Vedartha sangraha of Ramanuja- 7. The essential narure of the individual Self

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6. The nature of the individual self

 

jeevaathmanaH svaroopam dhevamanushyaadhi prakrthi pariNaamviSesha

naanaaviDhabhedha rahitham, jnaanaanandhaikaguNam, thasya ethasya karmakrtha

dhevaadhibhedhe viDhvasthe svaroopabhedhaH vaachaam agocharaH. svayamvedhyaH jnaanasvaroopam

ithi ethaavath eva nirdheSyam. Thath cha sarveshaam aathamnaam samaanam.

 

jeevaathmanaH svaroopam dhevamanushyaadhi prakrthi pariNaamviSesha

naanaaviDhabhedha rahitham jnaanaanandhaika guNam,

 

The essential nature of the

individual self is devoid of the differences such as deva and manushya, which

are only due to the modifications of prakrthi and it is of pure knowledge and

bliss.

 

thasya ethasya karmakrtha dhevaadhibheDhe viDhvasthe svaroopabhedhaH

vaachaam agocharaH, svasamvedhyaH, `jnaanasvaroopam' ithi ethaavath eva

nirdheSyam

 

When the differences due to being

deva manushya etc. is destroyed (by knowledge of the Self) the essential nature

being different (from everything that could be described by words) it is

indescribable but could be cognized by self alone, and can only be defined as

being the nature of knowledge.

 

The differences between a deva

and a human is cognized by their form, similarly the difference between an

animal and a man. But this distinction pertains only to the body assumed due to

the respective karma and does not

extends to the soul, which experiences the differences because of its

identification with body, resulting in ego-centric impulses. The Self is of the

nature of knowledge and bliss in which the opposites namely, ignorance and

sorrow cannot be present. Hence these qualities experienced by the jeeva in its

embodied state is not real.

 

The distinguishing features of

jeevas in embodied state is of three kinds. First, the egoistic attachment such

as I am a man I am a deva etc. Secondly that of the form as man,

deva animal etc., thirdly the difference in knowledge, as the knowledge of a

deva is superior to that of man, whose knowledge in turn is higher than that

of an animal. But these differences are due to karma and when the karma is destroyed by the knowledge of

Brahman, all the differences vanish because the knowledge expands to its utmost

state which is described by the Lord in the Gita as samadharsana. `Vidhyaavinaya

sampanne braahmaNe gavi hasthini Suni chaiva Svapaake cha pandithah samadharSinah.'

The wise see a learned Brahmin who is humble, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater equally, because the difference

is only external and the Self is the same in all. Hence Ramauja says,

thath cha sarveshaam aathmanaam samaanam. The Self which has pure

knowledge as its essential nature is the same in all.

 

The limited knowledge in the

embodied state is termed as dharmabhoothajnana in visishtadvaita while the

knowledge in its natural state of the Self is svaroopajnana.