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iii

The Righteous Path

SriKrishna's Teachings

and words of wisdom to enhance your

Leadership skills and decision making.

Dr. Chaitanya Niphadkar

EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011)

www.educreation.in


iv

|| Jai SriKrishna ||

OM AJNANA-TIMIRANDHASYA JNANANJANA-SALAKAYA

CAKSUR UNMILITAM YENA TASMAI SRI-GURAVE NAMAH

I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master

opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my

respectful obeisance unto him.

HE KRISHNA KARUNA-SINDHU DINA-BANDHO JAGAT-PATE

GOPESA GOPIKA-KANTA RADHA-KANTA NAMO 'STU TE

O my dear Krishna, You are the friend of the distressed and the

source of creation. You are the master of the gopis and the

lover of Radharani. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

TAPTA-KANCANA-GAURANGI RADHE VRNDAVANESVARI

VRSABHANU-SUTE DEVI PRANAMAMI HARI-PRIYE

I offer my respect to Radharani whose bodily complexion is like

molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the

daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krishna.

VANCA-KALPATARUBHYAS CA KRPA-SINDHUBHYA EVA CA

PATITANAM PAVANEBHYO VAISNAVEBHYO NAMO NAMAH

I offer my respectful obeisance unto all the Vaisnava devotees

of the Lord who can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like

desire trees, and who are full of compassion for the fallen souls.

JAI SRIKRISHNA CHAITANYA PRABHU NITYANANDA

SRI ADVAITA GADADHARA

SRIVASADI-GAURA-BHAKTA-VRINDA

I offer my obeisance to Sri Chaitanya, Prabhu Nityananda,

Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasa and all others in the line of

devotion.

****


v

Krishnam vande jagadguru

Lord Krishna is the guru of the world.

SriKrishna’r pana’mastu, Guru Dakshina Arpan’a Karish’ye

I offer myself (Soul) to Lord Krishna and this book is my guru dakshina.

Thus, I dedicate this book to my guru, Lord Krishna

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

We all are one family of the Lord (Vasudev)

So, this book is my gift to every reader.

- Dr. Chaitanya Niphadkar


vi

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, to God (Lord Krishna) for good health and wisdom

that was extremely necessary. Secondly, to numerous people who

accompanied me through this book and provided their support

generously that includes my family, friends and relatives. They talked

over things, offered comments, debated and so on. All this, allowed me

to broaden my horizon and enhance this piece of work.

Thanks to the countless people involved, without which this book

may not have existed today. These include several spiritual gurus,

devotees of Lord Krishna from ISKCON primarily HDG Srila

Prabhupada and his thoughts in the form of his writings like Bhagavad

Gita (As it is), SriChaitanya Charitamrita, then lectures of Radhanath

Swami Maharaj and many other vaishnavas. I am also grateful to people

(outside ISKCON) like Chaitanya Saraswat Math of Srila Bhakti

Rakshak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj and Srila Bhakti Sundar

Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, Swami Bhaktivedanta Narayana, Sri

Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti of the Brahma Madhva Vaisnava Sampradaya

and people from various faiths like Hinduism, Christianity, Jainism,

Jewish, Buddhism, Islam and Sikhism whom I have met personally in

various holy places across the globe. Not only those discussions enabled

me to understand „God‟ from different angles and helped me in learning

the criticalities involved on this spiritual path but also they offered their

understandings about the subject which has been taken into consideration

and reflected in some of the chapters. Actually, there is no plagiarism on

spiritual texts because only God is original and we all try to learn from

Him. Nothing except His words (referring to the Bhagavad Gita) are pure

and I have made an attempt (through this book) to bring the same to you.

Moreover, this book is an indication of my spiritual progress in search of

„The Righteous Path‟. So, it is titled in this way.

My gratitude to the publisher for providing uninterrupted support at

all times.

Last but not the least, I ask for forgiveness from all those who have

contributed in the making of this book and their names I may have failed

to mention.

