Talk:Commentary on Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad: Characteristics of a Jīvanmukta
By Vishal Agarwal
Context How is one to recognise a person who has understood the nature of Brahman and has assimilated spiritual wisdom while still living in a mortal body? Later Vedāntic literature employs the term Jīvanmukta, meaning one who is liberated even while embodied. The following two mantras describe the characteristics of such a Jīvanmukta.
Mantra 6 यस्तु सर्वाणि भूतानि आत्मन्येवानुपश्यति । सर्वभूतेषु चात्मानं ततो न विजुगुप्सते ॥ ६ ॥
Translation He who indeed sees all beings as existing in the Ātmā alone, and the Ātmā within all beings, does not feel any hatred due to that realization.
Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad 6
Mantra 7 यस्मिन्सर्वाणि भूतानि आत्मैवाभूद्विजानतः । तत्र को मोहः कः शोक एकत्वमनुपश्यतः ॥ ७ ॥
Translation When, for the knower, all beings have become Ātmā alone, then what delusion and what sorrow can exist for one who perceives this Oneness? Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad 7
Purport When a person realises the true nature of Brahman and understands that the same Paramātmā abides equally within all beings, he recognises that the ātmā present in every creature is identical in essence. By resting his awareness on this fundamental unity rather than on temporary and external distinctions such as birth, social position, gender, race, or wealth, he no longer harbours ill will, aversion, or hatred towards anyone, nor does he waver from the spiritual path. This realisation does not merely transform his attitude towards others, but affects an inner transformation of his entire being. It bestows upon him lasting inner peace and happiness, for he transcends delusion, the sense of separation from others, and attachment to impermanent objects, which are the root causes of sorrow and conflict in worldly existence.
Notes In later Hindu tradition, moha is regarded as the root cause of all other mental afflictions, leading to grief and repeated rebirth. The Upaniṣadic mantras teach that by focusing on the underlying Ātmā that is identical in all beings, and by emphasising their unity in Brahman, thereby overcoming bhedabuddhi, the notion of division such as ‘I’ and ‘them’, one becomes firmly established in spiritual wisdom. Such a person loses all ill will towards others, overcomes delusion, and becomes free from grief while still living.
The understanding of unity through the Paramātmā, immanent equally within all beings, alone constitutes the true foundation of love, as taught in another Upaniṣad.
स होवाच न वा अरे पत्युः कामाय पतिः प्रियो भवति आत्मनस्तु कामाय पतिः प्रियो भवति । न वा अरे जायायै कामाय जाया प्रिया भवति आत्मनस्तु कामाय जाया प्रिया भवति । न वा अरे पुत्राणां कामाय पुत्राः प्रिया भवन्ति आत्मनस्तु कामाय पुत्राः प्रिया भवन्ति । न वा अरे वित्तस्य कामाय वित्तं प्रियं भवति आत्मनस्तु कामाय वित्तं प्रियं भवति । न वा अरे ब्राह्मणस्य कामाय ब्राह्मणः प्रियो भवति आत्मनस्तु कामाय ब्राह्मणः प्रियो भवति । न वा अरे क्षत्रियस्य कामाय क्षत्रियः प्रियो भवति आत्मनस्तु कामाय क्षत्रियः प्रियो भवति । न वा अरे लोकानां कामाय लोकाः प्रिया भवन्ति आत्मनस्तु कामाय लोकाः प्रिया भवन्ति । न वा अरे देवानां कामाय देवाः प्रिया भवन्ति आत्मनस्तु कामाय देवाः प्रिया भवन्ति । न वा अरे भूतानां कामाय भूतानि प्रियाणि भवन्ति आत्मनस्तु कामाय भूतानि प्रियाणि भवन्ति । न वा अरे सर्वस्य कामाय सर्वं प्रियं भवति आत्मनस्तु कामाय सर्वं प्रियं भवति । आत्मा वा अरे द्रष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यो मन्तव्यो निदिध्यासितव्यः । मैत्रेयी आत्मनो वा अरे दर्शनॆन श्रवणॆन मत्या विज्ञानॆन इदं सर्वं विदितम् ॥'
Yājñavalkya said, “Indeed, not for the love of the husband, my dear, is the husband dear, but for the love of the Ātmā is the husband dear. Indeed, not for the love of the wife is the wife dear, but for the love of the Ātmā is the wife dear. Indeed, not for the love of sons are sons dear, but for the love of the Ātmā are sons dear. Indeed, not for the love of wealth is wealth dear, but for the love of the Ātmā is wealth dear. Indeed, not for the love of the Brāhmaṇa is the Brāhmaṇa dear, but for the love of the Ātmā is the Brāhmaṇa dear. Indeed, not for the love of the Kṣatriya is the Kṣatriya dear, but for the love of the Ātmā is the Kṣatriya dear. Indeed, not for the love of the worlds are the worlds dear, but for the love of the Ātmā are the worlds dear. Indeed, not for the love of the Devas are the Devas dear, but for the love of the Ātmā are the Devas dear. Indeed, not for the love of beings are beings dear, but for the love of the Ātmā are beings dear. Indeed, not for the love of all is all dear, but for the love of the Ātmā is all dear. Maitreyi, the Ātmā alone should be seen, heard, reflected upon, and meditated upon. By the realization of the Ātmā through hearing, reflection, and meditation, all this is known." Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.4.5
Story: The Jīvanmukta Does Not Waver from Dharm Sant Kanakadāsa, who lived between 1509 and 1609 CE, was a humble cowherd who wandered from village to village singing the praises of Bhagavān Viṣṇu. He became a disciple of Vyāsatīrtha, a renowned scholar of Vedānta, and soon emerged as his most beloved student. This aroused jealousy among the other disciples, for Kanakadāsa came from a very humble background and lacked formal scriptural education.
