Re:Life of a mukta

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SrI:

SrImatE rAmAnujAya namaH

 

Dear all,

 

SrI Hari has written a quite elaborate article on this issue

and its connection with many allied aspects. Its an excellent

one {as usual} providing many pramANas and arguments carefully

following the originals. This article {and his other ones as well}

shows the good knowledge he has in VEdAnta granthas and

he must have taken a good slice of his valuable time to prepare

this. Sometimes, aDiyEn feels as to whether he is working

something for his software firm :-).

 

Please don't miss to read this in entirety ...

 

<< Sorry for the line alignment problem >>.

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

anantapadmanAbhan.

 

Your question regarding the muktha-jeevAthma's state with reference to

his

remembrance of past karma etc is very interesting. I answer briefly as

 

follows. But before that, let me present certain points, which

discusses the

nature of mOksham, nitya-vibhUthi, prApya-sthAna-viSEsham &

pari-pUrNa-brahmAnubhavam.

 

Of the prakaraNa granthams (nyAya-pariSudhdi, nyAya sidhdAnjanam, &

thathva-mukthA-kalApam) for VedAntha Sastra, the SrI

nyAya-sidhdAnjanam of

SrIman nigamAntha mahA dESika swAmi states that " mOksha: sa cha

nirdu:kha-nirathiSayAnanda-rUpa-bhagavath-anubhavAthmaka ithi

sidhdam " .

The mOsha is free from all sorrows, which is enjoying the infinite

bliss-form

Brahman eternally. SrIman NarAyaNa: is denoted by the Brahma-Sabdam.

The

muktha enjoys the entire swarUpa-rUpa-guNa-vibhUthis of

Brahman and this is referred to as pari-pUrNa-brahmAnubhavam. The

muktha

jeevan is declared to be in the nitya-vibhUthi SrI VaikuNta parama

padam

(triguNa-dravya-vyathirikthathvE sathi sathvathvam, swayam prakASathvE

sathi

sathvathvam, thamOrahithathvE sathi sathvathvam,

niSSEshAvidyanivruththidESa-vijAtheeyAnyathvam ithyAdi tallakshaNam;

refer the

Sruthis " AadithyavarNam tamasa: parasthAth " , " thEha nAkam " ,

" kshayanthamasya

rajasa: parAke " , " yO asyAdhyaksha: paramE vyOman " , " thadaksharE paramE

 

vyOman " , " sahasra-sthUNE vimithE druDa ugrE " , " thadvishNO: paramam

padam sadA

paSyanthi sUraya: " .

 

The muktha jeevAthma experiences (enjoys) the bhagavath swarUpam,

which is

sathyathva-jgnyAnathva-ananthathva-Anandathva-amalathva-swarUpa-nirUpaka-dharma-\

viSishtam,

 

swEthara-samastha-vasthu vilakshaNam. The muktha jeevAthma also enjoys

the

bhagavath-rUpam (divya-mangaLa-vigraham) which is different from that

of

bhagavath swarUpam. Refer " kimAthmikaishA bhagavathO vyakthi: " ithi

praSnE,

" yadAthmakO bhagavAn " ithi cha sAmAnyatha uththarE kruthE, puna:

" kimAthmakO

bhagavAn " ithi praSnE " jgnyAnAthmaka: " ithyaddyutharamuktham | athO

divya-mangaLa-vigrahasya jgnyAnAthmakathvAth thadravyAthmikAyA:

sarvasyA

nitya-vibhUthE: jgnyAnAthmakathvamuchitham " . The muktha jeevAthma

enjoys the

infinite kalyANa guNas (divine attributes) of Brahman and the vibhUthi

 

iswaryams of Brahman. The muktha jeevAthma being sarvagnya: (like the

Lord)

gets to

know the Seshi's (SrIman NarAyaNa's) wishes (tiru-uLLam) and under the

 

sankalpam of Brahman, takes various Sudhda-satva-forms (rUpams) and

serves the

Lord SrIman NarAyaNa: at SrI VaikuNtam and this service is considered

as

'overflow " (parivAham) of bhagavath-anubhavam as absolute expression

of the

muktha-jeevAthma's nature which his athyantha pAratantriya viSishta

ananyArha-nirupAdika Seshathvam. The muktha-jeevAthma can also be in

pari-pUNa-brahmAnubhavam without taking a divine form.

