Jīva, Īśvara and Mokṣa
While chatting with a good friend who is well-versed in Indian philosophy and has heard several talks on Vedanta (often equated with Advaita), the question came up: What is my take on Jīva, Īśvara and Mokṣa?
I am an ardent believer in the Śrīmad Bhagavadgīta. It clears away a lot of cobwebs in our overfilled brains through direct and straightforward dialogue. I also believe that the words of Bhagavān Śrīkṛṣṇa in the Gīta go far beyond the Vedantic talks that constantly try to split hairs and make a big show of "punditry" (1). I have therefore summed up my ideas, pinning them on important quotations from the Śrīmad Bhagavadgīta, with Śloka references.
Jīva
- This is the embodied Ātma, encased in the Body-Mind complex. The Jīva's soul component is reborn repeatedly until merging into/attaining Bhagavān. (2)
- The Jīva consists of two parts - the perishable and the imperishable. (3)
- The imperishable part i.e. the soul or consciousness, is located in the perishable body. At the moment of death, it begins its journey in the afterlife. This part migrates from one body to the next, carrying the accumulated Karma impressions, just as the wind carries fragrances as it passes through a floral orchard. (4)
- Jīva is always engaged in action (=Karma) (5). There is no escape, therefore, from Karma reactions, except...
- ...when the doer makes Karma his Yajña, or worship (6) (7). True Yajña adds nothing to the existing Karma.
- This path requires the doer to realise that he is merely a part of the play of creation, playing out his role. Then, he becomes a witness to his own actions, just as an actor can be a witness to his own acting. This is possible when we perform our actions without desiring, i.e. being invested in the resultant outcome for personal gain. This attitude confers equanimity, and, in addition, infuses efficiency into all our actions! (8) (9).
- Where there is striving done as one's worship, Bhagavān comes to one's assistance through grace. Then life runs on Autopilot, guided by Bhagavān Himself (10).
Īśvara
- This is the area where the Śrīmad Bhagavadgīta has total clarity, without confusing creation with the creator, and without weaving verbal webs about what is real and unreal.
- Īśvara = Bhagavān. He is incomparable, unique, and all creation is like so many beads strung into a necklace whose thread is Īśvara (11).
- This can be understood only by those who have attained the necessary insight and developed devotion. This is therefore the best course for the Yogis too. (12) (13)
- Īśvara is always our companion in all actions. But He transitions in His relationship to the Jīva, from being a mere onlooker to an approver, aide, facilitator and provider in inverse proportion to our sense of ego (=doership), which hopefully diminishes as we make spiritual progress. He is the Ultimate Witness, and is NOT the Jīva! Indeed, this difference makes it absolutely clear that He is Paramātmā! (14). The language of the Śrīmad Bhagavadgīta is crystal clear on this point. Therefore, any interpretation that dilutes this is unfortunate and should be discarded forthwith.
- Īśvara = Bhagavān is present in every creature. He runs the world like a spinning wheel, carrying all of us, making us go through our actions programmed through our Karmas! (15)
- Īśvara is always and totally separate from Jīva. This is crystal clear (16). Īśvara is continually engaged in the activities of creation, sustenance and destruction. On the other hand, a Jīva can only hope for merger into Īśvara and not a substitute for Īśvara!
Mokṣa
- The goal of human life is liberation = Merger into Bhagavān. Equanimity paves the way for this. Practically, this means that one offers every one of one's actions as one's worship to Bhagavān. In this process, all reactions to Karma, as well as Karma itself, will drop off and the Jīva attains Bhagavān (17). This process is laid out in the Śrīmad Bhagavadgīta.
- The man who experiences his pure state of consciousness (and thus goes beyond the Body-Mind complex), called Brahman, proceeds further on the path of devotion. The implication is that no one escapes actions as long as he is in the body, even after attaining Brahman consciousness. Hence, what we call Mokṣa is not a state of nothingness, but an active, devotional connection with Bhagavān! This is explained in several verses in the ultimate chapter that deals with Mokṣa. (18) and (19).
- The Carama śloka in the Śrīmad Bhagavadgīta is 18.66 (20). In this, Bhagavān is asking us to surrender to Him as our sole refuge, abandoning all "Dharma." He says He will save us from all sins = The negative effects of Karma, and we should hence not grieve. Here, Dharma means our sense that our own effort based on our "free will" or life choices will lead to Mokṣa, as if we can act independently and forget Bhagavān. All the fancy rituals, practices, "Yogas", meditations, called by various names like Raja Yoga, Kriya Yoga, and so on, may give us the impression that we can attain liberation or Mokṣa without recourse to Īśvara = Bhagavān. Some pundits have even stated that Īśvara is a figment of our own creation = a creature subject to Māyā, and when we are in Brahman, He will promptly disappear! This is sheer nonsense according to the Śrīmad Bhagavadgīta, which emphatically states that Māyā is the device of Bhagavān, under His total control and an instrument of His play or Līla. We can escape Māyā or our wrong perceptions and identifications (=Body-Mind complex) only by surrendering to Īśvara!!!! (21) (22)
In other words, according to the Śrīmad Bhagavadgīta,
- I am the Jīva, caught in the Karma-Body-Mind-Rebirth cycle.
- Īśvara is running this creation as a sport, and IS MY FRIEND AND PROTECTOR.
- Worshipping Him and surrendering all actions to Īśvara confers freedom, which is the ultimate devotion and bliss. This breaks the Karma cycle, and there is then no rebirth.
- The 12th Chapter makes it clear that worship or Bhakti is NOT RITUAL. It is living our life moment to moment connected to the universal presence of Īśvara = many-ness in oneness. I am not quoting verses as the 12th chapter's every verse (there are twenty) is important and clear on this point.
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(1) गीता सुगीता कर्तव्या किमन्यैः शास्त्रविस्तरैः । या स्वयं पद्मनाभस्य मुखपद्मात् विनिःसृता ॥ (गीतामाहात्म्यम्)
(2) जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च । (२.२७) मामुपेत्य तु कौन्तेय पुनर्जन्म न विद्यते ॥ ८-१६॥
(3) द्वाविमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश्चाक्षर एव च । क्षरः सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते ॥ १५-१६॥
(4) शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः । गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् ॥ १५-८॥
(5) न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् । कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥ ३-५॥
(6) यज्ञार्थात्कर्मणोऽन्यत्र लोकोऽयं कर्मबन्धनः । तदर्थं कर्म कौन्तेय मुक्तसङ्गः समाचर ॥ ३-९॥
(7) यतः प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततम् । स्वकर्मणा तमभ्यर्च्य सिद्धिं विन्दति मानवः ॥ १८-४६॥
(8) योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय । सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥ २-४८॥
(9) बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभे सुकृतदुष्कृते । तस्माद्योगाय युज्यस्व योगः कर्मसु कौशलम् ॥ २-५०॥
(10) अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते । तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ॥ ९-२२॥
(11) मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय । मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ॥ ७-७॥
(12) अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्तते । इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां बुधा भावसमन्विताः ॥ १०-८॥
(13) योगिनामपि सर्वेषां मद्गतेनान्तरात्मना । श्रद्धावान्भजते यो मां स मे युक्ततमो मतः ॥ ६-४७॥
(14) उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः । परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुषः परः ॥ १३-२३॥
(15) ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति । भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया ॥ १८-६१॥
(16) उत्तमः पुरुषस्त्वन्यः परमात्मेत्युदाहृतः । यो लोकत्रयमाविश्य बिभर्त्यव्यय ईश्वरः ॥ १५-१७॥
(16) यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् । यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् ॥ ९-२७॥
(17) शुभाशुभफलैरेवं मोक्ष्यसे कर्मबन्धनैः । संन्यासयोगयुक्तात्मा विमुक्तो मामुपैष्यसि ॥ ९-२८॥
(18) ब्रह्मभूतः प्रसन्नात्मा न शोचति न काङ्क्षति । समः सर्वेषु भूतेषु मद्भक्तिं लभते पराम् ॥ १८-५४॥
(19) भक्त्या मामभिजानाति यावान्यश्चास्मि तत्त्वतः । ततो मां तत्त्वतो ज्ञात्वा विशते तदनन्तरम् ॥ १८-५५॥
(20) सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज । अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥ १८-६६॥
(21) दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया । मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥ ७-१४॥
(22) तमेव शरणं गच्छ सर्वभावेन भारत । तत्प्रसादात्परां शान्तिं स्थानं प्राप्स्यसि शाश्वतम् ॥ १८-६२॥
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|| हरिः ॐ तत् सत् ॥