Vyāsatīrtha resolved to teach his students a lesson. He summoned them all and gave each a banana, saying that the bananas were sacred and would confer blessings if eaten. However, each student was instructed to eat his banana in a secluded place where no one could see him, and then return to report where he had eaten it.
After some time, all the students returned and described the places where they had eaten their bananas. Kanakadāsa alone had not eaten his. When Vyāsatīrtha asked him the reason, Kanakadāsa replied that he could not find a single place where God could not see him. Vyāsatīrtha then addressed the other students, saying that for them God was merely a name recited during rituals, whereas for Kanakadāsa God was a living presence experienced everywhere. This unwavering awareness of the Divine is a mark of the Jīvanmukta.
Story: The Only Path to Happiness During his travels in the United States between 1902 and 1904, Swami Rāmatīrtha delivered discourses on Vedānta to large audiences. On one occasion, a grieving woman approached him and wept, saying that since the death of her only son her life had become dark and devoid of hope, and that she sought true peace and happiness.
Swami Rāmatīrtha replied that peace and happiness demanded a price, and that if she agreed to pay it, he would come to her home the next day and show her the path. She agreed. The following morning, the Swami arrived at her house accompanied by an African American child. He told her that if she raised the child as her own son, educating and loving him, she would attain true peace and happiness.
At that time, social barriers between white and black communities were rigid, and such acceptance was strongly frowned upon. The woman recoiled and asked how a white woman could accept a black child as her son. The Swami replied that if she could not accept the child as her own, then it would be very difficult for her to attain true peace and happiness. The story illustrates that liberation from sorrow arises only when distinctions rooted in ego and separation are transcended, a hallmark of the Jīvanmukta.
Story: Bhagavān is Inside the Beautiful as well as the Ugly
It may be asked whether the all pervading Lord exists even in what is regarded as evil or ugly. The answer given by the tradition is in the affirmative. What appears ugly to human perception may not be ugly in reality. The following story teaches the vision of Divinity even in those forms that are conventionally regarded as unattractive.
The King of Kaliṅga, corresponding to present day Odisha, constructed a grand temple dedicated to Jagannātha, the Lord of the Universe, identified with Viṣṇu. However, the temple did not yet contain a mūrti. The King made a proclamation that he desired the most beautiful mūrti of Viṣṇu to be carved. After its completion, he would inspect it. If he was pleased, the sculptor would be rewarded with ten thousand gold coins, but if he was displeased, the sculptor would be beheaded. Skilled sculptors were invited to come forward.
No sculptor was willing to risk his life, and for a long time none accepted the challenge. At last, an old sculptor appeared and agreed to carve the mūrti on one condition. He stated that he required thirty days to complete the work and that during this period he would work inside the temple with the doors closed. No one was to open the doors until the work was finished, otherwise he would leave the work incomplete. The King, relieved that someone had accepted the task, agreed to these conditions.
The sculptor entered the temple and closed the doors behind him. Day after day passed, and people outside heard the sound of hammer and chisel throughout the day. Some ministers, however, became suspicious and suggested that the sculptor might be a spy of an enemy king, pretending to carve a mūrti while actually damaging the pillars of the temple from within. The King initially ignored these doubts, but nine days before the completion of the thirty day period, his curiosity overcame him. He ordered the doors of the temple to be opened.
