Shastra Quiz 30

The radical nondualists advocate that a jīva can become free from the bondage of his upādhis by intuition of his identity with Brahman, assimilated from the Śrutis. Their idea was based on these Śruti statements:

1.tat tvam asi
Thou art that. (CHU 6.8.7)

2.tad ātmānam eva vedāhaṁ brahmāsmi
It [the primal Self] knew only Itself as, “I am Brahman.” (BAU 1.4.10)

3.tat tvam asy-ādi-vākyebhyaḥ jñānaṁ mokṣasya sādhanam
The means to liberation is direct intuitive insight arising from dictums such as, “Thou art that.” (Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa 35.68)

4.brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati
He who knows Brahman verily becomes Brahman. (MUU 3.2.9)

5.tarati śokam ātma-vit
The knower of the Self transcends grief. (CHU 7.1.3)

Thus, with the apparent support of Vedic scripture, the Advaitavāda School claims that liberation is achieved through knowledge. Indeed, the Śruti says, “By knowing that [Brahman] alone, one transcends death; there is no other way to cross over” (tam eva viditvā ati mṛtyum eti, nānyaḥ panthā vidyate’yanāya, ŚU 3.8, 5.15).

And in Bhagavad Gītā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa says:

yathaidāṁsi samiddho’gnir bhasma-sāt kurute’rjuna
jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi bhasma-sāt kurute tathā

"As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities." (GĪTĀ 4.37)

Continuing this idea in the next two verses, Śrī Kṛṣṇa says, “There is nothing as purifying as direct knowing” (na hi jñānena sadṛśaṁ pavitram iha vidyate) and “Having come upon the state of direct knowing, one quickly attains supreme peace” ( jñānam labdhvā parāṁ śāntim acireṇādhigacchati, GĪTĀ 4.38–39).

In effect, the Advaitavādīs think that the jīva is like an infant from a wealthy family who has gotten lost in a busy public place and is then found and raised by some poor man. As a result of this misfortune, compounded by ignorance of his true identity, the baby grows up in a humble setting as the child of the poor man. Later, the child may be recognized by a servant of his father. As soon as he comes to realize that he is the son of a wealthy man, all his poverty vanishes. He does not have to toil hard to get rid of this poverty. In fact, he was never really poor, just unaware of his actual state, and thus simply coming to a proper understanding of his real identity was sufficient to reverse the situation.

Similarly, the Advaitavādīs say, the jīva is nothing but deluded Brahman. As soon as he realizes this by properly hearing and reflecting upon the Vedic instructions, he becomes liberated. He then understands that Brahman is not distant from him, for in fact he himself is Brahman. His only obstacle was ignorance, which was subsequently removed by hearing the Vedas.

The sādhanā-siddhas do not become antaraṅgā-śakti. They remain taṭastha but imbued with antaraṅgā or bhakti śakti. Thus they function just like nitya-siddhas, because it is antaraṅgā-śakti that inspires them. Yet, the distinction between sādhana–siddha and nitya-siddha remains. Nitya-siddhas are associates of Kṛṣṇa and they cannot be replaced. Moreover, there is no desire in any devotee of Kṛṣṇa in Goloka to become someone else. They are all satisfied in their service. There is no competition in the material sense because they are free from jealousy.

Learn more: Siddha-Deha and Nitya-Līlā

The word svarūpa is copiously used throughout the Sandarbhas. None of the usages refer to the existence of an original form for the jīva. In many places, Śrī Jīva uses the word to convey ‘inherent’ nature, specifically to refute the claim of the Advaitavādis that Bhagavān’s qualities such as His śaktis are not inherent in Him, but superimposed (āropita) by the agency of māyā on Brahman. Likewise, Śrī Jīva uses the word svarūpataḥ to convey the meaning that the jīva is inherently distinct from Bhagavan (jīvasya svarūpata eva parameśvarād vailakṣaṇyam, Tattva-sandarbha Anuccheda 32 ).

The jīva has a form in Goloka Vṛndāvana, but only in the sense that it identifies with that form; the form remains external to it. This is similar to the jīva’s situation in the material body. But the form in Goloka is eternal and not material. As such, it can well be considered to have become ‘inherent’ to the jīva in the sense that it is permanent. But the jīva’s form is made of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa-śakti. This fundamental fact does not change.

Learn more: Mind’s Nature, Mood of Service, Siddha Svarūpa

The jīva’s bhāva or loving mood for Śrī Kṛṣṇa decides the form to be attained in Goloka. This bhāva is received through the agency of the guru. That is, disciples get the bhāva that their gurus have, who received it in turn from their gurus. As such, there is no choice in the matter.

Learn more: Relation between Jiva and Siddha Deha

Learn more: Presence of Paramatma, Spiritual Destinations

Our ācāryas like Srī Rūpa Gosvāmī have their mañjarī svarūpas. They are also part of Gaura-līlā. This implies that a Gaudīya Vaiṣṇava can have two siddha-svarūpas, one in Gaura-līlā and one in Kṛṣṇa-līlā.

Learn more: Expansion of the Siddha-svarupa

Jīva is taṭastha śakti, both nitya-mukta as well as nitya-baddha. Kṛṣṇa’s friends in Goloka are not nitya-mukta-jīvas. They are nitya-mukta parṣadas.

Learn more: Mukta-jīvas, Paramātmā-Aspect.

Bhāva-bhakti is the first sprout of prema, or pure love of Bhagavān. It is the seventh of the eight stages of development of the bhakti-latā, the creeper of devotion.

In this stage of bhakti, śuddha-sattva, or the essence of Bhagavān’s intrinsic potency consisting of consciousness and bliss, is transmitted into the heart of the practicing devotee from the heart of one of Bhagavān’s eternal associates. It softens the heart by different kinds of taste.

Bhāva-bhakti is also said to be the fruit of sādhana-bhakti, not as a causal effect, but rather as the blossoming of the very same potency into an existential state of being and awareness within the receptacle of the heart.

Uttara-khaṇḍa of Padma Purāṇa, lists a number of synonyms for Vaikuṇṭha, including mokṣa (liberation), paraṁ padam (the supreme destination), liṅga (the signifier), amṛta (immortality) and viṣṇu-mandira (the abode of Viṣṇu)