Self Enquiry-Sri Ramana

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D: What are the characteristics of the jivan-mukta (the liberated in

life) and the videha-mukta (the liberated at death)?

M: 'I am not the body; I am Brahman which is manifest as the Self. In

me who am the plenary Reality*, the world consisting of bodies etc.,

are mere appearance, like the blue of the sky'. He who has realized

the truth thus is a jivan-mukta. Yet so long as his mind has not been

resolved, there may arise some misery for him because of relation to

objects on account of prarabdha (karma which has begun to fructify

and whose result is the present body), and as the movement of mind

has not ceased there will not be also the experience of bliss. The

experience of Self is possible only for the mind that has become

subtle and unmoving as a result of prolonged meditation. He who is

thus endowed with a mind that has become subtle, and who has the

experience of the Self is called a jivan-mukta. It is the state of

jivan-mukti that is referred to as the attributeless Brahman and as

the Turiya.

When even the subtle mind gets resolved, and experience of self

ceases, and when one is immersed in the ocean of bliss and has become

one with it without any differentiated existence, one is called a

videha-mukta. It is the state of videha-mukti that is referred to as

the transcendent attributeless Brahman and as the transcendent

Turiya. This is the final goal. Because of the grades in misery and

happiness, the released ones, the jivan-muktas and videha-muktas, may

be spoken of as belonging to four categories - Brahmavid, -

vara--variyan, and varishtha. But these distinctions are from the

standpoint of the others who look at them; in reality, however, there

are no distinctions in release gained through jnana.

>From NDHighlights -Self Enquiry(Vicharasangraham)

Of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi

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