Jivanmukta Gita

(by Shri Dattatreya)

Song of the Liberated in Life

I. I offer again and again humble salutations to that great Being which is
immanent in all creation, which shines forth as consciousness (chit) and is ever
liberated, which is the witness of all actions and true knowledge and which is
no other than my innermost self.

II. The liberation while the individual is still alive is called Jivanmukti. It connotes
a definite state. If it is identified with the death of the physical body, then that
liberation which results from the physical body applies equally to the animals
such as dogs and pigs.

III. Jiva is Shiva itself. It is thus in the manner defined, immanent in all creatures.
The person who sees only this truth in life is said to be the liberated though
alive.

IV. Even as the sun illumines the whole world, Brahman which is immanent in all
creatures illumines the whole world. He who realises this is said to be liberated
in life.

V. Even as the moon which appears manifold when reflected in water, in the form
of lakes, rivers or pots and yet is one single entity, Atman the self appears as
many when it takes on different forms (and yet is only one, bieng absolutely
indivisible). Only that person who knows the truth of Atman is said to be
liberated in life, Jivanmukta.

VI. Brahman is immanent in all that exists. For this reason it is devoid of differnce
or identity, that is it cannot be defined in terms of difference (bheda), non-
difference (abheda), or difference-non-difference (bhedabheda), The person
who sees Brahman strictly in this manner is said to be liberated though alive.

VII. The nature of the Reality is as follows : The body transcends the limitations of
space. The Supreme Being is the soul in it. I am the actor and the experience as
well. He who knows it is named the Jivanmukta, the liberated in life.

VIII. Only he who has relinquished the conative senses and the introspective faculty
but has realised the soul within him is said to be Jivanmukta, the liberated in
life.

IX. He whose somatic activity is free from grief and infatuation, and the one who
has no concern whatever with what is agreeable or disagreeable is called the
liberated in life.

X. The person who has come to the decision 'I do not know any activity in the

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 sense that it is supposed to be ordained (by shastra)', the person who never
observes any action by superimposing doership on himself, and understands
that activity is Brahman itself, is one who is said to be liberated in life.

XI. The person who understands and actually sees the Supreme Lord of all the
world as being spirit itself which pervades all space and therefore as being
given along with all creatures, the centres of activity, is said to be liberated in
life.

XII. The Jiva of the creatures that exist from the beginningless time is Shiva
himself. Jiva therefore is never destroyed. Having known this truth the person
who bears no hatred to any creature is said to be liberated in life.

XIII. The self is the preceptor. It is yourself. It is all this. It is the all pervading spirit.
It is never affected by anything. Jiva and Shiva are thus the same. For both
therefore there is no subtraction and no addition. The person who knows this
truth is said to be liberated in life.

XIV. By means of internal introspection that which the wise see as their mind. The
same is the mind 'He am I' soham. This mind with the meditation 'He am I' is
the all pervading Shiva. He knows this thuth is said to be liberated in life.

XV. By means of meditation that which the wise see is the spirit. The same is called
mind, the mind of the wise. The same is called void, destruction and wholesale
destruction. The knower of this thuth is said to be liberated in life.

XVI. He is said to be liberated in life whose mind delights always in understanding,

reflecting and meditating, absorbed in meditation and is free from the relative
ideas of bondage and liberation.

XVII. That wise whose mind has transcended the properties of the root matter is
absorbed in joy within himself. He who is absorbed in spirit, the essence of
knowledge which is Brahman Itself is said to be liberated in life.

XVIII. Those wise men who by means of meditation see the illumination within
themselves are those by whom mind is achieved. They then see the reality as
'He am I'. He who understands the Self in this manner is said to be liberated in
life.

XIX. The wise see that the great Self which is the same as the power as the
auspicious, Shiva the whole universe including the body and the delusion that
pertains to the mind i.e., heart are nothing but the spirit. The person who
understands this truth is said to be liberated in life.

XX. The wise man whose mind constantly meditating on 'He am I' soham is fixed in
the state of transcendence having transcended waking, dreaming and dreamless
sleep and becomes fixed in the all absorbing spirit is said to be liberated in life.

XXI. This knowledge i.e. manas defined as 'He I am' soham is the spirit chaitanya
even as the bead is in the string. The reality presented as 'He am I' is the
highest Brahman itself. It is formless. One who knows this truth is said to be
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 liberated in life, Jivanmukta.

The notion of this and thus and so forth is a fiction oposed to truth and that is
commonly known as volition. It is this mental activity that is the cause in ordinary life
of the distinctions of I and mine. He who is aware of this as the result of the
knowledge and lack of self will become entirely free of volitional activity. Such a one
is spoken of as the unfettered soul though embodied.

XXIII. What is that which the wise and the knowing have known? It is that liberation
which is the condition where the mind becomes steadfast. That is the
established truth. He who is aware of this is the unfettered soul though
embodied.

XXIV. Whoever practises yoga is one who attained mental excellence. One of this
type is a person of inner renunciation, called so on account of the fact that he
has renounced all illusory objects. That is the reason why outwardly he
conducts himself as absolutely inert. He is thus the two-fold renouncer, both
within and without. He is spoken as the unfettered soul though embodied.

Thus ends the song on Jianmukta composed by Shri Dattatreya, the lion of vedant.