Talk:Muktapuruṣa

By Swami Harshananda

muktapuruṣa (‘the liberated person’)

The basic works of Hinduism like the Upaniṣads and the Bhagavadgitā, as also several secondary treatises based on them like the epics and the purānas, have described in detail, the characteristics of a muktapuruṣa, the liberated person, also

called ‘jīvanmukta’ (‘liberated even while living in the body’).

The ātman or the soul (the Self) is essentially free. But, that he has got himself entangled in the body-mind complex, that he is therefore suffering much and that he is undergoing transmigration repeatedly, is also a recognised fact. Though the cause of his bondage and the means of his deliverance as described in the various philosophical systems of Hinduism may appear to differ, descriptions of his state of liberation are, more or less similar. The Kathopanisad (5.1) says that a muktapuruṣa is fully free from all kinds of desires. So does the Brhadāranyaka Upanisad (4.4.7). Some of the other Upaniṣads declare that a liberated soul is absolutely untouched by any kind of sin, heinous or venial (vide Kausītaki Brāhmanopanisad 3.1).

Excellent and detailed descriptions of a muktapuruṣa, called variously ‘jīvanmukta,’ ‘sthitaprajña,’ ‘bhakta,’ ‘guṇātita,’ ‘brāhmaṇa’ and ‘ativarṇāśrami’ are found in a number of authoritative religious works like Laghuyogavāsistha (5th sarga), Bhagavadgitā (2.54-64; 12.13-19; 14.21-26), Mahābhārata (Sāntiparva 245.12-24) and Sutasamhitā (Muktikhanda 5.9-42).

The gist of all these descriptions is that his mind has transcended all pairs of opposites like happiness and misery, likes and dislikes as also the various passions and prejudices like lust and greed, avarice and delusion, pride, vanity and jealousy. He is ever immersed in the bliss of the ātman inside and looks upon the world as a reflection or a manifestation of Brahman, the Absolute.

See also BANDHA and MOKSA.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore