Oh Krishna!

Neither am I aware of the meaning of Jnana, Vairagya, Bhakti, Advait

a, Visishtadvaita, Dvaita, liberation, Vaikunta and Self-Realization, nor am I b
othered about them! The only one I know is You! It is up to You to see to it tha
t I experience the Ultimate!
-- Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji
THE BASICS OF THE THREE PHILOSOPHIES
According to our Indian tradition, the philosophies are classified broadly into
two main categories
1. Vaidhikam those that accept the Vedas as the ultimate authority
2. Avaidhikam those that do not accept the Vedas
The Vedas have two portions, namely Karma kanda(Poorva Kanda) and Brahma Kanda (
Uttara Kanda). The Brahma kanda also goes by the name Upanishads. The part of Veda
s that details the ritualistic way is known as Karma kanda and that which descri
bes the ultimate Supreme Brahman is known as the Brahma Kanda or the Upanishads.
Sage Jaimini composed the Poorva Mimamsa Shastra to clarify the doubts regarding
the Karma Kanda of the Vedas. To clarify doubts regarding the Brahma Kanda, Sag
e Veda Vyasa wrote the Saariraka mimamsa or the Brahma sutras. The Vedantins resorte
d to the Brahmasutras in order to get the apparent contradictions of the Upanish
ads explained. The Brahma sutras, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita were taken up by
our Poorva Acharyas to explain the Supreme Truth. Sri Adi Shankara, Sri Ramanuja
and Sri Madhva wrote commentaries on the above three works known collectively a
s Prasthana thrayam i.e, the three main scriptures of our religion. The basic ten
ets of the philosophies existed even before the respective Acharya propounded th
em and wrote commentaries. But it is only after the advent of these Acharyas and
their commentaries, the three schools of philosophy Advaita, Visishtaadvaita an
d Dvaita- came to be known by their respective names. All the three schools acce
pt the Vedas (here Upanishads) as the final authority.

Any philosophy must explain the relationship between the individual soul Jiva, the
Supreme soul Brahman and the insentient matter Prapancha or Universe. It should als
o show the way to Supreme bliss(liberation). The aforesaid philosophies differ i
n explaining the relationship between the three and also the state called Liberat
ion.

Let u get ourselves introduced to a few basic tenets accepted by each of these s
chools. Chronologically, Advaita was the first philosophy to be propounded follo
wed by Visishtadvaita and Dvaita in that order. Let us take them up in the same
order.

ADVAITA
Happiness is the only state of mind that is sought by every being that is born o
n this earth. Misery is most unwelcome to all creatures. Every living creature i
s engaged in some activity or the other only in search of eternal happiness. But
have they attained this happiness eternal happiness? The answer is a big No! Inst

