Debunking gotquestions.org PART 3
Hare Krishna!
All Glories To Sri Guru And Sri Gauranga!
The article can be found here, from gotquestions.org
What does the word bramhiṇ or bramhaṇa mean?
The symptoms of a spiritual brahmana are mentioned in Brhad aran-yaka Upanisad
(3.9.10) as follows:
etad aksaram gargy aviditvasma2 2okat praiti sa krpanah
atha ya etad aksaram gargi viditvasmal 2okat praiti sa brahmanah
"0 daughter of Gargacarya, he who leaves this world without learning about the
infallible Supreme is a krpana, or miser. 0 Gargi, one who is acquainted with that
infallible truth by which one transcends death is a brahmana.
It is stated in Brhad aranya-ka (9.9.21) in this regard as follows:
tam eva dhiro vij naya praj nam kurvita brahmanah
"A wise person who knows the Supreme Lord, Parabrahman, through the process
of devotion, is a brahmana
A bramhaṇa is a person belonging to the bramhaṇa varṇa, which is different from the word caste, so the word priestly caste doesn't hold any water here.
Pūrvapakṣa 2: Another understanding of Brahman is that of “the Absolute God of Hindus.” According to Hinduwebsite.com, Brahman is “a very mysterious Being. In Hinduism He occupies the highest place, as the creator and enjoyer of all creation. He is the Light and Delight of the Universe, the Ruler and the Lord, without a beginning and without an end, indestructible, indescribable, blissfully immersed in Himself and all by Himself.” There is not a consensus within Hinduism as to the exact definition of Brahman, as it can apply to the ideals as well as to those who uphold those ideals.The idea of a Brahman is Hinduism’s attempt to explain the One we know as Creator God. Yahweh. The self-described I Am (Exodus 3:14). Many of the attributes Hindus assign to their Brahman parallel the Judeo-Christian understanding of the LORD. This demonstrates the truth of Romans 1:20, which says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
Refutation:
What does bramhaṇ or para-bramhaṇ mean?
It means god or all pervading supreme personality of Godhead.
atha te lakṣaṇaṁ vacmi
brahmaṇaḥ paramātmanaḥ
utpattisthitisaṃhārā hyāvṛttirniyamastathā
prakāśo bandhamokṣau ca
vṛttīryasmād bhavantyamī
sa viṣṇurbrahma-saṁjñoʼsau
kavīnāṁ sammato vibhuḥ
sākṣādbrahmeti taṁ prāhuḥ paścādbrahmādikānapi
brahmaśabdaṁ sopapadaṁ
brahmādiṣu vido viduḥ
“Now I shall tell the features of Brahman, the Supreme Soul, to you. He is Lord Viṣṇu; from him all these take place: origin, sustenance, annihilation, repetition, control, knowledge, bondage, liberation and livelihood. This Lord is known by the word Brahman too. He is honoured by the learned. They call him the veritable Brahman, etc.” »Skanda Purāṇa
The supreme lord is known as bramhaṇ or para-bramhaṇ.
न विष्णोः परमं किंचिन्न समो वा कथंचन॥
“There is neither anything greater than Lord Viṣṇu nor on a par with with Him in any respect.” »Skanda Purāṇa 2.7.19.25
rudra uvāca
viṣṇureva paraṁ brahma
“Rudra said: ‘Lord Viṣṇu alone is the Supreme Brahman’” »Varāha Purāṇa 72.4
यथा परं ब्रह्म हरिस्तथा परः जगत्स्वरूपश्च स एव केशवः।
“Just as Lord Hari is the Supreme Brahman, that Keśava is beyond the form of the cosmic manifestation.” »Agni Purāṇa 270.15
Lord Hari is the bramhaṇ or para-bramhaṇ.
1.BRAHMANDA PURANA
nārāyaṇaḥ paraṃ brahma
‘’ Lord Narayana is Param Brahma’’- Brahmanda Purana 2.36.40
2.BRAHMA PURANA
sa ca viṣṇuḥ paraṃ brahma
‘’ Lord Vishnu is Param Brahma’’- Brahma Purana 23.41
3.VISHNU PURANA
yatrāvatīrṇaṃ viṣṇvākhyaṃ paraṃ brahma narākṛti
‘’Lord Vishnu is Param Brahma’’- Vishnu Purana 4.11.2
4.NARSIMHA PURANA
nārāyaṇaḥ paraṃ brahma
‘’Lord Narayana is Param Brahma.’’- Narsimha Purana 64.43
5.MAHABHARATA
nārāyaṇaparaṃ brahma
‘’Lord Narayana is Param Brahma.’’- Mahabharata 12.47.63
6.GARUDA PURANA
viṣṇureva paraṃ brahma
‘’Lord Vishnu is Param Brahma.’’- Garuda Purana 1.227.38
7.AGNI PURANA
param brahma jyotirātmā vāsudevo
‘’Lord Vasudeva is Param Brahma.’’- Agni Purana 161.26
8.BHAGAVATA PURANA
kṛṣṇaṁ paraṁ brahma
‘’Lord Krishna is Param Brahma.’’- Bhagavata Purana 7.15.79
9.BRHAT BRAHMA SAMHITA
‘’ Lord Narayana is Param Brahma.’’- Brhat Brahma Samhita 3.9.51
10.NARAYANA SAMHITA
‘’Lord Narayana is Param Brahma.’’- Narayana Samhita 2.35
11.AHIRBUDHNYA SAMHITA
‘’ Lord Narayana is Param Brahma.’’-Ahirbudhnya Samhita 2.22
12.LAKSHMI TANTRA
‘’Lord Vasudeva is Param Brahma.’’- Lakshmi Tantra 14.1
13.VARAHA PURANA
‘’Lord Vishnu is Param Brahma.’’- Varaha Purana 72.4
14.SKANDA PURANA
kṛṣṇameva paraṃ brahma
‘’Lord Krishna is Param Brahma.’’- Skanda Purana, Vasudeva Mahatmya 2.9.32.17
15.BRAHMA VAIVARTA PURANA
‘’Lord Krishna is Param Brahma.’’- Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Brahma Khanda 1.28.66
16.PARASHARA SAMHITA
‘’Lord Narayana is Param Brahma.’’- Parashara Samhita 2.37
17.PADMA PURANA
nārāyaṇaḥ paraṃbrahma
