Hinduism: A Short History (22 page)

In the enjoyment of eternal bliss the souls are dependent on God and they differ from one another in the degree of enjoyment. “There is a natural gradation among the released souls as well as disparity in their
sādhanas
. The difference in the nature and quality of
sādhanas
must necessarily have a relation to the result. The existence of such a gradation in
mokṣa
is established by reason and revelation. How can anyone oppose it?”
¹⁰⁴
He explains this further: as vessels of different sizes, the rivers and oceans are all “full” of water according to their respective capacities; so also the
jīvas’
“fullness” of bliss is different according to the capacity of their
sādhana
. Those with little capacity are satisfied with little bliss. Those with greater capacity require more. In spite of the inequalities there is harmony. All causes for jealousy and envy are eradicated.

Thus the
ānanda-tāratāmya
, a gradation in bliss, is the logical consequence of his hierarchical conception of reality, with Viṣṇu’s will ordering everything. “The released takes everything with the hand of Hari, sees through the eye of Hari only, with the feet of Hari he walks, and this is the state of the released who has attained
sāyujya mukti.”
¹⁰⁵
Those fit for this type of
mukti
can enter into the Supreme Lord and at will issue forth, and again assume either spirit forms or material bodies.

Madhva institutionalized his
saṃpradāya
by appointing his disciples as heads of eight monasteries (Aṣṭamaṭhas) in Udipl. Each of them established a line of ordination which has been maintained to the present time. In turn, each of the heads of one of the eight
matbas
is appointed for two years to the headship of the Kṛṣṇamatha, the most important one. The change of headship is publicly celebrated and widely announced.

Among the successors to Madhva two have been singled out -together with Madhva they are called the “Tri-muni” or “Muni-traya”, the triad of teachers. The first of these is Jayatlrtha (1365–98 C.E.) who wrote important treatises such as the
Vdddvalt
and became known as a fiery opponent of contemporary Advaita scholars. The second is Vyasaraya (1478–1539) whose
Nydydmṛta
continued to engage Advaita Vedānta in a sustained polemic. He has been called “prince of dialecticians” and is famous as a logician in his own right.

The Madhva
saṃpradāya
is flourishing today in many places, especially in South India, and is championed by recognized scholars such as B. N. K. Sharma, whose
History of Dvaita Vedānta
enumerates hundreds of exponents of Dvaita through the ages.
¹⁰⁶

Supposedly founded by the legendary Nārada, the son of Sanat Kumāra, it is also called Hamsa
saṃpradāya
. Its most prominent teacher was Nimbārka (1125–62 C.E.), also known as Nimadiyta or Niyamananda, a Telugu Brahmin. His system became known as Dvaitādvaita. He is a typical and faithful Pāñcarātrin in most respects; in him the tendency to overemphasize the role of the
guru
is already apparent, a feature that led in later times to gross abuses.
¹⁰⁷

The
sādhana
of
gurūpasatti
(Surrender to the Master) found its most systematic expression in his disciple Sundarabhatta’s
Mantrdrtha Rahasya:
it is defined as “renouncing one’s own self
(ātmanydsa)
together with whatever belongs to oneself
(atmlya)
to the Lord through the
guru.”
¹⁰⁸
The formal entering upon this
sādhana
consists in the disciple’s expressed choice of the
guru
as the only saviour from mundane existence, from the three pains and the six changes, the five miseries and the three
guṇas oiprakṛti
, the sole master, husband, and friend. The
guru
expresses his acceptance of the disciple as “his servant, son, wife, and friend,” and gives the assurance of salvation.
¹⁰⁹

Though theologically it is clear to Nimbārka and his school that God’s grace is the only saving element, the nearness of
guru
and God in this system sometimes makes it difficult to distinguish what exactly is meant by
prapatti
, whether it is surrender to God or to the
guru
.

