Jivan Mukthi

(Based on Swami Paramarthananda’s Gurupurnima talk 2019)

Jivanmukthi  is a concept unique to Advaita Vedanta.  The person who has realized through Athma Jnanam the oneness of his Self with Brahman and shed his dehathma buddhi is considered a liberated person, while living and his state is called Jivanmukthi.   Liiberation as per Advaita Vedanta is not the attainment of some new state in some other world after the end of the present life, but it is the realisation, through Athma Jnanam in this life itself, of what one has always been, namely Brahman, by the removal of the wrong notion that one is the body-mind complex,  So in the state of Jivanmukthi, a Jivanmuktha lives enjoying infinite happiness and peace at all times with the wrong identification, as self with the body, mind and senses, removed and freed from the mistaken notion of bondage, until his prarabhdha karma is exhausted.

Prarabhdha karma is one of the three karmas, agami, sanchita and prarabhdha, that is generated by one’s actions with the sense of doership.   Agami karmas  are the unfructified karmas of present birth;  sanchita karma, the accumulated karmas over previous births and  prarabhdha karma, that part of the sanchita karma that comes to fruition at the time of one's birth.  Prarabhdha Karma determines जातिः (Jathihi),  environments of birth,आयुः (aayuh), lifespan, भोगाः (bhoghah),  experiences of life as per sutra 13 of Sadhana pada of Patanjali Yoga Sutra.  For a Jivanmuktha, on giving up the Ahamkara ‘I’ and shedding the sense of doership (karthrutva bhava) and enjoyership (bhokthruthva bhava), agami karma is annihilated, sanchita karma is liquidated and no further karma accrues as he acts thereafter without sense of doership.  As Lord Krishna observes in Gita (4-37) “Jnanaagnih sarvakarmaani bhasmasaat kurute”.( The fire of Jnanam reduces all karmas to ashes). 

But this does not apply to the prarabdha karma which is like the arrow that has left the bow shot at a target that cannot be got back or arrested in its movement but has to exhaust itself, by reaching the target. So a Jivanmuktha stays in the body and continues living in the world until the prarabhdha karma is exhausted. This we can say is a good and a bad news. It is good news because a Jivanmuktha stays alive as Jnani, blessing people with his knowledge and service and inspiring sadhakas through his teaching and personal example.  The bad news is his body has to suffer out the bad prarabhdha. I say his body because he does not view the body as himself any longer.  The balance of prarabdha karma does not affect Jivanmuktha mentally, as he does not identify himself with his body/mind.  He has internalised the knowledge “Brahma Satyam, Jagan Mithya, Jiva Brahmaiva na para” (Brahman is Sathyam, the world is mithya and Jiva is none other than Brahman)” and has the perspective that this world of variety other than his Real Self is only an appearance supported by Brahman and his Real Self is not different from Brahman. This we can see from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Sri Ramana Maharishi who viewed their body afflictions in a detached manner as something affecting the body only and not themselves. The assimilation of Brahma jnanam and attaining such a perspective is called Mithyatva darsanam.  The Jivanmukthas who continue to stay in society and interact with people have the Mithyatva darsanam that dilutes the impact of prarabhdha rendering it insignificant like the aerial view of mountains.

Acharyas who came after Adhi sankara highlight a second method of countering Prarabhdha which is discussed in Swami Vidyaranya’s work “Jivanmukthiviveka”. A Jivanmuktha Jnani who prefers to live in solitude with minimum contact with the world for body’s basic needs only, has this approach to neutralise the impact of prarabhdha in the mind.  Normally Nitidyasanam, Vedantic meditation, is practiced for removing viparitha bhavana, wrong notions and misconceptions regarding self in the mind.  But In this second method it is also used as a source of happiness, Nitidyasana sukham.  In Nitidyasanam one meditates on the teaching of Vedanta that focusses on Jiva Brahma Ikyam to internalise the teaching that one is not a samsari jiva subject to limitations but the infinite Brahman which is Sat,Chit, Aananda. This new understanding of one’s own Self is portrayed in Kaivalya Upanishad(1-1-14) as follows;

Puratraye kridati yasca jivaḥ tatasthu jatam sakalam vicitram I

Aadharamanandamakhandabodham, yasmin layam yati puratrayam ca II 14 II

All this diversity is born out of jiva alone which sports in the three worlds of experience (waking, dream and deep sleep).  Moreover, these three worlds resolve into the jiva which is indivisible consciousness and aananda, the substratum (of all).

