The Avatar of the Bhagavad Gita says in a well-known verse- howsoever men approach me, even so do I accept them. We may therefore approach God and call Him either father or mother.God is in truth beyond the distinctions of sex and even beyond personality,as we too often conceive it . The ineffable Absolute is endowed by us with the highest attributes we can think of, so as to bring it into relation with us and the world we live in.Accordingly, the distinction between the impersonal Brahman and the personal Isvara is well recognised in our philosophy.The former is God as He is in Himself, and the later is God as he appears to us, when we view through our own capability. we may call this two views as the scientific view and the spiritual view respectively.The impersonal Absolute, when viewed through human mind, becomes a personal God. And this personal God in His capacity as creator becomes Brahma, as protector becomes Vishnu and as destroyer becomes Rudra.And, lastly, when as protector He comes down and takes human forms to save His creation from evil, He becomes an Avatar.Thus we try to bridge the yawning gulf between the Supreme Spirit and the spirit of man.
When the Absolute is thus brought into relation with us and the world we live in, we have inevitably to think of it as an active power.Hence the distinction that we draw between the quiescent Brahman and the active Isvara.In Shakta theology this distinction is named as Shiva and Shakti.
When the Absolute is thus brought into relation with us and the world we live in, we have inevitably to think of it as an active power.Hence the distinction that we draw between the quiescent Brahman and the active Isvara.In Shakta theology this distinction is named as Shiva and Shakti.