Yours sincerely,


(Also referred as Professor Krishna)

(Spiritual Name: SriKrishna Chaitanya)


vii

Preface

“Man is not at peace with himself till he has become like unto God. The

endeavor to reach this state is the supreme, the only ambition worth

having. And this is self-realization.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

No work of Indian literature has ever been revered as much as the holy

Bhagavad Gita. It is the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna.

It is the very essence of Lord Krishna‟s teachings. This book is all about

that. It brings you SriKrishna‟s teachings in a simple form and discusses

various aspects related to it, ultimately allowing you to find and walk on,

“The Righteous Path”.

Over the years, these words of wisdom from „The Bhagavad Gita‟

has offered humans some respite from restlessness, complications and

unhappiness and imparted the light of calmness. The practical teaching(s)

offered in this book has a message for everyone. This book could serve

as a beginner level guide for those seeking peace through self discovery

and those in search of God. It can also be useful for those interested in

the Holy spiritual texts and researchers within the scope of theology and

Hindu mythology. However, this book shall be better understood after

studying the Bhagavad Gita.

It is believed that an individual can seek answers to almost every

question about universe, his (or her) past, present as well as future

through the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita. It is not just an old,

religious, teaching manuscript specifically focusing on Hindu religion

rather something that goes beyond the boundaries of religion and race

and promising to share the divine wisdom with all who seek to find

peace. In this sense, this sacred book addresses humans for all times and

rescues them from the bondage of problems, pain, suffering, fear and

replaces them with divine qualities like love, peace and eternal

happiness.


https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5810891.Mahatma_Gandhi

viii

It is no surprise that the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita has inspired

countless people throughout history. Few are listed below:

“When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created

this universe everything else seems so superfluous.” - Albert Einstein

“In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal

philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in comparison with which our modern

world and its literature seem puny and trivial.”

- Henry David Thoreau

“The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of

life’s wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion.”

- Herman Hesse

“The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind

by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions.”

- Dr. Albert Schweitzer

“The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been

current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by

Plato in his Timaeus in which it states…” behold we are not an earthly

but a heavenly plant.” This correlation can be discerned by what

Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita.”

- Carl Jung

“The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual

evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and

comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence

its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity.”

- Aldous Huxley


ix

“I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was the first of

books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but

large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in

another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same

questions which exercise us.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with

full understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it.”

- Rudolph Steiner

****


x

Table of Devotional Contents

Sr.No. Content Page

No.

A) God God is everywhere 1

Form or formless 4

Lord Krishna 8

Bramha, Vishnu, Mahesh 10

Gopis of SriKrishna 12

B) You The purpose of life 14

Our original constitutional position 15 You can‟t cheat yourself and God 19

Time is ruling or ruining us 20

Dharma 24

Karma 31

Doubts about Karma 33

Qualities of a devotee 37

Qualities of a spiritual master 41

Being Brahmin 48

Navagraha‟s importance in our life 55

C) Problems Give and Get 63

Dealing with problems 68

Overcome depression, sorrow and worries 72

Technological advancement but spiritual

regression

76

Friendship with non-devotees of the Lord 80

D) Solution True love 83

Devotional service to Lord Krishna 90

Be happy forever 92

E) Salvation Attaining Moksha 95

Penance and repentance 100


xi

F) SriKrishna’s opinion Introduction to Bhagavad Gita 104

Bhagavad Gita‟s significance 106

Dharma in the eyes of Lord Krishna 108

Karma in the eyes of Lord Krishna 113

Easiest way to attain Krishna 115

Lessons from „The Bhagavad Gita‟ 118

Don‟t just read but „Live Bhagavad Gita‟ 128

Summary of all chapters of the Bhagavad

Gita (As It Is)

134

G) SriKrishna’s advice 158


xii


The Righteous Path - SriKrishna's Teachings

1

___________________________________________________________

Many of us would agree with Karl Marx that religion is the opium of the

people. However, in the present times, we are so busy that we hardly

have any time for ourselves, then what to talk about taking time out for

understanding „God‟. People working in the corporate world, have

almost lost the work-life balance. Some people may argue that there is

nothing like God and all that we see is our actions and their reactions.

