21. JIVAS

JIVAS

Since knowledge as pointed out is self-originated, su generis and eternal, the substratum of knowledge,iva or individual self, must be of same nature. Like Isvara it has the characterstics of self-consciousness, sentiency, self-hood, agency etc. "What is called self-consciousness is to illumine oneself. Sentiency con- sists in being the locus of consciousness. Self-hood consists in having invariable relation with the body. Agency consists in be- ing the locus of volitional consciousness.303 it is monadic (anu) in size and has consciousness for its attrbute. It is subsidiary (sesa) by nature to Brahman, the principle (sesin). Diffeent as it is from the body, sense organs, mind, vital breath etc., it is eternal. When it is said that an individual soul is born and it is dead, it means that jiva has taken newly a gross body and that it has been severed form it. It is different in each body. "Although the souls, as biging parts of Brahaman and so on,are of essentially the seme character, they are actully separate;for each oftem is of 239 atomic aze and resides in a separate body. For this reason there is no confusion or mixing up of the individual spheres of enjoy- ment and existence."304 By nature it is blissful, but it is caught in the wheel of samsara due to its audya karmas accumulated by it in its previous births.305 Not only it is the agent but also the enjoyer. From the point of view of matter or prakrti it is the body. It is not only sentient but also of the essence of ananda In the state of bondage jnana and ananda are obscured, but in the state of re- lease they fully manifest themselves. When such is the nature of Jiva, it refutes the theones of Buddhısts, Carvakas, Jaınas, Sānkhyas, Yadavaprakasa, Bhaskara and Advaitins, whether they are ekajwvavådins" or anekajivavadıns *306 The Jivas, which are innumerable, are of three classes the eternals, the liberated and the bound. The eternals are those who are never caught in the samsara, and who have from eternity been enjoying ananda in Vaikunta. The liberated are those who have attained liberation through bhakti and prapatti The bound

G V. Knshna Rao

are those who are not liberated from samsara due to avidya and karma. At the moment of giving up the body, the jiva which has attained the knowledge of Brahman issues out of the body through the aperture in the crown of the head and moves upwards through the ray of the Sun. The released self ultimately reaches its superme goal and enjoys ananda for ever being established in the com- munion whith God. Moksa is essentally of the nature of Sāyujya (communion) and not sāloka (co-exıstence), sārūpya (similarity) or sampya (intimacy) or svarupakya (identity with Him).307 Each employed in his special duty will attend upon the Supreme Self. The power of the liberated soul is devoid of cosmic functions. He can assume manifold forms and wander all over the worlds.

IŚVARA

ISvara is the controller and the principal (sesin) of all; He is

240 the bestower of all fruits,the sustainer of all and the supreme cause of all effects. He is the ultimate object of every act of wor- ship. The material universe and all the innumerable souls form His body and draw their sustenance from Him. If Isvara is the whole matter and soul are its parts; if He is the substance, they are the qualites; if He is the soul, they are the body. Both "cit" and "acıt" have a meaning and value only in Him but not apart from Him. The universe depents on God as its ground, its ratio essendi but not as its cause. "Since consciousness presupposes a consicious self,the Reality is not identical with consciousness. Hence Isvara is not pure non-differenced being, nor pure consciousness,but the highest self, characterised essentally by consciousness and unsupassable ànanda. He is the sole cause of the universe since he compre- hends it within Himself in latent from prior to creation, and then by His will manifests what is latent. "The conception of God as the Supreme person and creator raises the following question. How can the Supreme Being be eternally perfect if he manifests Himself as the world? Will not the imperfections of the world adhere to the perfect Being also? Studies ın Kalapurnodayam

