The mechanism of liberation in Madhva Philosophy - 2

[Guest guest]

Shri U R Acharya (Retd) Meteorological Dept., Zambia

Sept, 1976 issue of Dharmaprakash Journal, Posted with permission from Sri

Raghupathy Rao.

 

The paramAtma or the Supreme God is different from the Atma. The former is

independent and the latter dependent. The former is infinite and the

latter finite. Both are alike in quality, but not quantity. If one is the

ocean the other is but a drop from it. paramAtma is the bimba and the soul

is the pratibimba.

 

Souls are of 3 kinds: Good (sAtvik), Bad (tAmasik) and the Mixed

(rAjasik), and each one has its own quality. This classification is

inherent in the soul itself and God is not responsible for giving it.

Souls are not created by anybody; not even by paramAtma. They are

beginningless and co-existent with the Lord. This classification is its

inherent nature and propensity. The sAtvik souls alone are eligible for

liberation. They perform great sAdhana in their lives and practice the 8

limbs of yoga: yama, niyama, Asana, prAnAyAma, pratyAhAra, dhAraNa, dhyAna

and samAdhi and catch of glimpse of God when in a super conscious state.

They practice the discipline of discrimination (viveka), renunciation

(vairAgya) and longing for liberation (mumukSutva). The possess six

treasures: calmness (Sama), self control (dama), self-settledness

(uparati), forbearance ((titIksA), complete concentration (samAdhAna) and

faith (SraddhA).

With the flash of aparOksa j~nAna, all his sa~ncita and evil portion of

karma disappear. But the soul continues to live in this world till it

remaining portion of the prArabhda karma wears out and then it goes to

heaven and waits there till its turn for liberation comes which will be at

the beginning of the next creation (Suddha sRSTi) after the mahApraLaya.

 

Time is a continuos flowing entity and it is measured as follows:

There are 4 yugas: Krta, Treta, DvApara and Kali

Kali yuga is 4,32, 000 years long; DvApara is twice as long; Treta is

thrice and Krta is 4 times as long. The 4 yugas combined together is

called MahA yugA is 4,320,000 years long. 1000 such MahAyugA's is called a

kalpa and this is but one 1/2 of one day in BrahmA's life, at the end of

which there is a deluge. For an equal length of time it is night for him;

And the 2 together (2 kalpas) makes one full day.

360 such days makes one year for BrahmA. His life span is 100 such years

and it is called para. At the end of the para there is the great deluge or

MahApralaya. During this, there is nothing but water, and the Lord takes

the form of a baby and floats on a banyan leaf, which is nothing but one

form of Lakshmi, His consort.

The souls of all living creatures, including BrahmA get into the belly of

the Lord and occupy different portions, some above the navel and some

below. All other matter gets back to its basic state called avyaktA, with

its 3 gunas satva, rajas and tamas perfectly balanced. During the

mahApralaya all activities cease and it is but one night for the Lord.

 

After this long night, at the approach of dawn a slight stir disturbs the

balance as a preparation for the succeeding day - a new creation. The Lord

emerges in 4 forms: VAsudeva, SankarsaNa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha. After

creating the universe, He reclines on the surface of the ocean of milk as

PadmanAbha. From his navel shoots up a lotus, at the center of which a new

BrahmA is created. The old Brahma has retired and is awaiting his

liberation. At this time, all the unreleased souls who have to go down to

take bodily incarnations pass through the 4 divine forms of VAsudeva and

are re-born.

 

The souls who are qualified for liberation, follow the old BrahmA to the

river of immortality (virajA nadi) in vaikuntA and take a dip in the

sacred waters. This dip unhooks the souls and the linga sarIra's peel off.

They then enter vaikuntA as liberated souls led by BrahmA, to stand before

the Supreme Lord for the final vision. But, there is still a curtain

(pradhAna Avarana) seperating the Lord from these souls and as a final act

of grace, the Lord Himself removes the curtain if He is fully pleased with

the tapas, sAdhana and devotion. The moment the Lord removes the curtain,

the exalted soul stands in great bliss and rushes into the bosom of the

great Father, remaining there forever enjoying bliss according to his

inherent capacity.

 

Even in the liberated state, the souls maintain their individuality and

are different from each other in their capacity for enjoyment. One may

wonder why the souls do not merge with each other even after they are

liberated. The reason is that they have different svarUpa yogyata and

therefore maintain their difference. To give an analogy from the physical

world, electromagnetic waves which have different wavelengths and which

are not coherent, do not interface with each other. They maintain their

individuality and behave as though others do not exist.

 

Even in liberation, the souls are different from the Lord. Creation and

destruction are the prerogative of the Lord and no one can deprive Him of

it. In the liberated state, all souls enjoy bliss to their maximum

capacity and hence there is no room for jealousy.

 

This brief description of the mechanism of liberation may appear for some

to be fanciful, but, it must not be forgotten that here we are dealing

with a subject matter which the finite mind can hardly comprehend. Where

perception and reasoning fail, we have to fall back on what the scriptures

say.

 

In the service of Lord Vittala

 

Keshav Bhat

PS: Errors/Typos if any, are entirely mine. I request learned members to

correct such lapses.

 

 

 

Get personalized email addresses from Mail - only $35

a year! http://personal.mail./