Commentary on the text “Sutra. The Questions of Milinda. Book Three. Question Ten. On Nirvana”
“Venerable Nagasena, you use the word Nirvana, but is it possible to describe the shape, appearance, age, or dimensions of this Nirvana by means of any comparison, argument, cause, or basis?
Nirvana is incomparable to anything, Your Majesty. Therefore, it is impossible to describe its shape, appearance, age, or dimensions by means of any comparison, argument, cause, or basis whatsoever.”
Nirvana as the Goal of the Spiritual Path
Nirvana is synonymous with Brahman, the state of Turiya or Turiyatita; that is, it is our goal. When you meditate, you ascend to the first dhyana and your consciousness begins to become approximately equal to that of the gods of the Kama-loka realm. Then you ascend to the second dhyana and the third dhyana, and your consciousness becomes equal to that of the gods of Svarga-loka and Mahar-loka. Then you ascend to the level of the fourth dhyana and your consciousness becomes equal to that of the gods of Jana-loka. Then you ascend to the fifth and sixth dhyanas, the level of infinite space, and your consciousness becomes equal to that of those gods. Nirvana lies further beyond: it is the seventh, the eighth, that which lies at the eighth level and beyond. That is, it is the primordial Light itself, the nondual Brahman itself.
In the Buddhist classification, Nirvana is usually associated more closely with emptiness (Shunya). The Vedantic classification also includes the concepts of Brahma-nirvana and Shunyata, which are described in certain sutras and agamas. However, they are not emphasized, since Shunya is only one aspect of the Absolute. Brahman has many aspects, and to say that Brahman is nothing but emptiness is like saying that a certain monk is someone who wears a gray kurta. Besides wearing a gray kurta, he has brown eyes, knows the Mandukya Karika, can sit in padmasana for an hour, dances well, is a chess champion, and belongs to the Kshatriya instructors’ mandala. He has many qualities, and it is not entirely correct to say that this novice or monk is merely someone who wears a kurta. That is only one part of his qualities. Such is the Vedantic tradition’s view of emptiness.
Nevertheless, the concept of emptiness, the Void, and Nirvana is a legitimate term in Vedantic philosophy. That is, it is not a term borrowed from Buddhist philosophy; it is a legitimate term of its own, native to it. There is even an article on this subject by a scholar of Oriental and Indian studies. The Hindus who listened to him while adhering to the views of Dvaita and Vishishta-dvaita were greatly surprised. But those who adhere to the view of Advaita had no reason to be surprised: for them, it is a common, native, and natural concept.
Nirvana in Various Philosophical Schools