Ramanuja meets this question when he syas: "According to our view, Brahman has for its body all sentient and non-sentient be- ings in the subtle and in the gross state. In the effected as well as in the causal condition, it is free from all shades of imperfection, and is an infinity of perfections. All imperfections and sufferings and all changes belong not ot Brahman but only to the sentient and non-sentient beings which are its modes."30s This clearly shows that Visistâdvaita attempts to solve this problem by its doctrine that the relation between body and soul. It is the doc- trine of sarira-sarin sambandha. Brahman has the individual soul and matter for his body while he is the universal Self of that body. The world-body has two states, the causal and the effected, the nature of which are contracion and expansion. These states belong to the world-body alone and not Brahman Himself. Ex- pansion is evolution and contracion is involution. Brahman be- comes or manifests the world in the sense that he evolves the body which is his attribute. Not that the essence of Reality is in a 241 state of flux. The notion of a Supreme person,whose attribute only is in a stste of mainfestation, makes the divine Being,the substantive element, the ground of all existence. The entire proc- ess of evolution in the from in which Isvara manifests himself in and through the world-body is an opportunity given to jivas to attain a life of perfection and communion with the Supreme. "Just as the imperfections of child-hood, youth, etc. adhere to the body only and to the embodied soul, so also the imperfectionts of the "cit" and "actt" do not extend to the highest Self who has the sentient and the non-sentient as His body."309 Granting that the Visistadvataitn's conception of substance, quality and time is logical and valid,it naturally follws that the imperfections and changes to be found in the case of matter and selves do not affect the Absolute, that Brahman is beyond change and that He is both transcendental and immanent. Thus this theory of Visistädvaita refutes the views of the followers of athe- ısm, Sankhya and Mimamsa. "Since natural causaltity is admitted, the theones of the followers of the schools of Yoga, G. V Knshna Rao

pasupata and Nyaya are refuted, for Isvara is admitted by them with reference to efficient causality only. Just as in respect of the effect (i.e.cration), Isvara is the material and the efficecnt cause,so also it is possible for him to become the agent, the impeller, the controller, the revealer, the helper, the unconcerned etc."310 "And Isvara is essentially of the nature of all pervasiveness (vibhu) which is of three kinds. Pervasiveness by His essential nature, by the attributive consciousness, and by His body. And he, it is said, is infinite. What is called infinite is to be free from the three kinds of lmitations-limitations of space, time and ob- ject. "Truth, consciousness, bliss, purty, etc., are the attributes which determine the essential nature of Isvara Knowledge, power, etc., are the attribbutes of the essential nature so determined Omnscience, omnipotence, etc., are the attributes which are

242 useful for the act of creation. Love, excellence of disposition, easiness of attainment, etc. are attributes which are usefull for providing refuge (to the devotees). Compassion and others are the attributes which are useful for the protection (of the good) 311 Isvara is the creator, the protector and the destroyer of the un- verse. He abides in a fivefold form as para, uyūha, vibhava, antaryamın and archavatara "What is called para is Narāyana, who is expressed by such terms as parabrahman, Paravasudeva, who is qualified by the mnfinite, auspicious attributes such as knowledge, power etc., whose presence is being enjoyed by the eternals such as Ananta, Garuda, Visvaksena, etc and other Sama-singing liberated selves who is the possessor of a divine, auspicious figure who is four-armed, who is accompanied by Sr Bhu and Nila, who is equipped with the divine weapons such as conch discuss, etc. who is adomed with divine ornaments such as a crown, etc., who is seated on Sesa who is upon the throne composed of eight legs such as dharma, etc., in the mahamanimandapa with in the divine abode, attended by the gate- keepers such as Canda, Pracanda, Bhadra, Subhadra, Jaya, Vijaya, Dhatr Vidhatr, etc. in the divine city called Vaikuntha, Studies ın Kalapurnodayam

within Tripadvibhuti, protected by the city gtards such as Kumuda, Kumudaksa, Sumukha, Supratısthita, etc who are equipped with the divine weapons, ornaments, attendants and other paraphernalia." "What is called Vyuha is the highest Brahman himself abid- ing in a fourfold form as Vasudeva, Samkarsana, pradyumna and Aniruddha for purposes of mediation (by the devotees) and for creation of the universe."313 "Vibhava is the descent of Isvara among beings by means of forms similar to genus. It is of ten kinds; they are those particu- lar avatārās such as Matsya etc.314 The cause for incarnation is nothing but Isvara's own will He is above and beyond karmas The object of such incarnations is protection of the good and destrucion of the wicked. "Antaryämın ıs that form of Isvara which abides in the re- gion of the heart which stays with the individual self as its friend, 243 in its states of expenence, such as heaven, hell, etc and which is perceptible to the yogins Though He in the form of Antaryamin co-exists with the individual self, He is untouched by the taints inherent in it, 1.e. the individual self 315 "What is called Arcavatara is that special form which re- moteness of space and time accepts for its body any substance chosen by the devotees, and descends into it with a non-meterial body, He becomes dependent on the worshipper for bath, food, sitting, sleeping etc. He bears everything and is replete with knowl- edge and other attnbutes. He is present in houses, villages, towns, sacred places, hills, etc.315

