PHILOSOPHY OF RAMANUJA ·

 

Saguna Brahman: According to Ramanuja,Brahman and Ishvara are one.According to Shankara,Brahman is without qualities,but Ramanuja conceives this absence of qualities is only absence of impure qualities.He possesses pure qualities.He is perfection incarnate as ‘Purusottama’.He possesses qualities like truth,knowledge and happiness.He is eternal and infinite.

Brahman is omniscient,omnipotent and omnipresent.At the same time He possesses innumerable qualities.He is material as well as the efficient cause of the universe.He is the highest good.God is the creator,preserver and destroyer of the universe.He gives rewards and punishment to the jivas.He is the cosmic soul of which chit and achit are body.

His body is glorified by the six qualities – knowledge,power,excellence,virility,energy and tejas .According to Ramanuja,the forms of Saguna Brahman or God are of five kinds,which are as follows :

1.Para : As the transcendent personal Lord,He is Para.This form of Brahman is called Vasudeva or Narayana.This is beyond time,state.This form of Brahman doesn’t transform and there is constant state of happiness.This form is called ‘Sadgunaya Vigraha’.Only liberated souls can have intuition of this form of Brahman.

2.Vyuha :As the efficient cause of the universe He reveals Himself in the four-fold vyuha.This is His creator,preserver and destroyer aspect.These

Four- fold forms are:

1.His first manifestation as the efficient cause of the universe is called Vasudeva.This form of God is something different from His transcendent form.In His transcendent form He is neutral while in this form as the efficient cause of the universe He is the ruler of His creation.

2.In His second form He monitors the activities of the jivas and controls their brain (buddhi tattva).In His second form He performs also the role of destroyer.In this role He is called ‘Sankarshan’.

3.To regulate the mental activities of the souls and create the universe He manifests Himself.This aspect of His reality is called Pradyumna.

4.As the controller of the volitional aspect of souls and preserver of the universe He is called ‘Aniruddha’.This is His fouth form of manifestation.

All these four aspects of His reality are called four Vyuhas by Ramanuja.

 3.Vibhava: This is incarnation aspect of God.In order to protect the good and punish the sinner,he descends down on this earth.Thus,He tries to maintain the dharma in this universe.This incarnation form of God is of two types: primary and secondary.In His primary form He Himself takes birth in the form of man or animal.In the second aspect of incarnation,He inspires the souls like Shiv or Buddha etc. .

Antaryami : In this form,God enters into the souls of the jivas and controls all their tendencies.It is through the medium of this form that God helps the jivas in all situations in places like heaven and hell.

Archavatara :This is the adorable image of the God which lives in the idol which concurs with the interest of the worshipper.Out of mercy for His devotees He takes the forms of idols,like Shrirangam.Thus,He gives His devotees chance to serve Him physically.

Refutation of Maya :

According to Ramanuja,Upanishads reject only independent existence of the world,not its reality.He has refuted Shankara’s doctrine of Maya.He says that Maya is the creativity of Brahman.Identification of soul with the body and senses is due to avidya,according to Ramanuja.And this identification is the cause of bondage while immediate perception liberates men.On the ground of seven reasons he rejects Shankara’s theory of Maya.These are the reasons :

1.Ashrayanupapatti: He raises objection that what is the locus of Maya? If it exists in non-dual Brahman,then non-duality of Brahman will breakdown and the concept of unqualified Brahman will also be refuted

 As Maya is of the nature of ignorance,which contradictory to the nature of Brahman,which is pure knowledge,both of them cannot reside with each other.The cause of individual is avidya,so it cannot reside there as it must precede the effect.He says that the concept of Maya is only imagination of Advaitin’s mind,so it must reside in there mind.

2.Tirodhananupapatti : Ramanuja says that Maya cannot conceal Brahman because Brahman is of the nature of light and Maya is darkness.So,how can darkness conceal light?Brahman is self-conscious and self-luminous;soHe cannot be concealed by anything.

3. Svarupanupapatti : Ramanuja says that Shankara cannot even ascertain the nature of Maya.Whether it is positive or negative,both or neither.It cannot be positive one because it is merely absence of knowledge.Further,anything which is existent cannot become non-existent.According to Advaitins,ignorance is removed by knowledge.Also negative Maya cannot create illusory world.To ascertain the nature of Maya as both positive and negative,is self-contradictory.And if it neither positive nor negative then it out of realm of logic.

4. Anirvachaniyatvanuppatti : Indescribability of Maya is self-contradictory.Advaitins say that by the word indescribable we mean that it cannot be put in any one category only i.e. positive or negative,real or unreal.But Ramanuja says that to define Maya as neither real or unreal is violate all rules of logic.Anything must be

exclusively either real or unreal.There is no third alternative in between.It will violate the rule of Law of Contradiction and the Law of Excluded Middle.

5. Pramananupapatti :Ramanuja asks the question that what is the instrument of knowledge by which we can know Maya?It is obvious that a thing which is both existent and non-existent cannot be perceived.Nor can it be inferred due to lack of middle term.Nor can its existence be proved by scriptures because they describe it as real power of Brahman through which he creates the world.

