Hare Krsna
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Shiva is dahi (yoghurt) and Krishna is milk. When you take pure milk and mix it with a little sour thing, it becomes dahi(yoghurt). Similarly, Krishna is pure spirit, and when this pure spirit is mixed up withmaya, then that is Shiva. Lord Shiva ismaya-adhipati. It was once inquired by Yudhisthira Maharaja that Lord Shiva, although he appears to be like a beggar, who does not possess even a house and lives underneath a tree, his (Shiva’s) devotees become very rich and opulent materially. Whereas although Lord Vishnu is lakṣmi-pati (husband of Lakṣmi, the goddesss of fortune) and vaikuntha-pati (master of the Spiritual World), theVaisnavas (devotees of Vishnu) become beggars. Just opposite. By worshiping the beggar one becomes rich, and by worshiping the rich one becomes a beggar. Why is this contradiction?
So this is answered by Krishna, yasyāham anugrhnāmi harisye tad-dhanam sanaih [SB 10.88.8], “My first benediction to my devotee is that
I take away all his riches.” That’s all. Then when he becomes helpless, he becomes firmly convinced and when he has no other shelter, then automatically he takes shelter of Krishna. This is what Krishna demands, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam [Bg. 18.66]. When he has no other help, he fully surrenders to Krishna. That is Krishna’s special mercy.
And so far Lord Shiva is concerned, he is the husband of mother Durgā, the supreme material power, srsti-sthiti-pralaya sādhana-saktir ekā chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni vibharti durgā [Bs. 5.44]. So the devotee of Shiva gets all material benediction, and Vaishnava, instead of material benediction, he gets all spiritual benediction. That is the difference.
[An excerpt from a lecture delivered on April 13, 1975 in Hyderabad, India]
Comments
Hare Srinivasa,
I just wanted to highlight couple of points on
1. Sriman Madhvacharya has come up with a concept of Taratamya and Sri Jaganatha Dasaru has quoted the same in Hari Kathamruta Saara according to Which Lord Shiva who is Pramukha in Ekadasha Rudras is Jeeva Tatva and comes in the 5th Kaksha (Group). Please refer http://www.sripurandaraashrama.org/dasasahitya/articles/Taratamya.pdf
2. There is Difference in the Gradation Among Devatas based on their intrinsic qualities and devotion towards Sri Hari.
3. Lakshmi has 3 forms called Sri, Bhu and Durga representing the Mode of Goodness, Passion and Ignorance. However, please note that Lakshmi Controls the 3 Gunas but she is not affected by these 3 Gunas. This is confirmed by Vadiraja Swami who comes in the disciplinic succession of Madhvacharya
3. Parvati Devi who is wife of Lord Shiva is Not Durga. As Durga is none other than Lakshmi Devi and Above Lord Shiva (Please refer Ambruni Sookta Where Vag Ambruni Devi who is Goddess Lakshmi Confirms her Supremacy over lord Shiva and Supremacy of Lord Vishnu over Goddess Lakshmi). Parvati Devi is below Lord Shiva.
To get a clear picture on Madhvacharyas Taratamya and other Concept one can refer Mahabharatha Tatparya Nirnaya which is available at http://www.mahabharatatatparyanirnaya.com/