Párthasárathi can be analysed from two points of view – the point of view of what He said, and the point of view of what He did. What He said is mentioned in the Giitá. Here I shall analyse what He did. Párthasárathi gathered around Him a good number of righteous people, and together they strove tirelessly to promote human welfare.

The fundamental idea of dvaetádvaetaváda philosophy is that in the beginning there are two entities, while in the end there is only one. Initially the presence of two entities is admitted – Jiiva ca tasya Iishvara, “the sádhaka and the Supreme Object of his or her ideation”. The duality of jiiva and Iishvara ends when the sádhaka and his or her object of ideation become one, when the devotee and the Lord are fused into one. I have already mentioned this many times.

Sádhakas move towards the goal – the Supreme Entity – along a difficult path strewn with thorns. Sádhaná means to carry on an endless fight against the opposing forces and ideas that thwart the spiritual progress of an individual. When sádhakas succeed in removing all obstacles in this process of fight they (the devotees) and the Lord finally become one. This is the spiritual path, the path of spiritual progress.

Some devotees employ all their energy to impatiently entreat Parama Puruśa, “O Lord, be gracious. Come to me.” Sádhaná implies that the devotees move towards their Lord. It may also happen that devotees address Parama Puruśa with all their psychic feeling concentrated on one point while sitting in one place. In this way, too, they can become one with the Lord. In order to become established in the state of non-dualism, devotees must practise sádhaná. Devotees draw Parama Puruśa towards themselves with all their sincerity, emotion and sentiment focused on Him. This way of drawing Parama Puruśa to oneself is known as bhakti márga [the path of devotion].

Kiirtana⁽¹⁾ is an integral part of bhakti márga. During kiirtana devotees entreat Him, “Come, O Lord, come to me. Come and sit amongst us, your devotees. We will love You and sing kiirtana for You; we will adore You with all the warmth of our hearts.” This is the philosophical side of devotion. But the fundamental point is that the devotee will have to merge in the Lord. Initially it is dvaeta, because in the beginning there are two entities, the devotee and the Lord, but ultimately, when they become one, it is advaeta. That is why it is called dvaetádvaetaváda. As long as the devotees remain in the darkness of ignorance there is duality, but when their existence becomes illumined by the effulgence of divine knowledge by virtue of karma sádhaná, jiṋána sádhaná and bhakti sádhaná, they are said to be in the state of non-dualism.

Párthasárathi Krśńa demonstrated in His own life how to become a righteous person. One must not retreat. Sometimes, as a matter of strategy, one may have to take two or three steps backwards, but in the end it may be as good as taking a hundred steps forward.

Let us take an example. Jarasandha, the king of Magadha, repeatedly attacked Mathura. To protect Mathura from his furious assaults, the capital was moved to Dwaraka. To reach Dwaraka one had to pass through the desert, and that was not possible for Jarásandha. In this case, Párthasárathi Krśńa adopted the policy of strategic retreat, but in fact He was taking a hundred steps forward. It was the best way to counteract the antisocial forces of Jarasandha.

This is how Párthasárathi demonstrated how to become righteous in one’s personal and practical life, how to take up arms against sinful and wicked people, and how to work pragmatically. The one who constantly ideates on Párthasárathi, keeping Him enshrined in the temple of his or her heart, and rushes towards Him, realizes Parama Puruśa through His grace and becomes one with Him. This is the theoretical side.

In His personal life Párthasárathi identified Himself with those who were intelligent, spiritually steady, and eager to promote the cause of human welfare. He talked with them and inspired them to a more sublime life. In this way He attracted people towards Himself in the spiritual sphere. Every human being has accepted Him as their own. As a result He remains enthroned to this day in the hearts of people, despite the long interval since His advent, just like an emerald in a jewel box. In His practical life He inspired those who came in His contact, drew them to Him, showed them the path to salvation and told them in unambiguous terms that the world was created by His Máyá. It shows that Párthasárathi is the be-all and end-all of human beings. He said, “I am the Creator of this world. Everything has emanated from Me.” Tantra has expressed this idea in a clear and lucid fashion:

Mayyeva sakalaḿ játaḿ mayi sarvaḿ pratiśt́hitam;
Mayi sarvaḿ layaḿ yáti tad Brahmádvayamasmyaham.

[Everything is born out of Me, everything is maintained in Me; Everything finally merges in Me; I am that Brahma – One without a second. ]

“Everything has come out of Me, everything is being maintained in Me and in the end everything will return to Me.” Dvaetádvaetaváda philosophy has accepted the existence of two entities in the first stage, and thus microcosms have not been given proper recognition. Dvaeta means the existence of two entities – jiiva and Iishvara, the microcosm and the Macrocosm – but it does not explain where the jiivas originally came from. It cannot be logically accepted that the jiivas spring out of nothingness. Thus the final portion of dvaetádvaetaváda is acceptable, but not its beginning. Logically something which does not contain a beginning cannot possess an end. That is why it is utterly futile to try to analyse Párthasárathi Krśńa in the light of dvaetádvaetaváda philosophy. He is far above it.

Footnotes

(1) Collective singing of the name of the Lord. –Eds.