Re: Question about Brahma Samhita 5.45
Indeed. To whom is this element of adulteration / deluding energy added? I'm not all that comfortable with this position, which seems to indicate that nArAyaNa, though ordinarily faultless, can nevertheless be adulterated in one specific instance and then you get shiva.
Now, we could argue that there is no process of adulteration that takes place, but rather this seemingly linear succession of events is just the way to explain shiva's position vis-a-vis nArAyaNa, just as some people describe jIva-s as "reflections" of the paramAtmA. Still, I find it troubling on several levels:
1) It implies an "in between status" for this shiva, who is neither brahman nor a jIva, although no such category of conscious living entities is implied in the vedAnta as far as I know.
2) Or alternately it implies that shiva is also brahman, which is difficult to reconcile with many pramANas in the bhAgavatam which clearly refute that.
Philosoraptor
"Wise men speak because they have something to say. Fools speak because they have to say something." - Plato
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