Jivan Mukti and Advaita

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

Ashish Chandra <ramkisno at HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:

>Namaste All,
>
>Some time back, I read a post here that said that Jivan Mukti is
*essential*
>for Advaitam. Could someone please post whether this has a scriptural basis
>(did Adi Shankaracharya comment on this).

The two basic scriptural references are tasya tAvad eva ciram (chAndogya)
and brahmavit brahmaiva bhavati or a variant of this (numerous sources). The
basic philosophical issue involved is one of death. For what reason should
physical death be considered superior to the immediate, plenary experience
(anubhava) of Brahman? The Advaita answer is that there is none, so that
the possibility of Jivanmukti follows. And from a purely pragmatic
perspective, it is only if there is someone alive who knows Brahman can that
knowledge of Brahman be transmitted. Whether one considers it "essential"
or not, Jivanmukti is certainly not impossible.

Vidyasankar

--
bhava shankara deshikame sharaNam

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