Vedanta

kutracitkAminaH puMsaH kAmAbhAvAtkvacitkvacit .

indrAdisukhabhogo.astItyanubhUtirhi kupyati

tasmAdamuktasukhagaM tAratamyaM pR^ithak pr^ithak .

uktvA yascheti muktAnAM tAratamyaM sukhe shrutiH .

aheti peshalam ..A.V.. 3.4.4

Some say - in the taittiriya shruti passage ‘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 and the passage “shrotriyo.avR^ijino.akAmahata” the words akAmahata, avR^ijina etc do not refer to a liberated person. Neither do they refer to manushyagandharvAs. But they refer to persons, who do not desire the position of Manushya Gandharvas. Such a person also enjoys bliss equal to that of a Manushya Gandharvas.

To this we reply - If this is so, one who does not desire the position of Indra, but desires some other position might enjoy the bliss equal to that of Indra. But, this is against common sense. Does a person, by merely not desiring the kingdom, get the same enjoyment as that of the king? So, this argument does not hold any waters.

The essence of this episode, therefore, is that though the soul’s intrinsic nature is that of pure bliss, he is not able to realize it because of his desires, anger etc. The more he is able to reduce his desires the more bliss he experiences. There is a definetly a gradation in bliss among different souls in this saMsAra. And there is also gradation of bliss in the state of liberation among different categories of souls.