Few may hold that relying on God and His power is for those who have

no guts to face the reality. Unfortunately, this misconception prevents

people from learning and understanding God‟s existence. Just like we are

not able to see the atom with naked eyes but a microscope can prove that

an atom exist. Similarly, God‟s very existence is the most important fact.

To say that something exists means that it has its own independent

existence and it is not the product of somebody‟s imagination.

Show me God? If He is there, then why problems arise in this

world? How do I believe that God is listening? If He loves me, why is He

not helping me to solve my problems? I hear such kind of statements all

the time.

Well, I would like to present the Supreme Being‟s existence to you.

But the problem is that people expect to instantly see God. Trust me, you

can see God as directly as you are seeing this page but it depends upon

several factors. It includes the clarity of your mind, your trust, faith, your

acceptance level, your willingness to change, following spiritual

guidelines and so on. For that, you first need to become purified and

qualified. Then, you can surely see our Heavenly father. Also, why do

we have to see something to believe it? Maybe because, we normally

think, seeing acts as a proof. Just as you have an identity card that proves

your personal details, seeing God face to face will make us realize His

presence and thus confirm His existence. We normally say so but we

believe in many things we do not actually see. It is only when we do not

want to believe something; we make our own rules and complicate the

facts. For instance, if we hear on the radio that the petrol prices may rise

in the next month, we accept it blindly. We accept it because we trust the

news. We do not approach a petrol pump and personally verify it.

1 God is everywhere



2

When we hire a taxi, we are unaware of the driver‟s competency to

drive us safely but we happen to trust him although we may see him for

the first (and probably the last) time in our life. If we can trust such a

man who we believe in the very first meeting can drive us safely from

one end to the other then why can‟t we accept that the Supreme Driver

(God) could drive us from Sorrow to Happiness, from this temporary

world to the world of Eternal Bliss?

Death is also a true fact. Would anyone dare to propose that death is

a product of our imagination? So, how can we believe that death is

certain? However, it is reasonable to conclude that it exists.

To recap the earlier arguments, if you agree that an atom exists,

news heard on the radio is true, a taxi driver can be trustworthy, death is

certain, then why shall we hold suspicion about our most trustworthy

friend, God, exists especially when it comes to proving His existence?

Above and beyond, there is a process for understanding everything.

If one needs to get educated in the subject of „Law‟, he or she needs to

first get admitted in a law school and to do so, meet certain criteria.

Similarly, there is an appropriate process for understanding God but he

or she first needs to get enrolled in the study of God. We need to refer to

the textbooks that have proven to be the most effective sources of

information for Spiritual education like The Bhagavad Gita, The Holy

Bible, Guru Granth Sahib, Quran and so on. We must follow proper

procedures and recommended conditions given by spiritual gurus like

Lord Krishna Himself, SriChaitanya Mahaprabhu, Guru Nanak, Prophet

Muhammad and other great souls. Only then, when He thinks

appropriate, God will reveal Himself to us like He has done in the past

for His disciple Arjuna, Bhakta Prahlad, Pundalik, Jesus Christ,

Meerabai, Saint Francis and so on. God‟s existence is as systematic and

predictable as any science. Yet we find it difficult to understand God due

to our misconceptions and mere speculations. Ask yourself would you

call you father very harshly and he would say „yes my child‟. Is that so?

If not; then why do you expect the „Supreme Father‟ to arrive in front of

your eyes and listen to your order immediately on your call? This is

where we make a mistake of ordering instead of surrendering to the

Supreme Lord.

God is a person. He is our eternal father. Why should He

immediately respond to our demands? Imagine if you were to call your

best friend and say, “I command you to immediately come to my home,”

would you think he will arrive? Then why that logic is applied for our all

time best friend, God?



