WORKING TOWARDS BECOMING A JEEVAN MUKTA

I have been rereading and trying to understand the doctrines and teachings of our saints but I fail to understand it. For how long are we going to quote Adhi Sankara, Ramana, and others and not become them. Agathiyar, understanding our extent of understanding or should I say, extent of not understanding much of everything, has given us a more practical means. We have the method, the 5 tenets, gifted to us and already in the palms of our hands yet we are looking out and far for a means to salvation. Let us uphold Agathiyars 5 tenets for a purposeful life for now. He has spoken about the next state, that of a Jeevan Mukta or a Siddha that is waiting for us, if only we make the effort to comply with the tenets.

For those who are looking for a better tool, the search will never end for you shall keep finding one better than the other but never find time to use it fully till it wears out. The search has to stop right now. Only then when you sit still or if you can't, at least stand still for a sufficient time for the divine to begin its work on you.

The honeymoon days are over. The days of orientation are over too. Its time to buckle up and take the ride on the roller coaster. We will pass through rapids and floodwaters, pits and dungeons, fire and furnace, hailstorms and terror. Only the ones adamant to hang on to the ride shall stay. Others and those who cannot take the heat shall leave on their own accord. Agathiyar shall begin his real work now molding us into receptacles to receive his teachings and become a Siddha too.

Maybe we shall continue with the tool given to us right now and work on our given task for now as Ramana himself has told seekers who came to him to carry on whatever method they were doing currently. Maybe one day we shall understand Ramana's teachings when the understanding and knowledge dawns on us. Let Ramana enlighten us then as Agathiyar has enlightened us on the 5 tenets. Let us be focussed and follow one guru and one teaching. Agathiyar, by holding our hands, shall lead us there in due time. Do not run ahead and get lost.

We are only guardians. We do not own a single thing, not even our body nor the breath. Everything is on loan to us to execute a certain mission and return. We are equally dependant on multiple resources to sustain our lives and function effectively. In the "Metaphysics of Saiva Siddhantam - Sivagnana Boodham by Thiruvilankar Canagarayar, l96l, we are told not to take things too comfortable and lose our hold on the ladder as we sit perched on the higher rungs of the ladder of spiritual evolvement. 

The five senses and the inner faculties of reasoning cannot function without the help of the soul. If the soul does not energize them; they lie dead, as a corpse. When those senses and faculties function, the intelligent soul accumulates physical and logical knowledge (Pāsa and Pasu knowledge) These two kinds of knowledge enlarge the horizon of souls’ intelligence. 

The three Malams Anava, Maya, and Karmam are Impurities. The original impurity of the soul is Anavam. The soul enveloped by Anava Malam is ignorant in the Kevala state, of God, the Supreme Reality and becomes enlightened through Pati-Jnanam. It will be pervasive and omniscient after its complete release from all the Malams, by the grace of God, just like the sun hidden by a bank of clouds shines forth in full brilliance, when the banks of clouds are driven away by the storm.

God appears as Satguru before the soul fettered by pasam or world of senses, and initiates it, on the ground of tapas performed by it in the past birth. On receipt of the Upadesa the soul realises its real spiritual nature as that of God and abandons the world and reaches the feet of God, as He is one with it. Now it is its duty to meditate on Him.

In order to purify the soul, the Primal One by His infinite Grace, applied Maya and Karma Malams, (the other impurities) to the fettered soul, just as a washerman applies Fuller’s earth and cow-dung to remove the dirt in a piece of cloth.

When the Anavam retreats from battle field its opponents Maya and Karmam retire. The husk, bran. and sprout or germination of a paddy seed are comparable to Anavam, Maya, and Karmam that encompass the soul. When the husk and bran are removed the paddy seed will not germinate, and the sprout (Karmam) will not spring up. Similarly, when the Anavam retreats and Maya retires, then the energy (Karmam) of maya also retires with Maya. When Maya and Karma Malams counteract on Anavam, the ignorance of the soul, being the effect of the function of Anavam, is removed from the fettered soul and its intelligence illumines. The soul, at this stage, through introspective reflection, arrives at a point where a ray of light falls on the soul in the form of an inspiration. Then the soul discovers the vanity or metamorphosis of the physical world, (the Asat) and is led into meditation. By the Grace of God, the soul becomes blind to the world and attains knowledge of God by His Grace. This is the spiritual truth called Pati Jñānam. The soul which has realized God through  divine knowledge Pati Jñānam, after it had renounced the worlds as changing or asat, is called Jivan Mukta. When the Jivan Mukta attains divine wisdom, the Pati Jnanam, he shines as a spirit with intense love for God. Then the redeemed soul becomes a Jivan Mukta, as he has reached the Sacred Feet of God. Now the Jivan Mukta is free from the three-fold Malams and is at the Feet of God. Jivan Mukta is one who has already attained the Sacred Feet of Lord Siva. Lord Siva appears in him as Joti or light at Suzhi Munai (Susumna Nadi), through unfailing love unto Him. The Jivan Mukta, through unforgetting or unceasing love attains the bliss of the Primal One.

The sun is visible to all but he is invisible to the blind. Similarly, the Primal One will not reveal Himself unto those fettered by the Malams, but to those free from Malams. The Primal One, through His Arul sakti will release from Pasam the Jivan Muktas who love Him immensely, just as the sun blossoms lotus buds, only if they are mature and reached the state of blossoming.

