Bliss

The world is full of miseries. How does one rise above the illusions of the world, how does one free oneself from these miseries? How does one attain bliss(moksha)?

It is Vishnu who provides bliss, Brahma creates the world on Vishnu’s orders and Shiva destroys it also on Vishnu’s instructions. The entire universe is completely identified with Vishnu. Vishnu has no form, nor is he without form. He is the source of all dharma. It is from him that all the elements originate. Humans who worship him become like gods.

True knowledge consists of the realization that Vishnu is everything. In this sense, bliss can be achieved through knowledge (jnana). Knowledge needs the bedrock of faith (bhakti) to support it. Good actions (karma) give rise to faith in Vishnu. In fact, actions are the first step towards attaining knowledge. There are very few people who can embark on the path of knowledge straight away. In the final stage of knowledge, one realizes that Vishnu is everywhere in the universe and that there is therefore no difference between oneself and other living beings. This sense of union with Vishnu is referred to as yoga.

A person who is for this sort of supreme knowledge is known as a mumukshu. There are certain traits that enable one to identify a mumukshu. He has no sense of anger or hate, he is not addicted to the senses and he evinces pity towards all living beings. His mind is perpetually preoccupied with thoughts of Vishnu.

There is another way of expressing the idea behind yoga. The divine soul is known as the paramatman and it has no form. As opposed to this, there are human souls known as jivatmans. These are attached to individual bodies and egos. Yoga tries to overcome this illusion and establishes the union between the jivatman and the paramatman. It is true that the human soul is confined by the shackles of the body, but it is the overcoming of this illusion that is important. This sense, the sense of the union between human souls and the divine soul, is true or supreme knowledge, referred to as brahma jnana. (The word brahman is used synonymously with paramatman, although the latter is loosely translated as the divine soul and the former as the divine essence.)

The path of yoga is aided by eight techniques. The first of these is known as yama (self-control). This requires non-violence, truthfulness, love, pity and control over the senses. Jealousy and envy also have to be given up. The second technique is niyama (practice). This requires meditation, chanting incantations, reading sacred texts and cleanliness. Yama and niyama purify the mind and the body and thus enable one to meditate on the true nature of Vishnu. But meditation requires a proper posture and this the third technique of asana (posture). There are thirty major postures that are recommended for someone who is practising yoga. The fourth technique is pranayama (controlling one’s breath). The control over one’s breath aids the process of meditation.

The fifth technique is known as pratyahara (withdrawal). This means the withdrawal of the mind from all sorts of sensual pleasures. The sixth technique is known as dharana (retention). One visualises the identity of the paramatman and the jivatman, and retains the image of the identity in one’s mind. It helps to concentrate one’s mind on an image of Vishnu seated on a lotus flower. When one meditates continuosly on this image, that constitutes the seventh technique of dhyana (contemplation). There are three objects that are involved in the process of meditation¾ the person who is doing the meditating, the object of meditation and the act of meditation. When all sense of distinction between these three objects is lost, the contemplation can be regarded as complete. When the final point of contemplation is reached, one attains the eighth and final technique of samadhi (intense bliss). The brahman is fixed in the mind of such a person and he loses all other senses.