ead they have gotten themselves entangled only in miseries. They have not been a
ble to get this happiness because they seek external happiness from external obj
ects, while the truth is that eternal bliss is within oneself and the search mus
t be made within to attain this supreme bliss.
All the pleasures that are derived from the external objects are trifles compar
ed to that eternal bliss which is the Supreme. Hence, it would the greatest help
if one could show the way to this eternal bliss. The Vidya(knowledge) of Advait
a philosophy does this supreme help to all, by showing the way to eternal bliss.
Let us briefly get introduced to the concept of Advaita philosophy and the mann
er in which it helps to attain liberation, the nature of which is eternal bliss.
Advaita is that state of non-duality where there is complete cessation of thoug
hts such as I am an individual, the objects that are seen/perceived are different f
rom me, so on and so forth. In this state, there is no misery or delusion. Tatra
ko moha: ka: shoka: says the Ishavasya Upanishad which means Where is delusion or
misery for the one who has realized this non-dual state
The mixture of joy and misery is inevitable to all beings that are born. The ca
use for birth is the Karma load (stock of the results of actions performed) of t
he individual soul. As long as action is there, Karma is accumulated and that wi
ll lead to birth, which in turn will result in death. The cycle goes on. So the
only way to completely avoid misery is to get out of this cycle of births and de
aths. Hence if one wishes never to be born again, one must attain a state of ina
ctivity. This inaction is possible for the individual soul only if the root caus
e for the actions, namely desire, is completely destroyed. Desire arises in ones
mind only if he sees the objects of the world as external to him. If there is n
o second object (non-dual state), then there is no room for any desire at all! A
bsence of desire leads to inaction on the part of the individual soul which ulti
mately helps him come out of the cycle of birth and death. Once a soul is out of
this cycle, there is no scope for misery and hence this state of supreme bliss
is known as Liberation.
Notion of diversity -> Desires -> action in search of happiness ->acquisition
of Karma ->leads to cycle of births and deaths ->miseries
Hence, to get freed from miseries, following the same track, one must get rid o
f the Notion of diversity which is the root cause of desire. This is the road to e
ternal bliss.
How does Advaita say that there is no diversity at all, when we have the cognit
ion of this entire universe with all varieties in its creation? Advaita proclai
ms that the truth which is Brahman is the only reality and that the apparent not
ion of diversity (the root cause of all miseries) is only due to ignorance (tech
nically called Avidya). This Avidya is destroyed once the knowledge of Brahman a
rises. Once this knowledge arises, the individual soul reaises its identity with
the Supreme Brahman.
The Upanishads say Sarvam khalvidam brahma i.e, All this is indeed Brahman and Ana
ndo Brahmeti vyajaanaat i.e, one realizes Brahman is bliss
Since this Brahman is Paramananda ghanam which means bliss condensed, it is the muc
h sought after purushaartha ( object of desire of man) for all jivas.
Let us now see, how the relationship between jiva, Brahman and the universe is
explained by the Advaita School and what according to it is the truth? Truth, ac
cording to Advaitha, is that which is eternal. In fact, according to this school
, that which is the truth has to be eternal and the eternal thing is nothing but
the truth alone. In this sense, Brahman alone is truth according to this school

. Then, how do we explain the objects and jivas of the world that are so vividly
perceived. Are they not true?

The answer to this is that all these manifestations as the various jivas and the
diverse universe are mere illusionary appearances on this Supreme Brahman. Thes
e appear due to Avidya or Maya(ignorance). The Supreme truth is only one and tha
t is Brahman. To explain this, three states of realities are accepted in the Adv
aita school.
1. Apparently real objects
If one looks at a shiny shell from a distance, it looks like silver. This is ca
lled Apparently real as the knowledge of this object (silver) vanishes on the rise
of knowledge of its substratum i.e, shell. Though silver was cognized in the sh
ell to be truly existent, a closer inspection revealed its nature to be illusory
. Thus it is only apparently real. Here the silver is merely superimposed on the s
hell though in truth, it never existed there.
2. Empirical reality
The Advaitins contend that the whole creation with its diverse names and forms
is a mere superimposition on Brahman, just as silver is a superimposition on she
ll as explained above. As the knowledge of the substratum arises, the illusory a
ppearance of silver is destroyed. So also, once the knowledge of the Brahman ari
ses, this entire creation is realized to be a mere illusion. Hence all these obj
ects which will continue to exist, till the rise of the knowledge of the Brahman
, are said to be empirically (practically) real.
3. Absolute reality
As said before, the Brahman is the absolute reality as it never gets altered in
any divisions of time past, present or future. This neither has a beginning nor
an end (Anaadhi Anantham). This is beyond names and forms. It cannot be describ
ed as This is Brahman. Brahman is that which remains after negating everything tha
t is impermanent as Not this (Neti, Neti).
Hence, in truth, the individual soul is the same as the Brahman and all the obje
cts that are seen are also nothing but Brahman. Sarvam Brahmamayam says Sri Sadas
hiva Brahmendra.
Let us now see what this Maya is, which has been described as the cause for the
notion of diversity. Maya, according to Advaita, is anirvachaniya i.e, (in Advait
a parlance) one whose nature cannot be ascertained. It is a mysterious energy wh
ose nature cannot be determined to be either truth or untruth. It is described a
s the cause for this universe according to the Advaita school. Maya appears to b
e real only till the knowledge of the Brahman arises. Once this supreme knowledg
e arises, Maya becomes unreal. The entire universe along with its cause disappea
rs at the rise of the supreme knowledge.
To put it in a nutshell,
Brahma satyam Jagat mithya Jivo brahmaiva naapara:
i.e,
Brahman alone is real. The entire universe is illusory. The individual soul is no
n- different from the Brahman
Liberation for the jiva is the realisation of his identity with the supreme Brah

man. This Brahman is Satyam Jnanam Anantham i.e, Truth, knowledge and infinite an
d hence is eternal bliss.

