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| Ramanuja |
Visistadvaita or qualified non-dualism
Introduction
Ramanuja's theism is strongly influenced by Vedanta, Upanisads, Vedanta Sutra, Tiruvaymoyi of Nammalvar, and
hymns of Alvars. He concentrates his attention on the relation of the world to God and argues that God is indeed
real and independent; but the souls of the world are real also, though their reality is utterly dependent on God.
He believes in a spiritual principle at the basis of the world, which is not treated as an illusion. He insists on the
continued individual existence of the released souls. Though the world of matter and the individual souls have a
real existence of their own, still neither of them is essentially the same as Brahman. For, while Brahman is free
from all imperfection, matter is unconscious, and the individual souls are subject to ignorance and suffering. Yet
they all form a unity, since matter and souls have existence only as the body of Brahman, i.e. they can exist and
be what they are simply because Brahman is their soul and controlling power. Apart from Brahman they are
nothing. The individual soul and inanimate nature are essentially different from him, though they have no
existence or purpose to serve apart from him or his service. So Ramanuja's theory is an advaita or non-dualism,
though with a qualification (visesa), viz. that it admits plurality, since the supreme spirit subsists in a plurality of
forms as souls and matter. It is therefore called visistadvaita or qualified non-dualism.
Ramanuja accepts perception, inference and scripture as valid sources of knowledge. He also adopts the theory
of sat-karya-vada. Every effect implies a pre-existent material cause. Alteration of state is the meaning of
causation. Threads are the cause of cloth, for cloth is only a cross arrangement of threads. Existence and
non-existence are different states of a substance. Non-existence is only relative and not absolute. Moreover,
while substances serve as the material cause, non-substances cannot do so. The substances are prakrti or
matter, kala or time, suddha-tattva or pure matter, dharma-bhuta-jnana or attributed consciousness, jiva or the
individual soul, and Isvara or God. While the first three are unconscious (jada), God and soul are conscious
(ajada), and jnana has the features of both. It is unlike unconscious substances since it can manifest itself and
external objects. Knowledge however is never for itself, but is always for another, the self. Knowledge is a
unique adjunct of the self, and is called dharma-bhuta-jnana.
Whereas Samkara believes that the distinction between subject and object is a relative one (since the real is
one undifferentiated Brahman), Ramanuja holds the view that the nature of consciousness testifies to the
existence of a permanent thinking subject, as well as objects distinct from the self. Knowledge involves the
perception of difference. There is no source of knowledge enabling us to apprehend mere undifferenced being.
Ramanuja (b. 1027) had a great influence on the successive theistic movements. Consider, for example, what Dr.
S. Radhakrishnan (famous author and professor of philosophy at Oxford University during 1920's) had to say in
this regard (Indian Philosophy,Vol. 2, ISBN 01563820-4, p. 670):
"The influence of Ramanuja is visible throughout the later history of Hinduism. The movements of Madhva,
Vallabha, Caitanya, Ramananda, Kabir and Nanak, and the reform organizations of Brahmoism are largely
indebted to Ramanuja's theistic idealism."
The followers belonging to the movements (ideologies) of Madhva, Caitanya, Kabir and Nanak are also known as
Madhvas, Gaudiyas, Kabir-panthis and Sikhs, respectively.
God
From Ramanuja's theory of knowledge, it follows that the real cannot be a bare identity. It is a determinate
whole, which maintains its identity in and through the differences. According to him, there exists an absolute self,
and every finite reality is an expression of this self. To make reciprocal interaction among a plurality of existents
possible, the constituent elements of the world-whole must have a common bond of unity and interdependence,
which must be a spiritual principle. This demands a conservation of the finite and an admission of the infinite
(God) as a personal being. In the ultimate reality called God, there exists determination, limitation, difference,
other-being which is at the same time dissolved, contained and gathered together in the one. Finitude is in the
infinite itself. Brahman has internal difference (Svagta-bheda) and is a synthetic whole, with souls and matter as
his moments (cid-acid-visista). The qualities of being (sat), consciousness (cit) and bliss (ananda) give to
Brahman a character and a personality. Brahman's knowledge is immediate, and is not dependent on the organs
of sense. He is all-knowing and has direct intuition of all. Brahman is the supreme personality, while the
individuals are personal in an imperfect way. Personality implies the power to plan and realize one's purposes.