When this Jivanmuktha Jnani contemplates on his Aananda swarupa in Nitidyasanam, his mind is filled with experiential happiness, which is far, far superior to vishayananda, that comes from contact with anathma.  The Prathibimba Aananda he enjoys is from contact with Bimba Aananda itself as he is, as described in Gita (2-55), “Aatmanyevaatmanaa tushtah” (happy in the Self by the Self).  From this happy state no worldly problem or sorrow can shake him or move him to grief as pointed out in Gita (6-22), “Yasmin sthito na duhkhena gurunaapi vichaalyate” (wherein established, he is not moved even by heavy sorrow).  This Nithidyasana sukham, the Jnani uses to dilute the impact of prarabhda.  Rather he feels thankful to prarabhda for this life as a Jeevanmuktha Jnani that he is enjoying, with the reflection as described in the Kaivalya Upanishad (1-1-19):

Mayyeva sakalaṁ jataṁ, mayi sarvaṁ pratisthitam I

Mayi sarvaṁ layam yati, tad brahmadvayamasmyaham II

Everything is born in me alone; everything is based on me alone; everything resolves into me alone. I am that nondual Brahman.

This Nitidyasana sukham is also called by various other names such as Jivanmukthi sukham, Jnananda, Yogananda and Athmananda.

So while a Jivanmuktha Jnani serving the world staying in public life dilutes the impact of prarabhdha through mithyatva darsanam, the withdrawn Jivanmuktha Jnani dilutes it through Jivanmukthi sukham.  When prarabhdha is exhausted, the Jivanmuktha of either type attains Videhamukthi.  In Videhamukthi freed from the earthly existence in the body, a Jivanmuktha becomes one with Brahman, like the space in the pot becoming one with the open space, when the pot is broken. As the subtle body is also dissolved at that time, he is freed from the cycle of birth and death as well.

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Law of Karma and Videha Mukthi

Tattva Bodha - 8

Law of Karma states that every deliberate action one does, produces two types of results; one that  flows from the visible action called dhrishta phala, visible result and another that flows from the invisible motive behind the action called  adrishta phala. invisible result. The positive invisible result is called Punyam, with a pleasurable impact and the negative invisible result is called Papam with a painful impact. While the dhrishta phala fructifies soon after the action, the adrishta phala takes its time to fructify, maybe now or later in this janma or in next or in one of the subsequent janmas.  This uncertainty of the gestation period gives rise to three categories called, Agami Karma, Sanchitha Karma, and  Prarabhdha Karma. 

The actions wilfully performed by a Jeeva in human form with a sense of doership result in Punyas and Papas which come under Agami karma. Living beings other than humans have no sense of doership and no judgemental capacity to discriminate actions as good and bad and so they all have no Agami Karma.  Some of the Agami Karma may fructify during jeeva’s current lifetime.  The unfructified Agami Karma at death gets added to the unexhausted, accumulated stockpile of Karma called Sanchitha Karma. Sanchitha Karma is the unexhausted accumulated punyas and papas over the countless births in the past.   Cycle of birth and death continues until Sanchitha Karma is reduced to nil balance with no unfructified Agami Karma to add at the time of the death of Jeeva. 

Prarabhdha karma is that portion of Sanchitha Karma that comes to fruition at the time of Jeeva’s birth.  Prarabhdha Karma determines जातिः आयुः भोगाः (Jathihi, aayuh,bhoghah),  as per sutra 13 of Sadhana pada of Patanjali Yoga Sutra.   जातिः stands for environments of birth like birth in a particular country, society, family and other characteristics at birth like sex, defects or peculiarities. आयुः  stands for the life span. When Prarabhdha is totally exhausted death of the body occurs.  भोगाः stands for experiences of life pleasant, painful and mixed. Prarabhdha is commonly called fate or destiny.

So in a nutshell,  Agami Karma is the freshly acquired punya, papa in the current janma;  Sanchitha Karma the stockpile of unexhausted  Agami Karma  accumulated  over countless births and  Prarabhdha Karma  the portion of Sanchita Karma that matures at  jeeva’s birth to be exhausted in jeeva’s  lifetime.

