Sri Ramanujacharya, the teacher of Visishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism), following Upanishads, says that reality (Brahman) is of the nature of bliss but differs from Adi Shankaracharya. He holds that this bliss is not Brahman itself but is one of its attributes. There is no such thing as attributeless Brahman or reality.
The individual selves, however, experience worldly pleasure
or pain in accordance with their own stock of good or bad conduct, which in their
turn result from conjunction with a physical body. This goes on until release,
which is a blissful and beatific state.
The counterpart of Visishtadvaita philosophy speaks of the
immense joy of the mystic union with God. Manavala Mamuni, one of the greatest
Vaishnava saints and teachers, exclaims, “The joy that arises from the worldly
objects for the ungodly, wells up in the same degree for the godly man. The
intensity is the same in both but with opposite results (Dramidopanishad –
Sangati). They mystic devotee cries to God as if he were mad with sensual love
(kamuka vakya bhangi). This is conventionally termed bridal mysticism.
God is the only bridegroom and all others are brides, pining
away in separation. Devotion has four aspects –
- The intense love for god
- The pain of separation
- The ecstasy of union
- The enjoyment of divine bliss
For this beloved of God, there is neither scripture, nor any
regiment (naiva sastram na ca kramah).
Devotion, according to Ramanuja, is the royal road to
release. The bliss that is the natural endowment of every self obscured by bondage
to a body manifests itself fully in release. And this bliss is also at the same
time the unexcellable enjoyment of God (niratisaya bhoga). In a rather popular
imagery, the heaven is picturized as a paradise of unexcelled joys.