‘’Lord Narayana is Param Brahma.’’- Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda 226.59
18.JAYAKHYA SAMHITA
‘’Lord Narayana is Param Brahma.’’- Jayakhya Samhita 1.61
19.SHESHA SAMHITA
‘’Lord Narayana is Param Brahma.’’- Shesha Samhita, chapter 2, Mantrotpatti Section
20.GOPALA TAPANI UPANISHAD
param brahma gopala
‘’Lord Gopala (Krishna) is Param Brahma.’’ Gopala Tapani 2.112
21. NARAYANA SUKTAM (KRISHNA YAJUR VEDA-MAHA NARAYANA UPANISHAD)
narayana param brahma
‘’Lord Narayana is Param Brahma.’’-Narayana Suktam, Mantra 4
22.KURMA PURANA
paraṃ brahma sa viṣṇuḥ
‘’Lord Vishnu is Param Brahma.’’ Kurma Purana 1.1.58
23.NARADA PURANA
paraṃ brahma sanātanam viṣṇusaṃjñaṃ
‘’Lord Vishnu is Param Brahma.’’ -Narada Purana 1.38.25
24.VAMANA PURANA
vāsudevaṃ paraṃ brahma
‘’Lord Vasudeva is Param Brahma.’’- Vamana Purana 59.75
25.ATHARVA MANTRA KHANDA
narayanam param brahma sarva karana karanam
‘’Lord Narayana is Param Brahma.’’ -Venkatesvara Vajra Kavacha stotram
Pūrvapakṣa 3:
Throughout cultures and civilizations and over the centuries of human history, mankind has sought to know God. The sense of right and wrong He placed in our hearts demands an explanation. Across societies, people who uphold those ideals are celebrated, as the Hindus celebrate priestly Brahmans. Yet, rather than seek the Lord, mankind invents alternate theories to explain the presence of a conscience, a moral compass, and the sense that a greater Being is behind creation. Romans 1:21–23 goes on to describe what happens when men reject the true God in favor of their own philosophies: “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.”While there is some truth in Hindu philosophy, it is only true in the places it mirrors the Bible. However, the Brahman explanation falls far short of all God intended us to know about Him. He wants His human creations to know Him as a Father (Romans 8:14–15; Galatians 4:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:16). We come to know God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 14:6). God is not an impersonal Brahman in the Hindu sense. He exists in three distinct Persons (Matthew 28:19) who can be known. He interacts with mankind on a personal level (Zephaniah 3:17) and offers eternal life to anyone who calls upon His name (Acts 2:21).
Refutation:
The phrase hindus celebrates priestly bramhans, doesn't fit here.
It is vaiṣnavās who are celebrated, not mere bramhanas,
It is mentioned in the Garuda Purana:
brahmananam sahasrebhyah sat r a yaj I visis-yate
satra yaji saha-srebh-yah s a r v a vedanta -paragahsarva vedanta -vit kotya- - visnu bhakto vis-isyate
"It is said that out of thousands of brahmanas, one is qualified to perform
sacrifices, and out of many thousands of such qualified brahmanas expert in
sacrificial offerings, one learned brahmana may have passed beyond all Vedic
knowledge. Among many such brahmanas, one who is a devotee of Lord Visnu is
the best."
In naradiya Purana it is stated:
svapaco pl mahlpala visnor bhakto dvij adhikah
"0 king, a devotee of Lord Visnu, though born in a dog-eater family, is higher then
a brahmana"
Is the vedic literature manmade?
No,
Madhyandina-sruti, Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad 2.4.10:
asya mahato bhutasya nihsvasitam etad yad rg-vedo yajur-vedah sama
vedo’tharvangirasa itihasah puranam ityadina
“O Maitreya, the Rg, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Vedas as well as the Itihasas and the Puranas all manifest from the breathing of the Lord.”
Is god impersonal?
No, the hare krishna devotees do not believe in the impersonal aspect of god, we believe in a God who is personal, who is a personality who possesses a form of eternal bliss and knowledge.Narayana sukta says,
ṛtagï satyaṁ paraṁ brahma puruṣaṁ kṛṣṇapiṅgalam,
ūrdhvaretaṁ virūpākśaṁ viśvarūpāya vai namaḥ.
Meaning: Obeisance unto the Supreme Brahman, the Lord of the Cosmic Form, who is all-pervading, immutable, the One who has an auspicious form of a black, tawny color, who has risen above all changes, who has eyes that are dissimilar in nature.
He is the only way of salvation, and the ultimate goal of all living entities, devotion to the lord is inherit within all beings
Srila Jiva Goswami quotes from Srimad Bhagavatam
setrajna eta manasa vibhutir jivasya maya-racitasya nityah avirhitah kvapi tirohitas ca suddho vicaste hy avisuddha-kartuh
"The individual soul bereft of Krsna consciousness has many ideas and activities created in the mind by the external energy. They have been existing from time immemorial. Sometimes they are manifest in the wakening state and in the dream state, but during deep sleep (unconsciousness) or trance, they disappear. A person who is liberated in this life (jivan-mukta) can see all these things vividly.
Hare krishna!
ṣri kṛṣnārpaṇamasṭu
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