jivanmukta

Jivanmukta is a term in Hindu philosophy describing a liberated being who remains living in the world. The word combines jivan (living being) and mukta (liberated), meaning "liberated while living." The concept is most associated with Advaita Vedanta, where the true Self is regarded as non-different from Brahman, and ignorance of this unity is the basis of bondage.

In the Advaita view, a jivanmukta has realized the essential oneness of Atman and Brahman and operates from that knowledge while still living in a body. Such a person is said to be free from ego-centered desires, fears, and attachments, seeing all experiences as manifestations of Brahman. Thoughts and actions are not driven by personal want but arise as the will of the divine in the world. A jivanmukta may appear ordinary externally, yet is unaffected by pleasure or pain, success or failure, because the sense of doership and identification with the body-mind has dissolved.

Jivanmukti is distinct from videhamukti, which is liberation at the time of physical death. A jivanmukta continues to inhabit the world but remains unaffected by Maya, the sense of separation, or karmic bondage in daily life. The state is described as freedom in action, enlightenment in presence, and living realization.

Pathways to jivanmukti emphasize discernment between reality and illusion (viveka), dispassion (vairagya), and the steady acquisition of self-knowledge (jnana). While emphasized within Advaita, the idea also appears in related traditions as a model of living liberation. Notable modern teachers, such as Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj, popularized and illustrated the concept in accessible terms.