Ishvara

Ishvara (Sanskrit: Īśvara ईश्वर, Malay: Iswara, Thai: Phra Isuan) is a philosophical concept in Hinduism, meaning controller or the Supreme controller^[1] (i.e. 'God') in a monotheistic sense or as an Ishta-deva of monistic thought. Ishvara is also used to denote a "lord" in a temporal sense, as any master or king (a dual usage also found in English).

The term is also used in Buddhism, e.g. in Avalokiteśvara, here meaning a powerful (but not omnipotent) being. When referring to Divine as female, particularly in Shaktism, the feminine Īśvarī is sometimes used.

Schools of thought

The conception of Ishvara in Hinduism is very much dependent on the particular school of thought. While any one of five forms of a personal God can embody the concept of Ishvara in Advaita Vedanta (citation needed), other schools such as Vaishnavism consider only Vishnu and his incarnations as an omnipotent Ishvara.

Advaita Vedanta

Advaitism holds that when human beings think of Brahman, the Supreme Cosmic Spirit is projected upon the limited, finite human mind and appears as Ishvara.^[2] Therefore, the mind projects human attributes, such as personality, motherhood, and fatherhood on the Supreme Being. An interesting metaphor is that when the "reflection" of the Cosmic Spirit falls upon the mirror of Maya (Māyā; the principle of illusion, which binds the mind), it appears as the Supreme Lord.^[2] God (as in Brahman) is not thought to have such attributes in the true sense.^[3] However it may be helpful to project such attributes onto God.

Vishishta Advaita

In Vishishtadvaita, Ishvara is the Supreme Cosmic Spirit who maintains complete control over the Universe and all the sentient beings, which together also form the pan-organistic body of Ishvara. The triad of Ishvara along with the universe and the sentient beings is Brahman, which signifies the completeness of existence. Ishvara is Parabrahman endowed with innumerable auspicious qualities (Kalyana Gunas). Ishvara is perfect, omniscient, omnipresent, incorporeal,^[4] independent, Creator of the world, its active ruler and also the eventual destroyer. He is causeless, eternal and unchangeable — and is yet the material and the efficient cause of the world. He is both immanent (like whiteness in milk) and transcendent (like a watch-maker independent of a watch). He is the subject of worship. He is the basis of morality and giver of the fruits of one's Karma. He rules the world with His Māyā — His divine power.

Dvaita

According to the Dvaita school, Ishvara possesses all the qualities seen in Vishishtadvaita. However, Ishvara is only the efficient but not the material cause of the Universe and the sentient beings. Thus, Dvaitism does not separate Ishwara and Brahman, and does not believe that the highest form of Brahman is attributeless, or that Ishwara is incorporeal.^[2] Instead, Ishvara is the highest form of truth and worship of God involves belief in God as an infinite and yet personal and loving being.

Thus, in addition to their belief in the abstract principle of Brahman, most Hindus worship God on a day-to-day basis in one of God's less abstract personal forms, such as Vishnu, Shiva, or Shakti. Some Hindus worship these personal forms of God for a practical reason: it is easier to cultivate devotion to a personal being than to an abstract principle. Therefore, the Hindu scriptures depict God not only as an abstract principle or concept, but also as a personal being.

Achintya-Bheda-Abheda

Acintya bhedābheda is a school of Vedanta representing the philosophy of inconceivable one-ness and difference, in relation to the power creation and creator, Ishvara, (Krishna), svayam bhagavan.^[5]^[6] and also between God and his energies^[7] within the Gaudiya Vaishnava religious tradition. In Sanskrit achintya means 'inconceivable', bheda translates as 'difference', and abheda translates as 'one-ness'. It is believed that this philosophy was taught by the movement's theological founder Chaitanya Mahaprabhu^[8] and differentiates the Gaudiya tradition from the other Vaishnava Sampradayas.

"Caitanya's philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva completed the progression to devotional theism. Rāmānuja had agreed with Śaṅkara that the Absolute is one only, but he had disagreed by affirming individual variety within that oneness. Madhva had underscored the eternal duality of the Supreme and the Jīva: he had maintained that this duality endures even after liberation. Caitanya, in turn, specified that the Supreme and the jīvas are "inconceivably, simultaneously one and different" (acintya-bheda-abheda). He strongly opposed Śaṅkara's philosophy for its defiance of Vyāsadeva's siddhānta".(Satsvarupa dasa Goswami)^[9]

Ishvara is simultaneously "one with and different from His creation". In this sense Vaishnava theology is not pantheistic as in no way does it deny the separate existence of God (Vishnu) in His own personal form. However, at the same time, creation (or what is termed in Vaishnava theology as the 'cosmic manifestation') is never separated from God. He always exercises supreme control over his creation. Sometimes directly, but most of the time indirectly through his different potencies or energies (Prakrti).

Notes

^ Heart of Hinduism - Concepts "Ishvara – "controller" often used of God"
^ ^a ^b ^c See generally, Sinha, H.P. (1993), Bhāratīya Darshan kī rūprekhā (Features of Indian Philosophy). Motilal Banarasidas Publ. ISBN 81-208-2144-0.
^ See generally, Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism (Viveka Press 1994) ISBN 1-884852-02-5
^ White Yajurveda 32.3
^ Kaviraja, K.G.. Sri Caitanya-caritamrita. Bengali text, translation, and commentary by AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Madhya 20.108-109 "It is the living entity's constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Krishna because he is the marginal energy of Krishna and a manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, like a molecular particle of sunshine or fire."
^ Kṛṣṇa Upaniṣad 1.25: ...na bhinnam. nā bhinnamābhirbhinno na vai vibhuḥ
^ Prabhupada, A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami (1972). Bhagavad-gita as it is. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Los Angeles, Calif. 7.8
^ "Additional information" (in English). Krishna.com. Retrieved on April 16, 2008. "Lord Chaitanya taught that as spirit souls we are part of God and thus we are one with Him in quality, and yet at the same time we are also different from Him in quantity. This is called acintya-bheda-abheda-tattva, inconceivable, simultaneous oneness and difference."
^ Satsvarupa, dasa Goswami (1976), Readings in Vedit Literature: The Tradition Speaks for Itself, pp. 240 pages, ISBN 0912776889

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