Introduction To Vedanta - P. Nagaraja Rao 13 страница

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nature does not partake of the three gunas of prakrti.

He is aprakata. He is transcendent as well as im-

manent. Saiva-siddhanta is not a form of pantheism.

God minus-the world is still God. * This system does

not accept the concept of avatara. Siva has never

any direct touch with Prakrti. They admit that

Siva takes on several forms to protect his dis-

ciples. The forms he takes are of the nature of his

grace and not material forms.

Siva as the ultimate Reality is conceived under

two aspects. There is, his being i. e., Sat and his power

Sakti which is inseparable from him. He is refered

severally in all the three genders as Sivah, Siva and

Sivam. He has eight attributes: (1) independence,

(2) purity, (3) self-knowledge, (4) omniscience, (5)

freedom from impurity, (6) boundless benevolence.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SAlVA SIDDHANTA 179

(7) omnipotence and (8) bliss. The supreme Lord

Siva is more than the universe. In respect of

the creation of the world Siva is only an operative

cause and is not an instrumental cause. The in-

strumental cause for the creation of the world is

Siva’s power or Sakti. Maya or Prakrti is the mate-

rial cause. Siva does not directly act upon it. The

evolution of the world does not affect him in any

way. He does not undergo transformations. He is

immutable. He has five functions to discharge.

They are the usual three, creation, preservation and

destruction. To these three two more are added, ob-

scuration and grace.

The entire creation is the manifestation of Siva’s

power. It is his sport. The purpose of the universe

is to save the souls from bondage through his grace.

The world is the moral theatre for the soul to attain

the grace of Siva. The individual souls who are

infinite in number need physical accompaniments and

the material basis for their life. Maya, which is the

material cause for all things, evolves bodies, organs,

worlds and objects of enjoyment for the soul. Maya

evolves as many as 36 categories. They are of two

orders: (1) certain evolutes are from pure maya (2)

others are from impure maya.

Siva directly acts on the pure maya and produces

the five Siva tattvas i. e. categories. The other cate-

gories are derived from impure maya. It is acted on

by Siva’s power. All the other categories are mate-

rial after the manner of the Sankhyans. All the enti-

ties are explained as coming from Maya in its two

aspects. The souls in this system are infinite and are

in their true nature omniscient. They are infected in

the stage of bondage by the three types of impurities.

180 INTRODUCTION TO VEDANTA

They are respectively called anava, karma and maya.

The first is responsible for deluding the soul from a

true conception of its real nature. It produces in the

soul the delusion that it is atomic. It screens Reality

from the souls and gives it a distorted view. The

second impurity results from the deeds'of the soul and

its results. The third type of impurity endows the soul

with physical adjuncts and a psycho-physical orga-

nism. Another distinguishing character of soul in

this system is that it takes on the nature of the entity

with which it is associated. Its activities reflect the

impurity with which it is in touch. The three impu-

rities are like the bran, husk and the sprout of the

paddy. The individual soul is like the body of the

Lord. It is in inseparable relation with God, but yet

it is distinct. The soul is never identical with the

Lord: It is always distinct even in release. There is

an unmistakable pluralistic strain in the system. The

system describes the relation between the Lord and

souls as one of advaita. It does not signify identity

or oneness as in Sankara. It only means that Siva

is non-separate and inseparable, but yet distinct and

different from the souls.

The souls are in three states in their existence.

At the time of pralaya, i. e., the dissolution of the

world, the soul exists without bondage of maya. This

class of souls is called pralayakala. With the advent of

evolution as the result of karma the soul gets bound

by all the three types of impurities. This class of

souls is called Sakala fiva. With the effort of spiri-

tual discipline, some souls get rid of the two impu-

rities and aWait the grace of the Lord which removes

the third. This secures them moksha. This class is

called Vijnanakala souls.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF SAIVA SIDDHANTA * 181

The conception of moksha in Saiva-siddhanta is

graded and each stage corresponds to a particular dis-

cipline. The supreme method is the conscious un-

reserved, total surrender to Siva as the sole protector.

