Saguna and Nirguna Brahman
And the Path to Liberation
Part Four
And the Path to Liberation
Part Four
Buddhist understandings are in many ways in agreement with the Hindu Sastra (Scriptures), especially the later Upanisads. Many Hindus embraced the Buddha Dharma early on however many others did not. The Hindu monotheists, polytheists condemned the teachings as Atheism and a threat to historic India and the Sanatana Dharma. Siddhartha's teachings were problematic on many levels!
Things are seldom clear cut in Holy India however! Long before the birth of Siddhartha Gautama his coming and mission were foretold by Hindu prophets! We read:
tataù kalau sampravåtte
sammohäya sura-dviñäm
buddho nämnäïjana-sutaù
kékaöeñu bhaviñyatiI include the transliterated Sanskrit here simply to illustrate that this is not the dream of some pious Hindu wishing to establish the accuracy of their texts. Indeed Vaisnava Hindus (the school of the Sanatana Dharma through whom this prophecy came) are no lovers of the Buddha or his message! Yet here, in the Srimad Bhagavatam (1.3.24) this standard Hindu text gives more honor to the Sammāsambuddha than Buddhists do (even as the Qur'an gives more praise to Mary than the New Testament)! The translation of this text is as follows:
Then, in the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, in the province of Gaya, just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the faithful theist.
(Translation by my guru maharajah, His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami).I would handle this verse a bit differently:
After that, once the Age of Kali has begun, [the Ek Devata] will appear as the one called the Buddha, whose mother will be Anjana from the province of Gaya. [This twenty first incarnation will occur] in order to misdirect those who are envious of the faithful theists.
Again we could easily become side-tracked here! My point is, according to the Srimad Bhagavatam, Siddhartha Gautama, who is universally honored as the Buddha, whose mother was Anjana and who was born in Gaya (Bihar) was actually an incarnation of Lord Visnu!
Siddhartha largely stopped many of the empty rituals etc. that had crept into Hindu life. Because of his influence Hindus reexamined their religion and made several important revisions that, it can easily be argued, saved the Hindu religion, which is the world's oldest still existing religious system. Directly or indirectly Siddhartha Gautama's impact n Hinduism was immense.
Inspired by the development of the Buddha Dharma, Hindu masters like Srila Shankara, arguably the most important religious thinker in Indian history (according to those who accept his reforms at least) and others began redefining Hinduism and today many Hindus are virtually Buddhists as per their beliefs in monism (there are a few subtle differences that don't concern our present study however I believe it is fair to say that had Siddhartha not appeared there would be no Vedanta and Advaita).
Of course many many Hindus reject monism completely and what is often referred to as Mayavadi philosophy. If one wishes to make a general statement however, it would be that the very diverse Santana Dharma (Hinduism) combines all teachings in a syncretic harmony believing: Truth is One, the sages call It by different names.
Despite the depth and impact of spiritual and philosophic understanding expressed by the Buddhist and other Monist masters, it is not the only possible understanding of Nirguna and Saguna Brahman as many Masters have made clear. In my opinion, monism is a very limited view.
As the Srimad Bhagavad Gita (or "Glorious Song of God") explains:
2:42 - 44: Flowery words are spoken in the Vedas for the unwise, who delight in study and debate, O son of Partha; they say there is nothing else.
They are full of desire and have the heavenly realms as their highest goal, thus they perform peculiar actions in order to produce fruits of good birth, pleasure and power.
Those who cling to pleasure and power have deluded minds, their intellects are not resolved for spiritual contemplation and trance.
2:45, 46: The Vedas describe the three qualities of material nature [ie the three gunas referenced above]. O Arjuna, be untouched by these. Be devoid of duality, abide in eternal goodness, be free from the concept of acquisition and preservation and be established in the Self.
As the use of a full well is negligible when the land is flooded all around, in the same way, the Vedic literatures are not required by a qualified brahmana who knows the truth.Siddhartha Gautama saw the religious Hindus struggling to better their material (saguna) existence, performing complex rites in hopes of attaining higher material planets and better births, and knew there had to be a better way. He devoted his life to discovering that Middle Way and transcending Saguna.
