Do Advaitins believe that Vishnu appeared before Gaudapada?

Question

The most prominent thinker associated with the Advaita Vedanta school is Adi Shankaracharaya, but he wasn't the founder of Advaita; Adi Shankaracharaya's guru Govinda and Govinda's guru Gaudapada were also Advaitins. Now, as I discuss in this question, according to Advaitin tradition Gaudapada was the student of the sage Shuka, son of the sage Vyasa, and then the Advaita Sampradaya is traced back through Shuka's ancestors: Vyasa, Parashara, Shakti, Vashishta, Brahma, and ultimately Vishnu. But it seems that Advaitins also see a more direct connection between Gaudapada and Vishnu. Let me explain.

As I discuss in this question, Gaudapada is famous for his Karika or commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad, which you can read here. In the beginning of chapter 4, Gaudapada says this:

I bow to the best among men, who, by means of knowledge, which is like akasa and which is non—different from the goal of knowledge, realized the nature of the jivas (dharmas), which, too, are like akasa.

Now Adi Shankaracharya, in this section of his commentary on Gaudapada's Karika, interprets the words "best among men" as referring to Vishnu:

The first verse has for its purpose the salutation to the promulgator of the philosophy of Advaita, conceiving him as identical with the Advaita Truth.... I bow to the God, known as Nārāyaṇa, who by knowledge, non-different from the nature of Ātman (the object of knowledge) and which resembles Ākāśa, knew the Dharmas which, again, may be compared to Ākāśa. The import of the words “Dvipadām Varam” (Supreme among the bipeds), is that Nārāyaṇa is the greatest of all men, characterised by two legs, that, is to say, He is the “Puruṣottama”, the best of all men.

Anandagiri's Tika or subcommentary on Adi Shankaracharya's Bhashya explains why Gaudapada is praising Vishnu:

"Nārāyaṇa"—The story runs thus:—In ancient times Gauḍapāda retired to Badarikāśrama, in the interior of the Himalayas, and there worshipped with great austerity the human figure of the Almighty Lord.

Badarikāśrama is the one of the holiest places of Vishnu, being the abode of Vishnu's incarnations Nara and Narayana. So it seems that Gaudapada went to Badarikāśrama and engaged in Tapasya to propitiate Visshnu. Now Anandagiri ends things there, but the translator provides an additional detail.

Ānandagiri says in his Ṭīkā on Śaṅkara’s commentary on the Kārikā (4-1) that Gauḍapāda performed great austerities in the Badarikāśrama, in the interior of the Himālayas, in order to propitiate Nārāyana who is worshipped there as the God-Man. Nārāyana being pleased with his devotion revealed to him the secret of the Advaita Vedānta. Gauḍapāda salutes this Nārāyana in the opening verse of the fourth chapter of the Kārikā.

So my question is, do Advaitins believe that Vishnu appeared before Gaudapada in Badarikāśrama and taught him about Advaita? Are there any works of Advaita Acharyas which mention this?

On a side note, the name Narayana refers both to Vishnu and to Vishnu's incarnation sage Narayana. So given that this is Badarikāśrama, it's possible that Advaitins believe that it was Vishnu's incarnation sage Narayana who appeared before Gaudapada, not the supreme Vishnu.

