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person capable of dispensing salvation by grace is a feature conspicuously absent in the heterodox systems. The Jains as well as the early Buddhists rejected this special category of an eternally free soul as purely arbitrary and observed the activities of a teacher were inconsistent with one deprived of the means of communication, namely mind, body and speech. They also maintained that the belief in such an omnipotent power makes the salvation of the human being dependent on the sweet will of an agency outside the control of the aspirant. They affirmed, and sought to drive home by the examples of Mahāvira and the Buddha, the message that human beings formerly in bondage, are able to break the begining less bond of samsāra, that they have within them the innate powers to realize, here and now, perfection and omniscience, independent of a Deity.
Theistic Systems
The Yoga school probably saw Isvara playing only the limited role of the spiritual teacher, the Guru. But the theistic darśanas like Nyåya-Vaiseșika and the sectarian cults of Vişņu and Siva, supported by their respective Upanişads. Agamas and Purāņas, saw this Isvara not merely as a benign Guru but as the "Sacred Power", the very source and sustenance of all creation. He, the omniscient and omnipotent Lord, created the world of matter and souls and presided over the destinies of His creations. He dispensed divine justice, weighing the actions of men, punishing the wicked and rewarding the righteous. He held in balance the forces of good and evil (dharma and adharma) by the mighty acts of His divine interventions, the avatāras. Through the Vedas this Lord instructed man in his duties to gods and manes, to the society, and to himself, and stipulated that he be guided not by a free chioce of conscience but by the dictates of varna and āśrama, that is, by the caste and stage of life in which he found himself. While stating in the Gitā that all actions (karma) must be followed by their results, the Lord also predicted dire consequences for breach of the caste duties, duties which must be maintained for the upkeep of the Universe. But it was further promised, rather benignly, that these duties, however unpleasant, could become "sacrifice", or sacred acts, if performed as an act of devotion, and thus comprise the very means of man's salvation from the bonds of action.
This kind of theism soon became the most favoured means of salvation, asking nothing more than conformity to the varņāśrama-dharma and an emotional adoration for the Deity in any chosen (ista) form. It inspired mighty waves of bhakti movements which swept across the nation, absorbing countless numbers of diverse people, and assimilating a multitude of gods and cults within its fold. Caves were scooped and temples were erected to enshrine the images of the Lord, who was shown either in the terrible acts of destroying a demon, or, bedecked in royal splendour, enjoying conjugal happiness in the endearing company of His consorts, Poets and scholars alike, joined hands in glorifying the name of the Lord, whom
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