God is perfect personality, since he contains all experience within himself and is dependent on nothing external
to him. The differences necessary to personality are contained within himself. The most prominent qualities of
God are knowledge, power and love (karuna). Out of his love, God has created the world, established laws, and
helps constantly all who seek to attain perfection. While each quality by itself is different from the others, they all
belong to one identity and do not divide its integrity of being. The Lord's connection with them is natural
(svabhavika) and eternal (sanatana). These attributes are said to be abstract, as distinct from matter and souls,
which are also called attributes of God. Isvara is the support of his own essential qualities, as well as those of
the objects dependent on him. The supreme has "a divine form peculiar to itself, not of the stuff prakrti and not
due to karma."
The Individual Soul
The absoluteness of God is qualified in Ramanuja to admit the existence, within the scope of his universal
activity, of free spirits, which, though they draw all they are from God, yet possess such spontaneity and choice
that they deserve to be called persons. Thus, the individual soul, through a mode of the supreme, is real, unique,
eternal, endowed with intelligence and self-conscious, without parts, unchanging, imperceptible and atomic. It is
the knower, the agent (karta), and the enjoyer (bhokta). It is attached, on the human plane, to the gross body,
the vital breath (prana), which is an instrument as much as the sense organs, the five organs of action and
manas (mind). Manas reveals to the soul the inner states and, with the aid of the senses, conveys knowledge of
the outer states. The functions of manas are threefold: decision, self-love, and reflection (cinta). In spite of the
atomic size of the jiva (soul), through its attribute of knowledge which expands and contracts, it is able to feel
pleasure and pain all over the body, even as the flame of the lamp, though tiny in itself, illumines many things by
means of its light, which is capable of contraction and expansion. It can apprehend objects far away in space and
remote in time. The cognition of the souls, as in the case of God, is eternal in character, self-sustained, extends
over all things, and is valid; albeit its range is narrowed on account of defects, such as past karma and the like.
The plurality of the souls is evident from the distribution of pleasures and pains. Until liberation, they are bound
to prakrti, which serves as a vehicle to the jiva, even as a horse does to the rider. The bondage to the body,
"this muddy vesture of decay," obstructs the vision of the eternal and prevents the soul from recognizing the
kinship with God.
The soul remains unchanged in its essential nature, maintaining its identity, through all processes of birth and
death. At each pralaya (dissolution of the world), the particular forms of the souls are destroyed, though the
souls themselves are indestructible. They cannot escape the consequences of their past lives, and they are
again thrust into the world at the new creation with appropriate endowments. Association with or dissociation
from bodies, resulting in expansion or contraction of intelligence, is what birth or death means, and, until release,
the souls are attached to the necessity of the bodies. In pralaya, they are connected with subtle stuff, which
does not admit of differentiation, by name and form. The self cannot bear witness to its own past, since memory
does not reach beyond the present embodiment.
The characteristic essence of the jiva is the consciousness of self. This self-distinction constitutes the very being
of the self. So long as the souls are attached to the bodies due to karma, their acts are largely determined; but
when freed from the bodies, they realize their wishes by their mere will. The jiva is not one with God, since it
differs in essential character from him. It is said to be a part (amsa) of Brahman. Though it cannot be a part cut
out of the whole since Brahman admits no divisions, yet it is comprised within the universal self. The souls are
regarded as the effects of Brahman, since they cannot exist apart from him, and yet they are not produced
effects, as ether and the like. Note also that the inner ruler has regard in all cases to the volitional effort , which
prompts a man's action. He does not care to upset his own laws and interfere with the world-scheme. God,
though immanent in the world, does not wish to be intrusive.
There are three classes of the jivas: eternal (nitya), or those dwelling in Vaikuntha . enjoying bliss and free from
karma and prakrti; the freed (mukta), or those who achieve liberation through their wisdom, virtue and devotion;
and the bound (baddha), or those who wander in samsara owing to their ignorance and selfishness. While the
soul can rise to the highest, it can also sink to the lowest, becoming more and more immersed in the body till the
life of intelligence is lost, as it were, in the obscure animal movements of sensation and appetite. The souls
wandering in the samsara are of four classes: celestial or superhuman, human, animal, and stationary
(sthavara). While all souls are of one kind, their distinctions are due to the bodies with which they are
associated. The soul, when moving towards another embodiment, is enveloped by the rudiments of the
elements, which serve as the substrate of life.
