Category:Desiring to Merge
Theme Analysis
The compiled quotes on Desiring to Merge expose the philosophical danger of sāyujya-mukti, or liberation via merging into the existence of the Absolute. While often celebrated by impersonalists and jñānīs as the ultimate goal, Śrīla Prabhupāda strictly classifies this desire as "spiritual suicide." He explains that because the soul is eternally individual, the attempt to annihilate this individuality is an act of violence against one's own nature. Furthermore, this desire is identified as the "subtlest type of atheism" and a disguised form of material sense gratification—where the frustrated enjoyer, having failed to lord over the material world, now seeks to become the Supreme Lord Himself. Pure devotees, therefore, reject this merging entirely, preferring to maintain their separate identities to render eternal loving service to Kṛṣṇa.
- Spiritual Suicide: The desire to lose one's individuality and merge into the Brahman effulgence is equated to self-annihilation, as it denies the soul's eternal function of service.
- Subtle Atheism: This ambition is described as the subtlest form of atheism because, under the dress of liberation, it denies the personality of God and the eternal relationship between the Lord and the servitor.
- Disguised Materialism: The impulse to merge often stems from frustration with material suffering; rather than a genuine spiritual pursuit, it is a desperate attempt to become the Supreme (like a drop wanting to become the ocean) to avoid further misery.
- The Devotee's Rejection: Great souls like Mahārāja Pṛthu and the Gopīs explicitly reject such liberation, valuing the opportunity to hear about and serve Kṛṣṇa far above the "peace" of non-dual existence.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Spiritual Suicide - Desiring to Merge.
Pages in category "Desiring to Merge"
The following 32 pages are in this category, out of 32 total.
A
- Above them (those who desire to merge into the Supreme Spirit Soul) are the mystic yogis, who by meditation see within their hearts the four-handed Visnu form of the Paramatma, or Supersoul
- After accepting sannyasa, Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to reach Vrndavana. He was unlike the Mayavadi sannyasis, who desire to merge into the existence of the Absolute
- After being baffled in his material enjoyment, the impersonalist may desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, but a pure devotee of the Lord has no such desire. Therefore a pure devotee is really bhagavad-dharmi
- All the cowherd boys used to play with Krsna, who is the source of the Brahman effulgence for jnanis desiring to merge into that effulgence, and who for ordinary persons is but another ordinary child - SB 10.12-7-11
- As far as fruitive activity is concerned, the contamination is the desire for elevation to a higher standard of life, and for speculative knowledge the contamination is the desire to merge into the existence of the Absolute Truth
- As they (the impersonalists) desire, they are allowed to merge in the spiritual effulgence emanating from the transcendental body of the Lord
D
M
- Mayavadi philosophers desire to merge into the existence of the Brahman effulgence, although this aspect of liberation is always neglected by devotees
- Mundane religiosities, economic development, sense gratification and ultimately a frustrated man's desire to merge in the impersonal feature of Godhead and all similar other things are completely thrown away from the transcendental literature of SB
T
- That (that Prthu does not desire to merge with God's existence) is made clear in this verse (SB 4.20.24): "My dear Lord, I do not want such a benediction." Maharaja Prthu wanted to have a million ears to hear the glories of the lotus feet of the Lord
- The ambitious Mayavadi philosophers desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, and this may be accepted as sayujya-mukti. However, this form of mukti means denying one’s individual existence. In other words, it is a kind of spiritual suicide
- The desire of the impersonalist to merge into the existence of Brahman is also material because such an impersonalist wants to gratify his senses by merging into the existence of Krsna instead of serving His lotus feet
- The desire to merge into the impersonal Brahman is the subtlest type of atheism. As soon as such atheism, disguised in the dress of liberation, is encouraged, one becomes completely unable to traverse the path of devotional service to the SP of Godhead
- The gopis are certainly better situated than all mystic yogis and others who desire to merge into the Supreme Brahman. The sages of Dandakaranya also follow in the footsteps of the damsels of Vraja in order to attain a similar position
- The impersonalists desire to merge into the existence of the supreme, but without keeping their individuality they have no chance of hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord
- The impersonalists desire to merge into the spiritual existence, to end their individual existence, but according to Srimad-Bhagavatam, mukti is only the beginning of one's becoming situated in his normal condition
- The Mayavada philosophy and impersonalist philosophy is that they want to close their individual identity and merge into the existence of the Supreme
- The Mayavadis are attracted to merging into the existence of the Lord, but Krsna is more attractive than the desire to merge
- The mental speculators desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, or to become one with the Lord, whereas the devotees of the Lord desire to keep separate identities and constantly engage in the service of the Lord
- The moksa-kami wants to achieve liberation by merging into the existence of the Supreme Brahman, and because of this desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is not yet pure
- They (those who desire to merge into the existence of God) have no information about serving the lotus feet of the Lord. Consequently, they are doomed to stand like trees for many thousands of years. Although trees are living entities, they are nonmoving
- They also engage in Krsna's devotional service and give up the desire for liberation and the desire to merge into the existence of impersonal Brahman
- This desire, that I shall merge into the existence of God, just like the example is given that, "I am drop of water. Now I shall merge into the big ocean. Therefore I shall become ocean." This example is generally given by the Mayavadi philosophers
- Those who understand simply that the living being is not matter but spirit soul and who desire to merge into the Supreme Spirit Soul are in the lowest transcendental position
- To become a religious person, to become economically very well-to-do, or to become a salvationist, desiring to merge into the existence, to become one with God, these things are not, I mean to say, very satisfactory to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
W
- Whatever they desire for the future will be baffled. Even if they apparently engage in devotional service, they are described as moghasah because they ultimately desire to merge into the Brahman effulgence
- When people become interested in sense gratification, some of them desire to be liberated & merge into the existence of Brahman & others want to perform magic through mystic power & become incarnations of God. These are all against the principles of DS
- Within his heart, Ramadasa Visvasa was an impersonalist who desired to merge into the existence of the Lord, and he was very proud of his learning