Nirguna and Saguna

Nirguna and Saguna are the two aspects of experiencing God. 

Nirguna is the eternal, all pervading, omnipresent divine consciousness. Nirguna Brahman is pure energy, vibrant and conscious, that is at work in the Universe - The Supreme Parabrahman or the Supreme Self.

Saguna is the manifestation of Brahman in form, any form, which is limited. But the energy behind it is Nirguna. 
Why depend on the Saguna aspect? This is because, it is very difficult for the vast majority of people to comprehend the eternal, all pervading, omnipresent divine consciousness / energy. For them it is much easier to have a divine incarnation or figurehead to turn to. In the Saguna aspect the Brahman appears in the human form, as incarnations to lead the vast majority to the Nirguna Parabrahman. The source of this devotion to the Saguna aspect is the Nirguna aspect in the human beings. 

Our Self /Atma is Nirguna, about which we are not conscious, and our physical body is Saguna, about which we are too much conscious of. Our Atma is a tiny spark of light encased in the five *Koshas /Sheaths. 

Like the river whose ultimate goal is to reunite with the ocean, the ultimate goal of the individual selves is to reunite with the eternal, all pervading divine consciousness. But we all know only like objects /things can merge into one another seamlessly. So as
 long as our personal limitations and karmas are not overcome, we cannot reunite with the Divine. Until self realisation occurs we are bound by samsara (the cycles of birth and death). 

When each person realizes the Nirguna aspect in him, he attains liberation or Moksha. So for God-realization one has to have Self-realization - one has to become conscious of one's Nirguna aspect. 

Krama Mukthi - Gradual Liberation of the Soul

Knowledge and meditation aim at the realization of the Supreme Parabrahman / Moksha. Moksha is not the effect or product of knowledge, it is knowledge itself. Moksha is neither a mass of consciousness nor self-consciousness. Moksha is the very life and order of the Universe, ever present, unchanging. 

Meditation on the nirguna brahman is the greatest eye-opener. It casts away the veil of maya and the jiva (soul of the meditator) realizes its identity with the brahman. This state of realization is known as Sadyo Mukthi - Immediate Liberation. It happens to very few. The instant illumination is a unique experience. There is no gradual stages in Sadyo Mukthi. It is at once being Brahman.

Then there is Jivan Mukthi, which means liberation when one is still alive. When the gross body of the jivanmuktha dies, the jiva attains Videha Mukthi. The jiva then drops off the subtle body (mind) and leaves the cycle of samsara for good. 
The Jivan Muktha is in the highest state of knowledge (Jnana) - the state of self-absorption, non-related and self- identical (I am that I am). There isn't much difference between the jivan muktha and videha muktha, because a jivan muktha is unaware of his body. He still dons a body due to the lingering traces of Prarabda Karma. 

Upasana on the saguna brahman also leads to mukthi - but not directly or immediately. When the gross body dies, the jiva (soul) along with the subtle body is led to the brahma loka (the loka of brahma not Brahman), along the deva marga (the path of light). The sense of duality of the jiva continues. The jiva along with its subtle body enjoys the proximity with the saguna brahman, which is now called kaarya brahman/ hiranyagarbha/ prajaapati etc. The jiva that has been to brahma loka does not have to re-enter samsara. This is considered as a step towards final mukthi. So termed Krama Mukthi. 

Spirituality

Spirituality leads to the union of the Individual consciousness with the divine consciousness, the state of oneness. This dissolution of the duality is Yoga. 

The yogi who pursues spirituality has to free himself from the clutches of illusion / Maya and should be able to see the reality. With total faith and patience he must follow the spiritual path. He should practice meditation daily. And, thus achieve his life purpose - Nirvana. 

Spirituality is reaching out to  the inner divine.

Spirituality is not something that you can buy over the counter. Spirituality is not something you can snatch from another person. Spirituality is not a paid or unpaid service. It is not a legacy. Each soul has to earn its own Moksha.


