“Prahlada Maharaja said: My dear King, the source of my strength, of which you are asking, is also the source of yours. Indeed, the original source of all kinds of strength is one. He is not only your strength or mine, but the only strength for everyone. Without Him, no one can get any strength. Whether moving or not moving, superior or inferior, everyone, including Lord Brahma, is controlled by the strength of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.8.7)

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श्री-प्रह्राद उवाच
न केवलं मे भवतश् च राजन्
स वै बलं बलिनां चापरेषाम्
परे ’वरे ’मी स्थिर-जङ्गमा ये
ब्रह्मादयो येन वशं प्रणीताः

śrī-prahrāda uvāca
na kevalaṁ me bhavataś ca rājan
sa vai balaṁ balināṁ cāpareṣām
pare ’vare ’mī sthira-jaṅgamā ye
brahmādayo yena vaśaṁ praṇītāḥ

Within the school of Vedanta, there tends to be a dividing line in terms of the followers. One set falling on this particular side. The rest on the other side. The line of division is based on the ultimate conclusion, siddhanta. This is another way to define the word Vedanta. Vedanta is the anta of veda. It is the final word on knowledge.

One side has the ultimate conclusion of oneness. The Sanskrit word is advaita. This refers to a lack of division. The idea is that everything is Brahman. Me. You. Our friends. Our neighbors. The people who appeared in the past. Those set to take birth in the future. The cats, the dogs, and even the birds resting on the tree.

They are all Brahman, which is the spiritual energy. The issue is that we are unaware of our Brahman nature. We identify with the temporary body instead. This ignorance is the product of illusion, which is known as maya.

The subsequent effort derived from this particular conclusion of Vedanta is to remove the illusion and again become part of Brahman. It is a kind of merging. Losing identity, but entering the complete whole. Follow strict rules and regulations to help remove the toxic association of maya, which is standing in between me and liberation.

There are many scriptural statements supporting this conclusion. In Bhagavad-gita, Shri Krishna describes the avyakta-murtina. This is the impersonal form, which is everywhere. The light of Brahman spreads throughout the entire cosmic manifestation. Brahman is in everything, but everything is not in Brahman.

मया ततम् इदं सर्वं
जगद् अव्यक्त-मूर्तिना
मत्-स्थानि सर्व-भूतानि
न चाहं तेष्व् अवस्थितः

mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ
jagad avyakta-mūrtinā
mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni
na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ

“By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.4)

There is a similar description in Vishnu Purana. Fire may be in a single place, but its presence is felt throughout based on an extension due to dissipation. We see this in the heating of a home. The fire starts somewhere in the living room or the basement, but the whole house is heated in the process.

एक-देश-स्थितस्याग्नेर्
ज्योत्स्ना विस्तारिणी यथा
परस्य ब्रह्मणः शक्तिस्
तथेदम् अखिलṁ जगत्

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner
jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā
parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis
tathedam akhilaṁ jagat

“Everything that is manifested within this cosmic world is but the energy of the Supreme Lord. As fire emanating from one place diffuses its illumination and heat all around, so the Lord, although situated in one place in the spiritual world, manifests His different energies everywhere. Indeed, the whole cosmic creation is composed of different manifestations of His energy.” (Vishnu Purana, 1.22.52)

In the same way, the entire world is something like the body of the Divine. There really is no difference. We only think that there is separation. This is another effect of maya. In truth, everything and everyone is part and parcel of the Almighty.

The other side follows the conclusion of dvaita. This is division or duality. There is a God and there are others who are not God. God receives the worship. Everyone else provides the worship. That is the natural state of being. We have objects of worship precisely for this reason. We have an instructor like Shri Krishna because we require instruction. We are in illusion and Krishna is not. This is a difference. This is duality, or dvaita.

श्रीभगवानुवाच
मय्यावेश्य मनो ये मां नित्ययुक्ता उपासते
श्रद्धया परयोपेतास्ते मे युक्ततमा मता:

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
mayy āveśya mano ye māṁ
nitya-yuktā upāsate
śraddhayā parayopetās
te me yukta-tamā matāḥ

“The Blessed Lord said: He whose mind is fixed on My personal form, always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith, is considered by Me to be most perfect.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 12.2)

And so the two sides have their points of view. They have their statements from the Vedas they can use as support. They can argue their cases vehemently. They may have their respected authorities, as well, to further explain the viewpoint settled upon.

To help clear any confusion, we can look to a single incident that is well-documented in Bhagavata Purana. This incident involves the Divine appearance of the Supreme Lord in the amazing and unique avatara named Narasimha.

He is part man and part lion. He takes birth from a pillar. He has a specific intent. His hands can be considered deadly weapons. He is more powerful than the greatest wielder of authority at the time, the Daitya leader named Hiranyakashipu.

The appearance of Narasimha settles the confusion between the supposedly contradictory philosophies of advaita and dvaita. The son of Hiranyakashipu, Prahlada Maharaja, explains to the father that the source of strength in everyone is the same. This means that the Almighty, the highest Brahman, is responsible for both the ability to influence found in the father and the ability to defend found in the son.

Hiranyakashipu can attack and terrorize others because he has strength rooted in the Almighty. Prahlada, though only five years of age, can deflect such attacks because he has the same source of strength. Hiranyakashipu cannot understand this. He is against the concept of a God, after all. Prahlada must have some other trick that he is relying upon.

The presence of strength in both parties, having the same source, satisfies the philosophy of advaita. At the same time, Narasimhadeva appeared separately. As Goswami Tulsidas notes, though God is everywhere Narasimha did not appear from the heart of Hiranyakashipu. The janma for Narasimha is from a pillar.

This satisfies the philosophy of dvaita. Prahlada understands this simultaneous oneness and difference. He is therefore on the same level as Narasimha. Prahlada is empowered to a degree distinct from the father. He acts independently, but also while fully depending on the mercy of the Lord.

Hiranyakashipu is by constitution non-different from Narasimha, but he has chosen a different path. He mistakenly thinks there is separation. He thinks that he can act without satisfying a higher controller. Hiranyakashipu tries to act independently, and therefore his strength is limited. It cannot even overcome a five-year old, innocent child.

In Closing:

“The strength found in me,
The same in you to see.

Not as different to consider,
All by His will to deliver.”

Father not ready words to believe,
So vision of Narasimha to receive.

Harsh and with violence applying,
Defeated despite desperately trying.

Categories: mayavada

Tags: advaita, dvaita, hare krishna, mayavada, narasimha, poem, poems, poetry