Acharya Vaani
shrImadAnandatIrthArya mukhanissR^itaM
tAratamyaM phale no cedbrahmAdInAM kathaM shrutiH |
avR^ijino.akAmahata iti muktiM nigadya ca |
AnandatAratamyaM ca teShAM brUyAt pR^ithak pR^ithak || AV 3.4.4
Our scriptures say that there is a gradation in the bliss in the state of liberation. Some disagree to this. To them we ask - if the scriptures do not intend to propound the gradation in bliss then why does the bR^ihadAraNyaka shruti ‘sa yo ha vai manuShyANAM raddhaH … atha ye shataM manuShyANAmAnandAH sa eka pitR^INAM jitalokAnAM AnandaH‘ 6.3.33 and the taittiriya shruti ‘saishA.andasya mImAmsA bhavati … te ye shataM mAnuShA AnandAH sa eko manuShyagandharvANAmAnandaH shrotriyasya cAkAmahatasya … te ye shataM prajApaterAnandAH sa eko brahmaNa AnandaH‘ 2.17-20 talk about the gradation in bliss among brahma and others?
One cannot say that advocating gradation is not the real intention of the shruti. That would have been the case if the shruti talks about the gradation in general. The shruti explicitly names each person and says that the one superior to him has 100 times his bliss. It would not have gone into such detail if it has no intentions to prescribe gradation. This is enough proof to conclude that advocating gradation is definitely the real purport of the shruti. Hence it is incorrect to say that there is no gradation in bliss in the state of liberation.