6.Nivartakanupapatti : Next objection raised by Ramanuja is regarding the removal of avidya.How can it be removed?According to Shankara it can be removed by the knowledge of Brahman.We cannot know anything about any abstract idea.Since Maya is undifferentiated attributeless thing,we cannot know it.Since we cannot know it,so knowledge cannot become the remover of Maya.

7.Nivrityanupapatti : Maya is said to be positive by Advaitins.Anything which is existent cannot become non-existent.Ramanuja says that since bondage is due to karma,it cannot be removed by merely knowledge.Karma,jnana,bhakti and prasada are necessary for liberation.Only by the grace of God,man can be liberated.

Aprithaksiddhi Parinamavada :

According to Ramanuja,creation is real.It not unreal like Shankara’s

 Advaita Vedanta.He says that the Upanishadic sentences which propound the negation of multiplicity only mean to say that the world is dependent on Brahman for its existence.It has no existence independent of Brahman.Brahman is the efficient as well as the material cause of the universe.Prakriti is his power.The effect is the by-product of its cause and is real.It is not something illusory one.The universe is real although its material is not eternal.Ramanuja’s concept of creation is satkaryavada.The effect is inherent in its cause.No unreal effect can be produced from the real cause.Chit and achit are the attribute of Brahman. Brahman is the whole of which both are parts.The relation between them and Brahman is of ‘aprithaksiddhi’ or ‘inseparability’.Brahman is the creater,while Vishnu and Rudra are the preserver and destroyer,respectively.Brahman takes the form of concrete universe by His power.All His activities are His leela.It is merely the will of God,which creates universe.Ramanuja rejects the Advaitic view of the unreality of the world.He says that if the Brahman is real,then how can the world which is his creation be unreal.Both cannot co-exist.

Ramanuja’s doctrine of creation is satkaryavada.He accepts Brahman as the original cause.That’s why his theory is called Brahmaparinamavada.The effects of cause Brahman are jivas and objects.Chit and achit exist in Brahman in the seed form in the state of dissolution.Creation is merely manifestation of which exist already there.Their manifestation changes but not they themselves.Brahman as

unmanifest and pure consciousness is ‘karana Brahman’.According to Ramanuja this is the reason,due to which objects have been denied real existence.Brahman is the creation preserver and destroyer of the universe.

Jiva,Bhakti and Prapatti :

The non-duality of self and Brahman,in Ramanuja’s philosophy is qualified non-duality.Self is only one aspect of Brahman and can nevar become Brahman itself,like Shankara’s jiva. He says that jiva and Brahman are not identical with each other but are in unbreakable relation.Jiva is only a part of the Brahman,which is whole.This relation of jiva with Brahman is called aprithaksiddhi.Brahman cannot become separated from chit and achit,and chit and achit cannot become separated from Brahman.But chit,which is jiva,can remain separated from achit,which is body.The relation of jiva with body is due to the will of God and the karmas of the jiva.Achit veils the knowledge of the jiva.Being motivated by this ignorance,when the jiva works,then he takes birth in the form of body.This body is ,according to his karmas.Thus,this ignorance is the cause of birth.It can be removed by knowledge. And knowledge is possible only by the grace of God.This bhakti to God,removes ignorance and the bhakta becomes liberated.He never,again becomes the victim of ignorance.They become a part of Brahman.

Brahman is the substance of which jiva is an attribute.As a part of

Brahman,it is beyond creation and destruction.In the state of dissolution it is accompanied by its karmas,so that in the next cycle it can reap the fruits of its karmas.This relation of soul and karma is also beginningless.Though the jiva is eternal yet it is finite and is atomic in size.It is imperceptible due to its formless nature,which is in the form of an spark of light.

According to Ramanuja,though knowledge is the immediate cause of liberation but it is not verbal knowledge but wisdom.This real knowledge must be accompanied by bhakti.This bhakti can be obtained by prapatti or self-surrender.This bhakti or prapatti,which is self-surrender,leads to the highest bhakti,which results in immediate perception of God.The natural outcome of this direct perception is liberation,which happens only by the grace of God.Constant remembrance of God,as the only object of devotion is must for a bhakta.There isn’t any discrimination based on cast and creed in this sect.The only eligibility criterion of a bhakta, is pure devotion.This self-surrender or sharanagati includes six steps :

1. To please the God by obligatory deeds.

2. Not to displease Him by prohibited deeds.

3. Full faith in God’s protection.

4. Pray to God for protection.

5.Total self-surrender.

6. Dependence on God.

According to Ramanuja continuous remembrance of God is ordinary bhakti while immediate perception of God is the highest form of bhakti.Ramanuja doesn’t accept jivanmukti because due to the association of the body with the soul,it cannot become pure.According to ramanuja,only intuitive knowledge of God can lead to liberation,not constant contemplation.Constant contemplation is the primary stage of the intuitive knowledge of God.Due to the grace of God, intuitive knowledge of God and fructification of all karmas happens simultaneously.The liberated soul is Brahmaprakara not Brahman itself.Liberated soul stays in communion with God and enjoys bliss.

But the difference between God and soul remains there.The soul cannot become infinite like God and at the same time it is atomic in form.It is merely an attribute of God and body of God of which he is the soul.Secondly,it cannot become creator preserver and destroyer of the universe.Also,it cannot become immanent as well as transcendent as God.