Q/A

Q/A: jīvana mukti versus ātyantikī mukti

Question: Is your article on Brahman realization referring to realization in the material body?

Answer: Yes, Brahman realization can occur in the material body. So can the direct experience of Bhagavān.

Question: Then doesn’t the material body need to survive by eating etc. What will the person do after Brahman realization?

Answer: One may realize Brahman in meditation, but afterward, one may come out of it. At that point, one will go about one’s duties. A person who has achieved Brahman is considered liberated while living in the material body. Such mukti is called jīvana mukti, and the person is called jīvana mukta.

Question: Can the person fall down from this mukti?

Answer: While in the material body, it is possible if the person gets careless, or becomes offensive to Bhagavān. This is the point of the verse in the Bhagavatam (āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho ’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ)

Question: What happens to the jīvana mukta after death?

Answer: After death, the jīvana mukta gets ātyantiki mukti, that is eternal liberation. The person identifies eternally with Brahman and leaves the material world.

Question: Can the person fall down from Brahman?

Answer: No. Shri Babaji has discussed this at length in his books.

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