DVAITA
SrimanMadhvamathe hari: paratara: satyam jagat taatviko
Bhedo jivaganaaa hareranuchraa nichochabhaavam gataa: |
Mukthirnaijasukhaanubhoothiramala Bhakthischa tat saadhanam
Hyakhshyaaditritayam pramaanamakhilaamnaayaikavedyo hari: ||
The above verse indicates eight principles accepted in the system of Dvaita Ved
anta (The Philosophy of Dvaita)
1. Hari: parathara:- Lord Narayana is the supreme:
A) That person who does not rely on others (or external things) for form, knowle
dge and action is said to be independent. The Jiva (or the individual soul) and
Jada prakriti (the insentient matter) are dependent because they rely or depend
on others. Lord Narayana alone who helps the Jivas and the Jada is independent.
This is because he does not seek help from anything external.
B) The sruti text Agniravama: which states Agni or the god of fire to be the most
inferior among gods, declares that Lord vishnu is the most superior god. All the
other gods lie between these two gods. (The above said is the Shruthi pramaana
or the support from the vedas - Shruthi to declare the superiority of Lord H
ari).
C) Veda Vyasa (who compiled the vedas) also proclaims that there is no god great
er than Lord Kesava ( Na daivam keshavaathparam).
D) The Lord too, in Bhagavadgita, says Maththa: paratharam Naasthi i.e., there
is nothing greater than (or superior to) Me.
Hence (from the aforesaid explanations a, b, c, &d) Lord Hari or Vishnu is the I
ndependent Superior Lord.
2. Sathyam Jagath : The World is true. An object is defined to be True if it exists in any one of
the three divisions of tim i.e. past, present or future. For instance, we see a
temple and the knowledge This is a temple arises. The temple is true because
the temple continues to exist.
Suppose, we mistake a rope to be a snake. After close inspection, we realize tha
t it is not a snake but only a rope. Now, the knowledge regarding the snake is a
false one and hence the snake is also false . Since the knowledge regarding th
e world is not as said in the above illustration, the world is true . The Rgved
a - Vishvam Sathyam. . . is the verbal testimony (i.e., Support from the sruti)
to this (i.e., the fact that the world is True .)
3. Thathviko Bhedha: The difference among the principles is also true: The word Bhedha indicates th
e difference between one object and another. This is of 5 types (i) The differen

ce between Lord Vishnu and the jivas (ii) The difference between (Jada) inert ob
ject & Lord Vishnu (iii) difference between jiva and Jada (iv) Difference betwee
n one Jiva and another and (v) difference between one inert object and another.
(i) Lord Vishnu, who is omniscient, is filled with infinite auspicious qualities
. Jiva, on the other hand is full of infirmities like narrow mindedness, limited
knowledge etc. The Lords infinite auspicious qualities are inseparable from Him
. So also, the jiva s faults are inseparable from them and hence are permanent f
eatures of the Jivas. Hence the difference between the two (i.e., the Lord and J
ivas) is true and eternal.
(ii) It is indeed well known that inert objects do not possess any knowledge. He
nce the difference between the lord who is full of knowledge and Jada (inert obj
ects) is also eternal.
(iii) So is the difference between Jiva and Jada.
(iv) The preceptor is full of knowledge of scriptures and is hence worthy of wor
ship. Hence the difference between a Jiva who is a preceptor and another Jiva, w
ho worships the preceptor as a disciple, is also eternal. This shows that differ
ence between one jiva and another exists.
The above differences are substantiated by
a) The Brahmasootra Bhedhavyapadheshat
b) The upanisad dhvaa suparna.. and
c) The gita sloka Dhvaavimou...
v)Ordinary stones are different from stones like saalagraamam, which is divine.
So difference between one inert object and another is also real.

