Posted on: 09 Jan 2022
[A question by Shri PVNM Sharma]
Swami replied:- Liberated soul means the soul, which is not touched by the happiness or misery in the world even though the soul is surrounded by happiness and misery in the world. It does not mean that the soul, which is away from the happiness and misery of the world is a liberated soul. Liberated soul means the soul, which is in the fire, but not affected in anyway by the fire. If a soul is away from the fire and says that it is not affected by the fire, what is the greatness in it? The Gita says that the lotus flower lives in water and yet it is not touched by water and liberated soul is like such lotus flower (Padmapatra mivāmbhasā— Gītā). When the mind is completely absorbed in God since the soul is fully immersed in God’s work, the worldly misery will not touch such a soul. The best example for this is that while you are seeing a cinema sitting in the theatre, mosquitoes and blood bugs in the seats may be biting you and sucking your blood, you are not aware about them at all since you are thoroughly absorbed in the story of the cinema! If you are feeling the worldly misery, you have not attained even the level of absorption of that spectator of the cinema.
First, you must make him as your preacher to learn the concept of intensive absorption. You are only adsorbed in God. Adsorption is surface phenomenon whereas absorption is the bulk phenomenon. Salvation or liberation means mental detachment from the world and not the physical detachment from the world. Death brings physical detachment from the world whereas salvation brings detachment from the world while you are alive and hence, salvation is perfect in the sense of mental detachment. A mentally detached soul is already liberated from the worldly bonds while alive (Jiivan mukti) and such detachment continues even after death (Videha mukti). If a soul is not detached while alive, it will not be detached from the world even after death. Even if soul leaves the world, its feelings of worldly bonds continue with the soul. A liberated soul while alive may be entangled in the worldly bonds, such soul is mentally detached from the worldly bonds. Mind shall be liberated from the world and not the physical body. If a soul says that why miseries are attacking it even though it is liberated soul, it means that such a soul is not really liberated soul due to illusion about itself. The interest in God or God’s work will decide whether the liberation of the soul is true or false. If the interest on God is real, the salvation of the soul from the worldly bonds is also real. Everybody does not know the meaning of salvation and hence, everybody prays for salvation.
In cinemas they show a scene of liberated soul as it is walking in a beautiful garden enjoying the sweet smell of different flowers! Such misunderstanding attracts everybody towards salvation. If the real meaning of salvation is known as liberation from worldly bonds, everybody will run away from salvation! God said that the soul on reaching Him will not return back whereas other souls on reaching different worlds will return back (Ā Brahma bhuvanāt… Gītā). This does not mean in the sense of physical motion. This means that anybody absorbed in anything other than God will certainly return back because anywhere the attraction is not complete. In the case of God, the attraction is complete and hence, the soul absorbed in God will not return back to the worldly bonds. This is regarding the mental attraction, but not regarding the physical motion of the body. The detachment from the worldly bonds shall come due to attachment or attraction to God and in such case only the detachment from the world becomes real. There should not be even a trace of effort for getting salvation because it is a spontaneous consequence subsequent to the attraction towards God.