LoveroftheBhagavata

Well, who's erecting the planned edifice, and are there any links where one can obtain additional information about this?

Again, you're presuming that Devi worshippers are materially motivated, which may be true in some but by no means all cases. Just for your information, Theistji, I spent nearly a decade and a half in Gaudiya Vaishnavism before reverting to a more traditional, generic variation of Vedic dharma, and whether you agree with me or not, the essence of all paths is basically the same, regardless of the varying dynamics and differential methodolodies. Of course, many Vaishnava acharyas would argue otherwise, but it is for this good reason that the personalistic cults are usually labelled as sectarian. This parochial mentality does not invalidate the inherent transformative faculties of the tradition in question, and believe it or not, I still hold Vaishnavism in great regard, even though I no longer buy into the exclusivist claims of some of its adherents. I am pretty sure that you will not see eye to eye with me on this one, but it nevertheless is the truth. And I know enough about the metaphysics that you count yourself as a votary of to know that, as one advances in Bhakti, the emphasis is increasingly on Radharani and Her service, whilst in many respects, Krishna tends to fade in the background. This is the very core of manjari-bhava, or radha-dasyam. I'm sure you are cognizant of this, and if not, this elementary material is easily found in the writings of all prominent Gaudiyas, especially those of the famed Goswamis of Vrindavana.

Yes, I was calling the animal sacrificers ignorant, and he seemed to interpret my statement differently.

Wondrous post and quotes. Most folks who have some acquaintance with traditional Hinduism find the rendering of Deva as "demigod" farcical, to put it mildly. There is no such thing as half-a-god. Still a distinction exists between the prominent swarupas of Parabrahman that we know (Lord Shiva, Lord Narayana, Maa Shakti, Lord Ganesh, Lord Skanda and so forth) and the elementary controllers of nature such as Indra, Agni, Varuna and Yama, including even Brahma, for the latter categories of beings are jivas, whereas nobody can attain the position of Vishnu, Shiva, Jagadamba or Saraswati, for the simple reason that these deities are directly Brahman manifested. And see my signature for the full Sanskrit text of the extraordinarily potent Maha Mrityunjaya mantra.

I am fully in concordance with you, Ganeshprasadji. Jaya Mata Di

Again, Theist, I utterly condemn these barbaric practices in the same vein that you do, but since I am well aware that this does not represent the real way of approaching the Goddess, my criticism is directed at the lowly sinners who resort to such horrendous crimes, and not Devi worship per se.

Theistji, It appears that you did not get my drift. I was calling those who offer meat and other similar filth to the Divine Mother ignoramuses. In case you did not know, shuddha worshippers of Shakti Devi are as vegetarian as you and I, and would not dream of presenting any impure dreck to Her. So let me be more explicit: just as the malpractices of paedophiles in ISKCON or Prakrita Sahajiyas in Bengal do not make Gaudiya Vaishnavism worthless, similarly a few brainless pillocks offering blood or cigarettes to Kali Maa does not nullify the greatness and value of Her worship.

