Sri Nimbarakacharya – Dvaitadvaita Philosophy

Sri Nimbarakacharya – Dvaitadvaita Philosophy
 
Sri Nimbarkacharya was born in Pandarpur in Andhra Pradesh in 12-13th century. Sri Nimbarka was devotee of Krishna and spent his time mostly in Mathura, the birth place of Krishna.  He wrote small work of ten verses known as Dasa-Sloka, giving a short exposition of his doctrine for beginners.
 
Nimbaraka expounded the philosophy of Dvaitadvaita – duality in unity. He basically adapted the doctrine of Bhedabheda of Bhaskara. According to him, Brahman has innumerable auspicious attributes but without any particular form. He transforms Himself into the world of duality and change, without losing His entity as the Absolute and unitary Being. The Jiva in his real nature is one with Brahman, but gets differentiated from Him in the state of bondage by what is called the Upadhis or adjuncts of body-mind. But in liberation, Jiva is becomes with Brahman, as a river becomes one with ocean when it enters it.  According to Bhaskara, by performance of the duties imposed on one by the Vedas without any desire for their duties imposed on the practice of meditation on Brahman and the Jiva’s oneness with Him, the Jiva will be able, by the strength of his aspiration for freedom, to release him from the bondage imposed by Upadhis. Bhaskara’s system does not preach devotion to any form of the Deity, nor does it affiliate itself with any personalistic cult.
 
Nimbarka’s Dvaitadvaita philosophy is as under:
Brahman is only independent entity. He is known by several names as Parmatman, Bhagavan, Isvara, Rama, Krishna and Purushottama. He is free from the five kinds of imperfections (Klesas) viz. ignorance, egoism, attachment, hatred and fear of death. He is omniscient, omnipotent and His will is always accomplished (Satya-sankalpa). He is free from law of karma. He is Nirguna (without three gunas of Prakriti – Sattva, Rajas & Tamas). He possesses the six unique qualities – Jnana (knowledge to perceive everything), Shakti (Power to make everything), Bala (Strength to support world), Aishvarya (Sovereignty), Virya (tireless energy) and Tejas (Prowess to suppress opposing forces).

1. Brahman is both the material and efficient cause of the world. (Differ from Samkhyas - The unconscious Prakriti of the Samkhyas is not the material cause of the world.) 
2. Brahman is the only ultimate existence, but He manifests Himself as manifold world of becoming consisting of Jivas and Jagat. They exist in Him and are sustained by His Prabhava (unique power).
3. Brahman is non-different from Jivas and Jagat because they depend on Him for the very existence. But Brahman is different from them as He is self-dependent and possesses the unique qualities of omniscience, omnipotence and the like, which latter do possess.
4. Jivas and Jagat have dependent existence. The Jivas are conscious entity. Kala (time), Prakriti (Primordial Nature) and Aprakrta (Suddha-sattva stuff) are non-conscious entities.
5. Jivas and Jagat are His projections and cannot exist apart from Him. (Similar to Ramanuja’s Aprthak-siddhi or inseparable and non-reciprocal dependence).
6. Jivas and Jagat are both different and non-different from Brahman. Hence the system is Dvaitadvaita. (Differ from Visishtadvaita of Ramanuja – Jivas are an attribute i.e. Visesana, of God. Nambarka describes that calling an attribute, differentiates its possessor from something else. Further, calling Jivas & Jagat as substances is wrong. If Jivas and Jagat are the attributes of God, the attribute of imperfect and sinful Jagat and the Jivas, would be contradictory in a perfect God.)
7. The Jiva is neither born, nor dies and is eternal & self-conscious as ‘I’. Jiva is different from Isvara since he is created, dependent and controlled by Him. Since Jiva shares His nature, also non-different from Him. He is free agent, but freedom is subject to the will of the Isvara. He pervades the whole body and derives experience through it. He is the doer of good and bad deeds and he experiences the three kinds of pain based on past karmsa or deeds. Isvara impels him to do actions or abstain from them according to the tendencies and merits and demerits acquired by the Jiva by his past deeds. Avidya (nescience, ignorance), the loads of karma, conjoined Jiva with the body-mind provided by the prakriti. Due to Avidya, the Jivas are bound to Samsara or cycle of births & deaths. When ignorance is liquidated by the grace of God, Jiva regains his nature as the spiritual ‘I’. There is jivan-Mukti or liberation while living. Mukti is attained only after the Parabdha Karma is exhausted on the death of the present body. Liberated Jiva realizes that the “non-difference in difference” with the Paramattman.
8. Four types of liberation are recognized.
   1. Samipya – Proximity with God.
   2. Sarupya – Similarity of form with Him.
   3. Salokya – Residence in His abode.
   4. Sayujya – Mergence in Him as His part without losing one’s individual nature.

10. There is no liberation in the embodied state as I Shankara.
 
Reference: Bhakti Schools of Vedanta – by Swami Tapasyananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai.