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Philosophy
The Swaminarayan Sampradaya is
a Bhakti Sampradaya which advocates God within the disciplines of Dharma.
Lord Swaminarayan has propagated a philosophy where He says that God is
Supreme, has a divine form, is the all doer and always present on earth.
He simply states that jivas never merge or dissolve into God and neither
are they part of God but always subservient to God. The Jiva, through
absolute surrender and attachment toward the Guru, attains the realized
state and becomes eligible to offer pure worship to God.
Redemption
consists in the realization of Ekantik Dharma comprising righteousness,
right knowledge, detachment and devotion to God. This is the goal to be
pursued under the guidance of the Sadhu who is in constant rapport with
God, the manifest form of Aksharbrahman. The divine experience of this
highest state is possible, here and now, in one's embodied state of
worldly existence.
Jiva
Ishwar
Maya
Brahman
Parabrahman
Jiva
Jiva or soul, is the finite individual self, conscious spirit, knower,
enjoyer and doer of things. Jiva is eternal, not created at anytime, by
anybody. Jivas are innumerable, each distinct from the other. Each Jiva
pervades the whole organism, and is different from the three bodies -
gross, subtle and causal. Weapons cannot cut it, nor fire burn it; water
cannot wet it, nor wind dry it. Yet, it is bound by worldly desires that
are formed according to its karma. Though conditioned by Maya, Jivas can
be eternally released by the grace of a Brahmaswarup Guru and God.
Ishwar
Ishwar is the
cosmic self, conscious spiritual being conditioned by the adjuncts of
Mahamaya (greater Maya). There are innumerable Ishwars, each of which is
assigned the duty of taking care of a universe, or at least a particular
aspect of it.
Maya
Maya or Prakriti is
the inert primordial principle from which the universe of names and forms
comes into being. Maya is trigunatmik, constituted of three gunas -
sattvagun, rajogun and tamogun, and is the cause of bondage for the Jiva
and Ishwar. Maya is difficult to transgress and is the cause of
identification of the Jivas and Ishwars with their bodies and relations
thereof. But with the grace of the Brahmaswarup Guru and God, one can
attain Atyantik Moksha - ultimate liberation from Maya and remain in the
eternal service of God.
Brahman
Brahman or
Aksharbrahman or Akshardham is transcendent to Jiva, Ishwar and Maya, but
subservient to Parabrahman. He is effulgent, all-pervading and divine. He
serves the supreme Lord in a two-fold manner, in his personal aspect, he
serves the Lord both in His abode and wherever He incarnates Himself.
Aksharbrahman is the ideal devotee and the most appropriate mediator for
the aspirant striving to reach the supreme Lord. On the other hand, in his
impersonal aspect, he serves the Lord by being His divine abode which is
effulgent, infinite and all-pervading and in which innumerable redeemed
souls serve the Lord. He is also the foundation of all that is subservient
to him. And that Aksharbrahman incarnated on the earth in the form of
Gunatitanand Swami to serve Lord Swaminarayan.
Parabrahman
Parabrahman or
Purushottam is the highest reality, the supreme Godhead, one and unique.
He is, at once, transcendent to everything and immanent in everything. He
is the concrete reality with divine form and perfect personality who is
the controller and supporter of everything. Jiva, Ishwar, Maya and
Aksharbrahman constitute the body of Parabrahman who is their soul. And
Lord Swaminarayan Himself is Parabrahman or Purushottam.
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