Matter
Prakrti or matter, kala or time, and suddha-tattva or pure matter, are the three non-conscious substances. They
are objects of experience (bhogya), liable to changes and indifferent to the ends of man. The existence of prakrti
is not an object of perception or of inference. It is accepted on the authority of the scripture. Its three qualities of
sattva, rajas and tamas are evolved in it at the time of the world-creation. In pralaya matter exists in an
extremely subtle condition, without distinction of name and form, and is called tamas. At creation, from the tamas
mahat appears; from mahat ahamkara; and so on.
Kala or time is given an independent place. It is the form of all existence. It is really an object of perception.
Distinctions of days, months, etc., signify the relations of time. Note also that matter is uncreated (aja), though
its forms appear and disappear. While both souls and matter constitute the body or attributes of God, he is
directly connected with the souls, and only indirectly with matter, which is controlled by the souls. Matter is more
completely dependent on Brahman than the souls, which have freedom of choice. The latter can partake in the
divine life, and thus be lifted above change and death.
Identity in God, souls and matter
Souls and matter are comprehended within the unity of the Lord's essence and are related to the Supreme as
attributes to a substance, as parts to a whole, or as body to the soul which animates it. They are also called
prakaras or modes, sesas or accessories, niyamya or the controlled, while God is the supporter (prakari),
controller (niyanta) and the principal (sesi). They are real and permanent, though subject to the control of the
one Brahman in all their modifications and evolutions. The relation of body to soul is said to bring out roughly the
nature of the dependence of the world on God. Since the body (sarira) decays when the soul departs, it has only
derivative being; the movements of the body are subject to the will of the soul. The world stands in the same
relation to God, deriving its being from him and subject to his will. Isvara exists, with the jiva -- Self with senses
or Atman with ego -- as his inner and the world as his outer body. If souls and matter are attributes of God, it
does not mean that they are not in themselves substances possessing attributes, with their own distinct modes,
energies and activities. The illustration of the soul and body points out that the body has its own qualities,
though it qualifies the soul. Thus there is a harmony of the universe and the interaction of the reals, so as to
form one world. The world is one because of the organic connection to the multiplicity of spiritual reals and a
place and a function to each of them. Souls (bhokta), matter (bhogya), and God (prerita) are three, on account of
their natural differences (svarupabhed), but one on account of the identity (aikyam) of the modes and substance
(prakara and prakari). Identity means only inseparable existence (aprthasiddhi).
God, from within the cosmic order, sustains it as its ultimate ground and support, and receives it back on its
dissolution. Creation and dissolution are not to be taken as events in time, but are to be interpreted as
signifying logical dependence on one Supreme. Brahman alone is uncaused, while all the rest is caused. Though
he is responsible for the world, which is imperfect, he is not touched by its imperfections. The supreme spirit is
identified with Vishnu by Ramanuja, and the highest attributes are ascribed to him.
The divine spirit can be envisaged in several ways. "Brahman" may denote the central unity when souls and
matter are regarded as its attributes, or the combined whole when the real is said to be Brahman and Brahman
alone. Brahman is the supreme reality, of which the world is the body or the attribute. This world may be
manifest, as in creation, or unmanifest, as in dissolution (pralaya). Even in the latter condition the attributes of
souls and matter exist, though subtly. The condition of absolute liberation for all is the consummation of the
world.
Creation
According to Ramanuja, every effect involves a material cause, and the effect of the world implies free existing
souls and unevolved matter. Though souls and matters are the modes of God, they have enjoyed the kind of
individual existence, which is theirs from all eternity, and cannot be entirely resolved into Brahman. They have a
sort of secondary subsistence, which is enough to enable them to develop on their own lines. They exist in two
different conditions which periodically alternate, the first being a subtle state when they do not possess the
qualities by which they are ordinarily known, when there is no distinction of individual name and form, when
matter is unevolved and intelligence is contracted. It is the state of pralaya when Brahman is said to be in a
causal condition (karan-avastha). When creation takes place on account of the will of the Lord, subtle matter
becomes gross and souls enter into connection with material bodies corresponding to the degree of merit or
demerit acquired by them previously, and their intelligence undergoes certain expansion. Brahman, with souls
and matter thus manifested, is said to be in the effect condition. Creation and destruction are only relative and
signify different states of the same causal substance, namely Brahman. Souls and matter have a twofold
existence, a causal existence and an effect existence. In their causal existence the souls are unmaterialized and
nature is in equipoise; but when the time for creation comes, the souls, under the influence of their karma,
disturb the equilibrium of the three gunas, and prakrti works out the fruits of their karma under divine
providence. It is to enable the souls to undergo the experiences for which their deeds have entitled them that
creation is brought about. God creates the world to suit the karma of the souls. In this sense God's creative act
is not independent or absolute. In any case, nature and souls are instruments of God's play (lila), and cannot at
any time offer any resistance to his will.
