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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]
References
edit- ^ V.S.Apte. The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Digital Dictionaries of South Asia. p. 75.
- ^ Encyclopedia of the Hindu World part 2. Concept Publishing. 1992. pp. 434–435. ISBN 9788170223757.
- ^ Prem Prakash (March 1998). The Yoga of Spiritual Devotion. Inner Traditions. pp. 23–25. ISBN 9781620550731.
- ^ Taoshobuddha (1965). Secrets of Bhakti. Brij Saksena. p. 24.
- ^ Shyama Kumar Chattopadhyaya (2000). The Philosophy of Sankar's Advaita Vedanta. Sarup & Sons. p. 6. ISBN 9788176252225.