The state of being liberated while still in a physical body—living in the world but no longer bound by it, free from identification while functioning fully.
Author
Advaita Vedanta tradition
जीवन्मुक्ति (Jīvanmukti)
Liberation While Living
Jīvanmukti is the state of complete liberation (moksha) while still alive in a physical body. It is not something that happens after death—it is the recognition of freedom here and now, in this very life.
Breaking Down the Term:
The One Who Has Realized This:
Common Misconception: “I will be liberated when…”
The Truth: Liberation is not attained in time—it is the recognition of what is timelessly true. You are already free; you just don’t know it yet.
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे
Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
”The Self is not killed when the body is killed”
— Bhagavad Gītā 2.20
The Self is always free. Liberation is realizing this truth, not becoming something new.
If we are already free, what creates bondage?
The Only Bondage: Ignorance (Avidyā) of our true nature. We believe ourselves to be:
The Liberation: Recognition that these identifications are false. You are not the wave—you are the ocean. The wave’s apparent limitation never actually limited the water.
Freedom from:
Presence of:
Important: A Jīvanmukta may appear completely ordinary. Liberation is an internal recognition, not an external display.
They might:
The Key Difference: While they function in the world, there is no identification with the role. They play their part but know they are not the character.
From Aṣṭāvakra Gītā:
विश्राम्यति गजे महान् आरूढे इव निर्धनः
”Like a poor man who happens to ride an elephant, he acts but is not the actor”
The Paradox:
Understanding the Paradox: The rope you thought was a snake is recognized as a rope. Did anything actually change? The rope was always a rope. Yet everything has changed—fear vanished, reality revealed.
Similarly, the body-mind continues, but the identification with it drops away. The personal self you thought you were never existed. Yet the functioning continues—now free, spontaneous, natural.
How can there be action without a doer?
Consider:
The Recognition: Actions happen through the body-mind, but the witnessing awareness neither acts nor refrains from acting. You are that witness—prior to action, untouched by action.
नैव किञ्चित् करोमीति युक्तो मन्येत तत्त्ववित्
Naiva kiñcit karomīti yukto manyeta tattvavit
”The knower of truth thinks: ‘I do nothing at all’”
— Bhagavad Gītā 5.8
The Teaching: You don’t become a Jīvanmukta—you recognize you’ve always been free. The “path” is the removal of false ideas about who you are.
Direct discrimination:
Self-inquiry:
Scriptural study (Śravaṇa, Manana, Nididhyāsana):
Complete surrender:
The transformation: When devotion is complete, the devotee realizes they were never separate from the divine. The wave merges into the ocean by recognizing it was always ocean.
Selfless service:
The teaching: When you act without ego, recognizing the divine as the true doer, action purifies the mind. A pure mind reflects reality clearly, leading to recognition of truth.
Most realized beings use a combination:
Everything and Nothing:
What continues:
What’s different:
Physical pain: The body feels pain, but the jīvanmukta knows “I am not the body.” Sensation happens but doesn’t create suffering.
Mental activity: Thoughts arise in the mind, but the jīvanmukta doesn’t claim ownership: “These are thoughts, not MY thoughts.”
Emotional responses: Feelings may arise naturally (compassion, joy), but without the “me” story. Emotions move through like weather in the sky.
From Aṣṭāvakra Gītā:
चरन् तिष्ठन् स्वपञ्जागरन् वा मोचते योगी
”Walking, standing, sleeping, or waking—the yogi remains free”
The Jīvanmukta:
The constant: Freedom from the sense of being a limited, separate self. Life happens, but no one is trapped by it.
Q: Can a Jīvanmukta suffer?
A: Physical pain may occur in the body, but mental suffering (caused by identification) ceases. They don’t resist pain or cling to pleasure—both are witnessed with equanimity.
Q: Do they have desires?
A: Natural preferences may occur (body wants food, warmth), but craving (desperate need to fulfill desire) disappears. They act naturally without attachment to outcomes.
Q: Do they make mistakes?
A: The body-mind may err (forget something, stumble), but there’s no one taking it personally. Mistakes happen, but no “me” suffers from them.
Q: Can they help others?
A: Often, teaching happens naturally. Their very presence—free from ego—can trigger recognition in others. They may actively teach or simply live as examples.
Q: How long does it take?
A: Recognition can happen in an instant—it’s timeless. However, integration and stabilization may take time. Some recognize immediately; others have gradual awakening.
Q: Can I become a Jīvanmukta?
A: YOU cannot become liberated, because “you” (the ego) is the bondage. When the false you is seen through, what remains is already free. The question itself assumes separation that doesn’t exist.
Stop and notice:
The Recognition: This awareness that’s reading these words, that’s present right now—this IS the liberated Self. Not bound, never was bound, cannot be bound.
The Only Question: Do you know yourself as this awareness? Or do you still believe you are the thoughts, the body, the person?
तत्त्वमसि
Tat tvam asi
”You are That”
You are already the eternal, free, infinite awareness. Jīvanmukti is recognizing this truth and living from it—now, not later.
The Practice:
Whenever you remember, ask: “Who am I?”
The answer is not words—it’s the silent awareness that hears the question.
Abide there. You are already home.
The body walks,
But I do not move.
The mind thinks,
But I am not the thought.
Life happens,
But I am the space in which it occurs—
Unchanging, untouched, forever free.
This is Jīvanmukti:
Living as That which I have always been.
May you recognize your eternal freedom—not tomorrow, not after death, but right now, in this very moment. You are already That. 🦋🙏