Dharmādharma-vivarjitā धर्माधर्म-विवर्जिता (255)

She is above dharma and a-dharma.  Dharma is the result of good acts and a-dharma arises out of evil acts.  Accrual of sins is the result of adharma.  It is argued whether an action is dharma or adharma depends upon the type of job one undertakes.  For example, a hangman executing a convict is not adharma and on the other hand an ordinary citizen commits a murder amounts to adharma.  Generally, dharma is what is preached by scriptures.  It may also be argued that dharma and adharma are the cause arising out of the three guṇa-s.  She is beyond guṇa-s; hence, these do not apply to Her. 

There is another interpretation for dharma, religious abstraction, causing bondage.  Opposite to bondage is liberation.  Bondage and liberation are only for souls and not for the Brahman, as Brahman is the embodiment of absolute purity.  Here, Her Brahman form is referred.   The ultimate Reality is the situation, where there is no bondage and desire.  Desire to attain liberation is also bondage.  If one has absolute faith in Her, he should not even aspire for anything, including liberation.  She knows what to give and when. 

There is a difference between mukti (final liberation) and mokṣā.  Liberation means that a soul will have no more re-births. But, mokṣā refers to a soul going to Heaven for sojourn to be reborn again.  It is the transmigration of the soul.  This means that the soul is not ripe enough for absorption into the Brahman due to its karmic account.  This aspect is discussed with more details subsequently.

Viśvarūpā विश्वरूपा (256)

Beginning from this nāma, next 19 nāma-s till 274 talk about the difference between the soul and the Brahman.

Viśvarūpā means omnipresent.  This nāma discusses the manifold nature of the Brahman. The omnipresence is the unique nature of the Brahman.  The creation of the universe was discussed in nāma 250.  The Brahman has different forms and shapes as the Brahman exists in every living and non-living being in this universe.  In the case of non-living beings, they do not have souls and hence no action takes place on their own.  There is no place in the universe, where the Brahman does not exist.  The creation takes place first in the form of total darkness.  From this darkness intellect arises.  From intellect the ego and this ego gives rise to the modifications of the five elements which ultimately creates lives in this universe.  This universe is manifested through three different factors viz. gross, subtle and casual which give rise to vaiśvānarā, hiraṇyagarbha and Īśvarā.  These three exist in three stages of a human life awake, dream and deep sleep.  Scriptures accept only creation, sustenance, and destruction.  But tantra śāstrās talk about additional two acts of the Brahman tirodhāna and anugraha (details of these two acts are discussed in nāma-s 270 and 273.  For basic information, please refer nāma-s 249 and 250) corresponding to additional two stages viz. turya and turyātīta.  Turya is the transcendental stage.   The consciousness transcending the turya stage becomes devoid of duality. In the next and the ultimate stage the consciousness further gets purified and merges into the Supreme Self.  This state of consciousness is called turyātīta.  The union of soul with the Brahman takes place here and finally gets bonded in kaivalya, the ultimate state. The journey of the soul stops here and it ceases to exist.  One has to take efforts to have such a union and it does not happen automatically like the first three stages of sleep, dream and deep sleep.  The vaiśvānarā, hiraṇyagarbha, and Īśvarā are the three Gods, Brahma, Viṣṇu and Rudra.  They are popularly known as the lords of creation, sustenance and contraction.    Generally, one is aware of the first two stages viz. awake and dream stages.  In the third stage of deep sleep none is aware of what is happening around, the stage of unconsciousness.  A yogi can reach the other two stages, as he knows consciously that he is Śiva himself.  Śiva Sūtra (III.25) says, “Śiva-tulyo jāyate”, which means ‘that yogi becomes like Śiva.’  When his consciousness realizes the Brahman, the effects of his karmas wither from him and he reaches a stage where there is neither happiness nor sorrow.  When the mind ceases to think or when the mind disassociates from the sensory organs such a stage is attained.  Only in this stage, Viśvarūpa is realized.  She is the Viśvarūpa, the omnipresent.

In Bhagavad Gīta (XI.16), Arjuna addresses Kṛṣṇa, “Oh! Lord of the universe, I see you endowed with numerous arms, bellies, mouths and eyes and having innumerable forms extended on all sides.  I see neither your beginning, nor middle and nor even your end, manifested as you are in the form of universe.”  Viśvarūpā is used here to mean Kṛṣṇa’s manifestation in the form of whole universe.