Dvaita, Vishishthaadvaita, and Advaita

Dvaita, Vishishthaadvaita, and Advaita are all correct. The difference is in the points of view.

Sri Ramakrishna mentions Hanuman’s reply to Sri Rama’s question.

“At one time Ramachandra asked Hanuman, his servant, ‘What is your attitude towards me? How do you look upon, think of and worship me?’ ‘When, O Rama,’ replied Hanuman, ‘I am conscious of my body, in other words, when I feel I am this visible body, I have the conviction that Thou art the Lord and I am Thy servant, Thou art One to be served and I am one to serve, Thou art One to be worshipped and I am one to worship. When I am conscious of myself as the individual self, one with the mind, the intellect and the soul, I have the conviction that Thou art the whole and I am a part. And when, again, I remain in Samadhi, in the mood that I am the pure Self devoid of all qualifying adjuncts, I have the conviction that I am also verily that which Thou art, Thou and I are one, there is no difference whatsoever.’ “ (Sri Ramakrishna – The Great Master, p.444)

deha buddhyaa daaso asmi jeeva buddhyaa tvad amsakah |
aatma buddhyaa tvam eva aham iti me nishcitaa matih ||

Identification with body-mind (sthoola and sukshma shareeras) implies separateness. (Dvaita) Identification with individuality (kaarana shareera) implies part. (Gita 15.7) (Vishishthaadvaita) Identification with Pure Consciousness (aatma) implies identity. (Gita 10.20) (Advaita)

Swami Vivekananda says, “Then, again, we also know that there may be almost contradictory points of view of the same thing, but they will all indicate the same thing. Suppose a man is journeying towards the sun, and as he advances he takes a photograph of the sun at every stage. When he comes back, he has many photographs of the sun, which he places before us. We see that not two are alike, and yet, who will deny that all these are photographs of the same sun, from different standpoints? Take four photographs of this church from different corners: how different they would look, and yet they would all represent this church. In the same way, we are all looking at truth from different standpoints, which vary according to our birth, education, surroundings, and so on. We are viewing truth, getting as much of it as these circumstances will permit, colouring the truth with our own heart, understanding it with our own intellect, and grasping it with our own mind. We can only know as much of truth as is related to us, as much of it as we are able to receive. This makes the difference between man and man, and occasions sometimes even contradictory ideas; yet we all belong to the same great universal truth.” (Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol 2, page 366)

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