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8.Nature of soul according to Visishtadvaita



  1. Jiva is eternal and jnana is the dharma of jiva and also its nature.



           The essential nature as jnana is called the dharmibhoothajnana
while the knowledge as the essential attribute of jiva is the
dharamabhoothajnana. the attributive knowledge. Dharmabhoothajnana is  a
special concept of Visishtadvaita philosophy. It is attributive in the
sense that it stands in relation of an essential attribute to its
substantive , the jiva. It is always eternal and all- pervasive in
Isvara and the liberated beings but in the case of jivas bound by their
karma it is sankuchitha, contracted and regains its full form only when
the become free of bondage.



2.Jiva as the kartha,bhoktha and jnatha



             Besides having the attributive knowledge which makes jiva
the jnatha,knower, jiva is also defined as having the attributes of
agency, karthrthva and enjoyership bokthrthva. Ramnuja quotes the
Brahmasutra 'karthaa saasthraarthavatvaath,' to show that the scriptural
texts enjoin sacrifices to attain heaven or upasana to attain moksha the
results of which is enjoyed by the doer. The idea expressed in the Gita
'gunaa guneshu varthantha' only explains that the gunas pertain to the
body,  mind and intellect, due to which jiva is caugth in the
transmigration.



            But eventhough jiva is the doer the actions of the jiva is
controlled by Isvara, the indwelling Self. This does not mean that the
jiva has no freedom of action. Isvara makes the jiva act according to
the efforts made by the jiva only. The initial action is taken only by
the jiva according to his own will.Isvara is the approver, gives
permission to proceed, being the antharyamin. This is illustrated by
Ramanuja in Sribhashya  thus. A man who owns a property jointly with
another seeks his permission to sell or remodel it and the latter gives
permission. But the result of the action, loss or gain belongs to the
doer only while the other is the silent witness. So the real kartha is
jiva only and the Lord is the permitting witness.



           This may perhaps raise a doubt in the mind  that whether
Isvara permits even the evil actions? Being the indweller and controller
why does He prevent the jiva from doing wrong? This can be explained as
follows. A mother is concerned about the welfare of her children equally
and impartially. When a child wishes to do something through which he
may come to harm the mother tries to stop him. A good child listens to
her but an obstinate child refuses to obey. Then the mother lets him go
and do it and when he comes back crying, hurt through his action she
attends on him. Similarly the Lord does caution us before we do
somrething wrong. This is what we commonly call our conscience. All
sinners will hear the voice of his conscience at the outset but a
confirmed sinner ignores it and proceeds to do what his desire propells
him to do due to his past karma. This is the force of the gunas. So the
Lord remains a silent witness till he repents his action and comes back
to Him when He takes him into his fold. This is the meaning of the
statement that His retribution is for redemption.



3.Jiva  is of anuparimaana



         The concept of the jiva as anu, atomic. is  a distinctive
feature of the Visishtadvaita philosophy. The authority for this is
found in Svetasvathara upanishad which describes the soul being
infinitely smaller than a hundredth part of hair which has been already
divided into handred part The upanishad also says that the real nature
of the soul is infinite.. 'vaalaagrasatabhaagasya sathadhaa kalpithasya
cha bhaage jivah sa vijneyah sa chaananthyaaya kalpathe.' Elsewhere also
the jiva is mentioned as all-pervasive and eternal. This seemingly
incongrous statements that jiva is anu and vibhu, atomic and all
pervasive is explained by Vedantadesika that the all-pervasiveness of
the jiva is to be understood with reference to its spiritual nature This
is brought out by Ramanuja in  his commentary on the Brahmasutra '
gnaadvaa aalokavat.'  wherein he cites the examples of gem,the Sun etc
and says that even though the source of light exists in one place its
light encompasses all.  'yathaa manidhyumaniprabhrtheenaam
ekadesavarthinaamaalokahanekadesavyapeedhrsyathe thadvath hrdhaysthasya
aathmanah jnanam sakaladheham vyapya varthathe.'