Bhakti has several stages, different forms and many

steps leading to different grades. The name of the

Lord is to be uttered. A certain type of discipline

called the caryd mdrga asks us to engage ourselves

in the activities that are helpful to people to wor-

ship the Lord. With the unquestioning single mind-

edness of a devotee, the aspirant engages himself in

securing flowers for the Lord, cleanses the tem-

ple, fetches water, prepares food etc. This is the

path of the faithful servant i. e., ddsa mdrga. This

discipline leads the soul to the residence of the Lord

(saloka). A perfect humility and an unconquerable

faith in the saving grace of the Lord is necessary for

this type of quiet self-effacing devotion. The mysti-

cal writing of Appar is the example of this path.

A second type of discipline regards the Lord as

the parent and expresses an intimate affection for

the Lord. This path also consists in activities of an

external nature; but the activities are not done in a

spirit of awe, but with a warmth of feeling. The

path is that of the dutiful son who does the will of

the Lord. This is called the sat p utra mdrga. This

leads us to the nearness of the Lord Samlpya. The

mystic Sambandhar gives expression to this type of

God-love.

The third form is the treatment of the Lord as

a close friend. There is the sweet, human and per-

sonal touch in this kind of devotion. It is called the

sakhya bhava. It makes us God-like (sarupya). The

182 INTRODUCTION TO VEDANTA

mystic Sundarar has sung of this type of devotion

in his hymns.

These three paths prepare us for the ultimate

form of God-realisation called the san-marga. This

leads us to Reality straight. It is called Sayujya i. e. f

union with God. Manikkavacakar exemplifies this

type of bhdkti at its best.

The student of Indian theism finds close parallels

to these types of devotion in the theology of Rama-

nuja, Vallabha etc. The Siddhanta lays stress on all

the three aspects of spiritual discipline: ceremonial

purity, ethical excellence and spiritual love of God.

It is within the reach of all. The system envisages

the possibility of realising God’s grace even in this

life. Such souls are called Jivanmuktas.

Chapter XI

VEDANTA— THE RELIGION OF THE SPIRIT

The secular and spiritual savants of humanity

are agreed that the present world order is defective

to the core and if it is not set tight and pulled out of

the slough, it means not merely the downfall of our

present civilisation and its cherished values but also

the extermination of the. human race itself. The secu-

lar prophets are divided in their opinion and are in

different minds about the prognosis they suggest for

the regeneration of our civilisation.

The Marxians stand up for a classless society

and plump for the emergence of international com-

munism. The anti-Marxians declare that a few bombs

dropped on Kremlin would establish a new social

order. This is the fairy tale at the core of the military

armaments programme. A few plead for the control

of the atomic energy. Yet others believe that if we

give up our outmoded ways of thinking and living

and employ large-scale scientific techniques, paradise

would be round the comer. The latest gospel is

science. The emergence of a new social order is

expected to result from a few waves of the scientific

wand.

There are the pessimists and the alarmists who

tell us that disaster is certain and that all human

effort is of no avail. They make the morbid assump-

tion that we are the victims of a fate over which we

have no control. There is the optimist and the

ostrich. One looks to chance and hopes that something

will turn up and the other does not face facts and

hides his head in the dug-out.

The conflict between expert opinions and the

INTRODUCTION TO VEDANTA

clash of ideologies create a crisis in men’s mind.

The division among the instructed nullifies their

authority and the average individual finds it difficult

to follow any. In the words of A. N. Whitehead,

“Slow drift is accepted but, when for human experi-

ence quick changes appear, human nature passes into

hysteria. In such times, while for so me' heaven dawns,

for others hell yawns open. ” But most of the

secular leaders do not admit the efficacy of religion.

