Liberation is only cessation of nescience Br.up.4.4.6.S.B--- tasmaat avidyaanivr.ttimaatre mokshavyavahaaraH-------sarpaadinivr.ttiH. Therefore, as we
have already said, the cessation of ignorance alone is what is known as liberation,
like the disappearance of the snake, for instance, from the rope when the wrong
notion about its existence has been eradicated. Br.up.4.4.7.S.B---- ataH mokshaH na des'aantaragamanaadi apekshate. Therefore, liberation does not imply going to
another place (world), etc. Br.up.4.4.20.S.B--- jnaanam cha tasmin paraatmabhaavanivr.ttiH eva.--------------------- iti ubhayam api aviruddham eva.

    The knowledge of Brahman means only the cessation of identification with
external things (such as the body, etc). Identity with Brahman is not something
which requires to be established, since it is always there. Everyone is in reality
always identical with Brahman, but wrongly considers himself to be something
different (due to ignorance). Therefore the scriptures do not enjoin that identity
with Brahman should be established, but only that the false identification with
things other than Brahman should be given up. When the identification with other
things (such as the body) is eradicated, the identity with one's own Self, which is
natural, prevails. This is what is meant by the statement that the Self is realized.

    In itself the Self is unknowable, that is to say it cannot be made the object of any
means of knowledge (pramaaNa). taitt.up. 1.1.S.B--- aatmaa hi brahma--- parapraaptiH.
The Self, indeed, is Brahman. The attainment of the highest will be declared for
the knower of Brahman (taitt.up.2.1.1). Therefore the establishment in one's own
Self, on the eradication of ignorance, is itself the attainment of the highest, namely, liberation. B.S.3.4.52.S.B--- brahma eva hi muktyavasthaa. The state of liberation
is itself Brahman. B.S.3.4.52.S.B---- tat hi asaadhyam nityasiddhasvabhaavam----
---iti asakr.t avadishma. We have said more than once that liberation is not an
effect to be attained; it is only to be realized through knowledge, since it is
eternally existent. (It is not some thing to be brought into existence by any action,
since it is ever present and has only to be realized as such). taitt.up.1.11.S.B---
ato vidyotpattyartham anushTheyaani karmaaNi.

    The rites laid down have to be performed for the attainment of Self- knowledge
(because they purify the mind and make it fit for the rise of knowledge).
taitt. up.1.11.S.B--- yathaa praaptameva kaarakaastitvam upaadaaya----- virodhaH.
The scriptures, on the assumption of the existence of the accessories of action
(such as doer, etc), enjoin rites intended to eradicate the accumulated sins of those
who aspire for liberation and also as a means for the attainment of various results for
those who hanker after them. They do not however, at this stage, concern themselves
with the question of the reality of those accessories. The rise of Self- knowledge is unimaginable for a person who has hindrances in the form of accumulated sins. On the attenuation of those sins, knowledge will emerge and nescience will be eradicated,
resulting in the realization of the illusory nature of the world. A person who perceives something as different from himself may develop a craving for it. Impelled by desire,
he engages himself in action. From that follows the succession of further births for
enjoying the fruits of those actions.

    On the other hand, for a person who sees everything as the Self, no desire can
arise. Such a person remains established in the Self and is liberated from further birth.
It follows from this that Self- knowledge and karma (action) are opposed to each other. taitt.up. 1.11.S.B--- ataH kevalaayaaH eva vidyaayaaH param s'reyaH iti siddham.
Thus it is established that liberation is attained through knowledge alone. taitt. up. 1.11.S.B--- yato janmaantarakr.tamapi---- ishyate. The karmas such as agnihotra and practices such as celibacy, etc, performed in past lives also help the dawn of knowledge.
It is because of this that some persons are found to possess detachment even from their birth itself, while others are seen to be attached to the world and not inclined towards enlightenment. Therefore, for those who have become free from attachment to worldly pursuits as a result of tendencies acquired in past lives it is desirable to resort to the
other stages of life (such as sannyaasa). taitt. up, 1.11.S.B-sarveshaam cha adhikaaraH vidyaayaam ---- iti siddham.

