Jiivan Mukti

[Guest guest]

What is the definition of Jiivan Mukti in Gaudiiya Vaishnava

philosophy?

 

What is the stage of the jiivan mukta - is he on the bhaava platform

or the prema platform?

 

What are some scriptural quotes that describe the jiivan mukta?

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna

Please accept my humble obesiances unto your lotus feet

 

achintya, "krishnasusarla" <krishna@a...> wrote:

> What is the definition of Jiivan Mukti in Gaudiiya Vaishnava

> philosophy?

 

By loving God the soul automatically attains mukti (liberation);

conversely, by not loving God the soul comes under the maya-shakti.

There are two kinds of liberation -- jivanmukti and videhamukti.

Jivanmukti is attained even before the demise of the physical body.

When the embodied soul dedicates all his activities to God as an

offering of love, he is freed from the bondage of karma. After death

he attains videhamukti, an eternal situation of devotional service

within the realm of svarupa-shakti, the divine energy. Videhamukti is

described in Chandogya Upanisad 8.12.3: "Thus does that serene being,

arising from his last body, appear his own form, having come to the

highest light by the grace of Supreme Person. The liberated soul

moves about there laughing, playing and rejoicing, in the company of

women, vehicles and other liberated souls."

[source: www.iskcon.org]

 

 

 

By flooding the senses with eternal nectar from the original, pure

source of pleasure -- God Himself -- love of Krishna completely

liberates the devotee from attraction to temporary material sense

pleasures. Thus the consciousness of the soul completely takes

shelter of its original position as an eternal associate of the Lord

in the spiritual world. As long as he or she still possesses a

physical body, the fully Krishna conscious devotee is called jivan-

mukta, liberated while still within the material world. When he or

she gives up the physical body, the fully Krishna conscious devotee

remains forever with Krishna in the spiritual world. This is videha-

mukti, liberation that transcends the material world altogether.

According to the kind of rasa achieved, the soul in liberation

displays a spiritual form as Krishna's eternal servant, friend,

parent or conjugal lover. Just as our present material body permits

us to engage in karma (physical activities), so the spiritual rasa-

body permits us to engage in lila (Krishna's endlessly expanding

spiritual activities).

[source: http://www.geocities.com/krisnossamone/hinduism.htm#9]

 

 

 

 

> What is the stage of the jiivan mukta - is he on the bhaava

platform

> or the prema platform?

 

This can be known from above.

 

> What are some scriptural quotes that describe the jiivan mukta ?

 

He[jivan-mukta] exclaims in joyous words:

 

"O, wonderful! O, wonderful! O, wonderful! I am food! I am food! I am

food! I am a food-eater! I am a food-eater! I am a food-eater!....I

am the first-born!.... Earlier than gods, I am the root of

immortality!....I, who am food, eat the eater of food! I have

overcome the whole universe!" --Taitt. Up., III. 10. 6.

 

"He enjoys as the Lord of the universe." He is the "Seer who sees no

death, nor sickness, nor any distress, the Seer who sees only the

All, and obtains the All entirely" (Chh. Up., VII. 26. 2).

 

"As the slough of a snake lies dead and cast off on an ant-hill, even

so lies this body (of a Jivanmukta). But this incorporeal, immortal

Life-Principle is Brahman alone, the Light alone." --Brih. Up.,

IV.4.7.

 

"He does not desire, he has no desire, he is freed from desire, his

desire is satisfied, his desire is the Self" (Brih. Up., IV.4.6).

 

"He is the greatest among the knowers of Brahman" (Mund. Up., II.1.4).

 

"Him these two do not overpower--neither the thought 'therefore I did

wrong', nor the thought 'therefore I did right'. He overcomes them

both. Neither what he has done, nor what he has not done does affect

him.This eternal greatness of the Brahmana is not increased or

decreased by actions.He sees the Self in the Self and sees

everything as the Self. Evil does not overcome him; on the other hand

he overcomes all evil. Evil does not burn him; on the other hand he

burns all evil" (Brih. Up., IV. 4. 22, 23 ).

