Namaste folks,

I tried to understand just a basic outline of the tenets of Visishadvaita from several posts here, but my attempts were futile. The topics were too advanced for me, who was first looking for a very, very basic outline to start with. Hence with the help of several online resources, I tried to venture into this, the most important among them being this link here: http://srikrishnarpanam.blogspot.com...a-part-12.html which is an extract derived itself from referencing other sources on Visishtadvaita. I have given below what is given in this link in a very, very simple format.

In part 1 here, I would like to state my brief understanding of the nature of god as per Visishtadvaita and point out/ask any questions that may arise.

In subsequent posts (addressed in different parts), I would like to address nature of jeevatma, and the nature of 'Achit' which together, along with natue of 'god', constitute the 'Tattwa Thrayam' or '3 type of tattwas' according to Visishtadvaita.

GOD as per Visishadvaita:

1. God has Gunas - He has 'Soulabyam' - Simplicity, 'Vatsalyam' - He forgives our offences, 'Souseelyam' - He does not look at even a menial human as a 'menial one', he has 'Swamithvam' - as being our father, he takes the responsibility of protecting us and lastly he has 'Soulabyam' - he takes avataras amongst us humans in order to protect us, he mingles as one among us.

2. God can be represented by a symbol and has an abode. God is blemishless and the abode of all virtues (Kalyana gunams). Together, these two are represented by the property of Bhagvan having the ability to be represented by a symbol (of purity)(ubhayalinga vishishtan where lingam is the Symbol/Chinnam). Also, god has PROPERTIES, in the spiritual sense of the word - he has his eternal abode of Sri Vaikunta and the abode that gets destroyed during the great deluge - also known as 'Leela Vibhuti' - the world.

3. God can be represented by a FORM. He has a form. AND, most importantly within this form, he has 'bhedas' or differences. These differences amount to the nature of:

a. The difference within the same family - Within trees a banyan tree is different from a Coconut tree. Similarly though god and jeevatmas both carry 'jnana' or knowledge, the knowledge of god is different from the jeevatma.

b. The difference between two different families - God is as dissimilar to the insentient matter, as a mountain is different from a tree.

c. The difference within the same body - God has 3 different aspects to his form - of being the insentient matter, of being the instrument that causes the matter to manifest and of being the device(s) that would be helpful for the instrument to use the matter and create something. Just by the will of god, the insentient is put to use by the instrument via devices and the world is created.

4. God can be attained only by 'jnana' or knowledge combined with 'bhakti' or devotion. 'Bakthi roopa panna Janathale moksham' - As the jnana or knowledge about god ripens and ripens, devotion begins and at the culmination of one's deep devotion, moksha is attained.

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Question #1:

Can the 'Linga Visishtan Bhagavan' meaning 'Bhagvan has the property of being represented by a Symbol' explained in better terms?

Thanks,

Viraja