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CONCEPTION OF IŚVARA
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knowledge of the necessary relation obtaining between actions and fruits. Vātsyāyana clearly describes the nature of Isvara (4.1.21). It is as follows: (a) gunavisistam ātmāntaram Isvarah/tasyātmakalpāt kalpāntarānupa
pattih / adharma-mithyājñāna-pramādahānyā dharma-jñāna-samādhisampadā ca visistam ātmāntaram Īsvaraḥ | tasya ca dharmasamādhiphalan animadyastavidham aiśvaryam /
Explanation : Isvara is a soul. He is not an independent substance different from soul-substance. Isvara is like mundane souls. He possesses those very qualities which mundane souls possess, but his qualities have some speciality. In a mundane soul the qualities have become perverse and impure while in Isvara they are found in their pure, pristine state, that is, Isvara has destroyed impurities that perverted these qualities. Let us see how Vātsyāyana puts this. «Mundane souls possess wrong cognition/conviction (mithyājñāna), vicious activity (adharma) and lethargy (pramāda), while Isvara has destroyed them. Because he has destroyed them, he comes to possess knowledge/pure cognition (jñāna), pure righteous activity (dharma) and pure concentration (samādhi). Again, he has gained eightfold miraculous powers as a result of his righteous activity and pure concentration. Mundane souls do not possess all these miraculous powers. Thus Vätsyāyana 'has clearly pointed out as to in what way Isvara is different from mundane souls like us. But he has not stated the difference of Isvara from the liberated souls because it is quite obvious. Liberated souls are devoid of all the nine specific qualities (višesagunas) of soul-substance, viz buddhi (cognition), sukha (pleasure), duhkha (pain), icchā (will), dveșa (aversion), prayatna (volition), dharma (merit), adharma (demerit), sarskāra (impression), that is, they do not possess even pure cognition, pure activity, pure Concentration and miraculous powers, whereas Isvara does possess pure cognition, pure activity, pure Concentration and miraculous powers.
Thus, according to Vātsyāyana, īśvara is that soul which having destroyed wrong cognition/conviction, vicious activity and lethargy has gained pure cognition, pure activity and pure Concentration. From this it naturally follows that Isvara is not nitya mukta i.e. free and liberated for ever in all the three divisions of time - past, present and future. This rightly suggests the possibility of a mundane soul becoming Isvara as also the possibility of there being many Isvaras. From this we can safely deduce that Isvara as described by Vātsyāyana is none but jīvanmukta.