Ethical and Religious Life
Ramanuja grants to the individual souls freedom to act according to their own free will. So far as responsibility is
concerned, each individual is an other to God, a different person. When the soul fails to recognize its
dependence on God, God helps it to realize the truth by the machinery of karma, which may lead to the
punishment on the soul, thus reminding it of its sinful efforts. Through the operation of the indwelling God, the
soul recognizes its sinfulness and entreats God for help. In Ramanuja's philosophy great emphasis is placed on
the conviction of sin and man's responsibility for it.
As a theist, Ramanuja believes that salvation is possible, not through jnana and karma, but through bhakti and
prasada (grace). Jnana, in the scriptures, stands for dhyana, or meditation, and nididhyasana or concentrated
contemplation. Bhakti is gained through concentration on the truth that God is our innermost self and that we
are but modes of his substance. But such jnana cannot be had unless the bad karma is destroyed. Work
undertaken in a disinterested spirit helps to remove the past accumulations. So long as karma enjoined in the
scriptures is undertaken with a selfish motive, the end cannot be gained. The results of ceremonial observances
are transitory, while the result of the knowledge of God is indestructible. If we perform work in the spirit of
dedication to God, it helps us in our effort after salvation. Work performed in such a spirit develops the sattva
nature and helps the soul to see the truth of things. The two, jnana and karma, are means to bhakti, or the
power which tears up our selfishness by the roots, gives new strength to the will, new eyes to the
understanding and new peace to the soul.
Bhakti, in Ramanuja, is man's reaching out towards a fuller knowledge of God quietly and meditatively. He insists
on an elaborate preparation for bhakti, which includes viveka, or discrimination of food; vimoka, or freedom from
all else and longing for God; abhyasa, or continuous thinking of God; kriya, or doing good to others; kalyana, or
wishing well to all; satyam, or truthfulness; arjavam, or integrity; daya, or compassion; ahimsa, or non-violence;
dana, or charity; and anavasada, or cheerfulness and hope. Thus bhakti is not mere emotionalism, but includes
the training of the will as well as the intellect. It is knowledge as well as obedience to his will. Bhakti is loving
God with all mind and all heart. It finds its culmination in an intuitive realization of God.
Moksa
Bhakti and moksa are organically related, so that every stage of bhakti is a type of perfecting oneself. Bhakti is
salvation in becoming, and is regarded as superior to the other methods, since it is its own reward. The soul
becomes through bhakti more and more vividly conscious of its relation to God, until at last it surrenders itself to
God, who is the soul of its soul. Salvation is not the disappearance of the self, but its release from the limiting
barriers. For disappearance of the self will be the destruction of the real self. Moreover, the released soul attains
the nature of God, though not identity with him. It becomes omniscient and is ever having the intuition of God. It
desires nothing else, and so has no chance of returning to samsara. It is egoity that is opposed to salvation, and
not individuality. The essential nature, though something eternally accomplished, is, in the state of samsara,
obscured by avidya and karma. The state of release means the unimpeded manifestation of the natural qualities
of intelligence and bliss. The released soul is not subject to the law of karma. One attains to fellowship with God
after exhausting all karma and throwing off the physical body . thus, in Ramanuja, there is no jivanmukti. In a
state of release the souls are all of the same type. Thus the individuality determined by bodily connections, i.e.
during life, is not eternal. When the individuality is shattered the soul is said to attain the nature of Brahman and
manifest its own true nature. It does not develop any new character. In the released condition the souls have all
the perfections of the Supreme except in two points. They are atomic in size, while the supreme spirit is
all-pervading. Moreover, the soul has no power over the creative movements of the world, which belong
exclusively to Brahman.