Yeah, if you're incapable of nuanced thinking and like simplistic, black-and-white depictions of reality, then exclusive Vaishnavism is the path for you. I abhor the horrors that some people commit in their so-called worship of the universal Mother Goddess (in fact, these morons are insulting the Divine Mother more than anything else by offering her meat and other impure items), but as usual, I see that Theist (is he capable of anything else?) and a few others sorely lacking in self-control couldn't resist joining the fray in order to sling some mud at non-Vaishnava followers of Indic methodologies, unsuccessfully of course, because they are the only ones who take themselves seriously. Some ignoramuses not having a clue as to how to invoke the Devi cannot become a valid reason for rejecting Maa-upasana, anymore than the existence of paedophilic ISKCON gurus render Gaudiya Vaishnavism useless. Of course, with those who reckon that the inaccurate term "demigod" is a proper translation of the Sanskrit word Deva, little reasoned argumentation is feasible, thus they can indulge themselves all they want.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=425 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="30%"><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=425 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="30%"><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=425 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="70%"> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=425 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="30%"></TD><TD vAlign=top width="70%">Message from the city of temples From the chat with Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami 2008-01-13, Jammu in Kashmir, India. Guru maharaj is in Jammu city in northern India. He is hosting in a house of a friend, Rasa Bihari prabhu, disciple of Srila Bhakti Ballaba Tirtha Maharaj. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></B></TD><TD vAlign=top width="70%"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> </TD><TD vAlign=top width="70%"> </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>Guru maharaj is in Jammu city in northern India. Today he has a television interviw and later a program in a temple. Guru Maharaj is hosting in a house of a friend, a disciple of Srila Bhakti Ballaba Tirtha Maharaj: Rasa Bihari prabhu. There is a project of establishing a university of the WVA in Mayapurd inspired by Srila Bhakti Ballabha Tirtha Maharaj. Guru maharaj went to Kashmir to visit this devotee and talk to him about the project. He is in company of Swami Maharaj, Govinda Jnana and mother Yasoda. We have heard from Swami Maharaj that these days there have been very intense; many programs in different temples and various missions. Tomorrow theyplan to visit the famous university of Jammu. Some days before, Guru maharaj visited the famous temple Askhara Dham in Delhi, which is considerd as the biggest temple in the world. Tomorrow at night Guru Maharaj will return to Vrindavan and then to Puri to asist to the vyasapuja of Srila Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Maharaj. In www.vrindablog.org you can see photographs of the presentation of Guru Maharaj in the world congress in Phycology and Spirituality that took place in Delhi. Thanks to mother gopakumara that she has been capturing all the events of Guru maharaj. Guru Maharaj: I am writing from Aashimas computer in Jammuh, top of the world, Himalayas. Special invited guest on our chat is Rasa Bihari prabhu, president of Gokul Jammuh and general secretary of WVA for India. Rasa Bihari prabhu: It gives me immese pleasure to meet worldwide Vrinda family! All Glories to Srila Bhakti Balabha Tirtha Goswami Maharaj. Srila BA Paramadvaiti Maharaj ki jaya! From Jammu, Kashmir, India, I offer my obeisances to all the devotees. I am enjoying the company of the most wonderful vaisnava, our paramadvaiti swami maharaja and his encourage. I am taking all pleasure in showing different temples, forts, museums of this Himalayan city. Ttoday we had a festival of winter coming to an end and beginning of spring, which is called lohry. People dance around the fire and offer sesam sweets to fire and exchange sweets and gifts. This time we celebrated this festival three times. Srila Paramadvaiti Maharaja, in his typical mood, was delighted to see this festival and played his charango and chanted Hare Krsna in tunes unfamiliar to us. We tried to follow, but could not match his pitch. We circambulated the lit fire dancing and chanting behind Maharaji. Now Swami maharaj is typing for me, and I am speaking in the room of a very beautiful devotional singer of jammu, Ashima. Tomorrow we have a class in Gokul at 10 am, followed by a lecture on perennial psychology in the university, management departament. Then I will take everyone to a very ancient balaram mandir on the bank of river Tawi. Then at 9.30 pm, when maharaja leaves, it will be a tough time. I can only pray, if my Gurudva is pleased with any little service of myself, I only desire that I get divine association of Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Maharaja again and again. You are all very blessed to have him as your spiritual master and guide, because, it is very rare in this material chaotic world, to have a sat-guru, who is so understanding, friendly and humble, and who is so accesible. Hare krsna! Today we had a television interview with Maharaja, together with myself and Govinda Jnana. It was a 30 min interaction about the spiritual culture of india, how it has a hope for the whole world, and it was very