Saguna Brahman ( 'The Absolute with qualities';[The Shambala Encyclopedia of Yoga (p. 247), by Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D., ] from Sanskrit 'with qualities', guṇa 'quality', and Brahman 'the Absolute') is a concept of ultimate reality in Hinduism, close to the concept of immanence, the manifested divine presence.
Yoga
Rājarshi (2001: p. 45) conveys his estimation of the historical synthesis of the School of
Yoga (one of the six Āstika schools of
Hinduism) which he holds introduces the principle of "
Isvara" as Saguna Brahman, to reconcile the extreme views of
Vedanta's "advandva" and
Sankya's "dvandva":
"Introducing the special tattva (principle) called Ishvara by yoga philosophy is a bold attempt to bring reconciliation between the transcendental, nondual monism of vedanta and the pluralistic, dualistic, atheism of sankhya. The composite system of yoga philosophy brings the two doctrines of vedanta and sankya closer to each other and makes them understood as the presentation of the same reality from two different points of view. The nondual approach of vedanta presents the principle of advandva (nonduality of the highest truth at the transcendental level.) The dualistic approach of sankhya presents truth of the same reality but at a lower empirical level, rationally analysing the principle of dvandva (duality or pairs of opposites). Whereas, yoga philosophy presents the synthesis of vedanta and sankhya, reconciling at once monism and dualism, the supermundane and the empirical."[Swami Rājarshi Muni (2001). Yoga: the ultimate spiritual path. Second edition, illustrated. Llewellyn Worldwide. , . Source: [1] (accessed: Friday May 7, 2010), p.45]
Vedanta
According to
Dvaita and
Vishistadvaita,
Brahman is conceived as Saguna Brahman (personal deity) or
Ishvara (Lord of the Universe) with infinite attributes, including form. In Dvaita, Saguna Brahman is distinct from individual souls and the material world. In Vishistadvaita, while Brahman is the supreme reality, the world and souls are its body or modes, making them integral to Brahman. Dvaita and Vishistadvaita consider Saguna Brahman as the ultimate reality and liberation (
moksha) is attained only by the grace of
God.
Shankaracharya (
Advaita Vedanta) distinguishes between Saguna Brahman (with qualities) and
Nirguna Brahman (without qualities), with Saguna Brahman seen as illusory, and Nirguna Brahman as real.
Other
Surya is regarded as Saguna Brahman by Saura (Hinduism),
Vishnu is described as Saguna Brahman in Vaishnavism. Goddess
Shakti (or
Parvati,
Durga,
Kali,
Mahalakshmi, or
Gayatri) is seen as the Saguna Brahman in
Shaktism and
Shiva is the Saguna Brahman of
Shaivism.
Ganesha is seen as the Saguna Brahman as per Ganapatya Sect and
Kartikeya in Kaumara Sect
However, all the six deities are one and the same entity in just different forms.
See also
Notes
Bibliography
