ajAti vAda

kRshNa, the jagadguru, and as rAma, Siva as dakshiNAmUrti, the guru who
teaches in silence, and as candramaulISvara, and the Mother Goddess as pArvatI,
lakshmI and sarasvatI. Especially popular are the representations of vishNu as a
sAlagrAma, Siva as a linga, and Sakti as the SrI-yantra. gaNapati is always
worshipped at the beginning of any human endeavor, including the pUjA of other
Gods. The daily sandhyAvandana ritual is addressed to sUrya. The sannyAsis of
the advaita sampradAya recite both the vishNu sahasranAmam and the
SatarudrIya portion of the yajurveda as part of their daily worship. In addition,
"hybrid" forms of the Deities, such as hari-hara or Sankara-nArAyaNa and
ardhanArISvara are also worshipped.
There is another significant distinction between worship in the advaita tradition
and other kinds of Hindu worship. advaita insists that the distinction between the
worshipper and God, the object of worship, is ultimately transcended, and that the
act of worship itself points to this identity. This should not be confused with the
doctrine of dualistic Saiva siddhAnta schools, which call for a ritual identification
of the worshipper with Siva, for the duration of the worship. The identity of
Atman and Brahman is a matter of absolute truth, not just a temporary ritual
identification. Most vaishNava schools of vedAnta hold that the distinction
between the worshipper and God, the object of worship, is eternally maintained.
9. What is the advaita concept of liberation?
In the advaita analysis, human life and behavior is explained on the basis of the
theory of karma, which sets the cycle of rebirths into motion. All actions, good or
bad, create their own karmic residues called vAsanas , which exhibit their results
over a period of time. The karma which has already started taking fruit is called
prArabdha karma. This is the karma that is responsible for the current birth. The
accumulated karma which is yet to take fruit is called sancita karma. As long as
the cycle of rebirths continues, more karma will be done in the future, and this is
called Agamin karma. Liberation (moksha) is the way out of this endless cycle.
In advaita, moksha is synonymous with brahman. Sruti says "brahmavit
brahmaiva bhavati" - He who knows brahman becomes brahman Itself. In the
advaita understanding of this statement, the "becoming" is only metaphorical. It is
not as if something that was not brahman suddenly becomes brahman. Rather,
"knowing brahman" means a removal of the ignorance about one's own essential
nature as brahman. Thus, to "know brahman" is to "be brahman". The one who
has realized the identity of his own Atman with the brahman is the jIvanmukta,
one who is liberated even while embodied. Such realization should not and cannot
just be a literal understanding of upanishadic mahAvAkyas. The jIvanmukta is
one who has experienced the truth of the identity himself. Thus, moksha can only
indirectly be called a result of ritual action (karma mArga) or of devotional
service (bhakti mArga ). These paths lead along the way, and constitute the "how"
but not the "why" of liberation. In fact, moksha is not a result of anything, for it