Brahma-Sutra
According to Badarayana Brahman is the efficient and the material cause of the universe. The universe is originated from it is sustained by It and merges in It after destruction. Thus it is the cause of the origination, substance and destruction of universe. It does not require any external help in creating the universe. It creates it our of itself as a spider weaves a net from within itself. Thus it is both, the efficient and the material cause of the universe.
The meditation on Brahman leads to knowledge. In the liberation of him who has acquired such knowledge of Brahman by meditation, there is delay only so long as his body does not fall. But the actions done by him after the attainment of knowledge do not bind him, because his notion of agency is destroyed, he has realized that he is not an agent but it is only God who is acting through him.
But he has to exhaust the Prarabdha karmas by experiencing the fruits of them. After the fall of the body starts the spiritual pilgrimage of the soul to the Brahmaloka. The first thing which happens is that his function of speech merges into mind. Then gradually the functions of all the organs merge into mind.
Then the mind itself merges into prana. Then the prana merges into indiuidual soul. After this the soul of the knower of the Lord enters the nerve susmna and then goes out of the body and takes the path of gods. The complete enumeration of the stages of the path of gods is mentioned by Svami Vireshvarananda as follows.
"First the dilty of the flame of the flame of firre, then the deity of the day, the deity of the bright half of the month, the deities of the six months when the sun travels to the north, the deity of the year, the deity of the world of gods, the deity of the air, the sun, the moon, the deity of lightning, the world of Varuna, the world of Indra, the world of Prajapati and finally to Brahmaloka.
The soul in the state of liberation merges into Brahman but even there does not lose its individuality. (But for Sankara this is only a vyavaharika satya, paramarthick satya is that the question of merging does not at all arise. It simply realizes itself as non different from Brahman).
It enjoys fellowship with the Brahman. It becomes satya-sankalpa, i.e. it can get anything by simply desiring that thing if it desires the world of fathers by its mere desire they come to it. It is the master of itself. It can have or not the body at its won discretion. If it wishes, it can create many bodies for the sake of enjoyments at the same time.
It can share in all the powers of the Lord except the powers relation to creation etc. of the universe and imparting grace. Thus the soul does not become purely identical only to the enjoyments and not with regard to the powers. Once the soul has reached the world of Brahman, it should not fear that it will have to come again to this world.
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