Vishnu Swami
Fri, 02/01/2008 - 15:05 — admin
Sri Adi Vishnu Swami is the founder of suddhadvaita siddhanta, or pure monotheism. This is to be distinguished from Shankara’s advaita siddhanta or exclusive monism in that it is by no means impersonal in conclusion.
Vishnu Swami does not identify the individual soul with the Supreme Soul, but neither does he consider the individual soul to be entirely independent. He describes the relationship between the two in terms of a metaphor. Just as minute sparks are related to the fire from which they emanate, similarly, the soul is related to the Supreme Soul. As a spark possesses the characteristics of the fire (i.e., heat and light) but can never become fire, so the individual soul never becomes the Supreme Soul, but possesses His characteristics to a minute degree. It is due to this qualitative similarity between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul that the shastras sometimes refer to the soul as Brahman (Supreme Truth) and other times as distinct from Brahman.6
The world is not false according to the philosophy of Vishnu Swami; it is real and eternal, being an activity of the Supreme Soul. The manifestation and dissolution of the world which is described in the scriptures doesn’t mean it ceases to exist, but merely means that it temporarily becomes unmanifested. The relationship between God and the world is compared to the relationship between golden ornaments and unformed gold. Just as gold itself does not undergo any change when shaped into ornaments, similarly, the Supreme Lord undergoes no change despite His activity of the cosmic manifestation.
The Supreme Lord is all-powerful and the controller of maya, but the individual soul, being infinitesimal and therefore of minute potency, can come under the influence of the deluding energy. The individual soul can get herself out of the entanglement of maya only through bhakti, i.e., unalloyed devotion.
Vishnu Swami reveres the transcendental form of the Supreme Person as being without material contamination and possessed of unlimited spiritual attributes. The liberated soul also has a purely spiritual body with which he serves the Supreme Person by assisting Him in His divine pastimes or lila. Thus, the worshipper and the worshipped coexist eternally and so does the worship, the bhakti, itself.
There are very few adherents of this school remaining today, unless we accept the claim of the Vallabhacharya Sampradaya, who differ in philosophical principle, to be the disciplic descendants of Vishnu Swami. 7
A famous football player in the United States who recently retired was discussing the particular event that made him decide to quit playing. He had been running with the football toward the goal, with two tacklers chasing him. As his legs started giving out, he thought, “Come on, you old legs — don’t give out on me now!” This is like a race car driver who talks to his car: “Keep on going, Betsy — don’t let me down now!” In other words, you use your body as a type of vehicle; but like all vehicles, it is bound to break down sooner or later.Vishnu Swami
Science of Identity Foundation – Siddhaswarupananda
Sri Adi Vishnu Swami is the founder of suddhadvaita siddhanta, or pure monotheism. This is to be distinguished from Shankara’s advaita siddhanta or exclusive monism in that it is by no means impersonal in conclusion.
Vishnu Swami does not identify the individual soul with the Supreme Soul, but neither does he consider the individual soul to be entirely independent. He describes the relationship between the two in terms of a metaphor. Just as minute sparks are related to the fire from which they emanate, similarly, the soul is related to the Supreme Soul. As a spark possesses the characteristics of the fire (i.e., heat and light) but can never become fire, so the individual soul never becomes the Supreme Soul, but possesses His characteristics to a minute degree. It is due to this qualitative similarity between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul that the shastras sometimes refer to the soul as Brahman (Supreme Truth) and other times as distinct from Brahman.6
The world is not false according to the philosophy of Vishnu Swami; it is real and eternal, being an activity of the Supreme Soul. The manifestation and dissolution of the world which is described in the scriptures doesn’t mean it ceases to exist, but merely means that it temporarily becomes unmanifested. The relationship between God and the world is compared to the relationship between golden ornaments and unformed gold. Just as gold itself does not undergo any change when shaped into ornaments, similarly, the Supreme Lord undergoes no change despite His activity of the cosmic manifestation.
The Supreme Lord is all-powerful and the controller of maya, but the individual soul, being infinitesimal and therefore of minute potency, can come under the influence of the deluding energy. The individual soul can get herself out of the entanglement of maya only through bhakti, i.e., unalloyed devotion.
Vishnu Swami reveres the transcendental form of the Supreme Person as being without material contamination and possessed of unlimited spiritual attributes. The liberated soul also has a purely spiritual body with which he serves the Supreme Person by assisting Him in His divine pastimes or lila. Thus, the worshipper and the worshipped coexist eternally and so does the worship, the bhakti, itself.
There are very few adherents of this school remaining today, unless we accept the claim of the Vallabhacharya Sampradaya, who differ in philosophical principle, to be the disciplic descendants of Vishnu Swami. 7