Description

The Jivan-mukti-Viveka of the great Swami Vidyaranya is an important Sanskrit classic of the Vedanta literature.  The book has won warm appreciation over the centuries at the hands of the keen students of Vedanta since its first appearance.  How does a Jivanmukta, a liberated soul, act?  How does he move?  How does he live?  The seers of the Upanishads declare that a jivanmuktha is free from desires.  But can an ordinary person understand such a person – his life, his behavior?  Can a person who is dreaming understand the experience of one who is awake?  A jivanmukta is no longer tormented by fear:  ‘For what is there to fear?  It is from a second entity that fear comes’.  A jivanmukta is free from the illusion of individuality and therefore from the experience of pain.  ‘He who knows the Atman overcomes grief’. A jinvanmukta is free from the binding effects of past actions.  ‘All works cease to bear fruit’.  A liberated soul is not given to inactivity, which is a characteristic of one steeped in tamas.  He sees action in inaction and inaction in action.  An illuminated soul has attained the blessed state of being free from doubt.  ‘All doubts are resolved’.