TOP
Introduction
Ramanuja's theism is strongly influenced by Vedanta, Upanisads, Vedanta Sutra, Tiruvaymoyi of Nammalvar, and
hymns of Alvars. He concentrates his attention on the relation of the world to God and argues that God is indeed
real and independent; but the souls of the world are real also, though their reality is utterly dependent on God.
He believes in a spiritual principle at the basis of the world, which is not treated as an illusion. He insists on the
continued individual existence of the released souls. Though the world of matter and the individual souls have a
real existence of their own, still neither of them is essentially the same as Brahman. For, while Brahman is free
from all imperfection, matter is unconscious, and the individual souls are subject to ignorance and suffering. Yet
they all form a unity, since matter and souls have existence only as the body of Brahman, i.e. they can exist and
be what they are simply because Brahman is their soul and controlling power. Apart from Brahman they are
nothing. The individual soul and inanimate nature are essentially different from him, though they have no
existence or purpose to serve apart from him or his service. So Ramanuja's theory is an advaita or non-dualism,
though with a qualification (visesa), viz. that it admits plurality, since the supreme spirit subsists in a plurality of
forms as souls and matter. It is therefore called visistadvaita or qualified non-dualism.
Ramanuja accepts perception, inference and scripture as valid sources of knowledge. He also adopts the theory
of sat-karya-vada. Every effect implies a pre-existent material cause. Alteration of state is the meaning of
causation. Threads are the cause of cloth, for cloth is only a cross arrangement of threads. Existence and
non-existence are different states of a substance. Non-existence is only relative and not absolute. Moreover,
while substances serve as the material cause, non-substances cannot do so. The substances are prakrti or
matter, kala or time, suddha-tattva or pure matter, dharma-bhuta-jnana or attributed consciousness, jiva or the
individual soul, and Isvara or God. While the first three are unconscious (jada), God and soul are conscious
(ajada), and jnana has the features of both. It is unlike unconscious substances since it can manifest itself and
external objects. Knowledge however is never for itself, but is always for another, the self. Knowledge is a
unique adjunct of the self, and is called dharma-bhuta-jnana.
Whereas Samkara believes that the distinction between subject and object is a relative one (since the real is
one undifferentiated Brahman), Ramanuja holds the view that the nature of consciousness testifies to the
existence of a permanent thinking subject, as well as objects distinct from the self. Knowledge involves the
perception of difference. There is no source of knowledge enabling us to apprehend mere undifferenced being.
Ramanuja (b. 1027) had a great influence on the successive theistic movements. Consider, for example, what Dr.
S. Radhakrishnan (famous author and professor of philosophy at Oxford University during 1920's) had to say in
this regard (Indian Philosophy,Vol. 2, ISBN 01563820-4, p. 670):
"The influence of Ramanuja is visible throughout the later history of Hinduism. The movements of Madhva,
Vallabha, Caitanya, Ramananda, Kabir and Nanak, and the reform organizations of Brahmoism are largely
indebted to Ramanuja's theistic idealism."
The followers belonging to the movements (ideologies) of Madhva, Caitanya, Kabir and Nanak are also known as
Madhvas, Gaudiyas, Kabir-panthis and Sikhs, respectively.
God
From Ramanuja's theory of knowledge, it follows that the real cannot be a bare identity. It is a determinate
whole, which maintains its identity in and through the differences. According to him, there exists an absolute self,
and every finite reality is an expression of this self. To make reciprocal interaction among a plurality of existents
possible, the constituent elements of the world-whole must have a common bond of unity and interdependence,
which must be a spiritual principle. This demands a conservation of the finite and an admission of the infinite
(God) as a personal being. In the ultimate reality called God, there exists determination, limitation, difference,
other-being which is at the same time dissolved, contained and gathered together in the one. Finitude is in the
infinite itself. Brahman has internal difference (Svagta-bheda) and is a synthetic whole, with souls and matter as
his moments (cid-acid-visista). The qualities of being (sat), consciousness (cit) and bliss (ananda) give to
Brahman a character and a personality. Brahman's knowledge is immediate, and is not dependent on the organs
of sense. He is all-knowing and has direct intuition of all. Brahman is the supreme personality, while the
individuals are personal in an imperfect way. Personality implies the power to plan and realize one's purposes.