NATURE OF BEAUTY

With the preceding analysis in view one can now roughly formulate the principles underlining Beauty as conceived by Visistadvaita. It is not, as Plato conceived, an Idea or Universal of which the beautiful things in the world of time and space are only fleeting copies of ephemeral value. Nor is it ,as Aristotle as- G. V. Knshna Rao

Since Beauty is changeless,eternal and absolute,it does not evolve,nor does it admit of divisions,or grades amd degrees. It is universal having noting to do with personal prejudices and predi- lections. Its intution does not change from society to society. Neither time and space nor customs and habits can tell upon Beauty. The poet speaks nothing but truth when he says, "A thing of Beauty is ajoy for ever." That is why works of art pro- duced in distant times and different climes are being appreci- ated and enjoyed even to this day. Changes in circumstances,ideas and ideologies are not able to bring destruction upon them. Be- cause Beauty is infinite, any number of expressions,forms and manifestations cannot exhaust it, something more stands over and above all the mynads and myriads of forms that have come and that are yet to come. As Brahman is not dependent upon others such as souls and matter but others depend on it for their very existence and sustenance and as it is selfevident, so also Beauty as its quality 245 is not dependent on minds conceiving or intuiting it and it is self evident. That means, Beauty is independent of mind and souls; their success or failure to grasp it can neither prove nor disprove its existence. Just as light shines by itself and does not require any thing to show it,so also Beauty shines by itself and does not stand in need of some other thing to reveal it. Just as judgment consists of subject and predicate and denotes a single unity of sense,so also Brahman has sentients and non-sentients as his body and they denote and have meaning in the unity, Brahman. In the same manner, Beauty, the quality of the Absolute com- prses unity in diestincts or variety. From this it follows that Beauty never manifests itself through simple colour, word, note, moment, etc., devoid of unity in veriety. That means, intuition of Beauty is always a whole having distinct and finite parts which entirely depend and exist on account of the whole. The latter live in and for the whole. When parts happen to dominate the whole,or the whole depends on the parts, it may be anything but Beauty. That is the reason why Beauty is not an object of percepton or infer- ence it is mainly and purely an object of intuition or revelation. G V Knshna Rao

Brahman is the real of the real and the light of the lights And reality is determinate(savisesa)and not indeterminate or rurusesa. Truth, knowledge, inflnity, will, that in unsullied by kama (or desire), etc. are qualities. Because He has the will divine He creates the worid out of Himself and reabsorbs it in Himself purely out of sport or lila. Just as a tortoise puts out of its limbs and withdraws them once again into its own shell, and just as the spider spins out fine thread in vanous forms and winds up,so also the Absolute in sheer joy of self-expression creates out of Himself the world of namarupa without Himself undergoing any change in the least and then reabsorbs it once again. This activ- ity is not due to any avidya or karma but due to His own free will Just as the spontaneous self-expression of the artist is though a result of recreation or sport,enwraps the critic or sahrdaya in bliss and enlightens him,so also His creation helps the souls which are sullied by audya and karma to get themselves purified. Thus