 

The state of muthka-jeevans is clear from the following SrI sUkti

present in

the thathva-traya-chintanAdhikAram (5th chapter) of SrImath

rahasyatraya sAram

- swAmi SrIman nigamAntha mahA dESika)

 

" muktharukku neengiyuLLaril bhEdam, prathi-bandhaka nivrutjthiyAlE

AavirbhUtha-swarUparAiyurukkai. Sthithi-bhEdam pUrva-avadhiuNdAna

AavirbhAvaththukku uththarAvadhiinRikkEyirukkai. IvargaLukku anyOnyam

sthithi-bhEdam AavirbhAvaththil muRpAdupiRpAdugaLAluNDAna munbuRRa

EtRRachcurukkam; pravruthi-bhEdam anAdi-kAlam izhanthu petRRa

pari-pUrNa-bhagavatanubhava-janitha preethi-kArithamAna yathAbhimatha

kainkarya viSEshangaL… "

 

The qualities like apahatha-pApmathvam, sarvagnyathvam are in

muktha-jeevAthma.

 

The sarva-viSishta jgnyAna-iswaryAdi-viSishta bhagavath prApthi for

muktha-jeevan is clearly mentioned by the Sruthis " sarvam ha paSya:

paSyathi

sarvamApnOthi sarvaSa: " . The well known Ananda mImAmsa declares the

manushya-Anandam as " pruthvyAdi vibhUthi viSishtAnubhavam " and it

proceeds to

multiply this several times and declares " Eka

brahmANda-vibhUthi-viSishta "

chaturmukha brahmA's Aanandam. But finally, it ends up that the

incalculable

parama-Aananda-maya: is anantha-brahmANDAdi prAkrutha aprAkrutha

sarva-viSishta para-brahma-bhUtha: purushOthama: SrIman NarAyaNa:.

Further,

" sarvEshu lOkEshu kAmacharO bhavathi " , " kAmAnnee kAmarUpee

anusaNcharan "

declares that everything is bhOgyam and sarva-viSishta brahman is

niratiSaya-sukha-rUpa for muktha-jeevan and therefore, there is

nothing exists

which is not a sub-set of the " sarva " Sabdam in these Sruthi verses.

 

Now the answer for your question is explicitly given as follows:

 

The bhUma-vidyA states that " yO vai bhUmA thath sukham yathra nAnyath

paSyathi

nAnyath SruNOthi nAnyath vijAnAthi sa bhUmA " .

 

" The bhUmA is the greatest. It pervades everywhere and is

sarva-viSishtam. It

is bliss-self and thus everything. He who enjoys this, never sees

other

things… "

 

This seems to praise bhagavath-anubhavam by criticizing the lower

bliss nature of swarga etc that the muktha jeevan will not care for

swarga

etc. But, as sarva-viSishta-brahman is declared as

parama-bhOgya-vasthu for

the muktha-jeevan, everything is bhOgyam and everything is known for

the

muktha-jeevan. But a contradiction arises here - " paramAthmani yO

rakta:

viraktO-aparamAthmani " - " he who is fully devoted towards paramAthma

though

being in prAkrutha lOkam itself, has vairAgyam on mundane things " ;

when such

is the case, when the badhda-jeevan becomes muktha-jeevan, should we

consider

the leelA-vibhUthi as " bhOgyam " ? Should it not be considered " tyAjyam "

for him

instead? Yes. But as everything is prApyam, everything is declared as

" padam " .

But the parama-padam's mukyArtham is paramAthma-swarUpam. The

anubhavam of

paramAthma-swarUpam is possible only at SrI VaikuNta aprAkrutha divya

lOkam;

therefore, it is also called parama-padam. The muktha-jeevAthma

swarUpam is

also parama-padam because, its distinctness (vailakshaNyam) eternally

exists

in mukthi also and only having attained/cognized it in its absolute

pristine

form, the muktha-jeevan can do pramAthma-swarUpa-anubhavam. Though the

 

prakruthi (prAkrutha lOkam) cannot be called as parama-padam, has

" AnukUlyam "

(favorable) for muktha-jeevan and therefore, it is also called

" padam " . That

it, the prakruthi (leelA vibhUthi) which was once having prAthikUlyam

(unfavorable nature when the jeevan was badhda: in it) is now having

AnukUlyam

(when the jeevan is muktha:). Here, one must carefully comprehend the

AnukUlyam of leelA vibhUthi for muktha jeevan. This never means that

the

existence in leela vibhUthi as badhda jeevan is bliss-form. But this

just

conveys that when the sole owner (sarva-Seshi SrIman NarAyaNa:) of the

leelA

vibhUthi himself is now fully AnukUla: for muktha jeevan, the leelA

vibhUthi

which is fully under the control of the sole owner (sarva-Seshi SrIman

 

NarAyaNa:) is not going to affect the muktha-jeevan and as it is for

the leelA

rasam of bhagavAn, it is bhOgyam for the muktha jeevan also. Several

examples

are cited in SRTS to explain this with pUrva-paksha-nirasanam. SwAmi

NamAlwAr

(SrI SaThakOpa's) Tiru-vAimOzhi 4-8 ErALUm irayOnum is also cited

here.