    Persons belonging to all aas'ramas are entitled to Self-realization. Liberation comes from Self-knowledge alone (and not through any karma, though karma must be
performed in the spirit of karma-yoga for attaining fitness for knowledge).
B.S.3.4.36 to 39.S.B-Even those who do not belong to any aas'rama are entitled to
attain Self-knowledge (e.g. Raikva, Gaargii). Br.up.1.4.7.S.B-na hi vedaanteshu brahmaatmavijnaanaat anyat---- ----- avagamyate. In Vedaanta (upanishads) nothing
is spoken of as a means to realization except the knowledge of the identity of the self
and Brahman. (This is said while refuting the contention that Yoga is also by itself a
means to liberation. While Patanjali's Yoga helps by developing one-pointedness of
the mind, it does not postulate the identity of the self and Brahman as Advaita does). People of the present day can also attain Self-knowledge. Br.up.1.4.10.S.B--- seyam brahmavidyayaa sarvabhaavaapattih----- tadvijnaanasya asti.

    Some may think that the gods were able to realize this identity with all through the knowledge of Brahman because of their extraordinary powers, but persons of the
present age, particularly men, can never attain it because of their limited capacity.
In order to remove this wrong notion, it is said here-"And even this day, whoever,
curbing his interest in external things, strives for Self-knowledge, can attain it. -------- There is no difference as regards Brahman or the knowledge of It, between giants
like Vamadeva and the human weaklings of today".

    Br.up.3.3.1.S.B--- ajnaanavyavadhaananivartakatvaat jnaanasya mokshaH jnaanakaaryam iti uchyate. Because Self-knowledge removes the obstruction in the
form of ignorance, liberation is metaphorically said to be the result of knowledge. (Liberation is not really an effect or result at all, since it is already existent in the
sense that there is really no bondage at all). Br.up.3.3.1.S.B- -- na cha
ajnaanavyatirekeNa mokshasya ------- yat karmaNaa nivartyeta. We cannot
imagine any other obstruction to liberation than ignorance, because liberation
is identical with the self of the aspirant and is therefore eternal (and not something
to be brought into existence by any karma). Br.up.3.3.1.S.B--- na aapyo api aatmasvabhaavatvaat ekatvaat cha. Liberation is not something to be attained
because it is identical with the Self and (the Self) is one (without a second). Br.up.3.5.1.S.B--- na hi paramaarthaavadhaaraNaanishThaayaam --- kaachana virodhas'a.nkaa. We do not maintain that things different from Brahman exist when
the highest truth has been realized, since the S'ruti says "One only, without a second"
and "Without interior or exterior" (2.5.19 and 3.8.8). Nor do we deny the validity,
for the ignorant, of actions with their factors and results as long as the relative
world of name and form is considered as real. Therefore the standpoint depends
on knowledge or ignorance and there is no contradiction between the two.

