Isha Upanishad refutes Mayavada (Illusionism) by Shankara

[savithru]

Namaste,

Sri Aurobindo - Isha Upanishad

Unfortunately there has been a great deal of unnecessary confusion regarding the meaning of this Upanishad. Shankara is generally recognised as the most important commentator of the Isha Upanishad, but if all these conclusions are accepted, then Mayavada, the Illusionism of Shankara, sinks in the bottomless ocean. The founder of Mayavada is incomparable and immensely powerful among the philosophers. Just as thirsty Balaram brought to his feet the Yamuna unwilling to alter her course, by dragging and pulling her with a plough, so also Shankara, finding this Upanishad destroyer of Mayavada and standing across the path toward his destination, dragged and pulled the meaning till it agreed with his own opinion. One or two examples will suffice to show the miserable condition to which this Upanishad has been reduced by such treatment.

I completely agree with Aurobindo here Isha Upanishad when correctly interpreted from the traditional point of view clearly refutes the doctrine of illusionism propounded by Shankara.

Mayavada has resulted in a great loss of the ageless wisdom hidden in the Vedas which is our true mother and father it is important to remember that without the Vedas Upanishads would not have existed. When the mistake was done by our own commentaries what's the point in criticizing western scholars like Max Mueller, Griffith and Weber who translated the Vedas when her wisdom was already lost ages ago.

All Hindus need to wake up to this truth and take the concept of Ishvara (hiranyagarbha) in Advaita as seriously as nirguna Brahman. Pushan, Agni, Vayu, Mitra, Varuna, Indra, Rudra, Usha, Ashvinis, Yama they all literally exist in the womb of Hiranyagarbha and one has to go beyond Hiranyagarbha to know nirguna Brahman. If without Hiranyagarbha if you try to know Brahman you will only end up in a great darkness. This is the kind of Advaita which the Vedic rishis gave us. No more confusion please. Don't twist the doctrines of Vedas and the Upanishads just to make it look more intellectual and appealing to others, the doctrine and truth is far more important than the number of people following Advaita or Hinduism.

[silence_speaks]

Namasthe!



If Everything is Ishvara, and we conclude that this forum is ishvara ... thereby, we conclude ishvara changes ... since this forum changes!!

if ishvara changes .... ishvara becomes "Time Dependent" !!

So what are the changes we see ??

Love!
Silence

[savithru]

Namasthe!



If Everything is Ishvara, and we conclude that this forum is ishvara ... thereby, we conclude ishvara changes ... since this forum changes!!

if ishvara changes .... ishvara becomes "Time Dependent" !!

So what are the changes we see ??

Love!
Silence

Namasthe,



What changes is prakrithi not Ishvara, he is Purushottama means he resides in everything as the first verse of the Isha Upanishad says but he doesn't change even though he has associated himself with prakrithi, he is Gunatheetha means the three gunas of prakrithi like Sattva, Rajas and Thamas doesn't affect him like it affects us. He is Brahman in manifestation.

[silence_speaks]

Dear savithru,


So then, am I Ishvara or Prakriti ? or both ?

Love!
Silence

[savithru]

Dear savithru,


So then, am I Ishvara or Prakriti ? or both ?

Love!
Silence

Neither, You are the Purusha residing in Ishvara.

Isha Upanishad 16. O Fosterer, O sole Seer, O Ordainer, O illumining Sun, O power of the Father of creatures, marshal thy rays, draw together thy light; the Lustre which is thy most blessed form of all, that in Thee I behold. The Purusha there and there, He am I. (Sri Aurobindo)

[silence_speaks]

Dear savithru,
Namasthe!

I have a few questions:
1. Is Prakriti time dependent ? If so it dies !
2. Where in Prakriti is purusha ? Every atom, every minutest portion ? Is there any portion of Prakriti that does not contain purusha ?
what is the relationship between prakriti and purusha ?

Love!
Silence

[Kalicharan Tuvij]

Namaste,

I completely agree with Aurobindo here Isha Upanishad when correctly interpreted from the traditional point of view clearly refutes the doctrine of illusionism propounded by Shankara.

We will do well to remember that the tallest leaders of Dharma are our Rsis, not the acharya-s.

If Everything is Ishvara, and we conclude that this forum is ishvara ... thereby, we conclude ishvara changes ... since this forum changes!!

As per the Vedic understanding only Rudra counts as Ishvara. And one of the Avatara-s of Vishnu can also be seen as Ishvara (apart from being a Bhagwan).

All the Vedic Devi-s and Deva-s are Swayambhu-s (Self-Create). This is the most basic teaching of Arsha Dharma and if someone who doesn't know this by heart is not an Astika at all.

I have a few questions:

And I hope these questions are sincere ones and not rhetoric.

1. Is Prakriti time dependent ? If so it dies !

First, there is an unhealthy obsession with the matter and cause of creation and such and such. The correct attitude will be to observe and understand the reality unfolding in front of our very own eyes. Many say, "no, this is very mundane and boring" and then turn into nāstika- a rather honourable thing to do than start obsessing, speculating about grand problems of cosmic proportions.

Second, "Prakriti", "Purusha" are unVedic ideas (and non-Vedic words even), and somewhat sound too sexist to me. So, I don't know what are Prakriti, Purusha et all.

Finally, just to give an example (and not go to more basic premises), Rudra is called "Tryambaka" that is, "having three mothers". Not one, but three! This example is just to inform the reader that any of the Swayambhu-s, depending on the case, can be the progenitor, the seed, of All and everything else.

2. Where in Prakriti is purusha ? Every atom, every minutest portion ? Is there any portion of Prakriti that does not contain purusha ?
what is the relationship between prakriti and purusha ?

Again, I don't know what is prakriti and purusha. But I can give another example by saying "Indra is all pervading", "Varuna is all pervading", "Dhatar is all pervading", and so on.



KT


P.S.: pls note that the purpose of this post is educational, not polemical.