Ishvara And Brahman

[Spirit Seeker]

Namaste all,

Only recent I have came across the concept of ishvara, the Inner Controller. To my understanding is just another name For God, Or Lord.

Is Ishvara the same as Brahman?

If Brahman is the totality of everything, wouldnt that include Ishvara too? As they are both seen as Supremely One?

I would like to learn more about Ishvara and its relationship with Brahman, or if they are really one and the same, and is just another name for God.

Thank you

[Jeffery D. Long]

Namaste!

Different Hindu schools of thought will tell you different things, or emphasize different nuances; but the basic picture, as I understand it, is that Brahman refers, as you say, to the totality of existence. Īśvara, often translated as God or Lord, is of course part of this totality, and a supremely important part. In the Viśiṣṭādvaita system of Vedānta, it is said that if we think of Brahman as a person, then Īśvara, who is the Paramātman, or Supreme Self, can be compared to the jīva, or "soul," of this person, and the countless souls (jīvas) of all other beings and the material universe (jagat) can be compared to this person's "body." This is why Swami Vivekananda refers to Īśvara as "the soul of our souls": a Supreme Being who dwells within all of us and upon whom the whole universe is strung, like pearls on a thread (Bhagavad Gītā 7:7).

Translating both Brahman and Īśvara as "God" sometimes leads to unfortunate misunderstandings, such as the idea that the realization that "I am Brahman" is some kind of egotistical self-glorification. We do not claim to be Īśvara, the creator, preserver, and energizer of the universe, but to be Brahman, a part or manifestation of the deep reality that has manifested as all beings (including Īśvara). One does find the idea in Śaivism that "Śivo'ham" ("I am Śiva"). But my understanding of this is that Śiva, in this context, refers to the universal consciousness–known in Vedānta as Brahman–whereas Īśvara is the supreme personal form of this consciousness. There are different aspects of Śiva (e.g. Sadāśiva), each of which has a different nuance and refers to a different facet of the universal existence.

In the Yoga system of Patañjali, Īśvara is very concisely distinguished from all other souls (the term used is puruṣa rather than jīva, but is the same basic concept) by the fact of having never been bound by the cycle of karma and rebirth. As an ever-free soul, Īśvara is therefore the best object of meditation (Īśvarapraṇidhāna), having always embodied the freedom that the Yogi seeks to realize.

There are many other views on this as well. This is simply my understanding.

[brahma jijnasa]

Namaste

Namaste all,

Only recent I have came across the concept of ishvara, the Inner Controller. To my understanding is just another name For God, Or Lord.

Is Ishvara the same as Brahman?

If Brahman is the totality of everything, wouldnt that include Ishvara too? As they are both seen as Supremely One?

I would like to learn more about Ishvara and its relationship with Brahman, or if they are really one and the same, and is just another name for God.

Thank you

Ishvara is just another name for God or The Supreme Lord, Lord Vishnu who is Supreme Brahman or we can just say Brahman.
Ishvara means "master, lord, God, the Supreme Being, the supreme soul".
Ishvara and Brahman are not two different things!

However there is one interesting point here when we talk about names of The Lord.
We can address The Lord as "God, The Lord, master, the supreme soul, etc" or in sanskrit equivalent Ishvara, Brahman, paramatma, etc, but the point is that it is better to address The Lord as Vishnu, Narayana, Krishna, etc, because these are His personal names.
It's more intimate to address The Lord with His personal names and it is said that by doing so we get a greater spiritual merit.
Thus vaishnavas usually chant mantras composed of the holy names of Lord Vishnu. They don't chant something like "Brahman, Brahman, Brahman, etc" or something like "paramatma, paramatma, paramatma, etc".

regards

[the sadhu]

Brahman is the spirit, Isvara is Brahmans personality/ego

[the sadhu]

Namaste all,

Only recent I have came across the concept of ishvara, the Inner Controller. To my understanding is just another name For God, Or Lord.

Is Ishvara the same as Brahman?

If Brahman is the totality of everything, wouldnt that include Ishvara too? As they are both seen as Supremely One?

I would like to learn more about Ishvara and its relationship with Brahman, or if they are really one and the same, and is just another name for God.

Thank you

From what I read by swami nikhilinanada in his introduction of the atma bodha, is that Brahman is Truth, but Isvara is Brahman dressed up with human ego.
So Brahman or God is the same to all, but because of ego, Christians pray to Jesus, shivites worship Shiva, iskon worships Krishna, and wiccans worship the moon goddess, the list goes on forever.
Isvara is the deity, Brahman is God.