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THE DOCTRINE OF LIBERATION IN INDIAN RELIGIONS
from Him. Nothing else is self-existent or self-caused. God alone possesses self-existenee. He who understands God's self-existence and His omnipresence is known as a giāni, knower.
The last term in the mülamantra suggests that God can be realized through the blessings of the Guru (gurprasādi). The word prasāda means graciousness, kindness, favour, aid, meditation, free gift, gratuity, the food presented to a deity or the remnants of food left by a spiritual teacher etc. In the mülamantra, it means God's graciousness, Divine pleasure, mercy or blessing. It is through the blessings of Guru that one attains liberation, peace and everlasting joy;10 one attains great pleasure through the sight of God.11
The Sikh writers translate the word prasáda as 'grace'. Dr L.M. Joshi suggests a distinction between grace in Christianity and prasāda in Sikhism. He suggests that in Christianity grace is an attribute of God, it is a theological concept in Christianity. God, according to the Christian belief, bestows grace unasked and even the sinners are saved. The concept of prasāda is related to bhakti or loving devotion to God who showers blessings on His devotees when pleased. The word prasāda means kirpā (krpä), daiā (dayā), karuņā or anugraha. This last word means 'to favour', 'to support', 'to uphold', 'to treat with kindness'. To give prasāda means to give favour and to receive with compassion. The devotees have to earn the merit which consists in pleasing God.
It is clear that God is saguna as well as nirguņa. He is the creator of the world and is immanent in it, but He is also transcendent to it.
BONDAGE ACCORDING TO SIKHISM
The fact that human beings are involved in the round of transmigration constitutes their bondage. They are not only fallen into the profound abyss of conditioned existence, the hallmark of which is suffering, they are also ignorant of their unconditioned existence which is characterized by Divine bliss. Furthermore, the beings in bondage do not know the way out of their conditioned existence and because of this ignorance they multiply their sufferings and prolong their journeying through the mire of repeated becoming, This, in short, is the meaning of bondage (bandhana). There are repeated references to bondage, its causes and consequences, in the
10. 11.
Adi Granth, vol. III, p. 841. Ibid., vol. I, p. 289.
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