But we are warned of the slippery road ahead that if caution is thrown to the wind, one shall find himself back at the lowest rung of the snake and ladder game.

Jivan Mukta is one who has attained Pati Jnanam. As he is living in a body, his senses may lead him astray and he may not be able to maintain his status as a Jivan Mukta. This is due to Vasana Malam or old habit acquired by long association with pasam or world. In order to first get rid of the Vasana Malam, he has to concentrate his thought on God, and worship him steadily with love; then he will not lose his hard-earned union with God. His grace is everything without which no one can attain Pati Jnanam, the Divine Knowledge. Saint Appar says: “Who can see, if not shown by Him who has an eye in the forehead. He cannot be described as one of this kind one of this colour one of this form, He is God, unless one sees Him through the eye of His Grace.” Saint Manikkavasagar says: “It is by His Grace that one can adore His Feet.” In order to achieve complete purity, the Jivan Mukta should become one with the Lord, just as He is one with him. Jivan Mukta is one with Siva. Further he should do all acts in obedience to His orders, and whatever he does should be reckoned as the acts of God, and not of his own. This is called “Erai Pany” (Service to God).

The Jivan Mukta who is released from pasam on attainment of Spiritual illumination (Pati Jñānam) has a tendency to be drawn in by pasam, the evil, owing to his past association with it. To combat this tendency of Jivan Mukta or to prevent him from falling a prey unto the pasam, and further to support him to maintain his state of illumination as Jivan Mukta, it has become the duty of Jivan Mukta to meditate on the Sacred Five Letters Na, Ma, Si Va, Ya. This mantra is called Sthūla pañcākṣaram. 

When the soul through divinc knowledge has realised God Who cannot be known, by Worldly or pasa Knowledge and its self-knowledge or Pasu knowledge (TharPethan), the soul is liable by old habit or Vasana Malam, to revert to the world and thereby to lose its hard-earned divine wisdom, Patti Jnanam. To remedy this lapse, it is enjoined that the Jivan Mukta should meditate on the Sacred Five Letters. The soul has to meditate on the Sacred Five Letters Si, Va, Ya, Na, Ma. When the letter ‘Si’ is taken as the first letter of the mantra, it reads as- Si Va, Ya, Na, Ma and is called Sūkṣma pañcākṣaram. The letter ‘Si’ is known as Mukti-pañcākṣaram.

If the enlightened Jivan Mukta returns to the world with affection, he loses his illumination of the Spiritual Reality and becomes ignorant of Him and involved in the world of pasam. Hence meditation on the Five Letters is prescribed as a medicine for the deliverance of the Jivan Mukta from the ills of the world.

If the Jivan Mukta meditates on these five letters for a long time, Kundalini will be stimulated and will pass through the Atharas, the centers in the nervous system; and reach Sahasrāra in the forehead. The soul becomes united with Siva.

By this meditation, all the Malams will be destroyed by the Sakti of Siva, and Siva will appear to him in the form of a light. Then he recognises that “Siva is He". This is the beginning of the practice called “Sivoham Pavana” which signifies” “Siva is He”, Soham means “He is I”.

The achievement of the practice of “Sivoham” is not within the easy reach of an aspirant. The Jivan Mukta should now become one with Siva, just as Siva was one with him in his fettered state. When Jivan Mukta is one with Siva, what he does, would not be his acts, but would be the acts of Siva. For the Ichcha, Jnana and Kriya states of Jivan Mukta are identical with those of Siva. Whatever Jivan Mukta does is done according to the will of siva, for Jivan Mukta is in advaita relation with God, Siva.

If his thought, desire and activity (Jñāna, Ichcha and Kriya) impel Jivan Mukta, at times to pursue the three-fold Pasam whose nature is to induce him to forget God and prevent him from attaining His Sustaining Feet which are like the blossoms of red lotus, the Jivan Mukta is now directed to wash off the three fold pasam with Jnana-water or spiritual wisdom.

Jivan Mukta is one living in a body ever after his purification, till he exhausts his residual Karma. As long as the Jivan Mukta lives in his physical body, it is possible for the Jivan Mukta to revert to the world and become interested therein by the recollection of its old habit (Vasana Malam), just like the smell of asafoetida lingers on in its receptacle, even after the removal of asafoetida therefrom. The Jivan Mukta who has attained Siva Jnanam should keep up the realised state without yielding to. the age-long tendency to revert to the world. When Vasana Malam attacks the Jivan Mukta, he must be protected, as he would otherwise fall a prey to pasam and thereby he would forego the illumination received from God. As the protection of the Jivan Mukta is essential he must be associated with Jivan Muktas or true Jnanis replete with immense love unto God, and not with souls bound by pasam. 

Therefore Sariya, Kriya and Yoga are preparatory steps for the final stage of Jnana Marga known as Sanmargam. The aspirants attain the Pada Mukti after their death. Sariya, Kriya and Yoga can only yield a lower type of Mukti called Pada Mukti or graded Mukti or Apara Mukti not the Para Mukti which is attainable only through Jnana Marga known as Sanmarga. Jnana Marga is the final stage. At this stage God induces a perfect Jnani to initiate the deserving aspirant or He does so Himself. This is done, only after the aspirant has learnt to regard alike all actions (Samadhva Buddhi or Iruvinai Oppu) without any attachment to them, and as actions of God Himself. He is one with God. God is love to him. This is the appropriate time for the Anava Malam to cease to have any hold on him. This grace is Sayujyam (the bliss of divine communion), or Para Mukti.