Philosophy:Ananyata

From HandWiki

Ananyatā (Sanskrit:अनन्यता) means – 'having no equal', 'matchless', 'peerless', 'identity', 'sameness' [1] It is a form of devotion in which the devotee is solely dependent on God. Ananyata is the doctrine that makes no distinction between God and the Atman.[2]

Narada Bhakti Sutras No. IX and X read as follows :- [3]

तस्मिन्ननन्यता तद्विरोधिशूदासीनता च |
" Inner stillness, furthermore, requires a single-hearted intention, and disinterest in what is antagonistic to spiritual devotion. "
अन्याश्रयाणां त्यागोऽनन्यता |
" When one is single-hearted, one relinquishes seeking security in anything other than God. "

With these words Nārada explains ananyatā as the state in which the mind of the devotee does not waver or goes astray, remains one-pointed ever steady in the contemplation of God to the exclusion of everything else, in that state everything is envisioned in God as His cosmic play.[4]

For the Advaita Vedantists, ananyatā means absolute oneness or non-otherness of the individual self (Jiva) and the Universal Self (Brahman), the absolute height of enlightenment, atmaikatya which is the absolute identity of the phenomenal selves with the Supreme Self.[5]

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