Prasthanatrayi Swaminarayan Bhashyam (Study)

by Sadhu Gyanananddas | 2021 | 123,778 words

This page relates ‘Why Does the Jivanmukta Live on Earth?’ of the study on the Prasthanatrayi Swaminarayan Bhashyam in Light of Swaminarayan Vachanamrut (Vacanamrita). His 18th-century teachings belong to Vedanta philosophy and were compiled as the Vacanamrita, revolving around the five ontological entities of Jiva, Ishvara, Maya, Aksharabrahman, and Parabrahman. Roughly 200 years later, Bhadreshdas composed a commentary (Bhasya) correlating the principles of Vachanamrut.

6.3. Why Does the Jīvanmukta Live on Earth?

A valid question at this stage would be: Why does a jīvan-mukta live on at all. Should he or she not die straight away and transcend into blissful fellowship with Parabrahman in his abode? Once the kāraṇa body of an aspirant is destroyed, one becomes a jīvanmukta (one who has attained jīvanamukti) and no form of māyā, I-ness or my-ness remains. Consequently, all love and hate, desires, svabhāvas, and attachment towards the body are also destroyed. At the same time, through offering devotion, service, and upāsanā to Parabrahman and serving the manifest Satpuruṣa, the sañcita kārmas from previous lives are also destroyed. Now devoid of any I-ness, my-ness, and prejudices, such a jīvanmukta does not under any circumstances perform any improper kārmas which are against Parabrahman’s wishes.

Svāminārāyaṇa advocates:

“One should understand that as being Parabrahman’s wish. In reality, such a person has nothing left to accomplish; he is fulfilled and has reached the culmination of all spiritual endeavors.” (Vacanāmṛta Gadhadā II/13, p.421) On Parabrahman’s command, the jīvanmukta performs pious kārmas for the purpose of pleasing Parabrahman only; those kriyaman kārmas are a form of bhakti and not a form of attachment. (Vacanāmṛta Gadhadā II/11)

evāmupasanābalāt sakalapuṇyapāpanāśepi kāraṇaśarīraprakṣayepi sthulasya dehasya asaṃśleṣastu pāte etaccharīrapāta eva | jīvanmukto hi naṣṭakāraṇaśarīropi paramātmecchāmātrahetunā dhṛtaśarīraḥ sannabhivartate | tasyāyaṃ kāyaviśleṣaḥ śarīrapāta eva |” (Brahmasūtra 4/1/14, p.391)

“Due to Parabrahma’s upāsanā one can eradicate all his desires. In this state, the causal body is uprooted, even though the physical body still remains. It departs only after death. In this way, a jīvanmukta remains alive even after his causal body is uprooted which is the prominent cause for the cycle of births and deaths. He lives his life as the wish of Parabrahman till his death.”

prārabdhaṃ khalvasyā dehasthiternimittam | tadavadheḥ śarīrapātāvadhestatsthiteḥ | idamatrā'vadheyam | dehanimittaṃ prārabdhamapi na hi karmavidhayā yāvadāyuṣaṃ śarīradhāraṇaprayojakamapi tu paramātmecchā''nuguṇyenaiveti viśeṣaḥ | ata eva liṅgaśarīranāśo'pi paramātmakṛpaikanibandhano bhagavadbhaktasya jīvatkāle, tadehāntakāle vā, tadutkramaṇe mārge vā yadā kadā'pi parabrahmecchā'nusārameva pravartata iti tadadhigamādhikaraṇam | (Brahmasūtra 4/1/15, p.391)

“As far as one’s life is concerned, it is due to his prārabdha kārma. It decides the duration of one’s lifespan. It should be noted that for jīvanmukta devotee, prārabdha kārma doesn’t decide his or her life span but Parabrahman himself decides it. By Parabrahman’s wish and grace the jīvanmukta lives, dies and goes to the abode of Parabrahman via divine celestial path even after causal body is eradicated.”

Although a jīvanmukta has to experience the consequences of his prārabdha kārma, yet through Parabrahman’s grace it is endured with smiling face by the jīvanmukta. He does not get disturbed or miserable in any way due to experiencing the pain of his prārabdha kārmas. Even if his prārabdha leads to misery or suffering, he understands it to be only due to the will of his beloved Parabrahman.

Svāminārāyaṇa clears the point:

“If one has completely understood the essence of this discourse, then regardless of whether one is reborn in a base or elevated life form due to one’s prārabdha kārmas, still, like Vrutrāsur, one will not forget this jñāna. Also, when Bharataji was reborn as a deer, he retained jñāna from his previous life. Such is the profound greatness of this jñāna.” (Vacanāmṛta Gadhadā II/13, p.421)

Thus, he or she continues to experience the state of being jīvanmukta until their prārabdha kārmas are exhausted. So, the answer to the question of why the jīvanmukta lives on earth, we conclude by saying that even while freed of all māyic influence and therefore not accruing any new kārmas, a jīvanmukta still has a residual stock of past kārmas (called prārabdha), which have been activated and need to be depleted. These are responsible for the current gross and subtle body. As soon as they are exhausted, no further reason remains for the body to exist, and the self can then discard it and transcend to Akṣaradhāma. While alive, though, it must be stressed, the body carries no influence over the liberated self within. Svāminārāyaṇa explains with various analogies that the self rattles distinctly separate from within the body, like a sword in its scabbard or a seed within a dried mango; the body merely the old slough on molting snake to be shortly shed (Vedarasa 149; Brhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad 4/4/7).

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