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Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com)

 

Liberation must be attained in this birth

 

CHENNAI, SEPT. 13. The state of Self- realisation and its

outcome, liberation from rebirths, is not to be attained after

worldly life and must be realised here and now. Human birth is

due to the fructification of Karma that has started giving result

and the body-mind personality acquired by the soul in bondage is

a consequence of this Karma. When a person attains Self-

realisation, all the Karma acquired during his countless births

get annihilated, which is the reason he is liberated from

rebirth, but the Karma which has resulted in this particular

birth comes to an end only at the end of this life.

 

This is the reason why great saints continue to live in the world

like other human beings, but from the point of view of the

liberated person this does not matter to him because he is poised

in the Self (Atman). In tune with the infinite, oblivious to the

circumstances of his life, he continues to be involved actively

though he is always in communion with the Self. This is similar

to a dancer who balances several pots, one on top of the other,

on her head. She keeps to the rhythm and gesticulates according

to the emotions conveyed by the song but her concentration on the

pots to retain her balance never wavers even for a moment. The

mind of a man of Self-realisation revels in the bliss of the Self

and hence does not get distracted by worldly preoccupations.

 

In his discourse, Sri Goda Venketeswara Sastrigal said the life

and actions of each realised person differed due to the nature of

the Karma which determined his birth. The differences observed in

living memory were the lives and behaviour of two great saints

who were contemporaries - Ramana Maharishi and Seshadri Swami.

The Bhagavata Purana's description of Jadabharata's life gives

insight into the lives of the Self-realised. Adi Sankara's hymn,

Jivanmuktanandalahari, describes the state of realisation (Mukti)

and the experiences of such a person. This philosopher-saint has

composed numerous works in different genres - independent texts,

commentaries and hymns.

 

The uniqueness of this hymn is the subject it deals with - the

state of Self-realisation. While the means to liberation are

treated at length in the majority of the texts, in this hymn

Sankara focusses totally on the spiritual goal - Self-

realisation. This hymn has been interpreted by scholars as the

quintessence of the section dealing with the state of liberation

in his commentary on the Brahmasutra, composed for the benefit of

the lay people who can by reciting it aspire to the state

described therein.

 

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