3

SriKrishna tells us how to know Him,

(Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18, Verse 55)

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaśh chāsmi tattvataḥ

tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśhate tad-anantaram

Translation

Only by loving devotion to Me, does one come to know who I am in

truth. Then, having come to know Me, My devotee enters into full

consciousness about Me. One can understand Me as I am, as the

Supreme Being only through devotional service.

The process for understanding Lord Krishna is basically to please

Him. Then, if He thinks we are qualified enough, He will reveal Himself

to us. One most important point for the seeker of God is to surrender to

Him with love, in all the circumstances. A person obsessed with love for

Krishna will have no interest in catering to the demands of his body. He

is not looking for pleasure from his tongue, his eyes, his ears, or his

genitals, because he is absorbed in the ultimate pleasure. Such a Bhakta

(devotee) should be calm and peaceful, because one who knows Krishna,

remains with Krishna, lives with Krishna and enjoys all pleasures with

Krishna; that is beyond this world. In contrast to this, He says:

(Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 9, Verse 11)

avaj nanti m m ḍh

m nu tanum ritam

para bh vam aj nanto

mama bh ta-mahe varam

Translation

“Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know

My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be. Because

they do not know My divine nature as the Supreme Controller of all

living beings, those who are ignorant mock Me when I assume a human

form.”

People who will not accept God unless we immediately show them (God)

are just like blindfolded ones demanding to see the sun without removing

their blindfolds.

****



4

___________________________________________________________

In this age of science and technology, often people doubt the existence of

the absolute. Some people think God is formless.

All of us have a father and he is a person. He has a form and if we

examine thousands of our generations, we will find that our forefathers

were also people with a form. Then, why should we then think that our

Heavenly father (God) is formless?

The word “person” implies form; a formless person does not exist.

Hindu Holy Scriptures has proofs that God is our eternal father and if we

have a form, He too has a form. Rather since He has a form, we have a

form. We have originated from Him. Nevertheless, many people think

that since God is spirit, He is formless. They consider spirit to be some

transparent, superior force or energy. However, there is a scientific

explanation of spirit. The Vedic literature does not deny the formless

aspect of God. Rather, they explain it perfectly. It explains that God,

Lord Krishna, is a person. Just as we are all individual persons, God is

also an individual. But He is not an ordinary, materially covered person

like us. Nityo nityanam cetanash cetananam (Kaṭha Upani ad, 2.2.13)

meaning we are also person, God is also person. He is also living entity,

we are also living entities. So what is the difference between God and

us? He is a transcendental person and to realize His personality one

needs to realize all His transcendental features i.e. His name, His

qualities, His activities, His associates and then His form. God, who is

complete, cannot be formless. Everything in His creation has a form, so

how can He Himself have no form? This would mean that God is less

than His creation or in other words, that the complete is incomplete. This

is simply illogical. The complete whole must contain everything within

our experience and beyond our experience; otherwise it cannot be termed

as complete.

Besides, you will agree, all the great scriptures available in the

world instruct us to love God. How can we love something formless or

void? That‟s impossible. We desire personal relationships and our

ultimate relationship is with God.

The form of Lord Krishna with His bluish hue, lotus eyes, blooming

youthfulness and pearl-white smile is not fanciful. It is not created by an

2 Form or Formless



5

artist, a philosopher, or a mundane poet after seeing the beautiful

panorama of this material world. So where does this beautiful nature

come from? Who made it?

Actually, the beautiful things of nature are minor reflections of

Krishna‟s endless beauty. He is the prototype, as He explains in the

Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 10, Verse 41) “Know that all beautiful, glorious

and mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.”

