2023-02-16 06:27:16 by ambuda-bot
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4
LALITA-SAHASRANAMA
names, which was composed by the goddesses of
speech at the express command of Sri Lalita Para-
mesvari herself.
III
The Avatar of the Bhagavad Gitä says in a well-
known verse, "Howsoever men approach me, even so do
I accept them." We may therefore approach God and
call Him either father or mother. God is in truth
beyond the distinctions of sex and even beyond
personality, as we too often conceive it. The ineffable
Absolute is endowed by us with the highest attributes
we can think of, so as to bring it into relation with us
And the world we live in. Accordingly, the distinction
between the impersonal Brahman and the personal
Iśvara is well recognised in our philosophy. The
former is God as He is in Himself, the latter is God as
He appears to us, when He is viewed through human
spectacles. We may call these two views of God the
scientific view and the poetic view respectively. The
impersonal Absolute, when viewed through the human
mind, becomes a personal God. And this personal God
in His capacity as creator becomes Brahma, as
protector becomes Vişņu and as destroyer becomes
Rudra. And, lastly, when as protector He comes down
and takes a human form to save mankind from evil,
He becomes an Avatar. Thus we try to bridge the
yawning gulf between the Supreme Spirit and the
spirit of man.
When the Absolute is thus brought into relation
with us and the world we live in, we have inevitably
LALITA-SAHASRANAMA
names, which was composed by the goddesses of
speech at the express command of Sri Lalita Para-
mesvari herself.
III
The Avatar of the Bhagavad Gitä says in a well-
known verse, "Howsoever men approach me, even so do
I accept them." We may therefore approach God and
call Him either father or mother. God is in truth
beyond the distinctions of sex and even beyond
personality, as we too often conceive it. The ineffable
Absolute is endowed by us with the highest attributes
we can think of, so as to bring it into relation with us
And the world we live in. Accordingly, the distinction
between the impersonal Brahman and the personal
Iśvara is well recognised in our philosophy. The
former is God as He is in Himself, the latter is God as
He appears to us, when He is viewed through human
spectacles. We may call these two views of God the
scientific view and the poetic view respectively. The
impersonal Absolute, when viewed through the human
mind, becomes a personal God. And this personal God
in His capacity as creator becomes Brahma, as
protector becomes Vişņu and as destroyer becomes
Rudra. And, lastly, when as protector He comes down
and takes a human form to save mankind from evil,
He becomes an Avatar. Thus we try to bridge the
yawning gulf between the Supreme Spirit and the
spirit of man.
When the Absolute is thus brought into relation
with us and the world we live in, we have inevitably