The Vedanta teaches that Liberation (moksha) is greater than Paradise (svarga).
Paradise (svarga) is attainable through actions (karma). Liberation (moksha) is only attainable through knowledge. Not ordinary knowledge but supreme knowledge which is knowing who we really are. Therefore, knowledge is considered superior to action.
Such knowledge cannot be acquired through books or rationality. Rather it depends upon detachment (non-action) and mindfulness of the One residing at the centre of our consciousness. Gradually, the mind withdraws from external phenomena and moves closer to its luminous essence and supreme identity. This is known as Liberation (moksha) where the soul experiences union with the Absolute (Brahman). Sufis describe this as the drop reuniting with the Ocean. Rumi, the poet and saint (wali), articulates this experience for us;
"I am not a drop, I am the entire Sea, where every particle is me, singing in ecstasy"
In Sahih al-Bukhari, there is a Hadith Qudsi describing this union with the Divine,
"When I love him [my servant], I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he grasps and his feet with which he walks".
The word love is essential because love erases difference and establishes oneness (tawhid). All forms of love and service contribute towards the Supreme Union, here and hereafter.
Notes
* We are not saying that it is a choice between God or Paradise. There is co-existence between the two states.
* Knowledge is greater than action but both depend upon each other.
* The Sufi distinction between common believers and the elect is similar to the Vedantic understanding of those who attain Paradise (svarga) and those who attain Liberation (moksha).
The ignorant desire this world
The wise desire Paradise
The noble desire God
We could equally say,
The ignorant desire this world
The wise desire the real world
The noble desires the real Self
No comments:
Post a Comment