" it was Vishnu's incarnation sage Narayana who appeared before Gaudapada, not the supreme Vishnu." Why do you think Advaitins believe it could be not Vishnu? — The Destroyer, Jul 21 '17 at 17:05
@TheDestroyer I just said it's possible that it's Vishnu's incarnation sage Narayana rather than Vishnu himself, since Badri is where sage Narayana lived. It is of course equally possible that it was Vishnu himself. — Keshav Srinivasan, Jul 21 '17 at 17:16
@SwamiVishwananda Whether appearing or not, if you're able to find any works of Acharyas which say that Vishnu revealed knowledge of Advaita to Gaudapada in Badri, that would be a satisfactory answer to my question. In any case, there aren't any major differences between Vishnu and his incarnations, it's just that given the location of Badri I think Vishnu's incarnation sage Narayana may be the one being referred to. — Keshav Srinivasan, Jul 22 '17 at 15:08
@Rickross Haha, I actually have a very long list of questions that I'm planning to ask in future, and that list keeps growing. I can show you the list in chat if you want. — Keshav Srinivasan, Jul 23 '17 at 05:38
"but he wasn't the founder of Advaita; " - Correct. Advaita is propounded by the vedas. "Adi Shankaracharaya's guru Govinda and Govinda's guru Gaudapada were also Advaitins." - the advaita guru parampara starts from Narayana. The entire guru parampara are advaitins. — , Nov 11 '17 at 13:45
"it's possible that Advaitins believe that it was Vishnu's incarnation sage Narayana who appeared before Gaudapada, not the supreme Vishnu." Nope. The guruparampara goes thus - nArAyaNam. padmabhuvam. vasishTham. Saktim. ca tatputra parASaram. ca vyAsam. Sukam. gauDapadam. mahAntam. govindayogIndram athAsya Sishyam. | SrI Sam.karAcAryam athAsya padmapAdam. ca hastAmalakam. ca Sishyam. tam. toTakam. vArttikakAramanyAn asmad gurUn santatamAnatosmi || sadASiva samArambhAm. SankarAcArya madhyamAm. asmadAcArya paryantAm. vande guru paramparAm. || — , Nov 11 '17 at 13:50
@moonstar2001 Well, at least Advaitins believe they're all Advaitins. I hope you'll forgive me if, as a non-Advaitin, I disagree with that belief. And that Parampara shloka doesn't address who appeared before Gaudapada in Badri, Vishnu himself or his incarnation sage Narayana. — Keshav Srinivasan, Nov 11 '17 at 14:41
" I hope you'll forgive me if, as a non-Advaitin, I disagree with that belief." - Sure. I'll forgive you for wanting to think its a belief. 2. There are accounts of gurus in the parampara being visited by former gurus in the lineage. Extrapolate and you will zero in on Narayana himself. Not the sage avatara. — , Nov 13 '17 at 03:58
@moonstar2001 Well, it's not a matter of "wanting" to think something, it's a matter of, say, examining Vyasa's Brahma Sutras and determining what philosophy it advocates. In any case, it's the fact that the incident would have happened in Badrinath that made me think sage Narayana might be involved. Just as, if I heard that Vishnu appeared before someone in Tirupati, I wouldn't be surprised if Venkateshwara were involved. — Keshav Srinivasan, Nov 13 '17 at 04:24
Subtly implying that bramha sutras advocate a non-advaitic philosophy while not actually saying it is so many words (because its not true) - now I don't even know what that is. As for the other point, its ok that you interpreted it that way - I won't be surprised if your personal religious beliefs, perhaps subconsciously, led to downgrading the gravitas of the paramapara - however, strong and tenable counter-arguments have been presented. That is the purpose of the site anyway. Q & A. Not everyone knows everything. — , Nov 13 '17 at 04:51
@moonstar2001 All right, if you prefer I could explicitly say it - I think Visistadvaita is the original philosophy of Brahma Sutras. I think this for a number of reasons, for instance the surviving quotes we have from pre-Shankara Vedantic commentators like Baudhayana the Vrittikara, Tanka the Vakyakara, Dramidacharya the Bhashyakara, etc. But we'll have to agree to disagree on this :-) — Keshav Srinivasan, Nov 13 '17 at 04:58
" I think Visistadvaita is the original philosophy of Brahma Sutras" - of course you do. May right knowledge prevail upon us all. If visistadvaita was indeed what its subscribers say it is, people who subscribe to it will not need to alter original mantras/slokas from scripture nor disparage some others nor try so hard to convince people that their beliefs are superior/true nor try subtly or not-so-subtly to recruit non-vaishnavas .AdiSankaracharya is an avatara , a gnyana avatara at that and his expositions are the ultimate authority on sruti, smriti & purana - predecessors notwithstanding. — , Nov 13 '17 at 06:02
@moonstar2001 I don't think Visistadvaitins alter or misinterpret scripture, but I at least agree with you on "AdiSankaracharya is an avatara" and "May right knowledge prevail upon us all." — Keshav Srinivasan, Nov 13 '17 at 06:05

score 9 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 17 '20 at 08:59

Yes. Advaitins believe Lord Narayana, the Lord Himself, revealed knowledge of Advaita to Gaudapada in Badarikāśrama, as mentioned in the book Preceptors of Advaita.

"Preceptors of Advaita" is a book which has articles collected from various sources published by Kanchi kamakoti Peetam on occasion of diamond jubilee of Sri Chandraseksharendra Saraswati's ascension to the Pitha.

In Gaudapada's section, it is mentioned that Lord Narayana himself revealed Advaitic Knowledge to Gaudapada. Sri Bālakṛṣṇānanda Sarasvatī said Gaudapada did tapasya from beginning of Dwapara Yuga, hence his exact name is not known.

Ānandagiri in his gloss (ṭīkā) on the Māṇḍūkya-Kārikā-bhāṣya, says that the teacher Gauḍapāda in those days spent his time in Badrikāśrama, the holy residence of Nara-Nārāyana, in deep meditation on the [Page 25] Lord, and that the Lord, Nārāyaṇa, greatly pleased, revealed to him the Upaniṣadic wisdom.

Bālakṛṣṇānanda Sarasvatī (17th Century A.D.) writes in his Śārīrakamīmāṃsābhāṣya-vārtika that there was in the country of Kurukṣetra a river called Hirarāvati, on whose banks there were some Gauḍa people (people of Gauḍadeśa, the modem North Bengal); that the pre-eminent of them, Gauḍapāda, was absorbed in deep meditation beginning from the Dvāpara age; and so, as his proper name is not known to the moderns, he is celebrated by the class-name of the Gauḍas.

Since this is contained in book published by Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam on silver jubilee event of Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswati's ascension to Peeta, we can consider Advaitins believe Lord Narayana Himself revealed it Gaudapada.

Do Advaitins believe that Vishnu appeared before Gaudapada?

1 Answers1