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INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
In the systems of Indian philosophy, the ultimate desired fruit is moska (freedom from impurities, viz. attachment. aversion, etc.). To attain moksa, the knowledge as to what actions one should perform at what stage is absolutely necessary; this knowledge is imparted by jivanmukta alone.?? Thus from the explanation of these three aphorisms it naturally follows that according to Gautama jivanmuka himself is īśvara. .
In the light of the above explanation, the meaning of the oftquoted following verse becomes very clear :
Isvaraprerito gacchet svargam vā svabhram eva vā / Ajño jantur aniso'yam ātmanah sukha-duhkhayoh 11
Mahābhārata, Vanaparva . Translation : Impelled by Isvara, a soul moves to heaven or to hell. No ignorant living being is the master of its pleasure or pain.
The verse is generally quoted in support of the view that God's will is supreme and all-powerful, our pleasure and pain depend on His will and not on our actions or efforts. But this is not the true import of the verse. The true import of the verse is as follows ;
The adjective ‘ajña' (=ignorant) qualifying 'jantu' (=a living being) is very imporant as it provides us a key to the true import of the verse.
Pleasure and pain are fruits of actions performed by a living being. If one wants to attain pleasure, one should know the actions that cause pleasure. If one wants to attain (rather to avoid) pain one should know actions that cause pain. But a living being by itself does not possess the knowledge as to which actions lead to pleasure and which actions lead to pain. Therefore, it is believed that a living being by itself is incapable of attaining pleasure or pain, that is, it by itself is not the master of its pleasure or pain. It is Isvara who imparts this knowledge to it. Isvara preaches that these actions entail pleasure and these actions entail pain. This knowledge urges a living being to perform those actions that cause pleasure if it desires pleasure, or this knowledge urges it to perform those actions that cause pain if it desires pain. It is only by imparting this knowledge that Isvara impels a living being to move to heaven or to hell. Heaven signifies pleasure and hell signifies pain.
III
Nature of Isvara according to Vätsyāyana, the author of the
Bhāsya” on the Nyāyasūtra. As we have seen, Gautama accepted Isvara as one who imparts