Fenelon writes in his letters: “There is practically

nothing men do not prefer to ‘God; a tiresome detail

of business, an occupation utterly pernicious to health,

the employment of time in ways one does not dare to

mention, anything rather than God. ” Oscar Wilde

exclaimed on reading the Bible: “when I think of all

the harm that that book has done, I despair of ever

writing anything equal to it. ” The contemporary in-

difference and challenge to religion is based on two

grounds. The findings of religion are declared to be

dogmatic and opposed to the spirit of reason and

scientific inquiry. The practical results of religion have

been horrible. They have added to the misery of

men, defended class-interests and at times have tried

to justify social injustice in terms of the will of God.

Men of religion fly. away" in thfe face of social agonies

and seek their individual salvation. A host of men has

exploited the masses in the name of religion. George

Eliot declared, “ ‘Heaven help us, ’ said the old religion,

the new one from the very lack of that faith teaches

us all to help one another. ” In the words of Nicholas

Berdyaev, “Men set themselves to hate in the cause

of love, to use compulsions in the name of freedom

and to become practising materialists for the incul-

cation of spiritual principles. ” Lucretius sums up the

VEDANTA— THE RELIGION OF THE SPIRIT 185

case against religion for the modems. In his view

religion is a disease bom of fear and is the source of

untold misery to the human race.

The contemporary challenge touches only the

wrong type of religions that are dishonest. Militant

atheism is the right answer to dishonest religions.

The mysticism of Sankara is at once scientific and

humanistic. It alone has the chance of being an effec-

tive universal religion. , The mysticism of Sankara

takes up the challenge and lays the unshakable

foundation for spiritual religion.

He shifts the centre of gravity in religion from

authority to experience. Brahman-realisation is the

direct and immediate consciousness of Reality. It is

not a dogmatic declaration that we have from a

second or tenth hand. First we posit Brahman as a

working hypothesis and affirm it with all our being in

our spiritual experience. It is empirical in the

plenary sense of the term. ‘Experience’ is not merely

to be confined to what the senses report. It is not only

objective but subjective also. The philosophic intui-

tion that is sdksdtkdra enables us to realise Brahman.

Such a realisation is the ultimate test of the exist-

ence of Brahman. The realisation is not an external

revelation as in dogmatic and prophetic religions.

Here there is no need for the thunder or the burning

bush of Moses, or the revealing tempest as in Job or

the angel Gabriel of Mohammed. The kingdom of

God is within. ‘That thou art’ declared the Upanisad.

It is not the base rapture of the slave before the

mighty that has overawed him for ever. It is not a

product. It is the realisation of the essential non-

composite universal nature of man. It affirms the

fundamental oneness of Reality. Atman is universal

INTRODUCTION TO VEDANTA

and one. Man attains to such an experience through

intense Jndna. All other modes help us only indirect-

ly. Moksha according to Sankara is not derivative.

It is native to the soul of man. It is the birthright

of man. It is merely rpaking known what is essential

in man. It is for all and everyone. Sankara’s

religion stands for sarvamukti. He is a spiritual de-

mocrat. Here we do not have the conceptions of eter-

nal damnation or the pleasures of. the paradise. Nor

do we have distinctions of the elect and the damned.

Here we do not have the need for an intermediary

between God and man.

Sankara does not regard man as a fallen creature

tied down to a body of lust without any glimmer of

divinity. There is no hiatus between God and man

as in dogmatic theologies. The two, God and man, are

con-substantial. It is all one spirit that vivifies all.

Thus, Sankara affirms the dignity and divinity of man

by his conception of Brahman and its affirmation

through spiritual realisation.

This realisation is not to be at a distant date or

in a different place. It is transformed life. It can be

had here and now in the human body. Those who

have it in the physical frame when they are alive are

called Jivanmuktas. Spiritual experience is trans-

intellectual and not instinctive. It is a non-relation-

al way of knowing. Sankara does not condemn rea-

soning but wants us to use it where it is applicable.

