WAYS OF SALVATION IN VEDANTA AND BUDDHISM

There are three ways of salvation in Hinduism (Vedanta).  Karma Marga or the Way of Works, Jnana Marga or the Way of Knowledge, and Bhakti Marga or the Way of Devotion.

The Way of Works is a quite old way, and though it is held in least regard by Hindu philosophers, it is followed by a vast majority of the people.  It has the triple advantage of being practical, of being understandable, and of enjoying the sanctity of age-old custom.  Not particularly emotional, and even less so intellectual, it is simply a methodical and hopeful carrying out of rites, ceremonies, and duties that add to one's merit, i.e. favorable karma.

With the Way of Works, the belief is that by sacrificing to the gods, and to one's ancestors, by revering the rising sun, by keeping the sacred hearth fire alight, and by performing impeccably the rites and ceremonies that are appropriate at a birth, a death, a marriage, or a harvest, a person can acquire enough merit to pass at death into one of the heavens.  Or a person will be reborn as a Brahmin with a real predisposition toward achieving final union with the Absolute, Brahman.

The Way of Knowledge, on the other hand, holds that salvation is based on the reasoning in the Upanishads.  The premise is that the cause of human misery and evil is Ignorance, called avidya.  This is to say that man is so deeply ignorant about his own nature that all his actions have the wrong orientation.  Not moral transgression, then, but mental error is the root of human suffering and evil.

However, there is considerable disagreement in the Way of Knowledge as to what constitutes the mental error in the Ignorance.  The best known view, that which is found in the Upanishads, is that man's troubles stem from his persistence in his seeing himself as a real and separate self, when such is not the fact.

The truth is that Brahman-Atman is the sole real being, in whose unity there exists no duality; man is in reality Brahman-Atman, not a separate being.  Furthermore, all created things, all the "appearances" which commonsense accepts as being exactly as they seem, are also Brahman-Atman.  They all have reality, but it is the reality of Brahman-Atman.  Knowing this with certitude is the objective of the Way of Knowledge, and it comes typically by an ecstatic flash in the midst of deep meditation.  For it to occur requires long preparation and self-discipline, i.e. rigorous spiritual practice, called sadhana, which is the approach of Vedanta.

The Way of Devotion is defined, meanwhile, as "ardent and hopeful devotion to a particular deity in grateful recognition of aid received or promised."  It often assumes the form of an intense love of the deity, whether god or goddess.  It is characterized by surrender of self to the divine being and acts of devotion in temple worship and in private life and thought.

The Way of Devotion emerged at a comparatively late period, but it brought with it a sense of ancient faith.  From primitive times the common person sought the favor of gods and goddesses and could not be made to believe that devotion to deities did not bring salvation.  

Experience suggested that the world was filled with powers greater than the individual from whom saving-help may come.  Those following this path have nothing against those choosing the Way of Knowledge, or, for that matter, the Way of Works.  Indeed there are those who incorporate some of all the paths in their spiritual practice.

By contrast, Buddhism teaches that a person's salvation depends upon himself, upon his own powers, following a set, psychological prescription that the Buddha put forth.  It especially rejects the Way of Devotion.  It agrees that the universe abounds in gods, goddesses, demons and other nonhuman powers and agencies, but without exception, these beings, like humans, are subject to death and rebirth. 

Praying to these other beings therefore, is to no avail.  For similar reasons Buddhism dismisses the performance of rituals, as in the Way of Works.  Nor does it accept going to the Brahmins as priests.  And insofar as it is speculative philosophy and only speculative philosophy, the Way of Knowledge is similarly rejected.  All one needs to save oneself is oneself.