However Sanskrit is an awesome and philosophically advanced language and the two words, Saguna and Nirguna Brahman, have more than a single meaning. Great philosophers like Srila Madhvacarya, Srila Ramanujacarya and Srila Caitanya Mahaprabhu have explained that Nirguna does not actually mean "without qualities" because "guna" means "material qualities," not just "qualities." They explained therefore that those who transcend material consciousness attain the Supreme Who is beyond all qualities. And indeed although Srila Sankara is one of the greatest monists, even he, in his later years acknowledged that Sri Krsna (God) is transcendental to even Nirguna Brahman. In his famous Bhagavad Gita bashya the renown swami wrote:
"Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beyond this cosmic manifestation."
In other words, according to the mature wisdom of Srila Sankara himself, the father of Vedanta philosophy, the Ek Devata by whatever name transcends Saguna Brahma and exists in Nirguna where Mayavadhis maintain there is no independent, individual existence. Hence, there are spiritual qualities in Nirgua according to Srila Sankara. And again:
"That Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, is Krishna. He has come as the son of Devaki and Vasudeva."
Not only does Srila Sankara acknowledge the existence of the utterly transcendent Narayana, he even accepts the existence of the manifest form of God known as Sri Krsna. He even speaks of his family background! While I am aware of no such references by Siddhartha Gautama, Srila Sankaracarya, who is generally regarded as India's premier transcendentalist of all times, after a life of seeking truth, determined that there is in fact One Supreme God. It is fair to say therefore that even Sankara was a monotheist in his later years!
In my opinion Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught what is the most advanced understanding on this point with his teaching of acintya bheda bheda and acintya bheda bheda tattva. Sri Caitanya was an indirect student of Srila Madhvacarya's school of dvaita-dvaita vada (pure dualism) Vaisnavism. A great many Hindus accept Lord Caitanya as a joint incarnation of Sri Krsna and his principle Consort Srimati Radharani. These are the two views:
Acintya bheda bheda: Existence is inconceivably and simultaneous both Saguna and Nirguna Brahman. Sankara's Advaita had taught the absolute oneness of all that is in Nirguna and that Saguna was a false illusion. Srila Madhva had countered that the two states of existence were both real but eternally distinct, as matter and anti-matter. Srila Caitanya on the other hand taught that both modes are eternally real and that they co-exist in a mystical union. He explained that Saguna is an impure reflexion of Nirguna. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad Gita as follows:
15:1-3: The Blessed One said: It is said that there is an imperishable banyan tree whose roots are above and whose branches are below; the Vedic hymns are its leaves. One who knows this tree knows the entire Vedas.
Its branches spread forth below [in saguna] and above [in nirguna], cultivated by the qualities of material nature [the three gunas]; the sense objects are its shoots. Its roots are extended below, thriving by the fruitive activities [karma] of human society.
Thus the form of this banyan tree is not perceived here, neither its end, beginning nor its foundation; but this firmly rooted tree can be cut down with the strong axe of non-attachment.Acintya bheda bheda tattva: The Ek Devata, the One God, exists inconceivably and simultaneously in both states of existence. This interplay is illustrated by the Rasa Lila Dance wherein Sri Krsna (as Lord Visnu, the Sustainer of Material Existence) and the Gopis (as material existence) dance the Dance of Love and Life. The nature of the One God is utterly transcendental and yet inconceivably simultaneously one and different from both Saguna and Nirguna. Who can understand such a Being!
The Qur'an shares this view when it says,
050.016 It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.
According to this view then, material and spiritual existence are two sides of the same coin.
Sri Krsna adds to our understanding of this mystery in the Gita when he tell Arjuna:
Gita 8:16: All the planets up to Brahmaloka [ie all of material existence] require one to return again, O Arjuna, but upon attaining Me, O child of Kunti, [further] rebirths are not produced.
The material existence (Saguna Brahman) is not our Home. We are spiritual beings of Nirguna Brahman who have temporarily entered into the material multiverse. In the material realms there is repeated birth and death (samsara). We are conceived, are born, we grow and age, and finally we die and fade away. As Siddhartha says, this is all suffering. After a period of rest we are again conceived and the process continues on. This is not natural for us however and produces untold suffering. We are eternal beings. Again this is clarified by Sri Krsna in his Gita:
8:17 - 19: According to those who have knowledge, one thousand human ages is the length of Brahma's day; his night is also one thousand years.