4. Difference between Jivas and visnudasas : All Jivas have four bodies. Among them the first is called the svarupa deha (or
the essential body)
(I) Svarupa deha: - This body does not have any creation or destruction. It has
no beginning and is eternal. Based on the nature of this svarupa deha, the jives
are classified as follows:
(i) Some Jivas have qualities like knowledge, bliss etc., as their essential nat
ure (in this svarupa deha). Hence they are known as Mukthiyogya i.e., one who
is capable of attaining liberation . They alone can get liberated.
(ii) The svarupa deha of certain Jivas is verily of the form of faults like mi
sery etc., they are called tamoyogya-s and are eternally riveted to hell.
They are of 4 types - inferior men, ghosts, demons, and dhaityas .
(iii) Many Jivas have a svarupa deha which is a combination of joy and miseries;
they neither get liberated nor go to hell. They are eternally in the cycle of b
irth and death (i.e, (samsara) transmigration) Hence they are called Nityasamsa
ri or Madhyamamanushyaa:
All are Narayanadasas (Servants of Lord Narayana). Nityasamsari s are higher t
han tamoyogya -s and Muktiyogya -s are greater than Nityasamsaris. Even among
Muktiyogya - s, kings like prahlada, pitrus, sages, and devas are higher Mukth
iyogya - s in the increasing order. Lord Brahma is superior to all devas. The
Mukthiyogya - s will initially be samsari - s and will attain liberation afte

r the completion of sadhanas (Spiritual practices). Lord Narayana and Mahalakshm

i are Nitya Muktas or eternally liberated as they are not samsari s. The diffe
rence as animals, birds, plants, human etc., exists in this swarupa deha itself.
The individual form also exists in this swarupa deha. Hence a swan will remain
a swan even if liberated.
The Brahma sutra "Sukthopasrupya" and the sloka "Mukthanam parama gati:" of Maha
bharata are the pramana (texts of supports) for this. The sloka Na yatra maaya o
f Bhagavata states that even in liberation, the lower liberated souls worship th
e higher ( or greater) liberated souls. Hence, it is proved that there is taarat
amya (i.e., gradation) even in liberation. When there is gradation even in liber
ation, then the case of difference in samsara needs no explanation.
5. Mukti or liberation is the realization of one s svarupa deha:
The svarupa deha mentioned earlier has eyes, ears and other indriyas (sense orga
ns) and parts of the body in their essential forms. The second of the 4 bodies (
mentioned in the beginning of point 4) is the linga sarira which is sticking to
the svarupa deha. This is like the husk sticking on to rice. This too is neither
created nor destroyed. But this, which covers the Jiva from time unknown, is re
moved at the time of liberation. Above this linga sarira, there is a body called
Aniruddha deha . Lord Aniruddha created this at the time of creation. It gets
destroyed only at the time of dissolution. It is only above this Aniruddha deha
that the Sthoolasharira- gross body is formed. This body is created and destroye
d in every Janma (birth or life). There are inert senses (Indriyas) and parts (a
vayava) of body in the inert Linga, Aniruddha and sthula sariras. They function
only when they come in contact with their essential counterparts in the Svaroopa
deha, which is covered with the above said three bodies. The Jiva does not exper
ience the bliss of its Svarupa during transmigration. When they get destroyed at
the time of liberation, Svaroopaanandha (the bliss of ones nature) is experienc
ed. The experience of this bliss is liberation.
6. Pure Bhakti is the only means to liberation:There is no difference of opinion in this. It is wrong to say, as some do, that
lust, anger, fear etc.; too, when directed towards Lord Vishnu can bestow libera
tion.

7. "Pratyaksha, Anumaana" and "Veda" are the three "Pramaanas" : The means of Knowledge is called "Pramaana". It is only three.
i) Pratyaksha or perception: - This is the direct perception of external objects
through organs of senses like eyes, ears, etc. Joy, sorrow etc., are experience
d by mind. Hence sense organs, mind etc., are Pratyaksa Pramaana i.e., means to
direct knowledge.

ii) Anumaana or inference: - with the knowledge arising out of this Pratyaksha,
certain conclusions are made, though directly not perceived. For instance when o
ne sees smoke in a particular place, one infers the presence of fire there. This
is called inference or Anumaana Pramaana.
iii) Veda: - Those (areas) which are out of reach of the above means of knowledg
e, like heaven, hell, god etc., can be known only through the Vedas. Hence this
is the third Pramana.