The attainment of highest fulfillment or
mokṣa
is thus described: “Having seen the Lord who is called Mukunda or Kṛṣṇa from a distance, the
jīva
bows down to Him uttering with happiness the words, ‘Salutations to thy lotus-like Feet,’ again and again. Then the Lord Kṛṣṇa casts His look of His lotus-like beautiful face, which is tender with kindness and pity, at the
jīva
and welcomes him in an extremely beautiful speech. Then the
jīva
becomes of the nature of the Lord and is liberated from the fetters of
māyā
and never returns to the worldly path again.”
¹¹⁰
There the liberated
jīva
assumes all those qualities which were screened from him during the state of bondage.
¹¹¹

Nimbārka’s followers are concentrated in the Braj-maṇḍala – living in Braj is one of the conditions of a blessed life – and they stage a splendid feast every year in Vrindāban to celebrate Rādhā’s birthday. In their devotional practice they place Rādhā even above Kṛṣṇa as the channel through which Kṛṣṇa’s grace is obtained and through whom the devotee can approach Kṛṣṇa.

Founded by Viṣṇuswāmin (c.1200–1250 C.E.), it is also called Vallabha
saṃpradāya
, after its most prominent teacher Vallabha (1481–1533), a Telugu Brahmin who moved to the Brajmaṇḍala.
¹¹²
His variety of Vedānta is called Śuddhādvaita. The school became also known as
puṣṭimārga
, the way of grace.
¹¹³
It claims to have several million followers especially in Northern India, and maintains hundreds of vibrant centers of worship. It first became known in the West through the unsavoury “Mahārāja libel case,”
¹¹⁴
and as a result was tainted through unfavorable early-nineteenth-century reports.
¹¹⁵
Recently Indian and Western scholars as well as adherents of the Vallabha
saṃpradāya
have brought out translations of original texts and studies of various aspects of Vallabha’s teachings.
¹¹⁶

Vallabha elevates the
Bhāgavata Purāṇa
to the position of most authoritative scripture; his school considers it to be the only authentic commentary on the
Brahmasūtras
. Equally, the
bhagavadgītā
is accepted as the word of God, providing an explanation to the Veda. Vallabha wrote commentaries on substantial portions of the
Bhāgavatam
and a systematic work
Tattvadīpa
, which synthesizes the teachings of the
Bhāgavatam
. Vallabha discredits all attempts – especially those of the Advaitins – to use reason and speculation to probe the nature of
brahman
. His is a “revelation-only” theology, a teaching which accepts what appear to be inconsistencies and contradictions in scriptural statements rather than attempting to judge revelation by reason.

It is also a “family-religion.” Vallabha himself was a family man and his teaching emphasizes the virtues of family life as means to earn God’s grace. “The worship of the Lord requires the services of all members of the family, and all are promised the highest bliss that always results from worship or
seva
. This mode of service makes the whole family free from worldly ties even when leading a householder’s life, and their whole life becomes divine.”
¹¹⁷

Vallabha was convinced that in his time the duties of the
varṇāśrama-dharma
could no longer be properly fulfilled and that formal
saṃnyāsa
, far from being a spiritual help, could be spiritually harmful if not undertaken in reponse to the love of the Lord. What was important, however, and what was demanded from each and every member of the
saṃpradāya
, was
ātmanivedana
, self-surrender, and surrender of all one’s own to the
guru
. There is no doubt that this teaching led not only to misunderstandings but also to malpractices.

Vallabha understands the
puṣṭimārga
not only to be different from
karmamārga
and
jñānamārga
, but also to be above the
sastrlya bhaktimārga
of all other schools.
puṣṭi
is the uncaused grace of God for which the devotee prepares but which he cannot direct or influence. “It is impossible to say for what reason God is pleased to extend his grace; it cannot be for the relief of suffering, for there are many sufferers to whom God does not do so.”
¹¹⁸

On the human side
puṣṭi
means doing things out of pure love and not because an action is enjoined by the Veda, and also not because the intellect recognizes the majesty and exalted nature of God. The
puṣṭimārga
is open to all – also to women and low-caste people, even to
patita
(“fallen,” people to whom other schools of Hinduism have no hope of salvation to offer); it is free from Vedic commands and is only interested in establishing a relationship between the soul and its Lord -even if that relationship is one born out of anger and resentment.
¹¹⁹

