A: The Lord grants the ‘causal moksha’ to those, who desire moksha and practice the prescribed ‘saasthric’ discipline for their enjoyment. This is comparable to the wages earned for the labour put in. These individuals are oblivious of the Lord’s yearning to reclaim them for His satisfaction. This type of moksha is therefore a few shades lower than the moksha granted by the Lord out of His causeless mercy to the individuals, who are yearning for the Lord’s pleasure. The difference lies in the emphasis of self-satisfaction and the Lord’s satisfaction.
Great souls (‘mahathmas’) like the alwars, even in a liberated state are ever concerned about the Lord’s pleasure. This sentiment is beautifully expressed by Andal in the twenty ninth verse of her immortal poem, ‘Tiruppaavai’. Asked by the Lord to name her wish for the austerities undertaken by them, Andal, on behalf of the jivas, answers, “None at all”, and on being urged by the Lord, says, “We wish to serve you and
serve you only.” This is the quintessence of devotion and Andal echoes the words of Nammazhwar (ThiruVaiMozhi -2-9-4). These individuals, who are more concerned about the cheerful disposition of the Lord than their personal joy achieve everlasting moksha of a higher grade. The Lord is like a father, who loves his children without expecting any reciprocal return from them. Individuals, who are unable to perceive the causeless love of the Lord, tend to indulge in acts of pleasing Him. The selfish motive of the individuals is apparent and they earn a detached reward from the Lord. In contrast, the individuals, who are mindful of the Lord’s pleasure over theirs, receive the most pleasing and qualitatively more desirable reward of ‘parama moksha’. The difference between the causeless and the causative rewards lies in the approach of the individual.
The Q&A of the day is an excerpt from "Two-fold Vedic Vision", a Sri Vaishnavite handbook based on Sri Sudarsanar’s 1008 Catechisms in Tamil written by Sri. Kidambi Sridharan. The collection contains invaluable information on the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Ithihasas, the lives of Alwars, Acharyas from Sriman Nathamunigal to Sri Manavala Mamuni, the 108 Divya Desams and answers to various other related questions. This book is available for kindle in e-book format for purchase on Amazon.
Last modified on
