Prasthanatrayi Swaminarayan Bhashyam (Study)
by Sadhu Gyanananddas | 2021 | 123,778 words
This page relates ‘Introduction (Soteriology)� 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.
Go directly to: Footnotes.
Introduction (Soteriology)
Soteriology is the study of the salvation[1] of humanity. In Indian philosophy, soteriology can be defined as attaining ³¾´Ç°ìá¹£a (Sanskrit: ³¾´Ç°ìá¹£aá¸�-³¾´Ç°ìá¹� ²µ³ó²¹Ã±, ³¾´Ç°ìá¹£a “liberationâ€�) or mukti (Sanskrit: ³¾³Ü°ì³Ù¾±á¸�-muc ktin “releaseâ€�), which is defined as the liberation from ³¾Äå²âÄå (²õ²¹á¹ƒsÄå°ù²¹, the cycle of death and rebirth).[2]
“The principle of liberation is one of the distinguishing features of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It is variously referred to as mukti, ³¾´Ç°ìá¹£a, kaivalya and ²Ô¾±°ù±¹Äåṇa in the scriptures. Mukti means freedom from bondage. ²Ñ´Ç°ìá¹£a means the destruction of delusion. Kaivalya means aloneness arising from the destruction of all bonds, and ²Ô¾±°ù±¹Äåṇa means entering into a stateless state of immutability and non-becoming.â€�[3]
In Indian philosophy, Vedic tradition, culture, and heritage, ³¾´Ç°ìá¹£a is concerned with the individual’s blissful, spiritual and moral life. Indian philosophy explains the way by which the continuous experience of sorrows and suffering can be entirely overcome.
“Indian philosophers have applied a realistic and practical approach to solve the problems of life and reality. All the Indian schools of Philosophy, (except the °äÄå°ù±¹Äå°ì²¹²õ and the Buddha) accept the self or Äå³Ù³¾²¹²Ô as eternal, pure, and free. Due to ignorance, the self identifies itself with the body and undergoes various sufferings in which the cycle of death and birth is the topmost suffering. Due to the knowledge of Parabrahman, the self becomes liberated.â€�[4]
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Definition of salvation: Oxford, "The saving of the self; the deliverance from sin and its consequences", 1989
[2]:
Ä€±èá¹e ³ÕÄå³¾²¹²Ô²¹ Åš¾±±¹²¹°ùÄå³¾²¹, ³§²¹á¹ƒs°ìá¹›t²¹-HindÄ« ÅšabdakoÅ›a, Shri Prakashan, Encyclopedia Britannica, Delhi, p.880
[3]:
Olivelle, Patrick, The Āś°ù²¹³¾²¹ System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993, p.162
[4]:
E. Deutsch, The self in Advaita Vedanta, in Roy Perrett, Ed., Indian philosophy: metaphysics, Vol -3, pp.343�360