Since you, Shankara, have given a boon unto Baana, let him live, from
respect to your promises, my discus is arrested: the assurance of
safety granted by you is granted also by me. You are fit to apprehend
that you are not distinct from me. That which I am, thou art; and
that also is this world, with its gods, demons, and mankind. Men
contemplate distinctions, because thy are stupified by ignorance.
(viShNu puraaNa 5.33.46-48)
Now, call me crazy, but looking at this verse as it is written, and
within the context in which it is found, it seems quite obvious that
this is not a specific statement of identity between Vishnu and
Shiva. Rather, it is a statement of the general "oneness" of things,
from which the "oneness" of Vishnu and Shiva is also understood.
There is a place in achintya bedha abedha for some sense
of "oneness." One could argue however, that the "oneness" spoken of
here is kevalaadvaita. However, I do not wish to get into that here,
as that is by no means obvious, and in fact it can be defeated with
many logical and shaastric arguments.
The point here is that Krishna is NOT telling Shiva that they are the
same Supreme Lord - rather, He is clearly telling him that there is
oneness between them just as there is oneness between Himself and
this world, the gods, demons, etc.
Thus, if Shaivites use this verse to say that one can worship Shiva
instead of Krishna because they are "one," then by the same logic,
they must conceed that one can also worship this world, other gods,
or even demons, who are also included in the list of things which
are "one." Will they accept it? I do not think so.
In my experience, Shaivites try to prove unsuccessfully that Vishnu
and Shiva are the same Deity. When this fails, they then try to to
give the same argument by using Advaita philosophy - Vishnu and Shiva
are the same because everything is the same. When they do that, you
can simply revert to anti-Advaita logic to refute them.
yours,
K
Because here we have to understand,the issue is that Sri Krsna has the same impersonal form as Lord Siva,as it is stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam,and other scriptures.Only the personal form of the Lord is different.This is where the confusion arises.That is why the Lord always describes himself as "the One" in all of His scriptures.
Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva
in The Hare Krishna Forum
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Because here we have to understand,the issue is that Sri Krsna has the same impersonal form as Lord Siva,as it is stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam,and other scriptures.Only the personal form of the Lord is different.This is where the confusion arises.That is why the Lord always describes himself as "the One" in all of His scriptures.