 

The muktha-jeevan will surely be having knowledge about his past karma

etc

during his period when he was a badhda jeevAthma. His sarvagnyathvam

is

clearly established in the Brahma sUtras as explained by SrI Anand K

Karalapakkam which I refer here below:

 

<<Quote beings>>

In the abhAvAdhikaraNam (4.4.5), the last SUtra is

" svApyayasampattyOranyatarApEkshamAvishkrutam " ie. << It has

reference only

to either deep sleep Or

state of death, as explained in the context >>. As explained by

Bhagavad

RAmAnuja (BR) this sUtra answers the PUrvapakshin <Objector> who

from the

Br.Up text " PrAjn~EnA-AtmanA samparishvaktO na bAhyam ki~nchana vEda

 

nAntaram " (6.3.21) <*>, claims that when a jIvAtma attains union /

reaches

Bramhan, it loses all the knowledge of inside and outside ; Hence a

mukta

can't be a sarvajn~a {all-knower}.

<*> : JIvAtma embraced by the all-knowing Aatma does not

know what is inside and outside.

 

The SUtra states that by the context, it will not apply to a mukta's

union

with ParamAtma <refer above>.

 

In SrI-BhAshya, BR states " ....muktasya cha

sarvajn~atvam-Avishkrutam hi

srutayaH " <ie. Sruti itself states the sarvajn~atvam of a mukta> and

quotes

few texts from Ch.Up to substantiate it. A notable sentence is

" tathA

'sarvam ha paSyaH sarvamApnOti sarvaSaH' iti cha spashTamEva

sarvajn~atvamuccyatE " , ie. Through the text " The one who sees this

sees

everything ; obtains everything everywhere <Ch.Up. 7.26.2> "

sarvajn~atvam

<for a mukta> is very clearly spoken off/established.

 

The above is only about mukta's " capacity " . But a mukta will not

think about

the trivial issues like his past etc and will be immersed in

Bhagavad-anubhavam and its overflow viz.service. This is my strong

feeling

and I think that it follows logically from other pramANas on the

BramhAnubhavam. I have also confirmed

this during my kAlakshEpam few months back.

<<Quote Ends>>

 

I acknowledge the above words of our SrI Anand K Karalapakkam. I feel

that

as prakruthi is also termed " anukUlam " for the muktha-jeevan and

called as

" padam " , I feel that the muktha jeevan's knowledge about his own past

karmas

(when he was badhda) will be cognized absolutely as mere sport in

bhagavath-leela. This realization by muktha-jeevan will be absolute

and SrI

Anand K Karalapakkam's explanation " But a mukta will not think about

the

trivial issues like his past etc and will be immersed in

Bhagavad-anubhavam

and its overflow viz.service " is comprehended. I feel that only when

the

jeevan becomes sarvagnya (ie., on mukthi), he

can cognize that he was bound by anAdhi-karma -

prathi-bandaka-vargams. But he

will not care for that. This comprehension of anAdhi-karma is not

possible in

the badhda-daSa. The Smrutis also support this that the

badhda jeeva cannot recollect his past births & get to know his

load of karma fully " thAnyaham vEda sarvANi na tvam vEttha parnthapa "

 

<<Quote Begins>> (by SrI Anand K Karalapakkam)

The Sruthi says

1. " sa tatra paryEti jakshat krIDan ramamANaH sthrIbhirvA yAnairvA

jn~AtibhirvA " <Ch.Up 8.12.3> ie.

There he <mukta> enjoys Him all around; he eats, he enjoys <as per

his

wishes>, he sports with women, vehicles (chariots) or cousins.

