Mukti
The literal meaning of the word mukti (मुक्ति) is liberation.
Let us understand the concept of liberation with an example. A convict was sentenced to time in prison for a crime that he had committed. The convict gets released from the prison after serving his time and he is now a free man, having attained freedom or mukti from the prison.
As per the philosophy explained in our scriptures, there are three eternal entities:
Maya is inert and it is called the external power of God. It is insentient, which means that it does not have an intellect, mind or senses, hence it cannot do anything on its own. The Supreme Lord is the doer of all the actions of Maya. Lord Krishna says in the Gita:
Let us understand the concept of liberation with an example. A convict was sentenced to time in prison for a crime that he had committed. The convict gets released from the prison after serving his time and he is now a free man, having attained freedom or mukti from the prison.
As per the philosophy explained in our scriptures, there are three eternal entities:
- Jeev: we, the individual soul are a part of God’s “Jeev-Shakti” also known as the power of existence.
- Maya: Maya is an inert power of God, possessing attributes that are contrary to those of God.
- Brahma-Supreme God: God is Almightly, Omnipresent and Omnipotent. He is the master of the powers of Jeev and Maya. God’s nature is sacchidanand (सच्चिदाननंद), sat denoting unlimited life, chit denoting unlimited knowledge and anand denoting unlimited bliss. Nature means the innate quality of an object e.g. the nature of fire is to give light and to burn, the nature of water is provide wetness. Similarly the nature of God is unlimited bliss.
Maya is inert and it is called the external power of God. It is insentient, which means that it does not have an intellect, mind or senses, hence it cannot do anything on its own. The Supreme Lord is the doer of all the actions of Maya. Lord Krishna says in the Gita:
दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया ॥
daivī hyeṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā, māmeva ye prapadyante māyāmetāṁ taranti te
daivī hyeṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā, māmeva ye prapadyante māyāmetāṁ taranti te
“This Maya, which is Mine, consists of the three gunas and no-one can overcome it on their own. Only those, who are fully surrendered to Me are able to cross this ocean of Maya, by My grace.”
Individual souls are sentient and are referred to as the neutral (तटस्थ) power of God. The souls have eternally been given a free-will to either choose the area of Maya or the area of Brahma-Supreme God. The world of Maya is full of illusive fascination. Individual beings are equipped with a material mind and an intellect to discern right from wrong, however, due to its strong association with Maya, the material mind is naturally attracted to the world of Maya. Thus, individual beings have eternally turned away from God and have been searching for happiness in the area of Maya. Consequently, due to it’s impact, our minds are overpowered by ignorance and we start considering ourselves to be the body, forgetting our true identity as the soul. Thus, we consider all material objects or people related to the body, as our own and God who is our true originator appears to be so distant and non-important.
This is why all the material beings are trapped by Maya and have been suffering since eternity. Everyone desires freedom from the sufferings of this world, or in other words freedom from Maya. It is impossible to get rid of Maya in any other form of life except in human form. Yet, before aiming for mukti, we must understand the true nature of mukti.
There are five kinds of mukti (liberation), which can be categorized in two major categories – mukti of non-dualism, wherein the individual soul becomes one with God and mukti of dualism, wherein the individual soul remains separate from God:
Mukti of Non-dualism
Individual souls are sentient and are referred to as the neutral (तटस्थ) power of God. The souls have eternally been given a free-will to either choose the area of Maya or the area of Brahma-Supreme God. The world of Maya is full of illusive fascination. Individual beings are equipped with a material mind and an intellect to discern right from wrong, however, due to its strong association with Maya, the material mind is naturally attracted to the world of Maya. Thus, individual beings have eternally turned away from God and have been searching for happiness in the area of Maya. Consequently, due to it’s impact, our minds are overpowered by ignorance and we start considering ourselves to be the body, forgetting our true identity as the soul. Thus, we consider all material objects or people related to the body, as our own and God who is our true originator appears to be so distant and non-important.
This is why all the material beings are trapped by Maya and have been suffering since eternity. Everyone desires freedom from the sufferings of this world, or in other words freedom from Maya. It is impossible to get rid of Maya in any other form of life except in human form. Yet, before aiming for mukti, we must understand the true nature of mukti.
