New Approach to Visistadvaita- with Special Reference to Svaminarayana Vedanta

FOREWORD I feel great pleasure in writing a foreword to "New Approach to Visistadvaita", with Special Reference to Svaminarayana Vedanta' by Dr. Suresh Vakil. I had the occasion to go through this work carefully and certainly it is an crudite and scholarly work.

Dr. Suresh Vakil is well known advocate by profession and scholar of Indian and Western Philosophy. He holds M.A and Ph.D in Philosophy of Gujarat University. He is also president of Tattvadarshana, a philosophical study group since three decades.

Śrī Svaminarayana (1781-1830 AD) was a great religious and social reformer of Hindu society in the eighteenth century AD. He was critic of casteist society and accepted people from all walks of life into his Sampradaya (sect) without making any distinction between caste or creed.

His philosophy stands almost similar to Visistädvaita of Ramanuja. Infact Sri Svaminarayana himself described his philosophy as Visistadvaita only. Still he differs from Ramanuja in several respects. His philosophy may be called as Neo-Visistadvaita School of Vedanta. Ramanuja accepts three realities, viz., Cit, Acit and Isvara (Brahman) while according to Svaminarayana there are five kinds of meta physical entities, viz., Parabrahman, Akşarabrahman, Isvara, Jiva and Maya. Only Parabrahman or God is independent, all others are dependent on Him.

Svaminarayana like other Vaisnava philosophers believes that God is personal (Saguna) not Nirguna. He also emphasizes the intense love for God, which is based on the real understanding of his greatness and glory. According to him, love of God (Bhakti) is the only means of attaining salvation. Complete surrender to God, is the most effective. means of securing grace of the God. Just as a devoted wife loves her husband only, similarly the devotee of God should love God and only God (Pativratabhakti). This kind of love of God enables the spiritual aspirant to reach the state of Samadhi and have the mystical experience of God realization. This devotion must be supported and supplemented by Dharma, Jñana and Vairagya.

Śrī Svaminarayana's works are mostly in Gujarati lan guage except Sikṣāpatri. His followers have written commentary on Brahmas@tra, Upanisads and some other philosophical topics. But not much research work has been done to expose Sri Svaminarayana's philosophy from all angles.

Dr. Suresh Vakil's work is unique in its own way. He has studied Śri Svaminarayana's works thoroughly, which enables him to produce this very good piece of research.

Philosophical ideas are scattered here and there in original works of Sri Svaminārāyaṇa, so systematic treatment of specific topic is very difficult task. Dr. Suresh Vakil has done it most efficiently and successfully.

This is an exhaustive study on the concept of Self in Sväminārāyaṇism. The author deals with concept of self from various angles, such as metaphysical nature of self, empirical nature of self, self and God, self and Akşarabrahman, Law of Karma and rebirth, Liberation and Jivanmukti. In the last chapter, Dr. Suresh Vakil has compared Sri Svaminārāyaṇa's view with great stalwarts like Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Vallabha and Plato which is in itself remarkable and first of its kind.

I have no hesitation in recommending this scholarly work to the readers and I am sure it will get the due welcome, which it deserves.

PREFACE The present work embodies my humble but sincere endeavour to understand Svaminarayana's Philosophy in general and his philosophy of self in particular. From my studies I have felt that Svaminarayana's philosophy is really a great heritage of mankind of which we can justly be proud. I have tried to grasp the basic principles of Svaminārāyaṇa in respect of the nature of self and to present the same in rational terms. My approach all throughout has been constructive.

I have divided my work into five parts. Each part consists of one or more chapters. Part one contains only one chapter (First Chapter). It purports to provide a general introduction to the subject of this work. Part Two comprises four Chapters (Chapters two to five). It deals with the meta physical nature of self. Part three consists of six chapters (chapters six to eleven). It is concerned with the empirical nature of the self. Part Four comprises four chapters (chapter twelve to fifteen).

It endeavours to describe the fundamental concepts of Svaminārāyaṇiya Doctrine of Liberation and the means to attain liberation pointed out by Svaminarayana. Part Five consists of one chapter (Chapter Sixteen). It attempts to compare Svâminarayana's philosophy of self with that of Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Vallabha and Plato.

From the studies I have made certain basic principles of Svaminarayana's philosophy of self emerge. It would be worthwhile to present here a brief statement of Svāmi narayana's philosophy of self. According to Svaminarayana, self (Jiva) is real. It is one of the five realities accepted by Svaminarayana. The other four realities are: Parabrahman The present work embodies my humble but sincere endeavour to understand Svaminarayana's Philosophy in general and his philosophy of self in particular. From my studies I have felt that Svaminarayana's philosophy is really a great heritage of mankind of which we can justly be proud. I have tried to grasp the basic principles of Svaminārāyaṇa in respect of the nature of self and to present the same in rational terms. My approach all throughout has been constructive.

I have divided my work into five parts. Each part consists of one or more chapters. Part one contains only one chapter (First Chapter). It purports to provide a general introduction to the subject of this work. Part Two comprises four Chapters (Chapters two to five). It deals with the meta physical nature of self. Part three consists of six chapters (chapters six to eleven). It is concerned with the empirical nature of the self. Part Four comprises four chapters (chapter twelve to fifteen).

It endeavours to describe the fundamental concepts of Svaminārāyaṇiya Doctrine of Liberation and the means to attain liberation pointed out by Svaminarayana. Part Five consists of one chapter (Chapter Sixteen). It attempts to compare Svâminarayana's philosophy of self with that of Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Vallabha and Plato.

From the studies I have made certain basic principles of Svaminarayana's philosophy of self emerge. It would be worthwhile to present here a brief statement of Svāmi narayana's philosophy of self. According to Svaminarayana, self (Jiva) is real. It is one of the five realities accepted by Svaminarayana. The other four realities are: Parabrahman body, it eternally worships and serves God and enjoys His blissful communion. For self, having once attained that state, there is no return from it to the mundane existence. Svami narayana believes that even in the state of liberation in Aks aradhaman the difference between selves continues to exist, and each self attains knowledge and bliss of God in proportion to its receiving capacity. i.e. the capacity to understand and appreciate the greatness and glory of God, Of course, Svami narayana has admitted the eternal growth of this capacity. But the greatness and glory of God being infinite and unfatho mable, the self will never be able to have complete knowledge of God and hence there will be no full stop to its growth.

For the attainment of liberation Svaminarayana has poin ted out different kinds of means of liberation. Dharma, Jñana, Bhakti and Vairagya are principle means of liberation. He has also pointed out auxiliary means of liberation. The principle four means are not exclusive of each but they are comple mentary to each other. In Svaminarayana's view religion at its highest must express a harmonious synthesis of dharma (morality), Jñana (understanding of the metaphysical nature of self, world and God), Bhakti (intense love for and devotion to God) and Vairagya (detachment towards sensuous objects of the world). Such a harmonious synthesis of these four means is found in the life of an Ekantika Bhakta. In Svāmi narayana's view Ekantikapanuf is the highest form of religious life.

According to Sviminārāyaṇa although self is metaphysi cally dependent upon God, it has freedom to endeavour for its liberation. Self is free to love and worship God and adopt all or any of the means of liberation. All the same Svămi nārāyaṇa has clarified that even if the self adopts all the means of liberation and worships God, it cannot attain libera tion without the grace of God. Grace of God is sine qua non for the liberation of the self.

Svaminarayana has accepted the possibility of Jivan mukti. If a man intensely loves God and it firmly devoted to Him, it is possible for him to attain liberation here and now.

**Contents and Sample Pages**