Jivanmukti: A Jivanmukta Lives In Non-duality  

By Girish Bhandari  

In 61 aphorisms, the Nirvanopanishad describes the attributes of one who has achieved Jivanmukti or liberation, while remaining in the physical body. At the very beginning, this Upanishad makes it clear that when one says: “Brahman encompasses the universe”, one is still assuming that there is duality, of the Brahman and the universe. The Jivanmukta, or the realised one, does not see the Brahman as being separate from the universe. For him, the universe does not exist. Therefore, he himself does not exist. The only existence is of the Brahman.

The Jivanmukta’s existence becomes like the river that has no sediment or sand in its current to disturb its flow, and thus contains only pure water. Viraja, or without any taint, is his nature. Since he is one with the Brahman, there is no place for feelings of anger or passion. There is only bliss - that is also the core nature of the Brahman. One way to attain this enlightened state is by the grace of the guru, who has himself experienced the divine joy of kaivalya - oneness, or 'onlyness’.

The Upanishad then grapples with and clarifies a doubt that may often arise, which is, if the Jivanmukta has to survive on alms taken from householders, how can he be said to not being influenced by the phenomenal world, of which surely the householder is a part? He receives, and therefore, there has to be a giver. The Upanishad enlightens us that in the mind of the Jivanmukta, there is no distinction between the 'giver’, the 'receiver’ or even the 'thing given’. If there is no distinction between these three, there is no separateness of the mind from the phenomenon. Such distinctions remain only in the minds of those who have not attained kaivalya, but is non- existent for the Jivanmukta who is forever in the state of oneness. How does this state of Jivanmukti arise? How is it developed in the Jivanmukta paramahamsa? Is it by reading the scriptures? No, says the Upanishad. Is it by informed dialectic? No, again. It is a state achieved by contemplation and experience alone. Does one have to go to a peeth, seat of learning, to learn Jivanmukti? No again, as the paramahamsa is himself the seat of learning, and the peeth is established spontaneously wher-ever he goes.

He becomes a parivrajaka, or a wanderer whose work is to remove doubts as to the nature of the Brahman and any shades of duality that he encounters. There is neither cause nor effect, no universe separate from the Brahman. All is one and cannot be differentiated, is his eternal message. How can one honour such jnanis? With flowers and intricately woven garlands? Their garland is made of bliss, which perpetually adorns them. They have no need of yogamudras, since yogamudras restrict. They are liberated and whatever mudra or posture their bodies assume becomes a yogamudra of its own accord. What is their apparel made of? What do they cover their bodies with? Indeed, says the Upanishad, their garment is of conviction or total freedom from doubt. What is their staff of authority, their mace and sceptre? It is the single-minded concentration on Brahman. What is their state of rest? It lies in nirvikalpa samadhi, a state which has no alternative - it only exists. It is the state of permanent bliss. This state is beyond the material qualities of sattva, rajas or tamas; it is beyond speech or senses or even beyond the conscious application of the mind.

The paramahamsas do not need ashrams or maths (monasteries) to reside. Jivanmukti is their house, school and abode. This is a state beyond heaven and hell, earth and sky, which are, really, constructs of time and physical dimensions, and therefore seeded with transience and impermanence. The abode of a Jivanmukta is permanent bliss. This state of total calm has been described in the Nirvanopanishad as the unmaniawastha, or the no-mind state. The mahamantras or aphorisms that lead to this state of mind are called taraka mantras, which literally mean the mantras that help one tide over the constant cycle of births and deaths that characterise samsara. Such a one as a Jivanmukta has renounced fear, delusion, doubt, anger and sorrow, for the Brahman is beyond these. He does not require the outward manifestations of a sadhu; his choti and sacred thread too are the Brahman.

Ultimately, even the realisation “I am Brahman” must go, for there still exists an 'I’ and 'Brahman’ in this statement. There is duality. The ultimate state will be where no 'I’ exists. There will shine Brahman alone. And that is nirvana, the extinction of all 'I’-ness.

.

.

See also: Jivanmukti, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)