Vallabha distinguished between
mokṣa
and
nitya Iīlā
as the ultimate aim. Without denying the possibility of Vedāntic
mokṣa
, which he understands as absorption in
Akṣara Brahman
, he holds that
nitya Iīlā
, eternal enjoyment of the company of God, is much preferable. “When the Lord desires to favour a particular soul – and be it remembered that in showing His favour He is not guided by any other consideration than His own will – He brings out the soul from Himself, gives it a divine body like His own, and plays with it for all time. In this play, which is called
nitya-līlā
, the Lord, remaining subordinate to the soul, gives it the pleasure of His company, which is generally known as
bhajānanda
(the bliss of devotion) or
svarūpānanda
(the bliss of the Lord Himself) which is referred to in the
Taittirīya Upaniṣad
, the
Bhāgavata
, and other Purāṇas.”
¹²⁰

The uncaused grace of God and the enjoyment of His company is best exemplified by the
gopīs
of Vṛṇdāvana, who become the models for the followers of the
puṣṭimārga
. The highest title of God, then, is Gopī-jana-vallabha, the darling of the milkmaids.

Becoming a devotee of Kṛṣṇa is the highest aim of a follower of Vallabha.

One who thinks of God as all and of oneself as emanating from Him, and who serves Him with love, is a devotee ... the highest devotee leaves everything, the mind filled with Kṛṣṇa alone ... wholly absorbed in the love of God. No one, however, can take the path of

except through the grace of God. Karma, being of the nature of God’s will, manifests itself as His mercy or anger to the devotee ... the law of Karma is mysterious ... we do not know the manner in which God’s will manifests itself; sometimes by His grace He may even save a sinner who may not have to take the punishment due to him.

Vallabha seems to assume that the seed of
bhakti
exists as
preman
(spiritual love) – due to the grace of God – in all human beings. It has to be nurtured and increased by self-surrender, listening to scriptures, and chanting His name. It becomes strong if, while leading a householder’s life, one remains absorbed in Kṛṣṇa and performs one’s duties with a mind fixed on God. This love of God may develop into such a passion
(vyasana)
that one feels unable to do anything else but sing His praises.
Vyāsana
is “the inability to remain without God;” under its influence a householder may leave his home and become a saṃnyāsi.
¹²²
“The firm seed of
bhakti
can never be destroyed; it is through affection for God that other attachments are destroyed and by the development of this affection that one renounces the home. It is only when this affection for God grows into a passion that one attains one’s end easily.”
¹²³

Seva
, “service”, is very central to the
puṣṭimārga
. It is a distinctive feature of Vallabha’s
saṃpradāya
in so far as it denotes the worship of the image of Śrī Govardhana-nāthajī alone. All worship rendered to other manifestations of the Lord is called
pūjā
, and directed to the Lord’s
vibhūtis
only, not his embodiment as Śrī Nathajl. The original image, supposed to have been revealed to Vallabha on the hill of Girirāja, is the only full presence of the Lord: Puma Purusottama. It is the embodiment of the twelve
skandhas
(parts) of the
Bhāgavata Purāṇa
, each of which forms one specific limb. The tenth
skandha
, which contains the stories of Kṛṣṇa and the
gopīs
, forms the heart of Śrī Nathajl.

Hardly anywhere in the history of Indian religions do we find a school of thought which seems to cry out so forcefully “Let God Be God!” Nothing is allowed to infringe on His freedom to be God – neither good nor bad works, neither reason nor speculation. His sovereign freedom is manifested from creation in the beginning to redemption in the end. Those whom He has chosen may achieve a state almost like His own -those whom He does not choose may remain in bondage and transmigration forever. “Among the
jīvas
who are bound there may be some with whom God may be pleased and to whom he may grant the complete power of knowledge; the confusing
māyā
leaves its hold upon such persons; they then remain in a free state in their nature as pure intelligence, but they have not the power to control the affairs of the umverse.”
¹²⁴