When the doors were opened and everyone entered, they were shocked to see an unfinished and seemingly ugly mūrti of Viṣṇu lying on the floor, with the sculptor still at work. Enraged at the sight of what he considered an ugly form, the King drew his sword to behead the sculptor. The sculptor then spoke and reminded the King that he had broken his promise on the twenty first day itself. He explained that he wished the King to undergo this experience in order to understand that Viṣṇu resides in the whole of creation. Just as He is present in beautiful mūrtis, He is also present in those that appear ugly. According to the condition that had been violated, he declared that he would now leave the mūrti unfinished and urged that this very form should be worshipped in the temple, while a conventionally beautiful mūrti could be made elsewhere.
The King was stunned both by the words of the sculptor and by his own failure to uphold his promise. When he looked at the sculptor once again, an even greater surprise awaited him. The sculptor revealed himself in the four armed form of Bhagavān Viṣṇu. The King thus learned that beauty and ugliness are relative to perception, and that Bhagavān pervades everything, including what human judgement may dismiss as ugly.
Story: Ṛṣi Pippalāda Discovers that the Devas Reside within His Own Body
Ṛṣi Dadhīci relinquished his body so that his bones could be fashioned into the Vajra, a powerful weapon, by Indra for the destruction of the evil Vṛtra. When Dadhīci’s son Pippalāda grew up, he was filled with resentment over the fact that his father had died for the sake of Indra. He blamed Indra and the Devas for his father’s death and for the suffering he himself had endured in childhood due to the loss of his parent. In his anger, he concluded that the Devas were selfish and depraved, having demanded his father’s bones to serve their own purposes, while he felt that nothing had been gained in return for such a supreme sacrifice.
Determined to teach the Devas a lesson, Pippalāda undertook severe austerities to please Bhagavān Śiva. Pleased with his devotion, Śiva appeared before him and offered him a boon. Pippalāda asked that the Devas should burn to death. Bhagavān Śiva urged him to ask for another boon, but Pippalāda remained adamant. Śiva then said that it would be so.
The moment these words were uttered, Pippalāda experienced an intense burning sensation throughout his own body, from head to foot. In anguish, he cried out to Bhagavān Śiva, asking why he himself was being burned when he had asked that the Devas should suffer. Śiva replied that the Devas do not exist only outside the body, but that a portion of the Devas dwells within all living beings. Therefore, one who seeks the destruction of the Devas cannot escape the consequence, for their presence is also within oneself.
Śiva further explained that no one had compelled Dadhīci to give up his body. All beings are destined to die one day, but Dadhīci chose a noble death so that the Devas and all creatures might live. His was a great sacrifice made for the preservation of creation itself, and it should not be diminished by harbouring resentment against the Devas.
Through these words of Bhagavān Śiva, Pippalāda understood the greatness of his father and repented for his anger. He sought forgiveness and went on to become a great Ṛṣi himself, later remembered as one of the compilers of the Atharvaveda, one of the four divinely revealed scriptures of the Hindu tradition.
Story: How We Treat Others Is How We Treat the Divine
The following story, drawn from the Chhāndogya Upaniṣad, illustrates the teaching that the manner in which one treats other beings is in truth the manner in which one treats the Divine.
A young beggar once arrived at an āśrama where two Ṛṣis were seated, partaking of their midday meal. Approaching them respectfully, he said that he was hungry and asked whether they would share some food with him. The Ṛṣis, unwilling to part with their meal, replied that they did not have enough food for him and asked him to go away.
The beggar then asked them which Deva they worshipped. The Ṛṣis replied that they worshipped Vāyu, the Deva of air. The beggar continued by asking to whom they had offered their food before eating, as is customary to offer food to the chosen form of Divinity. They replied that they had offered it to Vāyu Deva.
The beggar then said that the same Vāyu Deva who flows through their nostrils also flows through the nostrils of every living being. The Ṛṣis agreed that this was indeed so. The beggar pointed out that by denying him food, thereby weakening his body, they were in effect denying nourishment to the very same Vāyu who dwelt equally within themselves and within him.
The words of the beggar led the Ṛṣis to reflect deeply. They realised that when one deprives another being, one deprives the same Divine that abides within all, and that when one shows compassion and kindness towards others, one is in truth offering it to the Divine present equally in all beings. Ashamed of their earlier conduct and recognising their error, the Ṛṣis offered food to the beggar, acknowledging the wisdom conveyed through his words.