nicely explained by Maharaja. He gave the message to the people of Jammu, the city of temples, that we should try to take seriously our roots of vedic civilization. Jammu has its origin from the time of Lord Vamana, when He took the universal form in the court of Bali Maharaja, in the yajna of bali maharaja. Lord Vamana and the origin of Jammu At that time Jambavan circumbulated that huge form seven times, and the same Jambavan was present in treta yuga, during the fight between Lord Rama and Ravana, where he desired to have an opportunity to have a wrestiling match with Lord Rama. The Lord granted him the boon, that he will fulfill his desire when he comes next time to this world. Then Jambavana asked: How will I recongize you? So to remove this charge against him, the Lord investigated, who stole the syamantaka. So he came across a dead lion and he followed the blood droplead, which brought him to Jammu into a hughe cave. There a beautiful girl, jambavati, was playing with the syamantaka mani when Lord Krsna wanted to talk to the girl. Suddenly a roar came, and there came jambavan, ready to fight, so they started fighting. The fight continued for 28 days, after which all the bones in the body of jambavana started cracking. Then he realized that â€Oh, he is my lord !!!†He fell flat on the feet of Sri Krsna and Krsna showed him his Rama form and pacified him. Then Jambavana married his daughter Jambavanti to Krishna and gifted the syamantaka. When Krsna returned with Jambavati, who was most beautiful of all his queens, to dvaraka, all were very very happy. Then Satrajita, tha accuser, was very guilty. Later he also married his daughter Satyabama to Lord Krsna. So that cave, where all this lila took place, is on the bank of river Tawi in Jammu, where I had the privilege of sitting in the association of Sri Paramanadvaiti Maharaja and his encourage. We remembered this lila and chanted the maha mantra, all the pujaris and babajis of that cave temple, Peer Kho, where we have a self manifested rudraksa, Siva linga, and a nava Durga temple with Hanuman, Rama, Laksman, Janaki, Mahadeva, Parvati, Vrinda devi and the eternal Dhuni - a lit fire which is going on 24 hours for thousands of years. The young babaji of the cave smeared our forehead with the ash of the dhuni. This is considered holy by the sevaites. All were very exited to see Krsna bhaktas coming from different parts of the world to Jammu. The Raghunatha Mandir After that, we visited the largest Rama temple in India; the Raghunatha mandir in the downtown of Jammu, just near the place where Maharaj is staying. The Raghunatha mandir is very special. There is a big security check-up, and they do not let any cameras or mobiles in. We gave everything to Gopini and Gopa, and the rest of us entered the temple. They checked Maharaja thouroguhly, but nicely, and then we entered the temple. It has nice bakula trees, beautiful flowers and three circambulations around the sanctum sanctorum. First we offer obeiscances to the main deity, Lord Rama, Laksman and Sita. The altar is all made of gold, and we have vijaya vigraha of the Lord in gold, which is taken out on chariot every year on Rama Navami. On the right of the main deity, there are Radha Krsna golden deities which are also taken out on the chariot on every Janmastami. This temple was made about 130 years back by Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Jammu (50 years after Vrinda Kunja). There are 365 deites in this temple. The whole penitum of Ramayana and Bhagavatam are present in the temple. There are 120.000 salagrama silas, placed all over the temple in different halls; there is a 400 kg 8 feet high siva linga in this temple; the whole temple complex is made in the form of a rama yantra; all the salagramas sila are situated, so that they can be properly bathed and the caranamrta is running in propper ways. The temple is very clean, nicely maintaind and Maharaja was delighted to notice clean chandliers. There is a crystal siva linga ,5 feet high, which is transparent and which is brought from Germany, crystal from Germany. The pujari, on behaf of Maharaja, offerd milk, Ganga jal and lamp with beautiful vedic mantras. All the pujaris were very exited to see devotees coming all the way from the west in beautiful ascetic attire. Everyone wanted to talk to them and participate in the arati. There were other devotees were interacting, and everyone was asking different questions to maharaja, and maharaja was gladly answering. The temple is very big and it took 2 hours to have a quick tour. The most attractive part of the temple is that the deites are beauitfully made by Jaipur artist. Maharaja was very much attracted to an 8 feet high jetblack deity of lord Bharata, the younger brother of Lord Rama. We have three very big Hanumana deites in the temple, in the first gater, the second and in the sanctum sanctorum. Five years back this temple was the scene of a terrorist attack by Pakistan based terrorists, who tried to desicrate the temple, but were killed by the security forces. Many tourists, visiting Jammu, visit this place. The whole state is ruled by the prime deity of this temple. Then next morning again Maharaji visited the temple and spent three hours there. I hope to get your darsan one day. Jaya, Paramadvaiti Maharaja, ki jaya! Vrinda kunja ki jaya! WVA ki jaya! All glories to the assambled devotees! </I></EM> <!-- /text --> </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2 nbgcolor="#efefef">Copyright 2008 Vrindanews. This material may be published or redistributed.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

