| Essence Of Hinduism |
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HINDU PHILOSOPHY |
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karma have to be patiently worked out in the world. In order to work them out and gain
true knowledge there should be worlds as well as bodies. The necessary worlds are provided
by maya, which is therefore the third bond. Maya is the material cause of the universe. To
obtain salvation we must get rid of these three bonds of anava, karma and Maya. We must
shake off maya, which is the root of all sin, we must neutralize karma, which is the cause
of re-birth, and we must over come anava, which is our false notion of a finite self. All this can be done through proper discipline and the help of a Guru and, above all, by the grace of Siva. Discipline consists in Carya (observance), kriya (rites) and Yoga (yama, Niyama, etc.). Discipline and grace culminate in jnana. Jnana is the supreme means of release. Karma and other means are only subsidiary to it. When His grace sets in, the Lord reveals Himself to us in suitable ways, instructs us and restores us to our true nature through jnana. Then we realize our Sivatva or divine nature.The attainment of Sivatva is the realization of an identity of essence, in spite of difference. For, according to Saiva Siddhanta, the released souls do not lose their individuality, but continue to exist as souls in God. The Dvaita system of Madhvacarya was developed in the early decades of the thirteenth century. It is an unqualified dualism. Madhva insists on what he calls the five great distinctions
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| About Hindu Philosophy |