He declared that he criticised other doctrines to en-

able men to reject false views and not out of interest

in discussion as such. 1 Sankara condemns kutarka

and not helpful Logic. He often defends his meta-

physical position not from mere quotations from

1. Prasna Bhasya, TV, 3.

VEDANTA— THE RELIGION OF THE SPIRIT 187

scriptures, but also with arguments frbm reason. 2

He declares m one place that the statement “intellect

stands condemned” must be established by intellect

itself. 3 He never asks us to accept any scriptural

truth that goes against the deliverances of perception.

He writes that even if a hundred srutis declare that

fire is cold and without light, we cannot accept it. 4 5

Further, we find in pre-Sankara, Sankara and

post-Sankara Advaita dialectics, the logical refutation

of the absolute validity of the categories of relational

and mediate knowledge. The categories like cause-

effect relation, substance, attribute, inherence, rela-

tion are convicted of self-contradiction and other logi-

cal fallacies. 6

It is the spiritual realisation of the fundamental

oneness of Reality that makes us feel effectively the

truth of the fellowship of men. To the Advaitin the

concept of the brotherhood of man is not a social ex-

hortation nor a mere doctrine. It is proved on his pulse.

It is only men who have this experience that can be

real humanists. Others who talk about it have no

roots for their feelings. It becomes merely a conven-

tion or a habit with them. At the end of his Indian

tour Dr. Paul Deussen said to a gathering at Bombay:

“The gospels quite correctly establish as the highest

law of morality, ‘love your neighbour as yourselves’.

But why should I do so, since by the order of nature

I feel pain and pleasure only in myself not in my

neighbour? The answer is not in the Bible but

it is in the Veda, in the great formula ‘that art thou’

2. Sutra Bhdsya, IT, 2, 1.

3. Ibid II, II, 1.

4. Gita Bhdsya, Chap. XVIII, V. 66.

5. See Manijana, Vacaspati, ! shn Har$a, Citsukhacarya and*

Madhusudana.

INTRODUCTION TO VEDANTA

which gives, in three words the combined sum of meta-

physics and morals. You shall love your neighbour

as yourself because you are your neighbour. ”

The men who have had the spiritual experience

work for the good of the world. They alone can. Other

. guides would be like the blind leading the blind. The

Jivan-muktas alone can work effectively. Sankara

hints 6 at his own life as an example of the work of

the Jivan-mukta. So it is sheer uninformed criticism

to say that the Advaitin cares only for individual sal-

vation. In fact every Jivan-mukta sticks to the task

of cosmic governance and does his alloted duty. Thus,

we see that Advaita stands for spiritual humanism.

Sri Sankara holds the view that the joy we get from

the things of the world and the love we give our wife

and children are at bottom the real love of the spirit,

Brahman. Pleasure finds its source as well as its

transcendent bliss in the Atman. In all our deeds of

loving kindness, the happiness that is derived is but

a reflection of the bliss of Brahman. The Upanisad

declares, “On a particle of the bliss of Brahman is the

World of living beings sustained. ” 7 It is only in

Brahman realisation that joy infinite can be had. The

result of Brahman realisation is abhaya. Fear results

from a second. 8 The monistic faith and its realisa-

tion abolishes the scope for fear. Brahman is the sup-

reme value. It is described as sat, cit and dnanda.

It is not brute existence or Matter. It is all that is.

“Outside of spirit there is not, and there cannot be

6. See Sankara on V edantasutras, IV, 1-15 and Vacas-

pati’s Bhdmati thereon.

7. Brhadaranyaka, IV, 3, 32.

8. Dvitiydd vai bhayam bhavati Br. Up. I, 4, 2.

VEDANTA— THE RELIGION OF THE SPIRIT 189

any reality, and, the more anything is spiritual, so

much the more is it veritably real. ” 9

The central doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, namely,

the concept of Nirguina Brahman, has great significance

and far-reaching implications for a universal reli-

gion. Most of the dogmatic theologies and religions

give us sharply defined and fully described concep-

tion of the ultimate Reality. They make for the defi-

niteness of conceptions and differences in religion.

