The Journey or Progress 1
Advaita (Non Dual)
Vedanta is a very subtle science and does not have much appeal among the
masses, including the scholars and the believers in dualism. Only Swami Vivekananda in recent times has
been able to expose the beauty and subtlety in his own, characteristics,
inimitable way. The same message is hidden in Gita, Upanishads, Gospel of
Sri Ramakrishna, Bible and almost all other scriptures and holy works. What we
call the Brahman or the Supreme Being or the Godhead, the entity beyond
attribute and beyond quality, is, described by three terms – Existence,
Consciousness and Bliss or Sat-Chit-Ananda. This entity is the purest form of
all of these – it is the pure (and according to the Vedantic tradition the
Only) existence, pure consciousness and pure bliss. When we use the term pure
it signifies that it is not afflicted by Nature, so there is no scope of
modification anywhere. It is immutable and infinitely so. Now according to Vedanta, this pure
consciousness is the starting point of a being and we all go back to this pure
consciousness in the end. The pure is manifested as impure by the influence of another entity
called Maya, which is responsible for the apparent universe that hides the original
pure state. Anything coming under the sway of Maya is impure, as it is modifiable, which means it cannot
claim back the original pure state as long as it is under the influence of the
Maya (which is better described as an individual’s ignorance about his own true
pure state owing to the influence that the universe of names and forms through senses hold over him). Pure consciousness therefore appears as different from
the innumerable impure consciousnesses or the individual souls. This is Vedanta's pivotal doctrine.
Thus according to Vedanta, God or personal
god exists in dualism because of this distinction between pure and impure
consciousness. Our individual egos and consciousness are impure and yet we
inwardly feel the strange attraction to that original pure state. Therefore we
call it as God and give it all the good attributes that we can conceive of.
Personal God according to Advaitic tradition is thus a relative truth, conditioned by individual ego and
consciousness which aspires to become pure like that entity and therefore aim
for liberation, emancipation or moksha, Nirvana or kingdom of heaven. To do so
is to become a part of the pure consciousness itself and therefore go beyond
Maya or the world of names and forms (as visible to the senses) as per Vedanta.
Thus as long as we are different from that pure state and remain in that
apparent state of impurity (which Semitic religions call Sin) under the
influence of mysterious Maya, we should better remain as dualists. When we attempt transcending
that state our spiritual journey begins. In the state of pure consciousness all
names and forms of the apparent universe dissolve.
This Article beautifully explains what Advaita is and why still Dualism prevails..
ReplyDeleteCommon thing in Advaita and dualism is that both believe that its Atman which is supreme and rotates in cycle of birth and death based on Karma principles.
Ultimate aim is to attain Moksha and Puzzled question is How and what is the way?
If one does good karma, still he is bound to come back in this suffering world to enjoy superficial benefits and if one does bad Karma - Again he is bound to come back ..
So how can one attain Moksha?
Great souls like Prabhupada stated that one way is Chanting of Lord's name- But again it Follows the concept on Dualism..
Ultimate aim is to attain Moksha and Search continues to understand which concept directs us to attain same
Advaita and Dualism in reality are not different but different steps of the same staircase. We move up from one to the other.
ReplyDeleteDualism and Moksha are contradictory. Dualism is the path of devotion, it is based on the principle that God as an entity is different from the individual. Many dualistic religions like Christianity or Islam do not even believe in Atman. Hindu dualists do not provide as much importance to Atman, as to an omnipotent God like Sri Krishna or Sri Durga. Atman is for Yogis, as Brahman is for jnanis and Iswar or God for Bhaktas. A bhakta does not want Mukti, moksha is not his goal. He wants to taste God in various ways or Bhavas - Santa, Dasya, Sakhya, Vatsalya, culminating in Madhur. A Bhakta's highest goal is achieving the state of the Gopis, not Mukti. Even Mukti is secondary to that state of Para Bhakti.
When we progress along the spiritual path we realize that a true bhakta is not at all different from a true jnani. The paths may be different but the end states are same. A true jnani becomes a true bhakta and vice versa. Once the Gopi state is achieved the Bhakta realizes that he and the Lord have merged into each other. Gopis used to feel pain in their body when Krishna was hurt, for the same reason. They were established in a supremely advaita state through para bhakti. In that state oneness is automatically established. You are the lover and you are the beloved. But that is also a Mukta state, that is also Jeevan Mukti because a Bhakta's ego has ceased to exist.
So all paths will lead you to Mukti in some form or other, whether you want it or not. The idea is to choose the path that appeals to you most and follow it with all sinceity, but do not disrespect other paths, as the goal and end state are the same in all.