God is perfect personality, since he contains all experience within himself and is dependent on nothing external
to him. The differences necessary to personality are contained within himself. The most prominent qualities of
God are knowledge, power and love (karuna). Out of his love, God has created the world, established laws, and
helps constantly all who seek to attain perfection. While each quality by itself is different from the others, they all
belong to one identity and do not divide its integrity of being. The Lord's connection with them is natural
(svabhavika) and eternal (sanatana). These attributes are said to be abstract, as distinct from matter and souls,
which are also called attributes of God. Isvara is the support of his own essential qualities, as well as those of
the objects dependent on him. The supreme has "a divine form peculiar to itself, not of the stuff prakrti and not
due to karma."
The Individual Soul
The absoluteness of God is qualified in Ramanuja to admit the existence, within the scope of his universal
activity, of free spirits, which, though they draw all they are from God, yet possess such spontaneity and choice
that they deserve to be called persons. Thus, the individual soul, through a mode of the supreme, is real, unique,
eternal, endowed with intelligence and self-conscious, without parts, unchanging, imperceptible and atomic. It is
the knower, the agent (karta), and the enjoyer (bhokta). It is attached, on the human plane, to the gross body,
the vital breath (prana), which is an instrument as much as the sense organs, the five organs of action and
manas (mind). Manas reveals to the soul the inner states and, with the aid of the senses, conveys knowledge of
the outer states. The functions of manas are threefold: decision, self-love, and reflection (cinta). In spite of the
atomic size of the jiva (soul), through its attribute of knowledge which expands and contracts, it is able to feel
pleasure and pain all over the body, even as the flame of the lamp, though tiny in itself, illumines many things by
means of its light, which is capable of contraction and expansion. It can apprehend objects far away in space and
remote in time. The cognition of the souls, as in the case of God, is eternal in character, self-sustained, extends
over all things, and is valid; albeit its range is narrowed on account of defects, such as past karma and the like.
The plurality of the souls is evident from the distribution of pleasures and pains. Until liberation, they are bound
to prakrti, which serves as a vehicle to the jiva, even as a horse does to the rider. The bondage to the body,
"this muddy vesture of decay," obstructs the vision of the eternal and prevents the soul from recognizing the
kinship with God.
The soul remains unchanged in its essential nature, maintaining its identity, through all processes of birth and
death. At each pralaya (dissolution of the world), the particular forms of the souls are destroyed, though the
souls themselves are indestructible. They cannot escape the consequences of their past lives, and they are
again thrust into the world at the new creation with appropriate endowments. Association with or dissociation
from bodies, resulting in expansion or contraction of intelligence, is what birth or death means, and, until release,
the souls are attached to the necessity of the bodies. In pralaya, they are connected with subtle stuff, which
does not admit of differentiation, by name and form. The self cannot bear witness to its own past, since memory
does not reach beyond the present embodiment.
The characteristic essence of the jiva is the consciousness of self. This self-distinction constitutes the very being
of the self. So long as the souls are attached to the bodies due to karma, their acts are largely determined; but
when freed from the bodies, they realize their wishes by their mere will. The jiva is not one with God, since it
differs in essential character from him. It is said to be a part (amsa) of Brahman. Though it cannot be a part cut
out of the whole since Brahman admits no divisions, yet it is comprised within the universal self. The souls are
regarded as the effects of Brahman, since they cannot exist apart from him, and yet they are not produced
effects, as ether and the like. Note also that the inner ruler has regard in all cases to the volitional effort , which
prompts a man's action. He does not care to upset his own laws and interfere with the world-scheme. God,
though immanent in the world, does not wish to be intrusive.
There are three classes of the jivas: eternal (nitya), or those dwelling in Vaikuntha . enjoying bliss and free from
karma and prakrti; the freed (mukta), or those who achieve liberation through their wisdom, virtue and devotion;
and the bound (baddha), or those who wander in samsara owing to their ignorance and selfishness. While the
soul can rise to the highest, it can also sink to the lowest, becoming more and more immersed in the body till the
life of intelligence is lost, as it were, in the obscure animal movements of sensation and appetite. The souls
wandering in the samsara are of four classes: celestial or superhuman, human, animal, and stationary
(sthavara). While all souls are of one kind, their distinctions are due to the bodies with which they are
associated. The soul, when moving towards another embodiment, is enveloped by the rudiments of the
elements, which serve as the substrate of life.