Thus we get at descriptions of God, prophet and reve-

lations rigidly and exclusively defined. This accen-

tuates differences. Denominational theologians claim

exclusive and complete disclosure of truth to them-

selves. They say, they alone possess the truth. They

declare “Thou shalt have none other God but me.

Th6u shalt have no other prophet but me, no other

text, no other church than the one I declare to be

true. ” Every prophet of denominational religion abro-

gates the truths of previous revelations and holds to

the inerrancy of his word, person and institution.

He tolerates no other rival and approves of no other

approach. This leads to religious wars, inquisitional

methods and conversions. This brutalises men and

makes stones of their heart. Each religion revels in

the art of competitive indoctrination of the tenets of

their creed.

Sankara declares that Brahman cannot be des-

cribed in any positive terms. It is absolutely indeter-

minable in terms of any predicate for the simple rea-

son that there is nothing beside it. Further, all rela-

tional knowledge is self-contradictory in the last ana-

lysis. Description and predication are relational modes

of knowledge. Hence Brahman is indeterminable.

9. F. H. Bradley: Appearance and Reality, p. 489.

INTRODUCTION TO VEDANTA

This does riot mean that it is absolute nothing. In'

the words of Sankara, men of slow wits (manda-

buddhi) regard it as asat. All the descriptions in the

scripture are like the pointing finger to the moon.

We must not mistake the pointing finger for the moon. '

One of the Zen masters advises “Do not hunt after

the truth, but only Cease to cherish Opinions. ” The

neti-neti method leads to it. It is, “avacanena pro-

vaca” as the Upani$ad puts it.

The description of Brahman in a negative man-

ner leaves room for its manifestation in different

ways. The existence of the spirit is the absolute truth.

The intellectual manifestations of the same in dif-

ferent creeds is relative. They do not conflict with

one another. There is room for all. “The truth is one,

sages call it by various names. ” “The one that exists

is conceived as many. ” “The one glory manifests

itself in many ways. ” 10 The relative formulations are

due to differences of temper and outlook. They do not

go against Advaita.

Sankara’s advaita is no creed. It is not in conflict

with any other system. It recognises the measure of

worth in each system. The existence of the spirit is

absolute and their creedal manifestations are relative.

So there is no need to wrangle about them. Hence we

look upon all creeds as fellowship of faiths.

Sankara’s mysticism is not abstract. It is not only a

sound system of metaphysics but it is also a humane

philosophy of religion. He reconciles the God of re-

ligion with the Absolute of philosophy. Whenever

men have to think about God, they do so only in terms

of human analogy. All language about divinity is

10. Ekam sat viprah bahudha Vadanti |

Ekam santam bahudha kalpayanti!

Ekam jyotih bahudha vibhati!

VEDANTA— THE RELIGION OF THE SPIRIT 191

symbolic. Professor A. N. Whitehead writes,

“Mankind, it 4 seems, has to find a symbol in order to

express itself. Indeed, expression itself is symbolism.

Symbolism is no mere idle fancy or corrupt degenera-

tion. It is inherent in the very texture of human life.

Language is itself symbolism. 11 Symbols suggest but

do not express. They provide the support for experi-

ence which lies beyond the power of words.

The God of Advaita metaphysics is a necessary

stage for man. Sankara’s mysticism is super-theism

and not atheism. The descriptions given in religion

of the Absolute are in the words of Bergson, “crystal-

lisation brought about by the scientific process of cool-

ing, what mysticism had poured white hot into the

soul of man. Through religion all men get what a

few privileged souls possessed in full. ” 12

From the above survey of some of the doctrines

of Sankara we see that his mysticism represents the

pure spiritual religion for which the world is yearn-

ing. It is a unique type of mysticism which regards

spirit as the basis of Reality. From the point of logic

the Absolute of Sankara is unique. It is not like the

Western Absolutes of Hegel, Bradley etc. nor is it like

the Absolute of Nagarjuna. Adapting the words of

Lowes Dickinson we can assert that the real anti-

thesis in the world of philosophy is not between Indian

philosophy and European philosophy, but between

Sankara’s Advaita on the one hand and all other sys-

tems of philosophy on the other.