 

2. " sa yadi pitrulOka-kAmO bhavati sa~nkalpAdEvAsya pitaraH

samuttishThanti "

<Ch.Up. 8.2.1> ie. If he <mukta> has the desire for the world of

fathers, by

his will alone fathers rise up before him

 

In the Sa~nkalpadhikaraNam (4.4.4) the first sUtra states that by

his will

alone, his desires gets fulfilled and nothing obstructs it.{Note:

Mukta's

sa~nkalpa will never be against the wishes of ParamAtma because of

its

complete realization/ knowledge}. From the next sUtra we understand

that he

is " free " and not subject to VEdic injunctions {say, observance of

VarNAshrama dharma etc} and hence he is capable of doing what he

desires to.

There is no need of any external effort other than his will. But,

mukta's

play with women, enjoyment of the chariots etc Or creation of

fathers etc

are not for his own pleasure; It has the chief aim to produce

happiness to

BhagavAn. Its not ofcourse a result of lust as in the case of a

baddha jIva.

 

In the abhAvAdhikaraNam (next one; 4.4.5) by the first three sUtras,

the

siddhAnta that a mukta can either choose to have a divine body Or

can be

without it also, is established. The next two sUtras are regarding

the

creator of such divine bodies taken by muktas. From the first sUtra,

we get

to know that a mukta who has no body and senses made by himself, can

enjoy

the things created by ParamAtma Himself, as in the case of dream

state.

ParamAtma can provide bodies to mukta. Due to the leelA-rasam of

BhagavAn, He

can make muktas enjoy the pitru-lOkas created by His leela and the

mukta

with the body provided by BhagavAn enjoys His leela-rasa and

performs

bhagavad-anubhavam. The next SUtra " BhAvE JAgrAtvat " states that,

with the

possesion of a body also, a mukta can enjoy as it is done in the

waking state.

BR comments {SrI-BhAshya + VEdAnta Deepa} that sometimes, a mukta

creates

body by his will and can even incarnate to have father,mother etc as

 

BhagavAn did by His will in His avatAras like that of RAma and

KrishNa. In

this case also, mukta enjoys the leelA-rasam of PerumAL with the

inherent

Bhagavad-anubhavam. BhagavAn can also make the mukta to have fathers

etc

directly by His will.

 

In SrI-VaikuNTham also, muktas can live as families with various

relationships

like father,mother, wife,husband,children etc - all by the mutual

understanding of various muktas for the pleasure of SrIman-NArAyaNa.

The

life out there is quite dynamic indeed !!

<<Quote Ends>>

 

The viSEshArthams mentioned by swAmi abhinava dESika regarding these

points

cannot be missed at any cost. Especially swAmi abhinava dESika has

beautifully

explained the SRTS words " mukthanAna piRagu " (chapter 22, sAra

vistAram). I

request you to kindly read these points in the light of SrImath

UttamUr

swAmi's explanation for more details.

 

The sUtra " anAvruthi: SabdAth anAvruthi: SabdAth " clearly explains the

Sruthis

( " EthEna prathipadyamAnA: imam mAnavamAvarththam nAvarthanthE<*> " ,

" sakalvEvam

varththayan yAvadAyusham brahma-lOkamapi sampadyathE na cha

punarAvarthathE " )

& smruthies ( " mAmupEthya punarjanma… " , " Abrahma buvanAnlOkA:… " , " idam

jgnyAnammupASrithya… " ) which clearly declares that the muktha -

jeevAthman

never returns to the prAkrutha lOka. The SrI BhAshya text for this

sUtra has

clearly explained this negating various reasons for punar-Avruthi:

(return).

 

<*> imam mAnavamAvartham is having the " imam " Sabdam which is

uplakshaNam for

all such material worlds. Therefore, the Sruthi is clear that as the

muktha is

" sarva-karma-vinirmuktha: " and having sAmyam with BhagavAn in bhOgam,

he has

no karmAdhina-punar-Avruthi.

 

At this point, the following SrI sUkthi from

pari-pUrNa-brahmAnubhavAdhikAram

may be considered where swAmi has presented a criticism on mAdva

(dvaita)

school regarding their mOksha-tAratamyam (difference in the Anandam

between

muktas)

" Agayal mumukshu daSayil sowpAdhi(n)gaLAna uthkarsha-upakarshangaLaik

koNdu

muktha-daSayilum anubhava-thAratamyam uNdEnanRa AanandathrIrthIyar

muktharukkellAm sarvEswaranOde paramasAmyam sollugiRa SruthyAdigaLai

maRandArgaL " .