246 the Absolute which is both immanent and transcendental abides in five forms, the transcendental or para, the infinite or vyūha, the incamational or ubhava, the immanent or antaryamin, the idol or arcavatara. As Beaty is a quality of Brahman, it manifests itself in this five-fold form. "What is called para is Narayana who is expressed by such terms as Parabhahman, Paravasudēva "322 Vyuha is the highest Brahman, Himself abiding in fourfold form as Vāsudeva, Sankarasana, pradyumna and aniruddha for pur- poses of meditation by devotees and for the creations of the Uni- verse."323 "Vibhava is the descent of Isvara among beings by means of forms similar to that genus. It is of ten kinds;they are those particular incarnations such as Matsya, etc"324 "Antaryamın 1s that form which abides in the region of the heart, which stays with the individual self as its fnend even in its states of expen- ence such as heaven, hell, etc.and which is perceptible to the yogins."325 "Arcavatara is that special from which without remote- ness of space and time accepts its body and substance chosen by the devotees and descends into it with a non-natural body."326 When the nature of Beauty is conceived to be as stated above, many doubts are sure to arise. Ifit is absolute, chageless, eternal and infinite, how is it that human experience reveals only Studes ın Kalapurnodayam

partial minifestations? Why are certain works considered to be beautiful in one age and ugly in another? What is beautiful to one must also be beautiful to all if what is said above is valid, but this is contradicting experence itself. Moreover, Brahmanis causa sut of the universe and everthing depends on him for its very existence and sustenance and Beauty is essentially His quality. The universe is the mode or manifestation of His creative activity and every object in it is pervaded by Him; He lives in the heart of each and every object. If this is true, the universe as well as every object in it must be absolutely beautiful with no scope whatso- ever for shades or degrees. But there is so much ugliness, vulgar- ity, sorrow and pain, and even the beauty one experiences is not altogether stainless. It is only relative, ephemeral and admits di- vision and degrees. This judgment is true and is in no way incon- sistent with the theory of Beauty, if one properly understands the metaphysics of Visıstādvaita. In the previous section it is seen that individual souls are 247

caught in the wheel of samsara only due to their audya and karma acqired in their past birhts and that they in that state are deprived of their all-embracing knowledge This knowledge thus is subject to contration and expansion. As souls in bondage,our knowledge is not all pervasive and thus it is subject to illusion and error. Because of these limitations we do not see the uni- verse as a whole as the eternal surs do.Hence we find so much ugliness, vulganty, sorrow and pain in the universe in which they intuit nothing but Beauty, Goodness, Truth, auspicious qualites,etc. This can be more clearly understood if illustrated from the "comedy of Errors." Because Rambha, Nalakūbara, Kalabhasını and Mankandhara have lımited knowledge deeply coloured by their passions and emotions they are quite unable to know the situation in which they are caught and thus have un- dergone ternble agony and unbearable pain, whereas Narada,with his divine insight, is able to experience immense joy out of the ludicrous incident. Hence degrees of Beauty with its imperfec- tions and blemishes on the one hand, and the ugliness of objects G. V. Knshna Rao

on the other, are the results of avidya and karma of individua. souls. And another point to be noted is that all these imperfec- tions and blemishes are real and in no way attributable to the Absoulte. Though the imperfections and blemishes are due to avrdya and karma of the individual souls, the creation and dissolution which are by nature of Beauty Absolute emerge only from Brah- man. Even eternal suris do not have any part in cosmic process They can only assume any number of forms and wander through all the worlds which are the manifestations of Isvara.327 All the worlds and all the objects in them, therefore, however imperfect their beauty may be emerge form the Absolute. He is the cause and reason of them, and the imperfections and drawbacks are the results of their audya and karma If Brahma is said to be the creator of the universe,Visnu to be the sustainer and Siva to be

'48 the destroyer it is only He that does all these things and they are only instruments. Similarly all the works of Art, whatever may be their merits and dements, are essentially His creations and the individual artists are their authors only in name. Through them He creates, He expresses Himself. and the entire beauty in those works is His manifestation whereas the limitations and draw- backs are entirely those of the individual souls having audya and karma to their credit This point cannot be more clearly ex- pressed than by the follwoing line of Potana :-

