Jīvanmukti in transformation: embodied liberation in Advaita and neo-Vedanta

Jīvanmukti in transformation: embodied liberation in Advaita and neo-Vedanta

Mokṣa
Advaita
Vedanta

"Liberation (mukti) is a central concern in Hinduism, particularly in Advaita (nondual) Vedanta, perhaps the best known school of Hindu thought. There has been vigorous debate and analysis about the possibility and nature of liberation while living (jivanmukti) in Advaita from the time of Sankara, the school's founder, to the present day. While the general conclusion seems to be that one can achieve living liberation, members of the Advaita tradition also regularly express reservations about, or describe limitations to, full liberation while embodied." "Jivanmukti in Transformation examines the development and transformation of the concept of jivanmukti from the Upanisads to the modern era. It gives the most thorough treatment of the scholastic Advaita tradition on liberation while living, makes the novel argument for a distinct "Yogic Advaita" tradition found in the Yogavasistha and Jivanmuktiviveka, and explores the modern "neo-Vedanta" view of jivanmukti, which has been influenced by modern Western concepts like global ecumenism and humanistic social concern for all."--Jacket.

Andrew O. Fort

Albany, NY : State University of New York Press

Introduction : what kind of liberation is liberation while living? -- The development of the idea of embodied liberation before Śaṅkara : the early Upaniṣads, the Brahmasūtras, Gauḍapāda, and the Bhagavad-Gītā -- Knowing Brahman while embodied : Śaṅkara on Jīvanmukti -- Mandana Miśra and Śaṅkara's disciples on Jīvanmukti : Sureśvara, Sarvajñātman, and Vimuktātman -- Jīvanmukti in later scholastic Advaita : Prakāśātman, Citsukha, Madhusūdana Sarasvatī, Prakāśānanda, Sadānanda, and Dharmarāja -- Rāmānuja and Sāṃkhya/Yoga on liberation while living -- Yogic Advaita I : Jīvanmukti in the Yogavāsiṣṭha -- Yogic Advaita II : liberation while living in the Jīvanmuktiviveka -- Yogic Advaita III : Jīvanmukti in the Pañcadaśī, the "Minor" Upaniṣads, and Madhusūdana's Gūḍārthadīpikā -- Neo-Vedanta and the Transformation of Advaitic Jīvanmukti -- A liberated being being liberated : the case of Ramana Maharshi -- Candrasekharendra Sarasvati : Śaṅkarācārya and Jivanmukta? -- The liberated being and social service : Vivekananda, Radhakrishnan, and the neo-Vedantic Jīvanmukta.

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