Matter
Prakrti or matter, kala or time, and suddha-tattva or pure matter, are the three non-conscious substances. They
are objects of experience (bhogya), liable to changes and indifferent to the ends of man. The existence of prakrti
is not an object of perception or of inference. It is accepted on the authority of the scripture. Its three qualities of
sattva, rajas and tamas are evolved in it at the time of the world-creation. In pralaya matter exists in an
extremely subtle condition, without distinction of name and form, and is called tamas. At creation, from the tamas
mahat appears; from mahat ahamkara; and so on.
Kala or time is given an independent place. It is the form of all existence. It is really an object of perception.
Distinctions of days, months, etc., signify the relations of time. Note also that matter is uncreated (aja), though
its forms appear and disappear. While both souls and matter constitute the body or attributes of God, he is
directly connected with the souls, and only indirectly with matter, which is controlled by the souls. Matter is more
completely dependent on Brahman than the souls, which have freedom of choice. The latter can partake in the
divine life, and thus be lifted above change and death.
Identity in God, souls and matter
Souls and matter are comprehended within the unity of the Lord's essence and are related to the Supreme as
attributes to a substance, as parts to a whole, or as body to the soul which animates it. They are also called
prakaras or modes, sesas or accessories, niyamya or the controlled, while God is the supporter (prakari),
controller (niyanta) and the principal (sesi). They are real and permanent, though subject to the control of the
one Brahman in all their modifications and evolutions. The relation of body to soul is said to bring out roughly the
nature of the dependence of the world on God. Since the body (sarira) decays when the soul departs, it has only
derivative being; the movements of the body are subject to the will of the soul. The world stands in the same
relation to God, deriving its being from him and subject to his will. Isvara exists, with the jiva -- Self with senses
or Atman with ego -- as his inner and the world as his outer body. If souls and matter are attributes of God, it
does not mean that they are not in themselves substances possessing attributes, with their own distinct modes,
energies and activities. The illustration of the soul and body points out that the body has its own qualities,
though it qualifies the soul. Thus there is a harmony of the universe and the interaction of the reals, so as to
form one world. The world is one because of the organic connection to the multiplicity of spiritual reals and a
place and a function to each of them. Souls (bhokta), matter (bhogya), and God (prerita) are three, on account of
their natural differences (svarupabhed), but one on account of the identity (aikyam) of the modes and substance
(prakara and prakari). Identity means only inseparable existence (aprthasiddhi).
God, from within the cosmic order, sustains it as its ultimate ground and support, and receives it back on its
dissolution. Creation and dissolution are not to be taken as events in time, but are to be interpreted as
signifying logical dependence on one Supreme. Brahman alone is uncaused, while all the rest is caused. Though
he is responsible for the world, which is imperfect, he is not touched by its imperfections. The supreme spirit is
identified with Vishnu by Ramanuja, and the highest attributes are ascribed to him.
The divine spirit can be envisaged in several ways. "Brahman" may denote the central unity when souls and
matter are regarded as its attributes, or the combined whole when the real is said to be Brahman and Brahman
alone. Brahman is the supreme reality, of which the world is the body or the attribute. This world may be
manifest, as in creation, or unmanifest, as in dissolution (pralaya). Even in the latter condition the attributes of
souls and matter exist, though subtly. The condition of absolute liberation for all is the consummation of the
world.
Creation
According to Ramanuja, every effect involves a material cause, and the effect of the world implies free existing
souls and unevolved matter. Though souls and matters are the modes of God, they have enjoyed the kind of
individual existence, which is theirs from all eternity, and cannot be entirely resolved into Brahman. They have a
sort of secondary subsistence, which is enough to enable them to develop on their own lines. They exist in two
different conditions which periodically alternate, the first being a subtle state when they do not possess the
qualities by which they are ordinarily known, when there is no distinction of individual name and form, when
matter is unevolved and intelligence is contracted. It is the state of pralaya when Brahman is said to be in a
causal condition (karan-avastha). When creation takes place on account of the will of the Lord, subtle matter
becomes gross and souls enter into connection with material bodies corresponding to the degree of merit or
demerit acquired by them previously, and their intelligence undergoes certain expansion. Brahman, with souls
and matter thus manifested, is said to be in the effect condition. Creation and destruction are only relative and
signify different states of the same causal substance, namely Brahman. Souls and matter have a twofold
existence, a causal existence and an effect existence. In their causal existence the souls are unmaterialized and
nature is in equipoise; but when the time for creation comes, the souls, under the influence of their karma,
disturb the equilibrium of the three gunas, and prakrti works out the fruits of their karma under divine
providence. It is to enable the souls to undergo the experiences for which their deeds have entitled them that
creation is brought about. God creates the world to suit the karma of the souls. In this sense God's creative act
is not independent or absolute. In any case, nature and souls are instruments of God's play (lila), and cannot at
any time offer any resistance to his will.
