Madhwa Vijaya - 23

Sarga 11 Part 2

In Vaikunta, there is no birth-death-ageing… the three fears that plague the mortal world. Sorrow, evil, envy, and the three gunas (and their influence) are non-existent.

There, everyone is dear to the lord. Although a hierarchy exists, every one experiences complete joy, according to their saadhane and inherent capacity. There is mutual love and respect amongst all.

Some liberated souls wander as handsome youth with perfumed bodies anointed with sandal paste and are pampered by soft-haired fans (chaamara).

Their eyes are sated with divine forms of dance, the ears are filled with pleasant, divine music; and the mind is satisfied by the presence of their youthful consorts*.

There are couples who are soul-mates, who are born on earth as husband-wife in every birth. Then there are those who become husband and wife in one birth only. The reference here is to the former. There is no viyoga or separation for these couples. The liberated souls continue to worship the lord according to their inherent nature. Some may practice bramhacharya, some may perform sacrifices, some maybe in eternal wedlock, etc.

An important tenet of Tattvavaada is, even the swarupas of jeevas are male or female and not only when they have a physical body.

The doe-eyed, divine damsels accompany their husbands to gardens, alighting from divine flying machines, like the light of the moon slowly descends towards the earth.

These slender beauties are adorned with ornaments and have varied complexions*, some like the coral, some like the diamond and yet others like the blue-sapphire.

*Swarupa, gnyaana and ananda have distinct colours.

When these women walk on surfaces covered by coral, one cannot notice the red of their soles and the pink of their toe-nails, but how their toe-nails shine when they walk on clear paths of diamonds!

Naarayana Pandithaacharya goes on to describe, in great detail, the amorous activities of these jeevas, as part of the Shringara rasa, considered essential for a poem to be called a Maha-kaavya, in those days.

Some important points to bear in mind are: Conjugal bliss (in Vaikunta) is a “bhoga” or pious pleasure granted by the lord, to these soul-mates. This is shorn of undesirable aspects like expectation, lust, jealousy, fatigue, sweat, pain or sadness. There is no procreation.

Trees* made of gold and precious gems weighed down by their fruits, bowing by the breeze that blows… is there anyone who will not rejoice at such a sight?

*Vaikunta is home to trees and animals which are mukta jeevas, too (depending on their swarupa)

The trees that bloom through all seasons are Mandaara, Kalpavruksha, Paarijaatha, Harichandana, and Santhanavruksha.*

*These are divine trees not to be confused with earthly trees of the same names

The seasons in Vaikunta are wonderful and not accompanied by inconveniences, for the devathes of the seasons are also muktha and only provide joy to the other jeevas

The jeevas, as was their wont in their earthly lives, offer every flower and fruit to the supreme lord, before they use it for themselves.

The sight that is exclusively visible to the jeevas in Vaikunta, is the bliss-filled form of the consort of Indira, who sports a gem-studded crown atop his thick black hair, a crescent shaped mark on his forehead, earrings shaped like fish, a face that would put the full moon to shame, wide eyes like lotus petals, coral-coloured lips half-parted in a smile, throat that reminds one of a conch, strands of pearls and the celestial Kausthubha gem adorning his chest, lustrous ornaments adorning his arms, hands and fingers. He holds the Sudarshana chakra blazing like a hundred suns, a fiery mace, a lovely lotus, a powerful bow in his red hands. Broad shouldered, a chest that shines like a temple that houses Ramaa devi, slim waist that belies the fourteen lokas it holds, lotus navel which houses Chaturmukha, a lovely chain around the waist that intertwines with the yellow silk that he wears, sinewy thighs like an elephant’s trunk, rounded knees, auspicious feet with the markings of chakra-dhwaja- padma, the tips of his toe nails the colour of corals. From the tip of his toes to the crown of his head, every part is flawless, ageless and beyond compare.

This lustrous body of Naarayana is visible in varying sizes, from a distance of two feet to hundreds of feet, depending on the merit of the muktha-jeevas.

This celestial form which is the embodiment of awareness and bliss, appears in various colours, sometimes as the orange of the rising sun, sometimes the glowing golden of a risen sun, pearly, sapphire-like, rainbow like and so on.

The wonderful form of the consort of Ramaa does not cease to generate wonder every time a muktha-jeeva sees him, and this sense of wonder is eternal.

Depending on their natures, they may worship him by performing yagnas, by discussing his attributes, by singing his glories …Every action of these muktha-jeevas occurs as a continuation of their earlier endeavour to God-realisation, yet with no compulsion to perform them.

If at all they wish for anything, it is granted to them even as they think of it*, for such is the speed of gratification in Vaikunta.

*(satya sankalpa)

He who listens to and attempts to understand this bhaashya of Ananda Tirtha, is assured of the ultimate reward in all existence – Moksha”, concluded Shesha devaru.

End of Sarga 11