Personal and Impersonal"Sri Ramakrishna, in recent days, added one little extra diamond from Vedanta which was there before but not so much stressed: God can be personal as well as impersonal. That is a special stress given by Ramakrishna in this present age. Thereby, he harmonized the three different major systems obtained in Vedanta — the dualistic system, the qualified monistic system, and the monistic system. (Dualism holds that God, the universe, and individuals are separate, eternal entities. Qualified monism maintains God alone exists and individual souls exists as "cells" in God’s universal body. Monism views God, individual souls, and the universe as one Reality.) Ramakrishna harmonized these different viewpoints by telling us it is the same actuality which becomes the personalized God. "Vivekananda, a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, gave the definition of what God is in a very scientific way: ‘God is the highest reading of the Absolute,’ he said. So, Vedanta, and all religions, have this major idea called ultimate existence, or oneness." Swami Swahananda looked at me, wondering whether he should continue. I nodded that he go on. |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
4 of 29 |
 |
 |
 |
