Is this the correct description of विशिष्टाद्वैतम् ?

jackie · July 7, 2012

I am an अद्वैति but have no issues with others. Nor I have the slightest desire to quarrel or win battles against others either. But I am genuinely trying to understand what exactly विशिष्टाद्वैतम् means and I don't think I have a very good understanding of it. The below mentioned bulleted gist is what I came up with for what I understood विशिष्टाद्वैतम् to mean.

Me being an अद्वैति if you ask me for my motive behind trying to understand विशिष्टाद्वैतम्, I don't mind revealing my motive. It is to fill any holes in my understanding of अद्वत and verify the same, but absolutely nothing else. And if you may ask how the understanding of विशिष्टाद्वैतम् will help with improving the understanding of अद्वैति", I will NOT get drawn into that line of thought for the obvious reasons of avoiding any sort of confrontation, in which I have absolutely no interest whatsoever. But I have to acknowledge that my motive might put विशिष्टाद्वैतम् in lesser light. Unfortunately I couldn't avoid it and at the same time reveal my real motive also. So please gloss over this slight negativity in my approach and still help me to get a good understanding of विशिष्टाद्वैतम्. And it goes unsaid that this is not at all an attempt to denigrate what विशिष्टाद्वैतम् is, nor any attempt to convert any of you into अद्वतम्. That would be a most useless and ridiculous side track.

So can any of you please clarify/confirm if the following

is correct or not?
if anything is missed?

I would really appreciate the help.

Regards

The fundamental principles of विशिष्टाद्वैतम् are as follows

There are three तत्त्व, namely जीवः, जगत् , and जगदीश्वरः
Of which जगदीश्वरः is the absolute and supreme, namely श्रीमहाविष्णुः
जीवः as well as जगत् are subordinates to, and emanate from the जगदीश्वरः
जगत् is ephemeral whereas जीवः and जगदीश्वरः are permanent and real
जगत् is inert whereas जीवः and जगदीश्वरः are sentient
जगत् is सगुणः like names and forms whereas जगदीश्वरः is both सगुणः and निर्गुणः
जीवः is also सगुणः with gross and subtle (वासनात्मकम्) body etc
जीवः can become निर्गुणः depending on the type (सलोक, सारूप्य etc.) of मोक्षः he gets
जीवः is caught in transmigration due to his ignorance and his कर्माः
The मोक्षः for जीवः from this transmigration comes from submission or शरणागतिः to the जगदीश्वरः
Even in मोक्षः, the जीवः will remain physically distinct and separate from जगदीश्वरः
मोक्षः means जीवः reaching जगदीश्वरः, श्रीमहाविष्णुः in his divine abode, वैकुंठ
जीवः can become मुक्तः only after the physical body is dropped
मोक्षः can be bestowed only by जगदीश्वरः and श्रीरामानुजः
Since both जीवः as well as जगत् emanate from जगदीश्वरः they are essentially non-different from the जगदीश्वरः and this forms the basis for the word अद्वैत in विशिष्टाद्वैत
The word विशिष्ट in विशिष्टाद्वैत is used to distinguish विशिष्टाद्वैत from अद्वैत in that the अद्वैत negates all distinctions of जीवः, जगत् , and जगदीश्वरः, proposing a singular and absolute identity among them, whereas the विशिष्टाद्वैत retains some distinctions in terms of capabilities, knowledge etc., between जीवः, and जगदीश्वरः

The following are the derivative principles of विशिष्टाद्वैतम्

The sole purpose of वेदाः is to reveal जगदीश्वरः
But वेदाः are very obscure and mystic and are not easily understood by everyone
So Dravida वेदांत is written to benefit a clearer appreciation of वेदाः and hence of जगदीश्वरः even for commoners
These scriptures must be and can be learnt only from a teacher owing allegiance to श्रीरामानुजः
जीवः must perform specific and rigorous daily discipline of पूजा and कैंकर्य to purify himself
जगदीश्वरः may employ or give some limited powers to other deities to execute his will
जगदीश्वरः manifests in sacred places for the people to uplift themselves by worship