There are five kinds of mukti (liberation), which can be categorized in two major categories – mukti of non-dualism, wherein the individual soul becomes one with God and mukti of dualism, wherein the individual soul remains separate from God:
Mukti of Non-dualism
- sayujjya mukti (सायुज्ज्य मुक्ति) or keivalya mukti (कैवल्य मुक्ति) or moksha (मोक्ष): The aspirants of this type of liberation, want to be free from Maya, yet they do not believe in a physical form of God. The followers of Gyan Marg desire for this kind of mukti. They get liberation from the bondage of Maya, meaning that they do not have to go through the cycle of death and birth and are forever liberated from the miseries of Maya. There are 3 per-requisites to enjoy anything; the presence of the enjoyer, the presence of the object of enjoyment and enjoyment itself. Upon attainment of mukti, the pure soul (without mind, intellect, senses or body) merges into Brahma-Supreme God forever. Since the enjoyer has become one with the bliss there is no one left to enjoy. So, it is not wise to desire mukti in which one loses one’s identity forever. In addition, once the soul merges into Brahma it can never come out of that state. Thus, the prospect of enjoying bliss in the future is also lost forever. The soul is liberated from sufferings but is unable to enjoy the bliss. Thus, only half the goal is achieved. This state can be compared to the state of eternal unconsciousness.
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Mukti of Dualism
There are 4 types of mukti. The devotees of Maha Vishnu aspire for these kinds of mukti.
Those who attain dualism mukti, still have a mind, intellect, senses and a body. Thus they enjoy the bliss of God’s beauty, association, attributes and abode. |
Jaya Vijay (Gatekeepers of Vaikunth) have the same beauty like MahaVishnu
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Still, it is unwise to desire for these muktis, because those who attain them never get to enjoy His intimate pastimes along with His associates. These souls see the all-majestic form of God with four arms. Hence, these devotees lovingly respect their Lord but are deprived of the loving intimacy with Him.
God is the ocean of love and Jeev is an inseparable part of God. Being part of love our inherent desire is to attain true love. Love is demonstrated by serving the beloved. So the concealed chief desire of human beings is “serving our beloved”. In the words of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu –
God is the ocean of love and Jeev is an inseparable part of God. Being part of love our inherent desire is to attain true love. Love is demonstrated by serving the beloved. So the concealed chief desire of human beings is “serving our beloved”. In the words of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu –
जीवेर स्वरूप होय कृष्णेर नित्य दास ।
Jīvēra svarūpa hōya kr̥ṣṇēra nitya dāsa.
Jīvēra svarūpa hōya kr̥ṣṇēra nitya dāsa.
“Being a servant of Shri Krishna is our concealed and natural desire.”
The desire to have a loving intimate relationship with Shri Krishna can be fulfilled since He assumes a human form to impart divine love to the aspiring souls. In this form He conceals His divine powers, so that a human being can love Him freely as his Master, friend, son or beloved. Per the desire of the devotee, Shri Krishna reciprocates the relationship and intensity of love. As he said in Gita.
The desire to have a loving intimate relationship with Shri Krishna can be fulfilled since He assumes a human form to impart divine love to the aspiring souls. In this form He conceals His divine powers, so that a human being can love Him freely as his Master, friend, son or beloved. Per the desire of the devotee, Shri Krishna reciprocates the relationship and intensity of love. As he said in Gita.
ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम्॥
ye yatha maan prapadyante taanstathaiv bhajaamyaham.
ye yatha maan prapadyante taanstathaiv bhajaamyaham.
“The way in which soul lovingly relates to Me, I reciprocate those feelings.”
So, mukti means eternal freedom from material sufferings yet it is our greatest enemy in disguise. Like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said
So, mukti means eternal freedom from material sufferings yet it is our greatest enemy in disguise. Like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said
… तारो मध्ये मोक्ष वांछा कैतव प्रधान
taaro madhye moksh vaanchha kaitav pradhaan
taaro madhye moksh vaanchha kaitav pradhaan
“... of all the deceptions mukti is the greatest”.
It deprives humans from their prime goal of attaining love bliss for eternity. So, wisely love Shri Krishna as your beloved and attain the highest bliss forever.
It deprives humans from their prime goal of attaining love bliss for eternity. So, wisely love Shri Krishna as your beloved and attain the highest bliss forever.
भुक्ति-मुक्ति-स्पृहा यावत् पिशाची हृदि वर्तते । तावद् भक्ति-सुखस्यात्र कथम् अभ्युदयो भवेत् ॥१.२.२२॥
bhukti-mukti-spṛhā yāvat, piśācī hṛdi vartate, tāvad bhakti-sukhasyātra, katham abhyudayo bhavet
bhukti-mukti-spṛhā yāvat, piśācī hṛdi vartate, tāvad bhakti-sukhasyātra, katham abhyudayo bhavet
"If you desire for bhakti then totally uproot the desire for material enjoyment (Bhukti) or liberation (Mukti) from your mind or else bhakti will not take root.”
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