Liberation in Contemporary Life
Liberation is just the awareness of truth, the falling off of the scales of delusion from the eye. It is not a special suburb of select souls; it is not a closed monopoly of expert sadhakas (spiritual seekers). Like the Godavari (a river) losing its form, its name, and its taste in the sea, liberation dissolves the name and form, aptitudes and attitudes. You are no more separate, particular, individual. The raindrop has merged in the sea, from where the drop arose. Of course, there was no bondage at any time and no prison; there was only a fixation in the mind that one was bound, that one was in prison, that one was limited and finite!
Pathways to God, Vol. 3, p. 215
When the obstacles in the path of truth are laid low, deliverance is achieved. That is why moksha (liberation) is something that can be won here and now. One need not wait for the dissolution of the physical body for that.
Mukti or liberation is the attainment and experience of pure, unalloyed, and absolute bliss. Some ignorant people think that mukti is attained only after death or in some future life. This simplistic view involves a gross misconception of mukti. Mukti really means freedom from bondage and implies an ascent from a lower state to a higher state. It is the result of a process of transcendental evolution by which the human becomes the divine.
Pathways to God, Vol. 3, p. 219
For one who desires to attain the divine heights of the Supreme Being, karma [action] and wisdom are like the two wings of a bird. Many jnanis (seekers of wisdom) put a stop to their actions, thinking that they have reached the highest state. In the state of nirvikalpa samadhi [superconscious, without mind or ego] it is not possible to do anything. This may be described as the natural state of vairagya (detachment). But some people feel proud of their wisdom and discard all activity. This kind of vairagya proceeds from sloth, tamas, and is the result of vanity. This pseudo-detachment born out of indolence can never be traced to wisdom.
“In fact, the wise never desist from action, in order to set a model for others. If the wise do not act, there will be none to guide the ignorant,” Krishna observed.
Pathways to God, Vol. 3, p. 210
The material world is what becomes visible to our senses what pleases our senses, what fascinates our minds and what informs our brain. But, in and through this very world, there is one reachable non-material subjective world. When that is known, both worlds reveal themselves as partial expressions of the same indivisible consciousness. The two supplement each other into one fullness. From Parabrahma (the full), the jiva (the individual that is the complement) arises.
Pathways to God, Vol. 3, pp. 180-181
