Difference between a realized soul and liberated soul

[dattaswami]

Difference between a realized soul and liberated soul

 

 

Question

 

Shri. G.Lakshman asked about the difference between the realized soul and the liberated soul.

Answer

Swami replied: Realization is theoretical knowledge of the concept where as liberation is the practical implementation of the same concept. These two words can mean knowledge of some concept and the process of release of something bound by some other thing respectively.

 

Realization is used in general as the knowledge of some forgotten truth and liberation also can mean release of an animal from the chain by which it is bound. In the spiritual knowledge these two words have to be applied to the required context about which you are concerned.

 

The causal body (soul) is super imposed on the external gross body and the internal subtle (mind) body. When the soul gets rid of these two super impositions and realizes its own nature of pure awareness, this is called as realization according to the advaitin (who say that soul is God). The advaitin is concerned only about the realization of the self and hence you cannot use this word in any other context.

 

Similarly for advaitin the liberation means the release of the soul from the illusions of super impositions of itself on subtle and gross bodies. The advaitin is limiting himself to these contexts only and hence these two words cannot be used in any other context. For an ignorant villager these two words are limited to his specific context only. For him the realization means finding out the place of an agricultural tool forgotten by him for some time. For him the liberation means release of the cow from its chain to go to field. You cannot bring the context of advaitin to the context of the villager and vice versa. Therefore the realized soul and the liberated soul stand for certain specified contexts only as per the scope of the observer. However, if you are interested to know these two words in the context of final spiritual knowledge, the meanings are different.

 

In the final level of spiritual knowledge the realized soul is that soul which realizes that the unimaginable God is in a particular alive human form. Realization means knowledge of some forgotten concept. But God is always unknowable and hence there is no point of forgetting and realizing the forgotten nature of the God. Only in the case of the knowable item the word realization has its application. Therefore, realization of absolute God is impossible and hence, the words like the knowledge of Brahman (Brahma Jnana) or education about God (Brahma Vidya) are meaningless in the absolute sense. But these words exist and the sense of such words is to be explained.

 

The unknowable God enters and charges the medium like the current entering a metallic wire to give the knowledge about His existence and not to give the knowledge about His nature. Hence these words must mean the knowledge of the medium in which the unknowable Brahman exists (Astityeva….Veda). Brahman or God always enters the common medium of human beings so that God can mix freely and also can preach the human beings through the human body. Therefore, the knowledge of the existence of Brahman in the alive human body of a particular incarnation is Brahma Jnana or Brahma Vidya, which is complete only when the contemporary human incarnation is recognized.

 

Therefore, the realization means the recognition of the contemporary human incarnation only. To please the Lord in such alive human form, practical devotion (service) is necessary. Such service is seen in your family bonds. The service in the family bonds shows the real attraction to those bonds. When your service is diverted from the family bonds to God in the alive human form, you are a liberated soul and the liberation is from your family bonds. For such liberation, the realization of alive human form of God must be the reason (Before all this you must be liberated from the illusion that yourself is God). Without such reason if the soul is liberated from the worldly bonds, it is just a state of a stone.

 

All the advaitins who fix themselves in the state of pure awareness or life energy without mind (subtle body) are just like the plants in the human form. All the avadhutas who are just in the state of deep sleep without even a trace of awareness of anything are just the stones in human form. All these are liberated souls from the worldly bonds but since they are not realized souls, there is no use of such liberation. Such permanent liberation from the worldly bonds and such permanent realization of the self is again due to your constant prayer to God with the rigid request to grant such permanent liberation and the subsequent grace of God only. God grants your request since you are rigid in your foolish desire. Otherwise, such liberation and such realization without the grace of God are momentary only.

Shankara also stressed on the God’s grace to get such permanent realization, which was called as vasana (pumsam advaita vasana). The word vasana here means the strong and permanent feeling of realization. The realized soul without liberation is an incapable theorist and a liberated soul without realization is an inert practical example. Both are useless. Hanuman and Gopikas are such realized and liberated souls who recognized the contemporary human incarnation and they were liberated from the worldly bonds for the sake of such alive human forms of God. The realization without liberation is like lame and liberation without realization is like blind.

 

Duryodhana was neither realized nor liberated soul. Dhritarashtra was a realized soul who recognized Krishna as God but not liberated from the bond of the son. Pandavas are realized souls who recognized Krishna as God but their liberation from worldly bonds was almost complete but not fully complete. The reason for such a little deficiency in the liberation was only a little deficiency in the realization. Therefore, if the realization is without any doubt, the determination will result in practice and the liberation will become complete. Dharmaraja knows that Krishna is the incarnation of Lord Narayana. His concept was that Krishna is one percent human being and ninety nine percent Narayana. Narayana is hundred percent justice according to Dharmaraja. When Krishna asked him to tell a lie, Dharmaraja thought that the one percent human being is asking to tell the lie. According to him, Narayana is hundred percent sattvam, which is good quality. Therefore, Narayana is hundred percent good. Krishna is also good everywhere except in this instance. Therefore Dharmaraja thought that Krishna is ninety nine percent Narayana only.

 

Therefore he refused to tell the lie. This little fault in the realization led him to slip a little from the full liberation and hence he could not liberate himself from the bond of justice. The reason for this deficiency is in the knowledge about God and also even about the qualities. No single quality can have isolated existence. God is beyond the three qualities. He is beyond sattvam also and therefore beyond justice also. (Sarva dharman…….Gita, Punya Pape vidhuya…..Veda). Thus the realization becomes complete only when the divine knowledge is perfect and therefore God in human form (Satguru or Guru Datta) is giving stress on the propagation of the true divine knowledge.

 

In fact Krishna is hundred percent Narayana and one percent human being. (Manushiam Tanumaasritam) This means that the full Lord Narayana entered into the human being and therefore the total Krishna is hundred plus one and not hundred. Since the one percent human being is relatively true, in the absolute plane Krishna is also hundred percent Narayana. Even in Narayana, Rajas and Tamas co-exist as traces, which can also predominate whenever it is required in the divine game. For example the same Lord Narayana became Narasimha in whom Rajas (anger) came out to almost hundred percent. In fact Narayana is also hundred plus one because the hundred percent God entered the one percent human energetic form. Since energy and matter are one and the same according to science (E=MC*C) the human body or the energetic body is one percent only.

 

 

At the Lotus Feet of His Holiness Sri Dattaswami

 

Anil Antony

 

www.universal-spirituality.org

Universal Spirituality for World Peace

antonyanil@universal-spirituality.org