punkdbass
I will be what I will be
Namaste,
So I've noticed that the verse in Bhagavad Gita 2:12 plays a major role in Ramanuja's philosophy. This verse, among others, is used to support the idea that there is an eternal difference between the individual Jiva and God. See Ramanuja believes in a form of "Realism" - that is, matter and soul are real things or attributes of God that exist eternally. Matter and Souls are NOT to be viewed ultimately as illusions, like in Advaita Vedanta, but rather these things are very real aspects of God. Secondly, this verse is used to support the idea that the individual Jiva, or living being, exists eternally. So basically the idea is that individual Jivas are attributes of God, and they exist eternally as unique entities.
Here is the verse, as well as some snippits from Ramanuja's commentary on the verse:
"There never was a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor any of these kings of men. Nor will there be any time in future when all of us shall cease to be"
So I've noticed that the verse in Bhagavad Gita 2:12 plays a major role in Ramanuja's philosophy. This verse, among others, is used to support the idea that there is an eternal difference between the individual Jiva and God. See Ramanuja believes in a form of "Realism" - that is, matter and soul are real things or attributes of God that exist eternally. Matter and Souls are NOT to be viewed ultimately as illusions, like in Advaita Vedanta, but rather these things are very real aspects of God. Secondly, this verse is used to support the idea that the individual Jiva, or living being, exists eternally. So basically the idea is that individual Jivas are attributes of God, and they exist eternally as unique entities.
Here is the verse, as well as some snippits from Ramanuja's commentary on the verse:
"There never was a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor any of these kings of men. Nor will there be any time in future when all of us shall cease to be"
- "The foregoing implies that the difference between the Lord, the sovereign over all, and the individual selves, [as well as] the differences among the individual selves themselves, are real. This has been declared by the Lord Himself. For different terms like "I", "you", "these", "all", and "we" have been used by the Lord while explaining the truth of eternality.."
- "As regards the theory of the Advaitins that the perception of difference is brought about by ignorance only and is not real, the Supreme Being - whose vision must be true... and who must thereby be always free from all ignorance and its effects - cannot possibly perceive the so-called differences arising from ignorance. It is therefore unimaginable that He engages himself in activities such as teaching, which can proceed only from such a perception of differences arising from ignorance." -- I think the point here is that if the 'difference' between God and living beings is merely an illusion or the result of ignorance, then it seems rather unfitting for God to propagate that ignorance by asserting the difference between himself and us with this verse.