Guest guest Posted May 11, 2004 Report Share Posted May 11, 2004 Can anyone explain the similarities and differences between Visistadvaita and Advaita Vedanta? Also is it right to say that Visistadvaita is only within the Sri Vaishnavism tradition and Advaita only within the Smartha tradition? Is it exculsivley so or do other traditions follow these systems of Vedanta? I say this because although the Ramakrishna mission is thought of following the Advaita (Smartha tradition) some of their monks teach Visistadvaita and Sri Ramanuja's commentary on the Gita, Brahma Sutras and Upanishads. The reason could be because Sri Ramakrishna had said to Vivekananda that Advaita is hard to understand for the common man and most people in India, so instead Visistadvaita will be more to their suiting. Are there any recommended website to learn more about these two systems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 12, 2004 Report Share Posted May 12, 2004 its true that most Ramakrishna mission sanyasis have an inclination towards Visistadvaita perhaps it could have been due to their Tamil background. The Sri Viasnavas including their North Indian counterparts Ramanandis and Swami Narayan groups, adhere to vistadaviata system. One of teh major differences between Advaita, Dvaita and visistadavaita is the nature of the Supreme Reality. The Advaitin claim that Brahman is deviod of Attributes which was rejected by Ramanuja and the previous sri vaisnava acaryas like Yamuna and Natha Muni. Plz refer to Vedanta Desikans polemical work "Satadusani" One hundred philosophical Issues - is a systematic critism and refutation of Mayavada of Sankara. Also ramanuja's Sri Bhasya Unlike advaita and dvaita which are two extreme systems - "aham Brahmasi" visistadviata reconciles the apparent contradictions of the 2 other systems. Sri vaisnavas accept the vedas, pancaratra and the 12 Tamil Alvars' (saints) collective works known as - 4000 divya Prabhandam (Dravida Veda) as their authority. As they accept the Dravida vedas to be on par with the revelations of the sanskrit vedas, Sri vaisnavism is also known as "Ubhaya Vedanta" Although others accept Devotion (bhakti) as the means to attain God. The emphasis of Sri vaisnavism is on Total Surrender (prapatti). hari om tat sat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 14, 2004 Report Share Posted May 14, 2004 Thanks for that YRD. **The Sri Viasnavas including their North Indian counterparts Ramanandis and Swami Narayan groups, adhere to vistadaviata system.** Are there any others that follow Visistadvaita? It would be great if there was a 'tree diagram' to show how all the different schools and sampradayas are related. Does anybody know percentages of Advaitists, Dvaitists and Visistadvaitists in India? I'd like to know which is more popular and why. **Unlike advaita and dvaita which are two extreme systems - "aham Brahmasi" visistadviata reconciles the apparent contradictions of the 2 other systems.** Maybe this is the reason Sri Ramakrishna recommended this system - as it reconciles the contradictions and is more acceptable to the people. Is there a place on the web that sells books or give alot of info on Visistadvaita? I don't know of any place but the RK mission that sells this material. The Swaminarayans sell more books on devotion to their guru than they do on the Visistadvaita system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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