From the Unmanifest [Nirguna Brahman] all manifestations [in Saguna Brahman] spring forth as his day dawns. As his night falls, they dissolve again into that which is called the unmanifest [in the period between lives]
. O descendent of Partha, the multitude of beings are repeatedly born and dissolved as the night falls, and again they instinctively manifest at daybreak.
8:20, 21: But higher than that unmanifested condition [in Saguna Brahman, between life times] is another Unmanifest [nirguna]; This Unmanifest is eternal and is not extinguished even when all beings are decimated.
Thus it is said that this Being [the Ek Devata or One God], the Imperishable Unmanifest [in nirguna], is the Highest Objective, achieving Whom one does not return from that Supreme Abode of Mine.
8:22: O child of Partha, the Supreme Person Who is dwelling within all beings and by Whom all this is pervaded, can only be attained through unalloyed devotion.The Buddha's understandings are one way to look at Nirguna and Saguna Brahman, however many Vaisnavas, Sikhs and others have a different view of this matter, as Sri Krsna explains in the Gita and the Ten Sikh Gurus explain at various places. Acintya bheda bheda is harmonious with the Torah, the Tanakh, the New Testament, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Qur'an and many other scriptures and views. This is this view that I personally subscribe to.
I believe this material world is "real" but temporary (it is destroyed at the end of Lord Brahma's lifespan whether this is viewed literally or figuratively). To Buddhists this material existence is an illusion, a dream. Indeed, a "Buddha" is an awakened one.
In the material realms (Saguna Brahman) there are material qualities, in the spiritual realms (Nirguna Brahman) there are spiritual qualities. Nirguna Brahman is the Realm of the One God. Saguna Brahman is the realm of material beings. These two realms exist in an inconceivable and Eternal Dance. The Rasa Lila is a glorious metaphor for this sacred interplay.
As for Nirvana, I believe this is a state of meditative consciousness known by practitioners of many religions. It is a consciousness of peace however it is transcended the inconceivable Spiritual Qualities of the One God. It is important to realize, or conceptualize, that the Realm of God is utterly beyond human conception. Therefore any Path that helps one glimpse that Reality, any practice (sadhana) that helps the jiva, the soul, transcend mundane consciousness is good and to be encourage.
When ANYONE of ANY RELIGION says: "God is This!" or "God is That" they are ONLY referencing the part of the One Truth they have thus far attained. They are doubtless sincere in their desire to spread the Truth as they see it, however God is far greater than ANYTHING we conceive, and so we're only partly right no matter what we believe! We are all roaming in God's Garden!
This is an essential understanding of the Sikh Dharma that I find quite enlightening!
The following Sikh Sabad reflects this nicely. Guru Nanak was once traveling in South India and came upon the awesome Sri Jagannatha Mandir or temple in Puri. The priests of the temple recognized him and invited him to come in and perform a puja (religious rite of worship) in the mandir. It was quite an honor! The founder of the Sikh religion however respectfully declined, explaining:
The sun and moon, O Lord, are Thy lamps; the firmament
Thy salver; the orbs of the stars, the pearls encased in it.
The perfume of the sandal [tree] is Thine incense; the wind is Thy fan;
all the forests are Thy flowers, O Lord of light.
What worship is this, O Thou Destroyer of birth?
Unbeaten strains of ecstasy are the trumpets of Thy worship.
Thou hast a thousand eyes and yet not one eye;
Thou hast a thousand forms and yet not one form;
Thou hast a thousand pure feet and yet not one foot;
Thou hast a thousand organs of smell and yet not one organ
I am fascinated by this play of Thine.
The Light which is in everything is Thine, O Lord of Light.
From its brilliancy everything is brilliant;
By the Guru's teaching the light becometh manifest.
What pleaseth Thee is the real Arti [worship rite].
O God, my mind is fascinated with Thy lotus feet as the
Bumble bee with the flower: night and day I thirst for them.
Give the water of Thy grace to the sarang Nanak, so that he may dwell in Thy name.
(Dhanasri Mohalla, quoted in SR 38).God is continuously creating, sustaining and transforming this material manifestation (Saguna Brahman) for our benefit but this is not our Home:
Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.Our nature is eternal Nirguna Brahman. We are spiritual beings temporarily existing for various reasons within the material multiverse. The purpose of spiritual truth and practice, in my opinion, is to offer those who are ready to return Home the means to do so and to provide direction for those who are not yet ready.