The Advaita of Sankara accepts the current

challenge to religions by its insistence on spiritual

experience. Sankara take|s his stand on verifiable

11. A. N. Whitehead, symbolism, p. 23.

12. The Two sources of Morality and Religion p. 227.

INTRODUCTION TO VEDANTA

truth and not on creedal declaration. “It is not opposed

to science or reason. It is not contingent on any

events past or future. No scientific criticism or histori-

cal discovery can refute it as it is not dependent on any

impossible miracles or unique historical revelations.

Its only apologetic is the testimony of spiritual expe-

rience ”. 13 It is not dogmatic. The element of huma-

nism in it is perfect. It is the future religion of the

world acceptable to us who are the children of science

and reason.

13. S. Radhakrishnan, Eastern Religions and Western

Thought pp. 294-295.

Appendix to Chapter III

A NOTE

The opinion that all the systems of Indian philo-

sophy believe in the existence 'of a soul or dtman has

been contested. Dr. Radhakrishnan and several other

scholars are of the opinion that Buddhism too accepts

a permanent transcendent Self and only denies the

empirical ego. They hold that the Buddha is a con-

tinuator of the Upanishadic tradition and not an in-

novator. 1

This view is not accepted by all the Vedantins.

They hold that Buddhism represents a different tra-

dition in Indian philosophy. According to Dr. T. R. V.

Murti, there are two traditions 2 in Indian philosophy:

the dtman tradition represented by all the schools

except Buddhism and the anatman ( no-d tman) tradi-

tion represented by Buddhism alone.

The dtman tradition is blazened forth in the

Upanishads and they exhort us to realize the true

nature of the Self, i. e., Reality. For the Buddha the

atta is the root cause of all bondage. It is a “primor-

dial wrong notion” to be got rid of through enlighten-

ment. The nature of the dtman is, for the dtman tra-

dition, consciousness and bliss ( vijndnam anandam).

For the Buddha it is not a positive entity. Selfhood

is the greatest enemy of man. On this doctrine a

striking unanimity exists among all the followers and

the different schools of Buddhism. The Buddha al-

ways considered himself as opening up a new path

1. S. Radhakrishnan: Gautama the Buddha, p. 33; Indian

Philosophy, Vol. Ill, p. 690.

2. T. R. V. Murti: The Central Philosophy of Buddhism

(George Allen and Unwin, Ltd* 1955), pp. 3-35.

INTRODUCTION TO VEDANTA

never trodden before. In the BrahmamajqXa Sutta and

the Samannaphala Suttas he reviews several current

philosophical theories and rejects them all. In modern

philosophical terminology, Buddhist metaphysics re-

presents the modal view of Reality and the other

systems represent the substance /view. Professor

Stcherbatsky too inclines to this distinction. In the

light of the development of Buddhism and its doc-

trines it is urged that Buddhism is not a restatement

of the Upanishadic doctrine — with a new emphasis,

or another version of Advaita Vedanta. It would be

doing full justice to the spiritual stature of the

Buddha to regard his system as representing a bold

original tradition arising from his spiritual experience

and different from the Upanishadic tradition. Such an

acceptance does not detract from the value of Indian

philosophy. Buddhism is not a modified form of the

Upanishads or a mere ethical theory, or the agnostic

metaphysics of a rationalist as some suppose. It is

a distinct, virile, spiritual tradition in Indian thought.

GLOSSARY

Abhdsa Vada

Theory of reflection.

Abhaya

Fearlessness.

Abhyudaya

Attaining Heaven, it is not the same as

Moksa.

Abhydsa

Repetition, # one of the six determinative

marks of purport in the interpretation

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