Worshipful God and salvation Ekasarana Dharma

1 worshipful god , salvation

1.1 nature of god

1.1.1 krishna


1.2 jiva , salvation
1.3 krishna identical narayana

worshipful god , salvation

the preceptors later leaders of ekasarana religion focused on religious practice of bhakti , kept away systematically expounding philosophical positions. nevertheless references found scattered in voluminous works of sankardeva , madhavdeva indicate theosophical positions rooted in bhagavata purana strong advaita influence via commentary bhavartha-dipika sridhar swami. nevertheless, sankardeva s interpretation of these texts seen @ once original , new . scholars hold these texts not followed in-toto , deviations seen in writings when original philosophical contents came conflict primary focus of bhakti enunciated in ekasarana-dharma.

nature of god

though acknowledges impersonal (nirguna) god, identifies personal (saguna) 1 worshipful calls narayana. sole aspect distinguishes personal impersonal 1 act of creation, narayana created everything. unlike in gaudiya vaishnavism claims no distinction between brahman, paramatman , bhagavat, considered in ekasarana different appellations applied same supreme reality.

even though narayana used synonymously vishnu, gods vishnu, brahma , shiva considered of lower divinity.

narayana personal , worshipful god considered loving , lovable god, possesses auspicious attributes attract devotees. non-dual, omnipotent , omniscient; creator, sustainer, , destroyer of all. possesses moral qualities karunamaya (compassionate), dinabandhu (friend of lowly), bhakta-vatsala (beloved of devotees) , patit-pavana (redeemer of sinners) make him attractive devotees. though not deny existence of other gods, asserts narayana alone worshipful , others strictly excluded.

krishna

following bhagavata purana, object of devotion in ekasarana krishna, supreme entity himself. suddha (pure), satya (true). other deities subservient him. brahman, vishnu , krishna fundamentally one. krishna alone supreme worshipful in system. sankaradeva s krishna nārāyana, supreme reality or parama brahma , not merely avatara of visnu. krishna god himself. considers narayana (krishna) both cause effect of creation, , asserts narayana alone sole reality. philosophical angle, supreme spirit (param-brahma). controller of senses, yogis call him paramatma. when connected world, assumes name of bhagavanta. moreover, of characteristics reserved impersonal god in other philosophies attributed narayana reinterpretations.

jiva , salvation

the embodied self, called jiva or jivatma identical narayana. shrouded maya , suffers misery, when ego (ahamkara) destroyed, jiva can perceive himself brahma. jiva attains mukti (liberation) when jiva restored natural state (maya removed). though other vaishnavites (ramanuja, nimbarka, vallabha, caitanya) recognise videhamukti (mukti after death), ekasarana preceptors have recognised, in addition, jivanmukti (mukti during lifetime). among 5 different kinds of videhamukti, ekasarana rejects sayujya form of mukti, complete absorption in god deprives jiva of sweetness , bliss associated bhakti. bhakti not means mukti end itself, , emphasised in ekasarana writings——madhavdeva begins namaghosha obeisance devotees not prefer mukti. identity between jivatma , narayana beautifully expressed sankaradeva through words of vedas in veda stuti (the prayer of vedas) section of kirttana ghosā, jiva amse tumi pravesilā gāve gāve:-

we, creatures, constitute part of thine. thy maya, oh lord, keeps in bondage; give instruction may adore thy feet , remove fetters of maya through sravana , kirttana. [1656]

maya or nescience in sankaradeva seen barrier lord s bhakti (devotion). , therefore, break fetters of maya, prescribed path of adoration (bhajana) of lord solely through listening (sravana) , recitation (kirttana) of glories, taking sole-refuge (eka-sarana) in him, in company of (single-minded) devotees (bhaktas):-

from these words of bhagavanta (god), taking eka-sarana in him, 1 gains lord s favour , [thus] able effortlessly understand māyā (nescience) , [also] liberate oneself it. [sankaradeva, bhakti-ratnākara, māyātaranopāya ( way release māyā ), 36th māhātmya]

krishna identical narayana

narayana manifests through avatars, , krishna considered perfect 1 not partial manifestation narayana himself. in form of krishna narayana worshiped. description of krishna based on 1 in bhagavat puran, 1 resides in vaikuntha along devotees. worshipful form different other forms of krishna-based religions (radha-krishna of caitanya, gopi-krishna of vallabhacharya, rukmini-krishna of namadeva , sita-rama of ramananda). form of devotion infused dasya , balya bhava in works of sankardev , madhabdev. madhura bhava, prevalent in other religions, singularly absent here.