7. Can Ignorance Affect God?
Mon, 02/04/2008 - 19:58 — admin
Ignorance – The Cause of Bodily Identification
TEACHER: Both the Mayavadis and the Vaishnavas agree that ignorance is the cause of false bodily identification. In essence, each of us is spirit soul, but due to being affected by maya (illusion), we lose sight of our real identities and mistakenly think the body to be the self. This theme, forgetting one’s real self, is woven throughout all of Shankara’s writings.1
Of course, as we discussed yesterday, the Vaishnava understanding of the self is quite different than that of the Mayavadi philosophers-but the Vaishnavas also recognize that the self within the body is influenced by ignorance, and therefore accepts the body as himself.2
So, as you can see, both Shankaracharya and the Vaishnavas accept ignorance to be the cause of false ego. But I’m afraid that is where the similarity ends. There is definitely a difference of opinion as to the nature of that ignorance, as to how it comes to affect the consciousness of the living beings, and also as to the limits or nonlimits of its strength.
MICHAEL: Shankara says the living being is God, but that He has become ignorant of His identity. How does he justify or explain this claim that God is ignorant?
TEACHER: Shankara’s explanation is very elaborate, but it is nonetheless a sore point in his philosophy. In fact, he has had to resort to contradictory statements in an attempt to justify his theory. After all, the question you have asked raises obvious contradictions, the most evident of these being, “How can God simultaneously be ignorant and all-knowing?” The Vedic shastras describe the Supreme Brahman as omniscient-He knows everything that is going on everywhere, past, present, and future.3 How is it, then, that He has become forgetful-how has He become such a fool that He has forgotten His own identity?
If a person engages in the process of bhakti yoga and yet continues to engage in activities that are detrimental to spiritual progress, his spiritual progress will be very slow. This does not mean that a person must be completely free of all bad habits before he can even begin the process of bhakti yoga. For example, in the Philippines, one teacher saved many young people who were addicted to heroin and other drugs by teaching them the process of bhakti yoga. It took some time before they could completely give up all drugs; but eventually they did.7. Can Ignorance Affect God?
Science of Identity Foundation – Siddhaswarupananda
Ignorance – The Cause of Bodily Identification
TEACHER: Both the Mayavadis and the Vaishnavas agree that ignorance is the cause of false bodily identification. In essence, each of us is spirit soul, but due to being affected by maya (illusion), we lose sight of our real identities and mistakenly think the body to be the self. This theme, forgetting one’s real self, is woven throughout all of Shankara’s writings.1
Of course, as we discussed yesterday, the Vaishnava understanding of the self is quite different than that of the Mayavadi philosophers-but the Vaishnavas also recognize that the self within the body is influenced by ignorance, and therefore accepts the body as himself.2
So, as you can see, both Shankaracharya and the Vaishnavas accept ignorance to be the cause of false ego. But I’m afraid that is where the similarity ends. There is definitely a difference of opinion as to the nature of that ignorance, as to how it comes to affect the consciousness of the living beings, and also as to the limits or nonlimits of its strength.
MICHAEL: Shankara says the living being is God, but that He has become ignorant of His identity. How does he justify or explain this claim that God is ignorant?
TEACHER: Shankara’s explanation is very elaborate, but it is nonetheless a sore point in his philosophy. In fact, he has had to resort to contradictory statements in an attempt to justify his theory. After all, the question you have asked raises obvious contradictions, the most evident of these being, “How can God simultaneously be ignorant and all-knowing?” The Vedic shastras describe the Supreme Brahman as omniscient-He knows everything that is going on everywhere, past, present, and future.3 How is it, then, that He has become forgetful-how has He become such a fool that He has forgotten His own identity?