8. Lord Narayana is the only import of Vedas: The Vedas have three Kandas.
i) The Karma Kanda of the Vedas talk about the Karmas (or actions). They prescr
ibe actions which please Lord Vishnu and make one reach his lotus feet. Even tho
ugh at some places it describes some actions of less importance, it praises Nara
yana.
ii) The second is the Devatha Kaanda - which praises the other deities who are N
aarayanadaasa s (servants of the Lord). Through this, one attains their grace to
the reach the Lord. The praises of these deities can be considered as the Lord
s praise.
iii) The third Kaanda is the Bramha Kaanda - which directly sings the glory of L
ord Vishnu.
Hence, all the Kaanda-s and Shastra-s (Scriptures) declare Narayana as the supre
me person. Sarve Veda - sloka of Geeta also states the same.
HARI: SARVOTTAMA: VAAYU JIVOTTAMA:

VISHISHTADVAITA
In the Vishishtaadvaita school, three principles, namely, chit (sentient beings)
, achit (insentient matter), and Ishwara (The Supreme Lord) are accepted. These
are known as the tattvatraya (the three tattvas) in this school. All the three are
eternal and dissimilar.
Among them, Ishwara is Sriman Narayana who is The Supreme Soul or Paramatman. H
e is all pervading and the inner controller of all ( antaryaamin i.e. residing w
ithin, He controls the world and all the living beings). He is sung as The Supre
me by the Upanishads and the Vedas. Sruti texts like antarbahishcha tatsarvam vya
apya naarayastithah, tatsrushtvaa tadevaanupravishat etc are the sruti pramana (scr
iptural support) for this. Lord Sriman Narayana is the Supreme Brahman. He posse
sses infinite knowledge, bliss, and infinite auspicious qualities. The entire cr
eation (including the chit and achit) form the body of this Supreme Being. This
is known from texts of the Upanishads like yah pritivyaam tishtan.. esha ta atma
antaryaamya bhutah. The divine auspicious form (divyamangala vigraham) of Sriman
Narayana is extremely pure. He is adorned with innumerable ornaments and weapon
s. Further,the srutis describe Him to have a golden complexion like that of dazz
ling sun, eyes like lotus and as always young and seen by the great Niyta Suris
who are eternally liberated.
Thus the Sruthis have their import in extolling Sriman Narayana. He is self-cont
ented, always pure like the clear sky and is beyond the darkness of ignorance. H
e is the controller of the entire universe. His form is that of the entire unive
rse. He is the root cause for everything. The Jivatmas (individual soul) are his
subordinates. They get liberated by completely surrendering them to Lord Sriman
Narayana. One who realizes this Lord as the greatest asset residing in the cave
s of ones heart gets liberated from the cycle of births and deaths. Sri Mahalaksh
mi, the divine consort of The Lord, is the queen of the entire universe. asyeshaa
no jagato Vishnupatni.. etc are Sruti Pramana for this. Considering the welfare o
f all beings, she, who is full of compassion, beseeches the lord and gets the ji
vas liberated. The Lord manifests himself in five stages.

Param: The Lord in SriVaikunta

Vyuham: The manifestation of Lord as Vasudeva,Sankarshana,Pradyumna and Anirudd

ha

Vibhavam: the incarnations of the Lord as Rama, Krishna etc.

Archa: The Lord in the form of idols and

antaryaamin : The Lord as the inner controller of all beings.