8c ec 328

Though the poet is an Advaitin,he has exactly echoed the sentiments of a Visistadvaitin and has given a clear exposition of the standpoint of the latter. Since creative acivity entirely belongs to Brahman, indi- vidual works of Art, whether they are spatial, temporal or ideal, have their ultimate cause in Him only. The individual artist is Studies in Kalapurnodayam

merely an instrument in its emergence. Though He is immanent in the heart of each individual soul, everyone is not an artist in the sense that he is the instrument in the emergence of a work of Art. Experience clearly gives us this fact. Only those who have acquired merit and through it the Divine Grace are selected as the instruments of creation. With this grace lacking,no one can produce a work of Beauty however hard he may struggle,frisk and flutter. The emnbodied soul through the process of karmayoga and jnanayoga enters the state of bhakti and in that state he develops in him the power to identify himself with the Absolute. That means, he will be able completely to surrender himself to Brahman when He creates or manifests the work of Art. This work of Art, as it has been already pointed out, will be self-suffi- cient and self-evident having unity in variety or unity of distincts. It is never unity simple and pure, devoid of distincts or variety as some monists hold. Just as Isvara cannot be intuited by embodied soul steeped 24g in sin and lust,so also Beauty cannot be intuited by people who are untrained and uncultured, and too much infatuated by ego- tism. They must receive training, carry on self-culture and be- come bhaktäs with all their qualites before they can have an in- tution or vision of Beauty. Thus only can they qualify themselves to see Beauty and appreciate it. As long as this is lacking, a work of Art will be a sealed book for them. In this contextit may be doubted how individual souls whch are distinctly different from Brahman can know and appreciate Beauty which is purely a quality of the latter. But this will no longer trouble one if one remembers only that both jiva and Isvara are of the nature of consciousness and have consciousness as an attrbute. And hence it is possible for Jiva to intuit the beauty of Isvara The nature of Jwva being such, no one is completely and for ever debarred from becoming an artist and a sahrdaya As a matter of fact, every human being is a potential artist and a critic or sahrdya and to become one in reality,what one has to do is to qualify oneself for it. As Jiva has freedom, there is nothing that prevents him from achieving it. G. V. Knshna Rao

One eminent exponent of Visistadvaita commenting on the nature of the emegence of a work of Art writes-" The aritist in a mood of inspiration catches a glimpse of Beauty or Brahman or Syamasundara, and his work of Art is the out-pouring of his mystic ecstasy. Poetry has the closest affinity to mysic expericet and the poet who has a soul-sight of divine beauty communicates by the magic of his words,his inner vision to the sahrdays or responsive minds and induces the same exalted mood in them."329 This in- terpretation is more in line with the philosophy of Plato than with that of Visistadvaita. If the above is true, art is merely an imita- tion and this is quite foreign to Visistadvaitic conceptions of Beauty,soul and cosmology. What happens is,as it has been al- ready ponted out, Brahman manifests Himself through the artist or the poet. In connection with the discourse on the nature of Jiva, Isvara and liberation, it is pointed out that the ultimate object of the 250 embodied soul caught in the traps of births and deaths, is to exhaust its audya and karma acquired in its past births, to reach the Absolute abode of God and to be in eternal communion with him. The released soul then will be in direct contact with the infinite beauty of Brahman and will be expenriencing bliss that is complete and infinite. That state, as the author of the Panduranga- mahatmyam explains, is akin neither to that of a stone nor to that of sound sleep 330 It is pure ananda unsullied and unadul- terated. A work of art, either plastic or formal, will reveal to the responsive thrill and makes him crave for it. Thus it gives him a foretaste of the absolute and encourages him to seek the eternal In doing so, it disciplines the warrng instincts and desires in man, regulates them and directs them towards Brahman Man has fallen from his eternal abode not because he has passions and desires but simply because he has been unable to control them and put them in proper channels. When he is able to regu- late and direct them towards the absolute, he is sure to be re- leased from samsara. The Bhagavata says --

