-Known Member
Oy, more neoadvaita.
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
Falldown theory isn't gaudiya, btw, it's an iskcon corruption.
However, I'll take a slightly different (non-traditional advaita, but traditional paradvaita) stance on this one: a liberated being may choose, of their own sovereign and perfect free will (svatantrya) to undergo rebirth in order to bring moksha to those who toil in samsara - or simply to delight in material manifestation, which far from being some sort of cosmic torture chamber from which escape is the only solution, may be redeemed as an eternal, true 'paradise,' non-exclusive from the unmanifest realms of pure consciousness.
When I ask mySelf what the best possible outcome for the universe is, the answer I get is "all patterns of matter, energy and information being arranged so as to give rise to the maximum number of sentient beings, each experiencing infinite bliss and consciousness." It need not be bad place.
andhaÌ tamaÕ praviÙanti ye'vidyÀmupÀsate,
tato bhÓya iva te tamo ya u vidyÀyÀÌ ratÀÕ.
Into a blind darkness they enter who follow after the Ignorance, they as if into a greater darkness who devote themselves to the Knowledge alone.
It is a fact that those who only worship the unmanifested and the impersonal go into a greater darkness. When there is a physical God to guide us to the truth why not worship and surrender ourselves to him?
...just because it's fun, just for the Lila of it all
Maya
Adi Shankara assumes that Creation is recreation or play of Ishvara. It is His nature, just as it is man's nature to breathe. Creating the world for any incentive slanders the wholeness and perfection of Ishvara. Creating the world for gaining something is against His perfection. Creating the world out of compassion is illogical, since the emotion of compassion cannot arise in a blank and void world in the beginning, when only Ishvara existed.
Advaita Vedanta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reincarnation breeds an attitude of complacency, "Nevermind, I will do it in my next lifetime" this creates lazy habits in your mind and basically you keep on going round and round the wheel of samsara. This is why the concept of reincarnation can be a hindrance, you must start your practice now, you must have a burning desire for liberation and put all your efforts towards liberation. It is possible to attain enlightenment in a single lifetime for the sincere seeker.
Relative reality is illusory in terms of Absolute reality, so if we speak absolutely, then nothing within reality re ishvara, jiva, world exists.
Falldown theory isn't gaudiya, btw, it's an iskcon corruption.
However, I'll take a slightly different (non-traditional advaita, but traditional paradvaita) stance on this one: a liberated being may choose, of their own sovereign and perfect free will (svatantrya) to undergo rebirth in order to bring moksha to those who toil in samsara - or simply to delight in material manifestation, which far from being some sort of cosmic torture chamber from which escape is the only solution, may be redeemed as an eternal, true 'paradise,' non-exclusive from the unmanifest realms of pure consciousness.
When I ask mySelf what the best possible outcome for the universe is, the answer I get is "all patterns of matter, energy and information being arranged so as to give rise to the maximum number of sentient beings, each experiencing infinite bliss and consciousness." It need not be bad place.
Falldown theory isn't gaudiya, btw, it's an iskcon corruption.
However, I'll take a slightly different (non-traditional advaita, but traditional paradvaita) stance on this one: a liberated being may choose, of their own sovereign and perfect free will (svatantrya) to undergo rebirth in order to bring moksha to those who toil in samsara - or simply to delight in material manifestation, which far from being some sort of cosmic torture chamber from which escape is the only solution, may be redeemed as an eternal, true 'paradise,' non-exclusive from the unmanifest realms of pure consciousness.
When I ask mySelf what the best possible outcome for the universe is, the answer I get is "all patterns of matter, energy and information being arranged so as to give rise to the maximum number of sentient beings, each experiencing infinite bliss and consciousness." It need not be bad place.
Excuse my ignorance, but Iskcon and gaudiya vaishnavism is not the same?
Hi DaneilR,
In Advaita there are two realities: Absolute reality and relative reality. Relative reality is illusory in terms of Absolute reality, so if we speak absolutely, then nothing within reality re ishvara, jiva, world exists. So an Advaitin who only accepts the real existence of the absolute reality treats ishva, jiva and world as practical realities. In the same for example we know Newtonian mechanics is actually wrong, but it serves a practical reality so we still use it in applications of everyday mechanics. Now, as long as you are Jiva, you will indeed experience the duality of ishvara and the world and you will indeed experience reincarnation as well. Some Advaitins make a concession to the relative reality by worshiping Ishvara for instance, despite the fact this is against our doctrine and even Krishna says not to worship his unmanfiest form or the Upanishads tell us not to worship the unmanifest. Worshiping Ishvara(Hiryangarbha) or cosmic intelligence is like worshiping your computer. Pure Advaitins do not worship Ishvara and do not believe in real existence of Jiva, free will and reincarnation. Pure Advaitins practice Jnana to end the illusion of relativity reality and attain liberation.
Have you noticed how some people claiming to be Advaitin start defending Ishvara worship and idol worship and literally become obsessed with it? They cease practicing Jnana and start practicing bhakti to ishvara.
Reincarnation breeds an attitude of complacency, "Nevermind, I will do it in my next lifetime" this creates lazy habits in your mind and basically you keep on going round and round the wheel of samsara. This is why the concept of reincarnation can be a hindrance, you must start your practice now, you must have a burning desire for liberation and put all your efforts towards liberation. It is possible to attain enlightenment in a single lifetime for the sincere seeker.
The word reality here is improper and misleading if not contextualized, but I could not really think of another word. In Advaita the only existent reality is Brahman who is Sat-Chit-Ananda. This is absolute reality(paramatika satyam) and the reality that is produced from Maya(which we falsely call matter) which produces Jiva and Ishvara, which then produce the rest of the world is the temporal pragmatic reality(vyavahrika satyam) but which is an illusion:In Advaita there are two realities? Worshiping Īśvara is against our doctrine? Pure Advaitins do not worship Īśvara? And they do not believe in the real existence of Jīva, free will, and reincarnation? Pure Advaitins practice (?) Jñāna?
It would be interesting to see you back this up with Śruti and Bhāśya.
Please cite a recognized Advaita text which says we should worship Ishvara?
That's your personal incredulity, do you know about Akhanda Upasana?
No Advaiti sees Ishvara as separate from himself. I and Hiranyagarbha are One.
Isn't the Bhagavad Gita an Advaita text, part of the Prasthānatrayī? The Bhagavad Gita speaks extensively on worshipping Ishvara.