    Br.up.4.3.34.S.B-tasmaat samprasaadasthaanam--- The state of deep sleep is taken
as the example for describing liberation in the upanishads. Br.up.4.3.20.S.B-tasmaat
na aatmadharmo avidyaa-------- moksha upapadyate. Therefore nescience is not a
natural characteristic of the Self, for what is natural to a thing can never be removed
from it, like the heat and light of the sun. Liberation from ignorance is therefore
possible. Br.up.4.4.6.S.B--- na hi vastutaH ------- upapadyate eva. In reality, there
is no distinction like bondage and liberation in the Self, because it is always the same;
but the ignorance covering it is removed by the knowledge arising from the teachings
of the scriptures. Br.up.4.4.6.S.B--- sarvadaa samaikarasam----- ----------------- vijnaanaphalamapekshya. We hold that it is the definite conclusion of all the
upanishads that we are nothing but the aatmaa, the Brahman that is always the
same, homogeneous, one without a second, unchanging, birthless, undecaying,
immortal, and free from all fear. Therefore the statement "He is merged in Brahman"
is a figurative one, meaning the cessation, as a result of knowledge, of the continuous
chain of births and deaths for one who was considering himself (out of ignorance) to be other than Brahman. Br.up.4.4.7.S.B--- ataH mokshaH na des'aantaragamanam---- iti uktam. Therefore liberation does not mean going to another place (or world). The
organs of a realized person do not go anywhere else, but they merge in their cause,
just where they are. As has been said in Br.up. 3.2.12, only their names remain. Br.up. 4.4.9.S.B--- tasmaat ayameva mokshamaargaH---- Therefore liberation is the
absorption of the body and organs such as the eye in this very life, like the
extinguishing of a lamp, when transmigration comes to an end because of the
exhaustion of all desires. Panchadas'i- 2.99- -

    Even after realization of the non-dual Reality, worldly dealings may continue as
before, but no reality would be attached to them. The enlightened man will continue
to see the world like every one else; but he will not be affected by anything that
happens, knowing that joys and sorrows are only for the body-mind complex and not
for the Self. See also 4.40. B,S.1.1.4.S.B- tatra kinchit pariNaaminityam syat----- kaalatrayam nopaavartete. Eternality is of two kinds, known as pariNaaminityam and kooTasthanityam. The first is what continues to be recognized as the same, though undergoing changes, e.g. earth, etc, for those who hold the universe to be eternal, or
the guNas for the Saankhyas. The second category is what never changes. Brahman
is eternal in this sense. B.S.1.1.4.S.B-avidyaakalpitabhedanivr.ttitvaat s'aastrasya.

    The purpose of the scriptures is only to remove the notion of difference(duality)
caused by nescience. B.S.1.1.4.S.B--- nityas'uddhabrahmasvaroopatvaat mokshasya. Liberation is of the nature of Brahman which is eternally pure. Liberation is not the
result of action (karma). B.S.1.1.4.S.B--- ato anyanmoksham prati-------- na upapadyate. Apart from these (four), nobody can show any other mode by which liberation can be
said to result from action. Accordingly, there is not the slightest possibility of any
action being the cause of liberation. Explanation:- The results of all actions fall under
one or other of the following four categories-production, attainment (or acquisition), transformation and purification. Brahman, being eternal, is not something to be
produced. Being all-pervading and one's own real nature, it is not something to be
attained or acquired. Being ever the same, it is not the transformation of something
else, as curd is of milk. Being ever pure, it is not to be got by purification of something else, as gold is obtained by purification of ore. Non-realization of Brahman being
due only to ignorance, knowledge alone can lead to its realization.

    V.C. verse 2- Commentary of H.H.Chandrasekhara Bharati Svami- tena saalokya-saamiipya-saaruupya-saayujyaanaam mukhyamuktitvaabhaavaH suuchitaH bhavati. These four-saalokya, etc, are not of the nature of liberation in the principal
sense. Since they relate only to saguNa Brahman, they are to be considered only as mithyaa or illusory. Jiivanmukti---liberation even while living. Br.up.4.4.6.S.B---
tasmaat iha eva brahma eva--------- na s'ariirapaatottarakaalam Therefore, being
always Brahman, he is merged in Brahman, in this very life, not after the fall of the
body. Jiivanmukti is also spoken of in B.G.S.B-2.51, 5.24, 6.27 and 18.25- --
Liberation consists in remaining identified with the changeless Self even while
living in the present body. Liberation is not something to be attained after death. Br.up.4.4.6-na tasya praaNaa utkraamanti----brahmaapyeti. The organs of the
realized person do not depart (to take up another body). Being already Brahman,
he merges in Brahman. Br.up.3.2.11.S.B- neti hovaacha yaajnavalkyo -----uurmaya
iva samudre. The organs and objects do not depart, but attain identity with, or merge,
in him only, their cause, the man of realization, who is the Supreme Brahman, like
waves in the ocean.