This is not history, but modern speculative theories on the Vedic past by the mundane scholars. Veda is as hoary as the cosmos is, and even more ancient than that, since prior to the creation of the universe, God existed, along with Vedic knowledge. However, to fully absorb all this, one needs to depart from the Western epistemic methodologies and start viewing the world in an entirely different light. Om Tat Sat

I was not referring to you in my comment to Subramanya, Indulekhaji. I know you to be a respectful and very civil young lady. Never did I insinuate that you were putting others down. You are right to be as committed on your chosen contemplative path as you are, and by condemning sectarianism, it was mainly some of the folks on "Spiritual Discussions" that I had in mind. In fact, for this reason, I hardly even go to that section now, but remain in the other divisions of Audarya where people are more open-minded.

Well then, the Vrindavan area has got a couple of thousand, and both Ayodhya and Varanasi also have mandirs in multiples of the figure you give for Navadvipa. Not that the land of Mahaprabhu is not venerable, of course. Well, there are literally hundreds of thousands of shrines in India, and Templenet is an ongoing project. Still, I'll email Mr. Kannikeswaran with your concern, and hope that he can do something about it. Hari Om Tat Sat

This is exactly the point that I'm trying to drive home. Otherwise, I too am quite displeased by the sectarianism that is all too prevalent on these forums.

Pranam Malatiji and Induji, Of course, Rama-bhakti and Shiva-upasana are not identical with Krishna-bhakti in every respect. No two deities are revered in exactly the same manner. In Mathura and Dwaraka, some awe and reverence is certainly present in devotion to Lord Krishna, and this is accepted by Bengali Vaishnavas. I know that these Krishnas are considered to be prakashas of Vrindavana Krishna (well, I spent 13 years exploring the lineage of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu), but the point is that Bhakti is a vast, nay, infinite ocean, and the only point where I disagree with you two is the gradational tendency which is inherent in the religion which you follow. I'm pretty certain that not one of us feels as powerfully and as deeply for our respective Lords as Hanumanji or Tulsidasji did. The Gosvamis were certainly transcendentalists par excellence and their very fine theology (even if I no longer take it as THE final say) attests to that. I happen to own the brilliant three-set BBT edition of the Brhad-bhagavatamrta and love the book, even if I do not count myself as a votary on the path that it details. As for Shiva bhaktas, if you were to study the lives and shiksha of the 63 Shaivite saints called the Naayanmaars, to name one category of devotional Shaivas, you would find much in common with the Vaishnava ideal of spiritual love of God. Check out this link http://www.shaivam.org/naayan_f.html if that says anything to you. Of course, have no expectation that what you shall find on that reference is going to be the same as what you're used to. However, in dharma, sameness is not the predominant criterion. It is the supramundane essence that really matters.

Sorry Induji, but this is a mistaken conception that is prevalent in the Gaudiya school. If you get the chance to go to Ayodhya, you will see that many sadhus of the Ramananda lineage (a branch of the Sri sampradaya) perform sadhana for Lord Ramachandra in the same rasika manner that you are familiar with, and they have extensive poems and literatures that detail the methodologies that they employ. Likewise, there are people who worship Lord Shiva with amorous feelings in order to obtain Him as their husband. However, in order to have this knowledge, one should refrain from studying Indic dharma with ideologically tainted glasses, and develop a more universal and ecumenical approach to religion. Pranam

All depends on whether you're interested in what the tradition says about itself, or in mainstream scholastic reconstructions of Hindu history, philosophy and religion. The two versions diverge from one another in quite spectacular fashion, so brace yourself for a turbulent ride if you truly want to delve deep into the theme. Regards

http://www.indiantemples.com/legends.html In this section on Beliefs and Legends, Templenet explores some of the beliefs that are central to temple worship in the Indian subcontinent. Indian religious thought is among the oldest in the world, and the colorful legends that constitute the Puranas have no parallel elsewhere. Summarized here, also, are legends from some of the Puranas.