Law of karma is not fatalism. Rightly understood it can be an antidote for fatalism.  From the study of Prarabhdha Karma we understand that past "I" as kartha is responsible for the present  "I".  Extending this logic we can say future "I" can be shaped by the present "I" as kartha by managing the circumstances intelligently in this janma.  So the responsibility for our future lies in our hands only and  that is why Sri Krishna says in Gita(6-5) “उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं (uddhareth athmanaathmanam)”- one should lift oneself by one’s own efforts. 

Every experience we undergo in our life is because of Prarabhdha Karma and Agami Karma i.e. our own actions in the present and past janmas.  So we cannot blame the world or any other beings for our experiences. When we understand this we will stop blaming the world or others for our sufferings; and accepting responsibility as a past or present karta, will improve our mental health.  So right understanding of the law will help us to stop blaming others or the world including God for our ills and sufferings.

We are experiencing in the present janma not only the Agami phalam (action done as current kartha) but also the Prarabhdha Phalam (action done as previous kartha).   That is the reason why some good people appear to suffer and some not so good people appear to prosper.  If the reason is rightly understood that it may be the effect of past karma, this understanding will help us retain our faith in the Lord and not turn cynical. 

Swami Paramatmananda talks of the availability of Prayaschitha Karma to mitigate the effects of Prarabhdha in his talk on Law of Karma.  Prarabhdham is adrishtam, not visible.  So this cannot be dealt with normally. Planetary positions as revealed in the horoscope give an indication of the Prarabhdha in store, but they themselves do not cause joy or sufferings.  Through the clock we see the time of sunrise and sunset but clock itself does not cause sunrise or sunset. By knowing what is in store for us, we can create an Agami, to counter or mitigate the Prarabhdha effects to come. This is called Prayaschitha Karma which like medicine can cure the disease or help to manage the disease or only be just a temporary palliative. In the case of weak Prarabhdha it can relieve the suffering, in intermediate case it can help to manage the suffering and in a strong case give the mental strength to accept it.  When the Prayaschitha is general it is called prayer, when it is specific, it is called parihara.

Before going into Videha mukthi let us see what happens to the bodies at the time of death. The gross body of ajnani as well as Jnani  disintegrates to merge with the Pancha bhuthas at death.  The subtle body and causal body of the ajnani along with the reflection of Chaithanyam in Sukshma Sareera, Chidabasa, leave the gross body to take up a new body according to the fructified portion of Sanchitha Karma, Prarabhdha Karma; and continues in the new body accumulating Agami Karma until the Prarabhdha Karma is exhausted when again it continues the journey in another new body with fresh Prarabhdha Karma.  Liberation from this cycle of journey from body to body is called Mukthi. What happens in Mukthi we can see from the life of Jnani.

A Jnani is one who is  firmly established in Athma Jnanam.  Whatever Sanchitha Karma was to his credit along with the unexhausted  Agami Karma in his account , they all get totally destroyed  on the date of his firm realization that he is neither the doer nor the enjoyer but only the witness Consciousness. This Sri Krishna points out in Bhagavat Gita (4-37) 

“यथैधांसि समिद्धोऽग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेऽर्जुन।(yathaidhamsi samiddhognih bhasmasath kuruthe Arjuna)

ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा ॥ (Jnangnih sarvakarmani bhasmasath kuruthe tatha)

As a blazing fire reduces all fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of Self-knowledge reduces all karma to ashes.

But this applies only to Sanchitha and Agami Karma.  Prarabhdha Karma has to be exhausted by living it through.  That is why we have seen Jnanis like Ramakrisna Paramahamsa and Ramana Maharishi suffering from body afflictions before death.  Their illness only brought grief to others but they remained indifferent to it with the firm conviction that it is only the body that is affected and they are not the affected body. Because of this Jnanam the Jnani lives as Muktha Purusha until death and is called Jeevanmuktha and his state is called Jeevanmukthi, liberation while living.  Agami karma does not accrue to him after he attains Jeevanmukthi as he has no sense of doership.  At death Jeevanmuktha’s  subtle body merges with the subtle bhuthas and the casual body gets liquidated as there is no residual karma to give rise to gross body or to sustain subtle body. Since the subtle body is dissolved,  Chithabasa, the reflected Consciousness, also gets dissolved  and the witness consciousness becomes one with the total Consciousness like pot space becoming one with the total space when pot is broken.  This is called Videha Mukthi, liberation at death.

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