My Message Forum (click to edit)

Please feel free to join the message forum discussions.

SATYA ADVAITA FORUM
Start a New Topic 
Author
Comment
THE ATHEOTHEISM OUTLOOK OF A VISHISTA ADVAITIST

Shantanu Panigrahi
Raghavendra Rao Pranams. I am sorry if I am confusing the issue between theism and atheism, bhakti and jnana margs if they are simultaneous in that bhakti is reliquished in the travel journey. As Vishista-advaitist I am what I described a decade ago as being an atheotheist. Atheotheism means that we have not found sufficient evidence for the rewards of bhakti, but we do not rule out that this may accrue to some sadhakas who are not Vishista-advaitist. We believe in a Creator but we do not believe in having a Personal God by choice having seen the limits of what this devotion brings to our lives in terms of material prosperity and knowledge and wisdom which are vital to enable one to live in society. We therefore subscribe to Brahman, which is all there is as Creation, and it goes its own way in the passage of time, unless someone can prove to me beyond reasonable doubt that Sri Krishna either as antaryami that you mentioned Vishnu to be dwells in our mind as Om to be source of all our truths that we can access through bhakti as if Vishnu is the doer and conveys the truths to us human beings, rather than we human beings by losing all our attachments through yoga clean our mind to become a mahatman who operate at the interface with Om as that intrinsic attribute of Brahman, this intrinsic attribute divulges the Nature of Brahman in being Brahma-Nature consisting of sattvic, rajasic and tamasic gunas. To be free and liberated and operating at the pin-pointed centre of the sphere of Realtiy that is the peak of rajasic path, we stay within Brahman and nonchalantly, spontaneously and unpremeditatedly acknowledge Sri Krishna as being our Creator God but not as Preserver God for a Personal God.

This is what my investigations over the past 23 years has led me to, and I have done considerable tooing and froing between bhakti and jnana to arrive yet again at this atheotheism that is the Vishista-advaita Vedanta conception.