Bhagavad kr^pa (grace of God)

sadananda sada at ANVIL.NRL.NAVY.MIL
Wed Jan 7 11:21:24 CST 1998


Vaidya wrote:
>
> I would like to give here an example that I guess is quite popular in
>regards to explaining the differnece between Saguna Brahman and Nirguna
>Brahman.
>
> Consider light. It has all the colours that exist. yet, the simple fact
>that the colours are all combined makes LIGHT colourless. Similarly, I
>consider the difference between Nirguna Brahman and Saguna Brahman is not
>a result of Maya. The fact that Brahman is embodied with all Gunas makes
>it Saguna and thus makes it Nirguna. They are one and the same; they are
>ever present in each other. So, saying that Divine mercy is required and
>appealing to Saguna Brahman is not an indicator of we being covered by
>maya. If members feel this point of view is wrong for specific reasons,
>kindly point it out.
>
As I understand:

While the example illustrates the unity to diversity, the difference
between the two is more than that.  The diversity of light is due to the
diffraction by the prism where the medium is involved, the diversity to
Brahman involves the distortion by the prism made of body, mind and
intellect, which are the product of maaya.  Hence prakRiti or maaya enters
here and the saguna Brahman becomes a Maayaavi, the wielder of maaya. Hence
saguan Brahman and maaya cannot be separated.

        maayantu prakRitim vidyaat mayinatu maheswaram,  is the Sruti.

Another way of looking at it is guna is the concept of the mind and
intellect.
Hence it is an intellectual concept. Thus no Gunaas in the deep sleep state
when the intellect is folded.

The Second concept is Saguna as Brahman involves only the auspicious
gunaas.  As Bhagavaan Ramaanuja calls Iswara not just as locus of saguna
but locus of sakala ananta kalyaana guna.

Since god cannot have durguna, in the diffraction of the beam the durgunaas
also are born, which are not there in the source,  out of the distortion of
mind-body-intellect prism.  The subsequent convergence should somehow
eliminate these durgunaas, while reinforcing all the sadgunaas to make it
into ananta kalyaana guna.

Brahman is beyond concepts and hence beyond the gunaas.  Nirguna, I like to
understand as not guna rahita but as gunaatiita.  Creation, creator and the
explanation of the two as by products of maaya are all concepts.

My understanding may not be different from yours, but emphasis may be
different.

Hari Om!
Sadananda




K. Sadananda
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