 

These are few scriptural quotations i have pulled out from a website

http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/disc/disc_41b.html

 

 

However Dvaitins don't agree with the concept of Jivan-mukti.

 

Why does Tattvavada deny jivan-mukti?

 

Because a mukta, or liberated person, should not even be physically

present in the material universe, unlike the un-liberated. A person

who is living in the world cannot be said to be free of sorrow born

of material contact, and also cannot be said to experience the joy of

his own nature at all times. The very act of living in a gross

material body entails things such as eating, sleeping, pleasure and

pain, etc., which cannot be accepted in a mukta.

[source : Dvaita FAQ]

 

 

Your Servant Always

OM TAT SAT

Sumeet.

[Guest guest]

On Tue, 14 May 2002, sumeet1981 wrote:

> achintya, "krishnasusarla" <krishna@a...> wrote:

> > What are some scriptural quotes that describe the jiivan mukta ?

 

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses various aspects of mukti in

his Dasa-mula; I haven't looked for refernces on jivan-mukti in particular

there. Srila Rupa Gosvami defines it as follows (BhRS 1.2.187):

 

iha yasya harer dasye

karmana manasa gira

nikhilasv apy avasthasu

jivan-mukta sa ucyate

 

"Anyone who, by his actions, mind and words, lives only for the

transcendental loving service of the Lord, is certainly a liberated soul,

even though he may appear to be in a condition of material existence."

 

MDd

[Guest guest]

> iha yasya harer dasye

> karmana manasa gira

> nikhilasv apy avasthasu

> jivan-mukta sa ucyate

>

> "Anyone who, by his actions, mind and words, lives only for the

> transcendental loving service of the Lord, is certainly a liberated

soul,

> even though he may appear to be in a condition of material existence."

 

Thanks for the quote. Is such a person still in a material body, or is

the material body "spiritualized" (like a rod takes on the qualities of

fire when placed in fire), or is his body actually spiritual?

 

What stage of bhakti is he on, the stage of bhaava or prema?

 

Are there any mainstream scriptures (like the Bhaagavatam), that

describe this stage of liberation?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

- K

[Guest guest]

On Wed, 15 May 2002, Krishna Susarla wrote:

> > iha yasya harer dasye

> > karmana manasa gira

> > nikhilasv apy avasthasu

> > jivan-mukta sa ucyate

> > "Anyone who, by his actions, mind and words, lives only for the

> > transcendental loving service of the Lord, is certainly a liberated

> soul, even though he may appear to be in a condition of material existence."

>

> Thanks for the quote. Is such a person still in a material body, or is

> the material body "spiritualized" (like a rod takes on the qualities of

> fire when placed in fire), or is his body actually spiritual?

 

Strictly speaking, I would say the last two--practically speaking,

all three. At least in certain cases, it becomes difficult to distinguish

"spirit" from "matter." The Deity and the bonafide guru are two good

examples. Devotees aren't allowed to see the body of either one of them

as matter. Srila Prabhupada's purport to Bhagavata 8.3.2 gives a very clear

instruction about this; so does that on 3.3.10:

 

"Iha yasya harer dasye: regardless of where he is situated, anyone

whose only aim is to serve the Supreme Lord under the direction of the

spiritual master is called jivan-mukta, or one who is liberated even with

his material body. Sometimes doubts arise in the minds of neophytes about

whether or not the spiritual master is liberated, and sometimes neophytes

are doubtful about the bodily affairs of the spiritual master. The point

of liberation, however, is not to see the bodily symptoms of the spiritual

master."

 

 

 

> Are there any mainstream scriptures (like the Bhaagavatam), that

> describe this stage of liberation?

 

The problem is that they aren't always very explicit. In his

(unpublished) commentary on Brahma-samhita, H.H. Tamala Krsna Gosvami

discussed various siddha states to some degree. A favorite reference for

this is Bhagavata 2.6.10, though that text itself only implies these.

Srila Prabhupada also translates the verse as "after" giving up the

material bodies, while those bodies may be what we need to define, first.

I'm sorry I don't have time to discuss it further now, but again, Dasa-mula

may be a good place to look for the kind of references it seems you want.

I hope this helps. Hare Krsna.

 

MDd