What are the meanings of Saalokya, Saamiipya, Saaruupya and Saayujya?

Swami Replied:- Sālokya:- This means that yourself and God are in the same world, which is Bhuloka or this earth in loose sense. This means that you need not go to the upper world to find God, because God is in human form here itself. You need not do lifelong severe penance to find out God as energetic incarnation when you can easily find the human incarnation of God with your naked eyes very easily here itself.

Sāmīpya:- This means becoming close to God by proving your theoretical love (Bhakti yoga) in the form of practical love (Karma yoga). As you prove your devotion or bhakti, more and more, you will be coming near and near to God.

Sārūpya:- As you become a near and dear devotee of God through practical devotion, you will like to follow certain similarities of the human incarnation in your dress code, decoration code etc. For example, if you are a near and dear devotee of God Datta, you will like to wear the color of the dress of God Datta, which is Kaashaaya or orange color. Similarly, you will try to put the mark on your forehead that is existing on the forehead of God Datta. Such Datta tilakam (mark on the forehead of God Datta) is to put a small horizontal strip of sacred ash (representing God Shiva), then putting a small round circle of sandalwood paste (representing God Brahmā) and above the circle, putting a small vertical line of the red kumkuma powder (representing God Vishnu).

Sāyujya:- This is the final step of becoming very very close to God and you will be the topmost closest devotee of God so that God behaves like your servant due to the influence of your real love to Him.

All the above four steps belong to Vishishtaadvaitam of Raamaanuja. The only step in the Advaita philosophy of Shankara is Kaivalyam:- in which the soul becomes one with God by full merge and in the case of a human incarnation, God fully merges with the selected soul to become one with the soul. In the Dvaita philosophy of Madhva, the soul is always separate from God doing the service of God without aspiration for any type of fruit in return.

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