
FOUR SAMPRADAYAS AND THEIR THEORIES OF BONDAGE


NIMBARKA

The Jiva has his true form distorted and obscured owing to his contact with
`karma' resulting from ignorance, which is beginningless, but which can come to
an end, by the grace of God, when its true nature is fully manifested.

VALLABHA

According to Vallabha, the Jiva's association with `avidya', as well as his
bondage and freedom, are brought about by the free will of Brahman for the
purpose of sport.

RAMANUJA

Beginningless Karma is considered to be the cause of bondage of the Jivas in
Samsara. Because of this the souls are caught up in a continuous cycle of births
and deaths.
Samsara is due to avidya which is of the nature of karma, accumulated by the
jiva in its previous births. In this condition jnana and ananda are obscured
but fully manifest in the state of liberation.

MADHVA

The sense of misery, which is bondage, is external to their essence and is
brought about by a "real" though "misplaced sense of independence of initiative
and conduct." Bondage is of the nature of ignorance.
Madhva calls his theory of bondage by the name of `svabhava ajnana vada'.
Even though the jiva is a self luminous being, still, it is not inconceivable
that he should become subject to ignorance of his own true nature and of the
nature of God and of his true relationship with Him, as he is a dependent
being, and part.
According to Madhva the Lord actuates the latent power of Prakrti known as
Maya and avidya and then the bondage begins. Though the jivas are dependent on
God, (the theory of svabhava ajnana vada accepts that) the kartrtva (freewill)
and bhoktrtva (enjoyer-mood) allows the avidya to act upon them. These faculties
as well as the resultant false ego, intelligence, mind, the senses and
the senses are all God-given. In ignorance, the jiva thinks that they are all
under his control and his possessions. The fact is that they are our possessions
subject to the will of the Lord. Due to contact with such material existence
and the permeation of the consciousness through all these and the resultant
attachment to them, the jiva regards the dualities as his own and subjects
himself to continuous material existence in various levels. This is known as
samsara.

1. Being part and parcel of Krsna, Lord Caitanya, jivas have minute independence

2. Jivas have infinitesimal lording tendency

3. Some jivas lord the independence to become lord, independent of Krsna
   (Krsna, the Supreme Independent by His will allows them) (Madhva)

   It is the pastime of the Lord to provide for the desires of the living
   entities (Vallabha)

4. Due to misuse of independence they fall

5. Forgetfulness of constitutional relationship results in ignorance (Nimbarka)

6. They place their consciousness in material nature

7. Material nature carries on activities for the lording tendency of jivas

8. Jivas' consciousness gets more and more polluted, beginningless karma
   (Ramanuja)

9. Jivas are in samsara

