apophenia
Well-Known Member
Other way round man ! (x2
)Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the gods of creation, and destruction, respectively. Brahman is the all-pervading, 'unborn'.
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What is Brahman?
- Thread starter Gambit
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Other way round man ! (x2
)Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the gods of creation, and destruction, respectively. Brahman is the all-pervading, 'unborn'.
Desert Snake
Veteran Member
This time it's an analogy. So not 'incorrect'.Other way round man ! (x2
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the gods of creation, and destruction, respectively. Brahman is the all-pervading, 'unborn'.
miodrag
Member
That sounds about right, only Vishnu, the maintainer is missing.
In my post about three aspects of the same divine substance I also mentioned Vishnu. I am not sure if everyone is getting all this stuff right, so I will add:
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are guna-avatars, they represent a certain guna or quality of material energy and that is what they have in common. But their spiritual identity or nature is different. Vishnu is a representation of that same Brahman-Paramatma-Bhagavan substance, He is a manifestation of God. So He belongs into a category of Vishnu-tattva, with all other manifestations of God, masculine (like:Krishna) or feminine (Radha, etc.) or impersonal (Brahman). In short, Vishnu-tattva is THE GOD, that is the idea. Brahma is a demiurg, a secondary creator who combines the nature already provided by God into his own creation. Brahma is in the category of jiva-tattva, along with all other living beings. From insects to humans to demigods, we are all jiva-tattva, and Brahma is like a supreme demigod in the particular universe. Well, almost all other living beings, since Shiva is something so special and unusual that He has a category for Himself - He is Shiva-tattva, not exactly THE GOD, but neither a jiva-tattva. It can get more complicated, but this is the basis.
Using the term "Brahma" is somewhat tricky and it may require a deeper understanding of Hinduism in order to be used properly. Brahma from the guna-avatars trinity is one of us, jivas, occupying an exalted position of a demigod. Brahmana is a member of the highest caste in a vedic society. Brahman is the Absolute, sometimes called Brahmajyoti. At least in English, that is how the distinction was made, to tell apart between Brahman, Brahma and brahmana. Neither of these three is a manifestation of the other one.