The
especial contribution of Sankaradeva was the determination of the supreme
brahman. Mankind’s search for the ultimate fount of consciousness has been an
illusory one. Dark matter and dark energy, despite all their massive,
overwhelming nature, falls in the category of dead substance. There is one word in the philosophy of Sankaradeva
which captures within itself all the implications of dead substance; it is thus extremely profound in its meaning. This
word is “jada” which could stand for
unconscious, unfeeling, non-sentient,
substance.
Sankaradeva
had said that the gods and goddesses fall in the category of “jada;” they are
unfeeling, non-perceiving (material) “personalities;” they appear to be
conscious only due to the conscious influence of the supreme spiritual
personality (the supreme brahman). They cannot talk, do, feel, etc. They cannot
do any of these things but appear to do these only because they are animated by the conscious power of the
supreme brahman. In other words, their consciousness is only of a procedural
nature; it is not true, subjective consciousness.