Studies in Kalapurnodauam

A work of art actually induces the responsve mind to do this, and as such, art is important in life. It has at least as much value as science or philosophy, if not more. Given such value, a work of art true to its grain cannot indulge in sheer moral depravity, ob- noxious nihilism and unbearable pessimism. If it does, it ceases to be a work of art. It is invariably the result of nıskāmakarma on the part of the artist. Neither economic considerations nor politi- cal motives should determine its compostion or emergence. In that pure spirit of dedication to the Almighty who has bestowed the Vedas on us, it must be composed. In this context it is to be remembered that to follow the rites and commands prescribed by sastra ıs certainly a nışkamakarma When such is the nature and value of Art, when it is thus given a utilitaran role to play, hierarchy n the field of Arts must result. Approached from this angle, poetry holds the sceptre among the Arts, spatial, temporal and ideal, because no other Art can claim so much clearty of thought, enlightenment of the soul, 251

width of experience, comparative absence of the limitaion of the medium, and preoper discipline of the passions and emotions as poetry dees Next comes music which is merely a temporal art And this is followed by painting and then sculptre; architecture and other arts can claim only a position next to sculpture. The above exposition of the nature of Beauty and Art has nowhere touched the subject of rasa which had been invarbly discussed by almost every Indian wrter on Alamkara Sastra Has Visistadvaita nothing to say on this subject, or is it completely incompatible with this philosophy? Neither of the two surmises is vaild because rasa is not in any way antagonistc to Visistadvaita Just as Naivayıkās, Vaisesikās, Sānkhyas, Trikavādıns and Advaitmns have interpreted rasa sutra in the hght of their schools,332 so also Visistadvaita can read its own philosphy into it. But be- fore one tres to interpret it in the light of Visstadvaita, one has to consider the expositions of Abhinavagupta who was a Käshmiri Saıva of Pratyabhijna school, and Pandıtaraya, an Advaitin, pure and simple. G V Knsnna Rao

The aphorism of Bharata on rsa in the explanation of which, the battles that were fought in the field of epistemolgy were con- tinued, runs as follows :- .333

Both Abhinavagupta and Panditaraya agree on the points that the words samyoga and nispatti in the above sutra mean sugges- tion (dhvani) and realisation (prakasa or carvana) respectively but they differ in accunting for this experience. While the former explains it from the standpoint of Realistic Monism, the latter interprets it from that of Advaita. Abhinava's theory regarding aesthetic experience, to give in a few words, may be explained thus: Every one of us is born with some innate qualites (vasanas) and these remain in the mind in latent from. When we read a poem or attend the performance of a drama,the vibhavas, anubhavås and vyabhicars there in get into our mind. The three

252 kinds of bhavas which in the day-to-day life are of the nature of causes, effects and associates (sahacans) become ideal (aloukıka) when they are grasped by the mind. This transmutation is due to imagination which is roused to action by the suggestivity of the presented. Set to work, this imagination which is otherwise called bhavana or pratibha universalıses the three kınds of bhavās on the one hand,and deindividualises the subject or percepient on the other. By this process the vibhavas etc. are cut off from time, space, relationship, intent and purpose. The hero. the hero- ine and their activites, when presented by imagination, lose their partculartty and direction. Suppose we are reading the Abhijnana Sakuntala and durng that time what we see in our imagination is not the particular ındıviduals, Dusyanta and Säkuntala. Their individualities disappearing,we see only forms or ideas of the non- mundance (aloukıka) nature. These peculiar entities presented by the imagination are not of the nature of mundaness (loukikatva, error (mithya), indescnbability (arrvacya) and similarity to world- liness. Nor are they of superimposition."34 By the same process the subject or percepient also becomes deindividualised. He for- gets his individuality, his name, position. ego, personal disposi- tion, likes and dislikes,and intents and purposes. His knowledge Studies in Kaiapurnodayam