One might ask, “On what basis we accept the statements given in

the Vedic literature about the form of God?” Think for a moment. Every

day we accept the statements of superior authorities, our boss, our

parents, grandparents, on subjects we are ignorant about. Besides, we

believe in things we hear or read. For instance, many people have never

visited London, yet they believe that it exists. We can verify the truth of

Vedic teachings with a spiritual practice. However, to properly receive

the Vedic teachings, we must approach a perfect authority, spiritual guru,

whose knowledge is coming from the Absolute through an unbroken line

of spiritual masters. Then our knowledge will be perfect. His Divine

Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is such a spiritual master,

and he is giving us authoritative knowledge of Krishna‟s form through

his writings. These books have existed for more than five thousand years

and by following them many have gained perfect knowledge of Lord

Krishna‟s form. For example, Brahma-samhita is a detailed description

of Krishna‟s form by one of the most exalted personalities in the

universe, i.e. Lord Brahma. After thousands of years of meditation,

Brahma actually saw, Lord Krishna face to face. In his ecstasy, he has

defined what he saw:

venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksham

barhavatamsam asitambuda- sundarangam

kandarpa-koti-kaminiya-vishesha-shobham

govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept at playing on His

flute, who has blooming eyes like lotus petals, whose head is bedecked

with a peacock feather, whose figure of beauty is tinged with the hue of

blue clouds and whose unique loveliness charms millions of cupids”

(Bramha Samhita, Chapter 5, Verse 30)



6

angani yasya sakalendriya-vrittimanti

pashyanti panti kalayanti ciram jaganti

ananda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya

govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is

full of bliss, truth, and substantiality, and who is thus full of the most

dazzling splendor. Each limb of that transcendental figure possesses in

itself the full-fledged functions of all the other organs, and He eternally

sees, maintains, and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and

mundane” (Bramha Samhita, Chapter 5, Verse 32)

Experts in the science of bhakti-yoga have confirmed the knowledge

of Lord Krishna‟s form. They encourage us to follow the (Vedic)

methods and experience unlimited pleasure by seeing Lord Krishna‟s

form.

God has two forms, transcendental and immanent.

God is beyond everything, beyond time, space and matter, and God

is present in all beings. God is transcendental, beyond name, form and

boundary but there is another form of God which is immanent. The

immanent form is everywhere, in everything. If you serve a tree, you are

serving God. If you serve the land, you are serving God. If you help the

needy, you are serving God. The realisation of God must become a total

experience.

In the Bhagavad Gita, (Chapter 11, Verses 5-7) while showing

Arjuna His universal form, Lord Krishna said: “Behold, O Arjuna, all

My forms by the hundreds and thousands, of different sorts, divine and

of various colours and shapes. Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the

Rudras, the two Ashwins and also the Maruts; behold many wonders

never seen before, O Arjuna. Now, behold in my body the whole

universe centred in one, including the moving and the unmoving and

whatever else you desire to see.” All living beings in this world are part

of God. The happy ones, the unhappy ones, the trees, the animals are all

are a part of Him. Thus, if you want to understand God, try to know not

only the transcendental God, but also the God who lives in every living

being and also in non-living things. Only then can you know Him

completely. Just knowing a part of Him is not enough. You should know

Him in all His forms.

God is always with you and loves you unconditionally. Nothing is

difficult for Him. He exists in many forms, from the microbe to the

towering tree, from the limited mind to million universes in the galaxy.



7

All the people around you who are suffering, unhappy and floundering in

darkness are all different forms of God. You cannot ignore that form of

God which is immanent and all pervading. You cannot just go running

after the transcendental form of God.

As discussed above, God has a form but He is formless too. How?

You just read, on the above lines that, “Nothing is difficult for Him.”

Clay does not have a form of its own, but whatever form you give it

becomes its form. Gold has no form of its own. You give it a form.

He is having a form (aakaar) and He is formless (nirakaar) too. In

fact, He exists everywhere. There is no place, where He is not present.

God exists in all forms. You may see God in the form of an ant, or Devi

(Goddess) or a sadhu, or a statue (murti). You may see God in any form.

You can worship God in whatever form you wish, and that very form

will appear before you. As Tulsidas says in Ramacharitamanas,

“Jaaki rahi bhavana jaisi, Prabhu murat dekhi teen taisi.”

Meaning: Everyone visualises the Lord the way they want and thus get

His reflection based on their emotional disposition.

Nothing that exists in this world is fiction; everything is reality. I

speak on the basis of my experience. God is our friend who always

works for our well-being. We are the ones who at times forget Him and

in problems, call Him. Yet, He remains always with us like a friend.

Swami Sivananda believed, “God is the breath of the breath, prana

of the pranas, and the life of lives. God is my reality. This is the only

truth in life.”

****



8

___________________________________________________________

The name “Krishna” literally means “all-attractive.” Not only is Krishna

all-powerful and all-knowing, but He‟s also the most beautiful Person.

But why should that matter to us? Because we are all part and parcel of

Krishna; as the drops of ocean water are tiny samples of the ocean itself

similarly we are tiny particles of Lord Krishna. In this sense, all of us are

little „Krishnas‟.

If you know nothing else about Hinduism, you probably have at

least heard of “Krishna”. He is one of the most recognizable figures in

Hinduism with his blue skin and his flute. You might have seen His

picture on the cover page of the holy book „Bhagavad Gita‟ along with

His disciple, Arjuna. I think, it is practically impossible to describe

Krishna but the following texts will give you an idea about, who is Lord

Krishna?

ete camsa-kalah pumsah krishnas tu bhagawan svayam

indras vyakulam lokam mrdayanti yuge yuge

All the incarnations are either plenary portions or expansions of

plenary portions appearing in various universes to protect the

theists; but Lord Krishna is the original supreme lord and the source

of all.

Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 1, Chapter 3, Verse 8

isvara paramah krishna sac-cid-ananda vigrahah

anadir adir govindah sarva karana karanam

Lord Krishna is the supreme controller. His form comprises

immortality, omniscience and bliss. He is without beginning and the

end. He is the origin of all, the cause of all causes and the source of

the Vedas.

Brahma Samhita, Chapter 5, Verse 1

3 Lord Krishna



9

In a nutshell, Lord Krishna has two mothers: Devaki and Yashoda, an

elder brother: Balrama, 16,108 wives, one of which is Rukmini. His dear

friend: Sudama. His eternal consort, Radha and together they form the

timeless divine couple: Radha-Krishna; the epitome of pure love.

****



10

___________________________________________________________

When we say God, it means the whole. The word „GOD‟ I suppose is an

acronym for the Generator, Organizer and the Destroyer. The Hindu

philosophy defines the same with three forms of God based on their

function. They are Bramha (The Creator), Vishnu (The Organizer), Shiva

(The Destroyer)

Brahma is the creator of the universe. He is the chief architect. He

has four faces. He is also known as Svayambhu (self-born), Vāgīśa (Lord

of Speech) and the creator of the four Vedas, one from each of his

mouths. Brahma is also referred as, Prajapati. Along with Vishnu and

Shiva, He is part of a Hindu Trinity, also called the Tri-murti.

While Brahma is often credited as the creator of the universe and various

beings in it, several Puranas describe him being born from a lotus

emerging from the navel of the god Vishnu. Brahma, along with all

deities, is sometimes viewed as a form (sarguna) of the otherwise

formless (nirguna) Brahman, the ultimate metaphysical reality and

cosmic soul in Advaita philosophy. Very few temples dedicated to him

exist in India; the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Pushkar in

Rajasthan. Other temples are found outside India, such as in Thailand at

the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. The origins of Brahma are uncertain, in

part because several related words such as one for Ultimate Reality

(Brahman), and priest (Brahmin) are found in the Vedic literature. A

distinction between spiritual concept of Brahman, and deity Brahma, is

that the former is gender neutral abstract metaphysical concept in

Hinduism, while the latter is one of the many masculine gods in Hindu

mythology. In Sanskrit, the noun stem „brahman‟ forms two distinct

nouns, one is a neuter noun Brahman, whose nominative singular form is

brahma; this noun has a generalized and abstract meaning

Vishnu is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. In Vaishnavism,

Vishnu is identical to the formless metaphysical concept called Brahman,

the Supreme, Swayam Bhagavan who takes various avatars as the

4 Bramha, Vishnu, Mahesh



11

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