Next, we shall see the nature of the sentients called the Jivaatmas.
The jivaatma in its essential nature is full of Knowledge. The jivaatma is diffe
rent from the physical body in the form of human, animals, devas etc which are a
ll the products of the insentient matter (prakriti). He, in his true nature, is
only full of knowledge and bliss. The jiva is atomic in size. He is subordinate
to the Lord in all respects. The jivas acquire bodies according to their karmas
(past deeds). This physical body is a combination of the five principle elements
. All these features are common to all jivatmas. The jivatmas can be classified
into three categories:1.
Nitya
2.
Muktha
3.
Baddha
The Nithyas are those who never get drowned in this ocean of samsara and enjoy t
he highest bliss eternally. This can be known from the famous vedic verse tat v
ishnor paramam padam sadaa pashyanthi soorayah.
The Mukthas are those who initially toil in the samsara, and attain liberation b
y the Lords graceful glance (Kataksham).
The Baddhas are those who keep toiling in samsara always. Until they attain libe
ration, they attain various bodies according to their store of Karmas and underg
o sufferings.
Next we shall deal with the insentient Prakruthi.
This world which contains all the jivaatmas possessing various forms is Brahmans s
arira or body. It is devoid of intelligence. Hence it is referred to as achit or in
sentient. This is not Maya. It truly undergoes a change. During deluge it dissol
ves in Brahman. The Lord governs and rules this prakruti. It becomes the object
of enjoyment for the jivatmas. There are three qualities for prakruti namely Sat
tva,Rajas and Tamas.
EXPLANATION OF THE TERM VISHISHTADVAITA
In the vedic texts like tatvamasi the jivatma is interpreted to be the Brahman it
self. The following explanation is given :- tat means the Brahman, tvam means the ji

vatma, and asi means you are. As a whole it means you, the jivatma are verily the bra
hman.
But this explanation does not corraborate with other Upanishad texts.
yah pruthivyaam thishtan pruthivyaa antaro yam pruthivi na veda yasya pruthvi sa
riram yah pruthivim antaro yamayati, esha ta aatma antaryamya bhhoothah { bru: 57-3}.
ya aatmani thishtan aatmano antaro yamaatma na veda yasyaatma sariram ya aatmaan
amantaro yamayathi sa ta aatma antaryaamya bhoothah { Madhyantina bruh: 5-7-22}.
Through such texts it is known that Brahman is the Atma of all. All the sentient
and insentient objects form his body. Hence, the text tatvamasi is to be interpre
ted as follows. tat refers to the Brahman which is the cause for the entire world
and is full of all auspicious qualities. Though the term tvam refers to the jivatm
an, it refers only to the Brahman as it is the Brahman that resides having the j
iva as its body. By such an interpretation, the above mentioned vedic texts are
also resolved. Otherwise it would lead to imposing demerits on Brahman. In a sim
ilar manner, it is wrong to say that this world which is reffered to as maya is
false. Going by the aforesaid vedic verses and verses such as ajaamekaam lohitha
suklakrishnaamtaken from the Swetaswatara Upanishad, it is clear that the Prakrut
hi too is eternal. In fact the true import of the statement The Brahman alone tr
uly exists. Nothing else exists is that The Brahman alone is the Aatman. The chit (
the sentient jivas) and achit ( the insentient world) are its visheshanas( Those tha
t qualify it).
Hence the Upanishads in fact speak only this VISHISHTA-ADVAITA and not KEVALA-ADVAI
TA. The reason for terming it as VISHISHTAADVAITA being It is ADVAITA because it sa
ys that Brahman is one, and it is VISHISHTA because it says that the chit and the a
chit form its body.
Next we finally deal with Samsara and Moksha, that is transmigration and liberat
ion:- The jivatmas who are basically knowledge-personified are shrouded in ignor
ance and have their knowledge shrunken according to the karmas accumulated in pr
evious births. Hence they assume various bodies of various tendencies. They imag
ine themselves to be the body and because of that they experience joy and sorrow
. To get snapped from this bondage and to reach Vaikunta, where Sriman Narayana
dwells along with Lakshmi is called Moksha or Liberation.
As per the vedic text- Asyeshaanaa jagatho vishnupatni, hrishcha te lakshmishcha
patnyau, Sri Mahalakshmi is the consort of Sriman Narayana. She is the queen of t
he entire world. She is concerned about the welfare of the jivas and secures lib
eration for them by pleading Sri Narayana for their cause. The paths of Karma, G
nana, Bhakthi and prapatti are the means to attain that.
Prapatti is to surrender to the Lord. It is a simple path that can be easily fol
lowed by all. A jiva who has attained Vaikunta, that is Moksha, does not get cau
ght in samsara again. Even at the time of deluge, that jiva always experiences e
ternal bliss in the Paramapada ( the highest abode of the Lord) that has no dest
ruction.
The Vedas declare na sa punaraavartate na sa punaraavartate which means He does n
ot return, He does not return. That jiva does not return to this samsara.

THE END