becomes unconditioned and it may be said that even the five sheaths of kāla, vidya, raga, niyati and kala encasing the soul or Atman fall back revealing it in its true nature. In this state the subject is neither opposed to or disinterested in the pure forms presented by the imagination. As these pure forms develop and their suggestivity internsifies, the subject which is now the universalised consciousness begins to dentity itself with them. As the process intensifies, the basic mood or sthayibhava which is being suggested also rises to a higher pitch. Because universalised consciousness is pure bliss, and because the four bhavās, vibhavas, anubhavas, vyabhicans and sthayin become its qualities due to the process of indentification,the latter are also pure bliss or ananda.335 Even after the complete identifica- tion, the object does not disappearaltogether. It is still a unity in duality. This contnuous realisation of universalised conscious- ness is vimarsa and camatkara, rasana, carvana, nırvrti, pramatrunsrantı, svarupavisrantı, ananda, and paramabhoga are 253 its synonyms. Such is the aesthetic experience which comes un- der the second category, Saktı of Pratyabhijna school, as distin- gushed from Parama Siva, its first category. This exposition of rasa, though highly complidated,is more satisfactory than any other theory and completely accords with experience. Ifthere is to be any difference of opinion, it should be purely on grounds of its philosophical implications. Coming to the interpretation of Panditaraya it may be ex- plained as follows :- "When an aesthete reads a beautifull poem of appropriate and sweet (lalita) compositon (sannwvesa), it evokes ideas in him as a result of his mental activity. These will be in the form of Dusyanta, Säkuntala etc. Due to the imaginative fac- ulty of the mind these ideas become free from the particularty of Dusyanta, Säkuntla etc. and become ideal so much so that they can arouse the latent impressions (vasanas) in him. In this state they are called ideal vibhavas, anubhavas and vyabhicaris which have been already existent in the form of causes, effects and asociates. What happens in the present is they arise afresh hay- G. V. Knshna Rao

ing this ideality about them. By these three ideal bhavas there arises an activity of non-mundane (aloukika) nature. The veil that covers the blissful (ananda) aspect of the subject will be removed resulting in the disappearance of its limitedness and other su- perimposed qualites. The subject now shines in its self-luminos- ity and blissful nature and at the same time illumines rati etc. Which is already existent in a latent from (vasana). This which is being manifested or illumined is rasa 336 This explanation of aesthetic expenence, though fitting beau- tifully into the philosphy of Advaita, is unsatisfactory because it brings down this unique expericence to the level of error. It may be protested that this is blissful,but all the same it is an illusion,a dream. This is clearly admitted by Panditaraya himself when he asys that the vibhāvas, anubhavas and vyabhicaris presented by bhavana are not in their natre opposed to horses etc. seen in a

254 dream or the silver on the stage.337 No one after reading a beauti- ful poem or after attending the performance of a drama feels that he has a sweet dream or a beautiful illusion.338 Abhinavagupta has expressed only an undeniable fact when he says :- 330 8s e "Even Panditaraya's further elucidation that aesthetic expenence is similar to that of savikalpasamādhi340 does not improve the position because the prop or alambana which the yögin takes for his contemplation is practically insignificant. Can one attribute the same to a work of Art which is the reason of the aesthetic expenence? This may be platable to those egoists and solipsists who mantain that the subject is everything and the object a mere nothing or illusion, but not to them that give some value to the object.34) This review naturally leads us to the approach of Visistadvaita. It is therefore necessary to examine what it has to say on this problem. As already observed, Visistadvaita maintains that every in- dividual object in the space-time world has not only a body and a soul but also the Absoulte which is all-pervading in its heart. It is also to be rememhered that mind is the seat of latent impres- sions, tendencies and memories, and has imaginative faculty or Studies ın Kalapurnodayam

pratibha in addition. Besides these it has the three qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas. Due to the attachment of this mind, Atman's knowledge is limited. With these points in view let us see what happens in an acsthetc when he reads a beautiful poem, 0.Why it is called O and not X is this, it is an object having body, soul and the Absolute within O The soul S in the aesthte comes into contact with O through its mind M. The object O is real and as such has real power. Due to the suggestive power in O, the imaginative faculty of M is awakended when sattva predominates over its two asocates, rajas and tamas Because sattva is of the nature of knowledge, rajas of activity and tamas of moha or iner- tia M becomes pure and acquires the nature conducive to con- templation. There will be, at this stage, neither motor activity nor mertia or moha. The conditionedness of S is removed with this new development. It sees through M which has become ideal or aprakrta. As these ideal bhavas develop, suggest the unity un- derlying, and reveal Brahman, S will be thrilled; the dominant 255 mood (sthayin) corresponding to the bhavas being latent in M nses to the highest pitch. Because of the presence of Brahman whose very qualities are reality, consciousness and bliss (ananda) the manifested sthayin is transmuted into that of ananda. Thus S will be completely filled by Brahman. It rests in Brahman. Such being the nature of aesthetic experience, it is Bhagavadusranti or paramatmavisranti as contrasted with atmavisranti, or svarüpavisranti and pramatrvisrānti. Visiștāndvaitin agrees with the Kashmir Saiva when he says that camatkāra, rasana, nirvrti, paramabhöga and ananda are sysnonyms. Entirely differing with the Advaitin who completely denies the activity of tadatmya or identifications, Visistadvaitin agrees with the Saiva on this point but says that complete identification resulting in oneness never occurs. The distinctness of the two pensts according to the former, whereas it disappears in the final stage according yto the latter. Such, in short, is the nature of rasa as can be explainted by the Visstadvaitin. Nevertheless he has as any real aesthete would have,certain reservation in accepting rasa as the soul of poetry or work of Art in general.Firstly rasa when defined as the G. V. Knshna Rao