Gita 6:37-40 Arjuna inquired: What is the destination of one who has faith in the yoga process, but whose mind wanders and is uncontrolled and who therefore fails to attain perfection in yoga?
O mighty armed, does such a person not, fallen from both [material {saguna} and spiritual {nirguna} success] like a torn cloud, perish without support, being deluded concerning the path of Brahman?...
The Blessed One said: O child of Partha, neither in this world nor in the next does destruction exist for one whose activities are good. Such a person never ends in indigence.As eternal beings, children of the Most High, our Home is elsewhere. When we are ready to go Home the way is made available:
Gita 15:1-3: The Blessed One said: It is said that there is an imperishable banyan tree whose roots are above and whose branches are below; the Vedic hymns are its leaves. One who knows this tree knows the entire Vedas.
Its branches spread forth below and above, cultivated by the qualities of material nature; the sense objects are its shoots. Its roots are extended below, thriving by the fruitive activities of human society.
Thus the form of this banyan tree is not perceived here, neither its end, beginning nor its foundation; but this firmly rooted tree can be cut down with the strong axe of non-attachment.
15:4-6: That abode should be sought out whence, having gone, one does not return but takes refuge in God - the primeval Person - from Whom all activities eternally originate.
Devoid of pride and delusion, having conquered the contamination of attachment, established in eternal individuality, having quenched all desires, liberated from the dualities of pleasure and suffering - one who is thus undeluded attains that imperishable abode.
That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun, the moon or fire. Those who go there do not return.
15:7: Indeed, the living beings are My eternal parts in the world of living entities. With their senses, the mind being the sixth, they are abiding in material nature and are tormented.
15:8, 9: When the living entity obtains and abandons bodies, he takes these and enters into them as aromas abide in the wind.
Employing the ear, the eye, the organ of touch, the tongue, the nose and the mind, one enjoys sense objects.
15:10, 11: Foolish people can not understand the exodus or abidance of the soul, nor the enjoyment of the soul endowed with the qualities of material nature, but those who have knowledge understand.
Endeavoring, the yogis behold this abiding in the Self, but those who lack culture and are devoid of understanding do not see this.
15: 12: The effulgent sunshine which illumines the entire universe, the moon and the radiance of fire - know these to come from Me.
15:13: Entering the earth I sustain all living beings; by My abilities I become the moon and nourish all juicy herbs.
15:14: I become the digestive fire in the body of all living beings. Abiding in the ascending breath - which issues from the upper trunk - and the descending breath - which issues forth from the lower trunk - when equally yoked, I digest the four kinds of food.
15:15: I am abiding in the hearts of all beings. From Me comes memory, knowledge and forgetfulness. I am knowable through the Vedas. I am the compiler of the Vedanta and the knower of the entire Vedas.
15:16, 17: These two persons are in the world: the perishable and the imperishable. All living beings are perishable while the [other is] called immovable and imperishable.
But there is another, the Highest Person Who is thus called the Supreme Self in Whom the three worlds enter and are sustained, the Imperishable God.
15:18: Because I transcend the perishable as well as the imperishable, I am preeminent. In the world and in the Vedas I am extolled as the Supreme Person.
15:19: One who is undeluded and knows Me thus as the omniscient Supreme Person worships Me with her or his whole being, O descendent of Bharata.
15:20: Thus I have disclosed the most discreet sacred teaching, O sinless one. An intelligent person who understands this, O descendent of Bharata, has accomplished all duties.The Srimad Bhagavad Gita is among the most advanced textbooks for understanding the interplay of Saguna and Nirguna Brahman. My translation of the Gita can be viewed here: http://www.allfaith.com/Religions/Hinduism/gita.html
I hoe this rather lengthy study has been a blessing to you, or at least inspired you to deeper thought. If I can be of assistance just let me know.
Om Santi! (Praise peace and pursue it!) This is:Part Four
Om
Jai Jagannatha!Sanatana Dharma Home Page Bhagavad Gita translated by Jagannatha Prakasa Gitabhasya of Jagannatha Prakasa