- Author : Krishna Sakha
- Translator : Lakshmi
“Oh King! Just like a ship is to cross the ocean, knowledge about God is the only means to cross the ocean of life. You are unaware of this.”
ēkamēvādvitīyaṁ tadyadrājannāvabudhyasē |
satyaṁ svargasya sōpānaṁ pārāvārasya nauriva ||
— ( mahābhārata – viduranīti )
This is a very significant philosophical matter, which has deviated the thoughts of many speculators. Vidura’s quote “ēkamēvādvitīyaṁ”, mentioned above, would most likely get misunderstood upon a cursory glance. With a little sincere thinking the true meaning would unfold.
“ēkamēvādvitīyaṁ” means only One. This apparently means that a second One does not exist. However, saying this does not imply that everything else is false/ illusional. Consider giving this a little thought. If God alone was the truth and the rest an illusion, if everything other than Brahma (God) were illusions, could it not have been enough to just say “ēkamēva”? What was the need to say that there is no second (“advitīyaṁ”)?
So what does this statement actually mean? Acharya Madhwa has clarified this philosophical matter in numerous ways. “ēkamēva” means Omnipotent (ēṣa ēva karōtīti ēkaḥ) God. “advitīyaṁ” means that there is nothing equal to this God, at all. However, this does not imply that the remaining are false. It just means that the rest are under the control of the omnipotent Lord. This is the fact of the matter. This is the meaning behind the philosophical thought “ēkamēvādvitīyaṁ”.
Vidura says to Dhritarashtra, “Look Dhritarashtra! The Omnipotent Supreme Truth has descended on the Earth in the form of SriKrishna and has taken the Pandavas side. Having forgotten this, all of you have lost your ways. Your children are utmost fools. At least you try to understand this. There is no way to attain liberation other than by worshipping Him and knowing about Him”
Politics that does not have belief in God can never prosper. This is the integral meaning of Vidura’s advice. Ultimately this is what happened too.
The theory “jñānēnaiva paraṁ padam” is obvious here.