    The characteristics of the jiivanmukta : Vedaanta saara- Chapter 6. Jiivanmukto nama---- A person liberated-in-life is one who, by the realization of the Absolute
Brahman, his own Self, has dispelled the ignorance regarding It and who is free from
all bondage and is established in Brahman, because of the destruction of ignorance
and all its effects . See also muND. Up. 2.2.8. When he is not in samaadhi he
experiences sense-objects as well as hunger, thirst, etc, but does not consider them
to be real and is therefore not at all affected by them. He is like a man witnessing a magical performance, being fully aware that what he sees is not real. "He who does
not see anything in the waking state as in sound sleep; who, though seeing duality,
does not really see it as he sees only the Absolute; who, though engaged in action
(for the good of the world),is in reality inactive (being totally free from the idea of
agency); he, and none other, is the knower of the Self. This is the truth." (S'ankara's upades'asaahasrii,5). "

    Such qualities as freedom from hatred are natural to one who has attained Self-knowledge. They have not to be cultivated with effort (as in the case of an aspirant
for liberation)"--- Naishkarmyasiddhi,4.69. videhamukti A jiivanmukta (one who is liberated in life) continues to live till the praarabdhakarma which gave rise to the
present body is exhausted. Then his body falls and he attains videhamukti or Absolute oneness, from which there is no return (see S'rii S'ankara's Vaakya vr.tti- verses 52,53). "His sense-organs do not depart elsewhere (for taking up another body)"-Br.up.4.4.6. "They (the sense-organs) are absorbed in him"-Br.up.3.2.11. "Already liberated, he is freed (from further birth)" - KaTha up. 2.2.1. Ch.up.6.14.2.S.B-For a person who has already become a jiivanmukta the delay (in attaining videhamukti) is only till the body falls after the enjoyment of the fruits of action due to which it was born. KaTha up. 2.3.15.S.B-
By declaring "He attains Brahman here" (2.3.14), it has been shown that there is
no going to any other world for an enlightened man for whom all the knots of
ignorance have been destroyed on the realization of the identity of the self with
the all-pervading and absolutely attributeless Brahman, and who becomes Brahman
even while living, as also asserted by another text: "His organs do not depart.
Being but Brahman, he is merged in Brahman"- Br.up.4.4.6. Kramamukti (Liberation
by stages).

    It has been said earlier that a person who realizes his identity with Brahman becomes liberated even while living (jiivanmukta). Such a person becomes a videhamukta when
his body falls on the exhaustion of his praarabdhakarma. There is another kind of liberation known as kramamukti or liberation by stages. Those who meditate on Om
go to Brahmaloka and attain liberation there. Others who meditate on Brahman without
the use of symbols also go to Brahmaloka by the path of the gods and attain liberation there (B.S.4.3.15.S.B). Those who meditate with the help of symbols do not go to Brahmaloka. In the meditations based on symbols, the meditations are not fixed on Brahman, the symbols being the chief object and so the meditator does not attain Brahmaloka (B.S.4.3.16). Meditation on a linga as S'iva or on a saalagraama as Vishnu
are examples of meditation based on symbols. So also are the meditations such as "Meditate on the mind as Brahman" (Ch.up.3.18.1), "Meditate on the sun as Brahman" (Ch.up.3.19.1). Such meditators attain other results, but not liberation. B.S.4.3.10.S.B--- kaaryabrahmalokapralayapratyupasthaane sati ----- ----------sambhavatiityupapaaditam. When the time for the final dissolution of the world of the conditioned Brahman is imminent, those who are in that world and have acquired full realization there attain liberation along with hiraNyagarbha. Such a liberation by stages has to be admitted
on the strength of the upanishadic texts.