Actually, Atmatattva dasa claims to have had lunch with him back in the 70s, and even conversed with him at length. He also says that he had a go at Sai Baba for allowing people worship him as a divine descent. The man no doubt has yogic powers/siddhis, but so have innumerable other yogis and swamis in India and probably other places as well, even today. As for him being God, well, I'm sure you can read in between the lines to see what I make of that.

Why don't you go ask him?

So Ramanuja, Madhva, Shridhara Swami and countless others were all using their conditioned minds to interpret scripture, right? Anyways, rest happy deluding yourself. If Prabhupada's rendition is all that you're capable of basing yourself on, I'll only be wasting my time writing anymore here. Ciao

Big bang is no longer the predominant cosmological theory, and as such this debate doesn't really rest on solid grounds. Try superstring theory and you're closer to what has prevalence these days.

Nilakantha Maheshvara <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:P></O:P> Drink the poison, O Nilakantha! Drink it up. Drink the poison of the trifold bonds. The bonds which bind us to this world steeped in duality. Drink the poison, O Nilakantha! Drink it up. Drink up the poison of maya, O Nilakantha! The poison of differentiatedness, of limitedness Which keeps us feeling separate from You; Which keeps us engaged in the material world. Drink the poison, O Nilakantha! Drink it up. Drink up the poison of karma, O Nilakantha! The poison of cause and effect, of action and reaction Which keeps us in a state of flux, unlike You; Which keeps us engaged in cycles of birth and death. Drink the poison, O Nilakantha! Drink it up. Drink up the poison of anava, O Nilakantha! The poison of individuality, of atomic reality Which keeps us feeling we have an existence apart from You; Which keeps us engaged in desire and dejection Drink the poison, O Nilakantha! Drink it up. Drink the poison of the trifold bonds. May we become absorbed in layavastha --<O:P></O:P> The state of unitary existence within the body of Shiva. Om Nilakanthaya Namah