Ethical and Religious Life
Ramanuja grants to the individual souls freedom to act according to their own free will. So far as responsibility is
concerned, each individual is an other to God, a different person. When the soul fails to recognize its
dependence on God, God helps it to realize the truth by the machinery of karma, which may lead to the
punishment on the soul, thus reminding it of its sinful efforts. Through the operation of the indwelling God, the
soul recognizes its sinfulness and entreats God for help. In Ramanuja's philosophy great emphasis is placed on
the conviction of sin and man's responsibility for it.
As a theist, Ramanuja believes that salvation is possible, not through jnana and karma, but through bhakti and
prasada (grace). Jnana, in the scriptures, stands for dhyana, or meditation, and nididhyasana or concentrated
contemplation. Bhakti is gained through concentration on the truth that God is our innermost self and that we
are but modes of his substance. But such jnana cannot be had unless the bad karma is destroyed. Work
undertaken in a disinterested spirit helps to remove the past accumulations. So long as karma enjoined in the
scriptures is undertaken with a selfish motive, the end cannot be gained. The results of ceremonial observances
are transitory, while the result of the knowledge of God is indestructible. If we perform work in the spirit of
dedication to God, it helps us in our effort after salvation. Work performed in such a spirit develops the sattva
nature and helps the soul to see the truth of things. The two, jnana and karma, are means to bhakti, or the
power which tears up our selfishness by the roots, gives new strength to the will, new eyes to the
understanding and new peace to the soul.
Bhakti, in Ramanuja, is man's reaching out towards a fuller knowledge of God quietly and meditatively. He insists
on an elaborate preparation for bhakti, which includes viveka, or discrimination of food; vimoka, or freedom from
all else and longing for God; abhyasa, or continuous thinking of God; kriya, or doing good to others; kalyana, or
wishing well to all; satyam, or truthfulness; arjavam, or integrity; daya, or compassion; ahimsa, or non-violence;
dana, or charity; and anavasada, or cheerfulness and hope. Thus bhakti is not mere emotionalism, but includes
the training of the will as well as the intellect. It is knowledge as well as obedience to his will. Bhakti is loving
God with all mind and all heart. It finds its culmination in an intuitive realization of God.
Moksa
Bhakti and moksa are organically related, so that every stage of bhakti is a type of perfecting oneself. Bhakti is
salvation in becoming, and is regarded as superior to the other methods, since it is its own reward. The soul
becomes through bhakti more and more vividly conscious of its relation to God, until at last it surrenders itself to
God, who is the soul of its soul. Salvation is not the disappearance of the self, but its release from the limiting
barriers. For disappearance of the self will be the destruction of the real self. Moreover, the released soul attains
the nature of God, though not identity with him. It becomes omniscient and is ever having the intuition of God. It
desires nothing else, and so has no chance of returning to samsara. It is egoity that is opposed to salvation, and
not individuality. The essential nature, though something eternally accomplished, is, in the state of samsara,
obscured by avidya and karma. The state of release means the unimpeded manifestation of the natural qualities
of intelligence and bliss. The released soul is not subject to the law of karma. One attains to fellowship with God
after exhausting all karma and throwing off the physical body . thus, in Ramanuja, there is no jivanmukti. In a
state of release the souls are all of the same type. Thus the individuality determined by bodily connections, i.e.
during life, is not eternal. When the individuality is shattered the soul is said to attain the nature of Brahman and
manifest its own true nature. It does not develop any new character. In the released condition the souls have all
the perfections of the Supreme except in two points. They are atomic in size, while the supreme spirit is
all-pervading. Moreover, the soul has no power over the creative movements of the world, which belong
exclusively to Brahman.
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