manifested sthayin, bhava and their semblance or abhasa etc. does not include vastudhvani and alamkaradhvani which are in no way insignificant. As a matter of fact Panditaraya severely criticises Visvantha's definition342 that poetry is the sentence hav- ing rasa as its soul. When Abhinava said that there is no poetry without rasa343 or that all poetry lives by rasa alone, he did not rule out vastudhavani and alamkaradhvani from the province of pextry.3 Rasa, therefore, in its strict sense does not cover the whole province of Beauty. Secondly,there is difference of opiønion regarding the number of rasas. Abhinavagupta and others, strictly following the authority of Bharata, maintain that rasas are only nine and try to fit devotion (bhakti), affection (vatsalya) love (preman) and others into them by including the latter either under any one of the said rasas or under the bhavas.345 But this,if one is to speak the truth, is quite arbitrary. To try to explain human experience 256 from certain preconceived instincts (Vasanas) or complexes (manomalinyas) is ignoring the richness and infiniteness of the Mind itself.36 This is exactly the reason why Gestalt psycholgy along with Behavioursm is now-a-days gaining more ground than purposive psychology and psycho-analysis. The arbitrariness infixing the number of rasas is more clearly revealed than any- where else when Panditaraya gives his ruling:

Sாகி. வரதுமுகணண் மல்

ஸ்ாஞுஸ்க ஜூரஸ் :. 347 Whether this ruling is justified or not,a Visistadvatin who be- lieves in and gives the greatest value to Bhakt cannot admit or reconcile himself to the theory which does not concede rasatva to Bhakti, Dasya, Sakhya and Vatsalya. Because of these two con- siderations he is neither opposed nor strongly attached to rasa theory. Studies ın Kalapurnodayam

Now to summarise the conception of Beauty according to Visıstadvaita, it is the quality of the Absolute and as such univer- sal, changeless and infinite. It is not an object of perception or recollection or recongnition or inference or analogy or presump- tion. It is a quality of which Jiva can have an intuition or vision which is immediate and which gives infinite bliss, truth, good- ness, softness, coolness, sweetness, etc., the co-existing quali- ties of Brahman. The intuition of one of them, therefore, com- prses all the other auspicious qualities. The Absolute being both immanent and transcendental manifests itself in five forms para, vbhava, vyuha, antaryamin and arca. They are the modes ofIsvara of perfect Beauty. The universe is a result of His sport or Lila and also helps to Brahmanise the individual souls steeped in visayakama. Thus Beauty has not only intrinsic value but also utility. Due to this latter valued poetry occupiies the highest po- sition whereas music, painting and other fine arsts come next only in due order. The beauties of nature and the fair forms of 257 human and celestial beings are but partial revelation of the un- surpassed beauty of Brahamn. Reality is essentially beautiful,but the world being steeped in sensuality and sin renders it ugly. Creators and lovers as they are, artists and aesthetes are mainly devotees. The artist is only an instrument selected by God for the creation of a work of Art,and the drawbacks and the blemishes, if there are any, are entirely those of the instrument. Without di- vine grace no one can become an artist, but all the same cultiva- ton and training are necessary. Theory of rasa, though not in- compatible, does not cover the whole province of Beauty.

G V. Knshna Rao