Spirituality is a conscious and difficult walk-back to the Source, which is the  Divine Consciousness/ Shiva.

The Symbolism

I have always wondered why Krishna loved butter. Was it  because he was brought up in Brindavan among cowherds? Usually one acquires the taste of what is fed to one as a child. But Krishna's love for butter was unique. Even after being fed adequately, he tried to consume butter by hook or crook. Why? 

Then something struck my mind. Wasn't that a symbolism. Wasn't he trying to get the attention of the people to something profound, through this act. This is what i think of it.

Imagine the churning pot to be planet earth and milk /curd to be the life on earth. Churning represents the karmic cycle. And as the churning  goes on butter surfaces and this butter symbolically represents the evolved souls that got detached from the karmic cycle. When one gets out of the karmic cycle one gets moksha. And what happens to such souls.They become one with the Supreme Parabrahman. Krishna here represents the Supreme Parabrahman. The Supreme Parabrahman is eagerly waiting for the evolved souls. Krishna's love for butter is a symbolic represention of the Supreme Parabrahman's unquenched love of the evolved souls.  

Path to Enlightenment

Does the knowledge of Scriptures lead one to Enlightenment?  If that is so, half of the people would have become Buddhas by now. People are amassing knowledge, without enlightenment. Why?  

For the realization of Supreme Truth, knowledge alone is not enough. Scriptures can be learned by anyone who puts in an effort. But how many are aware of the deep meaning or essence of the teachings. To understand the essence of the scriptures, tremendous effort is needed. For that effort you may not receive accolades from the world. You have to toil for your own satisfaction. Once you achieve it and can live it, then you are truly blessed. 

The path to inner wisdom is through meditation. In the profound stillness and silence things are revealed to you. There the union/yoga of the individual consciousness and cosmic consciousness take place. Only a true Yogi has the power / perception to differentiate the real from the unreal.

Sacrifice

Moksha or Salvation depends on one's Karma. How is this possible? 

When one is liberated from the cycle of karma, one attains Salvation. 

Suppose everyone on this planet were rigid and egotists, what will happen? Nothing. The whole world will come to a stand still. Therefore at creation itself the Creator ingrained a particular quality in each of His creation. That is the capacity to do sacrifice. The very quality that would help us to grow and sustain ourselves.The very quality that will bring peace and prosperity to the practitioners. 

Sacrifice does not imply distancing from / denying yourself something you love. It implies the willingness to accommodate the interests of others too. That is, live and let live. So in a wider sense, it is the capacity to be selfless, which ennobles human nature. 

Unfortunately, most pass through life unaware of this inherent quality and are never liberated from the karmic cycle.

Five Steps to attain Salvation

I had been hearing about the attainment of salvation from my very childhood. The stories from Puranas which also turned out to be our bedtime stories, pointed out the importance of Salvation/ Moksha. As a child the word appeared to be out of bounds to children and strictly for the grown-ups. Still at times the questions, what moksha is and how it could be achieved crept into the mind.Though it could not hold sway for much time; kept coming back from time to time.How could one  attain Moksha? I asked many. But the answers i got didn't satisfy me at all.

The growing up years and the world around me, pushed my doubts to the back corner of my mind, but never into oblivion. And i always knew that i will come to know about it one day.

And that one day came without any drama, when my Guru embraced me into his fold. His teachings were a great revelation and it also gave me a sense of deja-vu. Not of this life, maybe of a previous one. The blessings of the Guru might have swept away the darkness from my inner-eye. And these are what i found:


The five steps to attain Salvation / Moksha:

Knowing oneself.

Knowing the Supreme Being.

Knowing the path leading to the Supreme Being and following it in total faith.

Knowing the hurdles one has to face, while following the chosen path to the Supreme One.

Knowing the bliss, when one surpasses all hurdles and reaches the Supreme Being.                

I'll try to deliberate on the above later.