Sage Tandi's Prayer There are many ancient sages connected with the tradition of Shiva. Of those, one is Sage Tandi. Almost nothing is known about the historical Sage Tandi. The name Tandi suggests a connection with Tandya branch of the Samaveda, of which he may have been the originator. One of the oldest and most important Vedic upanishads called the Chhandogya (a.k.a. Tandya Rahasya Upanishad) originates from this branch. The Mahabharata epic mentions the illustrious Sage Tandi as a great Shiva devotee from remote antiquity, and credits him with authorship of the Thousand Names of Shiva (see Shiva Saharanama). In the Anushasana Parva (Book XIII) of the Mahabharata, Vasudeva (Krsna) teaches a prayer to Yudhishthira as taught to him by Sage Upamanyu. This prayer hymn is said to have been recited originally by Sage Tandi himself upon having a mystical vision of Shiva. Sage Tandi’s Prayer glorifies Shiva in the most beautiful and exalted terms. It is a prayer based entirely on theological and philosophical principles found in the Vedanta, Yoga and theistic Sankhya systems. Sage Tandi's Prayer The Rishi Tandi, desirous of beholding Him who making Himself endued with life-breaths, resides in what results from it (the jiva), in the form of that effulgence which is called the mind, passed many years in the practice of the severest austerities, and having succeeded in beholding Him as the reward of those penances, he praised the great God (Mahadeva) in the following terms. Tandi said: <O:P</O:P <O:P</O:P Thou art the holiest of holies and the Refuge of all, O foremost of all beings endued with intelligence. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the fiercest energy of all kinds of energy. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the austerest penance of all penances. <O:P></O:P> Thou, O puissant One, art the liberal Giver of blessings. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the supreme Truth. <O:P></O:P> Salutations to Thee, O Thou of a thousand rays, and O Refuge of all felicity. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the Giver of that Nirvana which, O puissant One, Yatis, standing in fear of birth and death, strive for so hard. <O:P></O:P> The Grandsire Brahmā, He of a hundred sacrifices (Indra), Vishnu, the Vishvadevas, the great Rishis, are incapable of comprehending Thee and Thy real nature. <O:P></O:P> How then can persons like us hope to comprehend Thee? <O:P></O:P> From Thee flows everything. <O:P></O:P> Upon Thee rests everything. <O:P></O:P> Thou art called Kāla, Thou art called Purusha, Thou art called Brahma. <O:P></O:P> Celestial Rishis conversant with the Puranas, say that Thou hast three bodies -- those pertaining to Kalas, those pertaining to Purusha and those pertaining to Brahma or the three forms namely Brahmā, Vishnu and Rudra. <O:P></O:P> Thou art Adi-Purusha, Thou art Adhyatma, Thou art Adhibhuta, and Adhi-Daivata, Thou art Adi-loka, Adi-Vijnanam and Adi-Yajna. <O:P></O:P> Men of wisdom, when they succeed in knowing Thee that residest in themselves and that art incapable of being known by the very Gods, become freed from all bonds and enter to a state of existence that transcends all sorrow. <O:P></O:P> They that do not wish to know Thee, O Thou of great puissance, have to undergo innumerable births and deaths. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the door of heaven and of Emancipation. <O:P></O:P> Thou art He that projectest all beings into existence and withdrawest them again into Thyself. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the great Giver. <O:P></O:P> Thou art heaven, Thou art emancipation, Thou art desire (the seed of action). <O:P></O:P> Thou art wrath that inspires creatures. <O:P></O:P> Thou art Sattva, Thou art Rajas, Thou art Tamas, <O:P></O:P> Thou art the nether regions, and Thou art the upper regions. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the Grandsire Brahmā, Thou art Bhava, Thou art Vishnu, Thou art Skanda, Thou art Indra, Thou art Savitri, Thou art Yama, Thou art Varuna, Thou art Soma, Thou art Dhatri, Thou art Manu, Thou art Vidhatri, and Thou art Kuvera, the Lord of treasures. <O:P></O:P> Thou art Earth, Thou art Wind, Thou art Water, Thou art Agni, Thou art Space, Thou art Speech, Thou art the Understanding, Thou art Steadiness, Thou art Intelligence, Thou art the acts that creatures do, Thou art Truth, Thou art Falsehood, Thou art existent and Thou art non-existent. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the senses, Thou art that which transcends Prakriti, Thou art immutable. Thou art superior to the universe of existent objects, Thou art superior to the universe of non-existent objects, Thou art capable of being conceived, Thou art incapable of being conceived. <O:P></O:P> That which is supreme Brahman; that which is the highest entity; that which is the end of both the Sankhyas and the Yogins, is without doubt, identical with Thee. <O:P></O:P> Verily, rewarded have I been today by Thee in consequence of Thy granting me a sight of Thy form. <O:P></O:P> I have attained the end which the righteous alone attain to. <O:P></O:P> I have been rewarded with that end which is solicited by persons whose understandings have been cleansed by knowledge. <O:P></O:P> Alas, so long I was steeped in ignorance; for this long period I was a senseless fool, since I had no knowledge of Thee that art the Supreme Deity, Thee that art the only eternal Entity as can be only known by all persons endued with wisdom. <O:P></O:P> In course of innumerable lives have I at last succeeded in acquiring that devotion towards Thee in consequence of which Thou hast shown Thyself to me. <O:P></O:P> O Thou that art ever inclined to extend Thy grace to those that are devoted to Thee. <O:P></O:P> He that succeeds in knowing Thee is enabled to enjoy immortality. <O:P></O:P> Thou art that which is ever a mystery with the Gods, the Asuras, and the ascetics, the Brahman is concealed in the cave of the heart. <O:P></O:P> The very ascetics are unable to behold or know Him. <O:P></O:P> Thou art that puissant Deity who is the Doer of everything and whose face is turned towards every direction. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the Soul of all things, Thou seest all things, Thou pervadest all things, and Thou knowest all things. <O:P></O:P> Thou makest a body for Thyself, and bearest that body. <O:P></O:P> Thou art an embodied Being. <O:P></O:P> Thou enjoyest a body, and Thou art the Refuge of all embodied creatures. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the Creator of the life-breaths, Thou possessest the life-breaths, Thou art one that is endued with life-breaths, Thou art the Giver of the life-breaths, and Thou art the Refuge of all beings endued with life-breaths. <O:P></O:P> Thou art that Adhyatma which is the Refuge of all righteous persons that are devoted to Yoga-meditation and conversant with the Soul and that are solicitous of avoiding rebirth. <O:P></O:P> Verily, Thou art that Supreme Lord who is identical with that Refuge. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the Giver unto all creatures of whatever ends become theirs, fraught with happiness or misery. <O:P></O:P> Thou art He that ordains all created beings to birth and death. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the puissant Lord who grants success to Rishis crowned with success in respect of the fruition of their wishes. <O:P></O:P> Having created all the worlds beginning with Bhu, together with all the denizens of heaven, that upholdest and cherishest them all, distributing Thyself into Thy well-known forms numbering Eight (Ashtamurtis). <O:P></O:P> From Thee flows everything. <O:P></O:P> Upon Thee rests all things. <O:P></O:P> All things, again, disappear in Thee. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the sole object that is Eternal. <O:P></O:P> Thou art that region of Truth which is sought by the righteous and regarded by them as the highest. <O:P></O:P> Thou art that cessation of individual existence which Yogins seek. <O:P></O:P> Thou art that Oneness which is sought by persons conversant with the soul. <O:P></O:P> Brahmā and the Siddhas expounding the mantras have concealed Thee in a cave to prevent the Devas and Asuras and human beings from beholding Thee. <O:P></O:P> Although Thou residest in the heart, yet Thou art concealed. <O:P></O:P> Hence, stupefied by Thee, Devas and Asuras and human beings are all unable to understand Thee, O Bhava, truly and in all Thy details. <O:P></O:P> Unto those persons that succeed in attaining to Thee after having cleansed themselves by devotion, Thou showest Thyself of thy own accord, O Thou that residest in all hearts. <O:P></O:P> By knowing Thee one can avoid both death and rebirth. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the highest object of knowledge. <O:P></O:P> By knowing Thee no higher object remains for one to know. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the greatest object of acquisition. <O:P></O:P> The person that is truly wise, by acquiring Thee, thinks that there is no higher object to acquire. <O:P></O:P> By attaining to Thee that art exceedingly subtle and that art the highest object of acquisition, the man of wisdom becomes immortal and immutable. <O:P></O:P> The followers of the Sankhya system, well conversant with their own philosophy and possessing a knowledge of the attributes (gunas) and of those called the topics of enquiry, those learned men who transcend the destructible by attaining to a knowledge of the subtle or indestructible, succeed, by knowing Thee, in freeing themselves from all bonds. <O:P></O:P> Persons conversant with the Vedas regard Thee as the one object of knowledge, which has been expounded in the Vedantas. <O:P></O:P> These men, devoted to the regulation of the breaths, always meditate on Thee and at last enter into Thee as their highest end. <O:P></O:P> Riding on the car made of <ST1:PLACE st="on">Om</ST1:PLACE>, those men enter into Maheshvara. <O:P></O:P> Of that which is called the Devayana (the path of the Devas), Thou art the door called Aditya. <O:P></O:P> Thou art again, the door, called Chandramas, of that which is called the Pitriyana (the path of the Pitris). <O:P></O:P> Thou art Kashtha, Thou art the points of the horizon, Thou art the year, and Thou art the Yugas. <O:P></O:P> Thine is the sovereignty of the heavens, Thine is the sovereignty of the Earth, Thou art the Northern and the Southern declensions. <O:P></O:P> The Grandsire Brahmā in days of yore uttered Thy praises, O Thou that art called Nilarohita (blue and red), by reciting diverse hymns and urged Thee to create living creatures. <O:P></O:P> Brahmanas conversant with Riks praise Thee by uttering Riks, regarding Thee as unattached to all things and as divested of all forms. <O:P></O:P> Adhyaryus, in sacrifices, pour libations, uttering Yajus the while, in honour of Thee that art the sole object of knowledge, according to the three well-known ways. <O:P></O:P> Persons of cleansed understandings, that are conversant with Samans, sing Thee with the aid of Samans. <O:P></O:P> Those regenerate persons, again, that are conversant with the Atharvans, hymn Thee as Rta, as Truth, as the Highest, and as Brahma. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the highest Cause, whence Sacrifice has flowed. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the Lord, and Thou art Supreme. <O:P></O:P> The night and day are Thy sense of hearing and sense of sight. <O:P></O:P> The fortnights and months are Thy head and arms. <O:P></O:P> The seasons are Thy energy, penances are Thy patience, and the year is Thy lower end, thighs and feet. <O:P></O:P> Thou art Mrityu, Thou art Yama, Thou art Hutasana, Thou art Kāla, Thou art endued with speed in respect of destruction, Thou art the original cause of Time, and Thou art eternal Time. <O:P></O:P> Thou art Chandramas and Aditya with all the stars and planets and the atmosphere that fills space. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the pole-star, Thou art constellation called the seven Rishis, Thou art the seven regions beginning with Bhu. <O:P></O:P> Thou art Pradhana and Mahat, Thou art Unmanifest, and Thou art this world. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the universe beginning with Brahmā and ending with the lowest forms of vegetation. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the beginning or original cause of all creatures. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the eight Prakritis.<O:P></O:P> Thou art, again, above the eight Prakritis. <O:P></O:P> Everything that exists, represents a portion of thy divine Self. <O:P></O:P> Thou art that supreme Felicity which is also Eternal. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the end which is attained to by all things. <O:P></O:P> Thou art that highest existence which is sought for by the Righteous. <O:P></O:P> Thou art that state which is freed from every anxiety. <O:P></O:P> Thou art eternal Brahman! <O:P></O:P> Thou art that highest state which constitutes the meditation of persons learned in the scriptures and the Vedangas. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the highest Kashtha, Thou art the highest Kāla. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the highest Success, and Thou art the highest Refuge. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the highest Tranquillity. <O:P></O:P> Thou art the highest cessation of Existence. <O:P></O:P> By attaining to thee, Yogins think that they attain to the highest success that is open to them. <O:P></O:P> Thou art Contentment, Thou art Success, Thou art the Sruti, and Thou art the Smriti. <O:P></O:P> Thou art that Refuge of the Soul after which Yogins strive, and Thou art that indestructible Prapti which men of knowledge pursue. <O:P></O:P> Thou art, without doubt, that End which those persons have in view that are habituated to sacrifices and that pour sacrificial libations, impelled by specific desires, and that make large presents on such occasions. <O:P></O:P> Thou art that high End which is sought for by persons that waste and scorch their bodies with severe penances with ceaseless recitations, with those rigid vows and fasts that appertain to their tranquil lives, and with other means of self-affliction. <O:P></O:P> O Eternal one, Thou art that End which is theirs that are unattached to all things and that have relinquished all acts. <O:P></O:P> Thou, O Eternal one, art that End which is theirs that are desirous of achieving Emancipation from rebirth, that live in dissociation from all enjoyments, and that desire the annihilation of the Prakriti elements. <O:P></O:P> Thou art that high End, O illustrious One, which is indescribable, which is stainless, which is the immutable one, and which is theirs that are devoted to knowledge and science. <O:P></O:P> These are the live Ends that have been declared in the Vedas and the Scriptures and the Puranas. <O:P></O:P> It is through Thy grace alone that persons attain to those ends, or, if they fail to attain to them, it is through thy grace being denied to them.<O:P></O:P> <O:P></O:P> It was thus Tandi, who was a vast heap of penances, praised Isana. And he sang also that high Brahman which in ancient days was sung by the Creator Himself (in honour of Mahadeva). Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva (Book XIII): Chapter XVI: 13-66 Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (Edited for clarity and capitalization) Aum Namah Shivaya ~ Shivaya Namah Aum

Yes, this is to be expected as the Harivamsa Purana is a primarily Vaishnava text. There are countless other references to other conceptions of God in many other Vedic writings. You are a Vaishnava and as such, you ought to make Vishnu-centred conclusions prevail in your heart. This will undoubtedly lead you to Brahman. I have given up Vaishnavism after some 13 years spent exploring Gaudiya Vaishnavism and have now more or less settled on Bhagavan Shiva as my ishta-deva, with the view that Truth is in the end impersonal. May we both progress towards our specific spiritual goals.

I'm sure you must've heard of what many make of this verse. But hey, I respect your interpretation of shastra and it would be idiotic to initiate an argument over this. Best regards