4.The difference between jiva and Brahman is real.



              According to the Brahmasuthra 'adhikam thu
brahmanirdesaath,' the difference between Brahman and the jiva is real
because Brahman is something more than the jiva. Also the suthra 'amso
nanaavyapadesaath----'  mentions that the soul is the amsa of the Lord.
The term amsa is defined by Ramanuja as that which  forms an integral
part of a whole entity and therefore is an essential attribute of that
entity.Thus the interpretation of both unity as well as difference
between jiva and Isvara is justified and hence there is no inconsistency
between the bhedha and abhedha srutis.



            From the causal point of view Brahman is the aadhaara, being
the material cause and the jiva is the aadheya. Brahman is also the inne
rcontroller , niyanthaa on account of being the indwelling self of jiva
, the niyaamya. Jiva is also the sesha who subserves Isvara, the seshin.
This is the essence of the sarira-sariri relationship between the two.
As the amsa of Brahman jiva is inseparable from Brahman but as the
prakara, the mode, it is also distinct from Brahman.





9.The nature of  jagat, the world.





        The sarira-sariri bhava applies also to the relationship between
jagat and Isvara. because the prakrthi, acit also constitutes the sarira
of Brahman. The evolution of prakrthi is effected by Brahman,  its
material cause as affirmed by the sruti text 'sadheve soumya idham agra
aaseeth ekameva advitiyam ,' the term' idham' includes cit and acit.
Prakrithi is supported by Isvara, its aadhaara, controlled by Him,its
niyantha, and serves His purpose, which is the salvation of jiva. Hence
it is the sesha of Isvara.





10.The universal philosophy.





        The philosophy of Ramanuja can be called Universal as it
interprets the Brahmasuthras in such a manner as to show the
Saarirkasastra as the Brahmasuthra is called, as an integral
whole.Universe according to Ramanuja is not bhramamaya, illusory but
Brahmamaya, as there is no other reality than Brahman, the inner self of
everything.



       The universal or all embracing character of  the Visishtadvaita
philosophy arises out of the assimilation therin of all cardinal
principles of all systems. Only their theory of  reality and
subsequently their theory of causation is opposed by Ramanuja . The
sarira-sariri bhava  accomodates all the commendable aspects of others
since everything constitutes the sarira of Brahman. Brahmaathmakathva,
Brahman as the indwelling Self of all, implies unity and harmony . The
basic principles of even the heterodox schools like Buddhism and Jainism
like ahimsa find a place in Visishtadvaita.Likewise the thathvas, the
evolutes of prakrthi of Sankhya,.the discipline of Yoga and dialectics
of Nyaya-viseshika  have a place in Visishtadvaita. Ramanuja is opposed
only to the theory of causation of  these schools. That is why in
Sribhashya the criticism of Ramanuja of the non-vedantic schools of
Philosophy is levelled against their theory of causation, based on their
theory of reality.





            Visishtadvaita concept of  Reality is based on
Satkaaryavaadha according to which the one real becomes many which are
also real. The sat without a second willed to become many and hence
thereis no new creation but only self-differentiation of the One without
a second. Brahman with cit and acit non-differentiated in its subtle
state is the cause and the same Brahman with cit and acit in manifested
state oF differentiation is the effect. Thus, cit, acit and Isvara are
the three reals. Isvara, Brahman and Narayana are all synonyms in
Visishtadvaita and denote Brahman the Self of cit and acit which form
His sarira the relation between Brahman and the world of sentient and
insentient beings therefore is that of aprtaksiddhi, insepararable
relation as that of body and soul. This is the Visishtadvaita philosophy
in a nut shell.



I offer this at the feet of Sri Ramanuja as aradhana on the day of his
janmanakshatra. I will continue with the cricticism of the theory of
causation of the Non-vedantic  schools of philosophy  from time to time.

Saroja Ramanujam

























[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






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