1120. Perimeter of Square or Circle....!

The beauty of Sanatana Dharma is that there is clarity in every aspect. If there is any ambiguity it is because of the lack of understanding in the seeker. If the seeker thrives a little more he will arrive there. Vedas are unfathomable if there is doubt but once that doubt is cleared then everything seem to be comprehensible. A few suggest that the only way to clear the doubt is by having that Jignasattva (Desire to Know) to comprehend the Truth. Though a seeker is keen to know, he is pushed into cynical mode by the different versions in various scriptures on one same Truth.

The seeker may get confused as there is Advaita (Monoism), Vishishtadvaita (Qualified Monoism), Dvaita (Dualism). Whichever path the seeker takes, the goal is one Truth. Each path defers only as to how and under what circumstances Truth can be reached. If only we have preceptors like Sri Sri Maha Periyava, understanding those various paths is easy. In one occasion Swamiji talked about these paths and cleared the doubt of a seeker.

When asked if Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita were different, he said, “These three paths talk of relationship between the Jeevatma and Paramatma. In Advaita the relationship is like the square and its perimeter. Four times the length of a side is its perimeter. It is very rational and there is no place for any ambiguity. To Sri Sri Sankara the perimeter is simply 4x (x being length of the sides of square).

In Dvaita the same relationship is like a circle and its perimeter. πD is its perimeter, here π is an irrational number and its popular approximation is 22/7 which is 3.1428571428571; it is close but not accurate. Even if we go to crores of decimals we can approach very close to the value but not the finite value. Likewise Jeevatma can never become Paramatma. Jeevatma can only get close to Paramatma, but can never be Paramatma. Sriman Madhva describes this limitation as Taratamya (Differentiation) brought about by Tattva Bheda (True Difference). Thus the relationship between Jeevatma and Paramatma remains uncertain and irrational in Dvaita. Amazingly Einstein’s relativity theory has this π. Einstein says there is uncertainty in all things in this universe. This is what Sriman Madhva explained in his Pancha Bheda (Five Un-equableness). An insentient object is different from sentient one. Astonishingly there is difference between two sentient objects also. Further sentient beings (Jeevatmas) are different from Paramatma. If Paramatma can be said to be a particular stage of Jeevatma like the perimeter of a square is 4x, then the very rational relationship will be limiting the Paramatma. This will then contradict the saying of the Vedas that Paramatma is Anantha or infinite. The perimeter of Square has a definite value while the perimeter of Circle does not have a definite value. Therefore Sriman Madhva looking at the relationship of Jeevatma and Paramatma as the perimeter of Circle can be justified”.

The person asked about Vashishtadvaita of Srimad Ramanuja.

Sri Sri Maha Periyava said, “To Srimad Ramanuja, Paramatma is a square looking like a circle by Maya (Illusion). He in a way accepted both Dvaita and Advaita. Jeevatma will lose heart if you say he can never attain Paramatma (as in Dvaita) or will become egoist if he is told he himself IS Paramatma (as in Advaita). So Srimad Ramanuja views are like Aristotle’s golden mean, a path in between which says that Paramatma is an uncertain circle as long as one remain ignorant and a clear square when wisdom dawns”. 

For the Circle to become Square the “Golden Means” is Sri Hari, says Srirman Madhva.

* Sri Sri Maha Periyava is Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Mahaswamiji  the 68th Jagadguru of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.