 

These " SruthyAdigaLai " are " niranjana: paramam sAmyamupaithi " , " sarvE

ha

paSya: paSyathi sarvamApnOthi sarvaSa: " , " sa EkO brahmaNa Aananda:

SrOthriyasya chAkAmahathasya " . The smruthis in this context says " mama

 

sAdharmyam AgathaA: " , " bhOgamAthra sAmya lingAncha " , " jagath vyApAra

varjam " .

Therefore, the mAdhva paksham of mOksha-tAratamyam is against the

Sastra's

purport of sAmyam. The mAdva paksham is refuted by these Srutis. The

mAdhva-paksham is not explaining these Sruthis which declares parama

sAmyam

for mukta jeevan with paramAthma.

 

About the vyavahArika daSa mOksham concept SrI Adi Sankara:, the term

" vyavahArika " used imparts the meaning that there is no point in

discussing

that as it is not a reality in advaita. About the pAramArthika paksham

of

advaita, the nivarthakAnupapaththi and nivruthi-anupapathithi may be

studied

for clear understanding of refuting the advaita-sidhdi.

 

As per ViSishtAdvaitam, the moksham, which the muktha attains is

clearly

explained as follows. The sAlOkya, sArUpya and sAmipya are not

considered

without sAyujyam.

 

SAyujyam generally means " having the object of attainment as samAna;

" sayuk "

 

Now the Sruthi verse " brahmaiva bhavathi " is considered and the

pUrva-paksham

(opponent view) " brahma-ikyam (numerical oneness (identity) of

jeeva-brahma in

mOksham) " as purport of " sAyujya " Sabdam is considered and refuted as

follows:

 

First of all, as sAlOka etc are told before sAyujya, one should not

take

sAlOka etc equal to sAyujya.

 

Yuk denotes the guNa-yOgam and samAna guNakam sayuk explains this.

 

But in the case of " dvA suparNA sayujA sakhAyA " Sruthi, the

jeevAvAthma

denoted is badhda: and therefore, here in this case, the

brahma-samAna-bhOgam

is not the thAthparyam for the jeevAthma. " sayujA " padam is just to

confirm

that two AtmAs are inside the body of which one is the badhda

jeevAthma and

the other is the supreme paramAthma who is untouched by all impurities

and

having infinite divine attributes.

 

But in the case of muktha-Atma, the sAyujam denotes the fact that the

guNams

like apahathapApmathvam etc are samAnam for brahman and

muktha-jeevAthmA.

Therefore in the prayOgams like " sAyujyam SArshTithAm ApnOthi " , a

subtle

difference in the meaning of the terms " sAyujyam " & " SArshTithA " has

to be

understood. SAyujyam denotes " samAna yukthvam " " samAna bhOgyakathvam "

having

tAthparyam in bhOga sAmyam while " SArshTithA " denotes " samAna

prApthikathvam "

" samAna bOgakathvam " . This negates the punarukti in these two Sabdams

when

used in the prayOgam as quoted above. But " samAna vyApArakathvam " is

not

present in the sAyujyam's meaning (jagath vyApAra varjam…). Also,

absence of

" samAna vyApArakathvam " in muktha's sAyujyam does not appear as a lack

because

the muktha never thinks to have " samAna vyApArakathvam " as he has

sarvagnyathvam which clearly cognizes Sriya: pathi: alone as jagath

kAraNa

bhUtha:. But he gets bhOga sAmyam as told already in the jagath

vyApAram done

only by BhagavAn (bhOga mAtra sAmya lingAncha…).

 

Regarding the river joining sea etc:

 

Neither by rUdi nor by yOgam, the sAyujyam can mean

" jeeva-brahma-Iykyam "

(numerical oneness/identity) in mOksham.

" Iykyam " (numerical oneness/identity) is against the Sruthi. The

kaTOpanishad

says " yathOdakam SudhdE SudhdamAsiktham … AathmA bhavathi gowthama " -

" Just

like pristine water joining pristine water " example is considered

here. Here

this example never has thAthparyam in the iykyam because even when the

two

waters mix, as the volume increases, iykyam is simply negated by the

Sruthi!

Then what is the meaning behind quoting this example? This only

denotes the

inseparable guNa-bhOga sAmyam as explained in the sAyujya padam and

sArshtithA

padam. The smruthies also explain this clearly. The verse " brahmaiva

bhavathi "

is also explained like " rAma sugreevayOraikyam " . Therefore the bhEdam

(difference) between paramAthmA and muktha-jeevAthma is clearly

explained in

the Sruthi.

 

Thanks & Regards

adiyEn

M.S.HARI rAmAnuja dAsan (mshari)