[Advaita-l] How does one know he is a jivan mukta?

[Rajaram Venkataramani]

On Tue, Aug 30, 2011 at 3:02 AM, Vidyasankar Sundaresan <
svidyasankar at hotmail.com> wrote:

> As far as one's own certainty is concerned, only he who is jivann eva mukta
> can
> know that he is jIvanmukta. To put it another way, as long as I consider
> myself
> to be other than that one Brahman, as long as you consider yourself to be
> other
> than that one Brahman, in the innermost, deepest core of our being, that
> self-
> imposed deviation and limitation will come through in everything that you
> and
> I think, say and do. Therefore, ultimately, no one other than you or I can
> certify
> whether you or I are/am a jIvanmukta. All that it requires is personal
> honesty,
> integrity and certainty - it is as simple as that, as difficult as that!
>

I agree that personal honesty and integrity are important. I am trying to
understand how certainity can be there because one may be genuinely deluded
about one's position. When it is something external to be achieved such as
health, wealth, relations or mystic powers, there is a clear measure of
success or failure. Even in the case of krama mukti, either the jiva goes to
brahmaloka or not.

In the case of advaita siddhi, what is the measure? It is ajnana with
respect one's true nature that is destroyed. How do I know that ajnana is
destroyed? I considered a few measures. One, I am blissful but rejected it
because bliss could be a mental modification. Bliss is a covering. Two, I
am detached but rejected that because that could be mental
conditioning. Equanimity is a pre-condition to liberation not a proof of.
Three, I am all knowing but rejected that because I may think that I know
the essence of all. The concept of what is the essence may only be a mental
notion. Fourth, I am all knowing in particular terms but that may be
self-identification with Ishwara not Brahman (taking them as two distinct
entities).