CURE 2127 Religious Traditions of India Essay 2: Jivanmukti in Sikhism Lee Gordon (SID: 1155003686) __________________________________

Introduction
Aim This essay will go into detail the concept of jivantmukti in Sikhism. This essay will be divided into two parts. In the first part, we will examine why Jivanmukti is possible in Sikhism by studying the definition of Moksha in Sikh literature. The second part will reveal from the Sikh point of view why a jivanmukta has to continue his/her existence.

Background Jivanmukti, translated as living liberation, has long been a matter of debate in the Dharmic faiths. In Hinduism, speculations on jivanmukti were made since the Upanishadic period. On one hand, Adi Shankara suggested that Moksha (liberation) is attained when one realized the Atman (Self)1 and the Jivanmukta (liberated being) would continue to live until all the prarabdha karma2 is destroyed3. This seemingly confirms the possibility of jivanmukti. On the other hand, Ramanuja denied the possibility of jivanmukti by defining Moksha as the release from limiting barriers, which include the physical body, rather than

Radhakrishnan. Indian Philosophy Vol. 1 (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1962) , 636. 2 Prarabdha karma refers to the karma that has already begun to bear fruit in this present life. 3 Andrew O. Fort, Jivanmukti in Transformation (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998), 8.

the disappearance of the self4. In Jainism, moksha refers to the eradication of all karma and this is why jivanmukti that is still in embodiment is not advocated and starving to death is seen as the final stage towards mukti5. Both Theraveda and Mahayana Buddhism seem to advocate the concept of jivanmukti by suggesting the nirvana, which could be explained as the extinction and annihilation of desires and sufferings6. However, the two sects define jivanmukti in a different way with Theraveda Buddhism advocating the Arhat as the ideal and Mahayana Buddhism suggesting the Buddhisattva as the ideal.

In more than a thousand year of development, no single school of thought could give a concrete and systematic concept of jivanmukti. No single faith could give a unanimous conclusion on whether jivanmukti is possible. It is not until the rise of Sikhism, which strongly confirms the idea of jivanmukti, that the state of jivanmukti is described comprehensively and consistently.

Moksha in Sikhism
Moksha, in literal term, means liberation. Like other dharmic religions, Sikhism refers moksha as the liberation from Samsara (Transmigration). Adi Granth says, They who swim across and help mankind to swim across the bitter ocean of Samsara are victorious in

Dr. Nirmal Singh Gill, Moksha(Salvation) (India: Arun Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., 1995), 26. 5 Dharam Singh, Sikh Theology of Liberation (New Delhi: Harman Publishing House, 1991), 40. 6 Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught (Taipei: Torch of Wisdom, 1983), 40.

the mundane world and are a success7.

Unity with God However, Sikhs concept of Moksha is more than that. It refers to the merger into the Divinity. The tenth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh said, As crores of ripples are produced from one river (and) ripples of water all become (just) water so from the All Form (Biswarupa) appear unconscious and conscious beings springing from Him, (and) all are merged in Him (again)8. Ripples in the verse refer to matters. This suggests that all matters are manifestations of Akl Purakh, the Divinity in Sikhism. It is then said that the conscious beings will be merged in the Divinity again. This means that one will unite with Akl Purakh once one becomes Self-conscious. In this sense, Sikhism could be defined as a monism thought that suggests the unity with the Divinity as the ideal of mankind, which in order words is the definition of Moksha in Sikhism.

Requisite to moksha: Eradication of ego (Haumai) and God-consciousness The Adi Granth furthers into explanation of the requirements to attain the state of Moksha. The Adi Granth suggests that ego or selfcenteredness (Haumai) is the cause of suffering as one is obstructed from seeing the truth when one is self-centered. Adi Granth says, Overwhelmed by the sense of I amness leads not to Truth.9 Sikh scholar Dr. Nirmal Singh Gill further concludes in his book Moksha (Liberation) that Moksha in Sikhism refers to losing all traits of
7 8

Adi Granth Maru 1 Sohile 357. Duncan Greenlees, The Gospel of Guru Granth Sahib (Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1953), 53. 9 A. G. Gauri M1 218.

individuality10. Ego makes one fall into the fallacy of duality and blocks one from seeing the truth that the Self and Akl Purakh as one. Therefore, to attain moksha, one must eradicate ones ego first. As a matter of fact, the Adi Granth recognizes that the eradication of ego as the immediate step to attain moksha. From the Adi Granth, The world is bondage, only those are saved who kill their ego.11 and Discard the ego to realize the essence of God.12 These all point out that the denial of ego is the requisite to Moksha.

Another requirement for moksha as defined by Adi Granth is Godconsciousness. Nanak: God-conscious man attains the door of Mukti.13 In fact, in Japu Ji, Guru Nanak said, he who realizes His Will is freed from Ego.14 This suggests that being God-conscious could help one to eradicate ones ego, and thus moksha is attained. Adi Granth further mentions not surrendering oneself to God will make one continue to suffer in Samsara. The Sakat understands not, the secret of shabda and hence he cometh and goeth.15 Here, Sakat refers to those who dont believe in God16. This means that Godconsciousness could save one from continual reincarnation and suggests the importance of God-consciousness in the process of mukti.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Dr. Nirmal Singh Gill, 64. A. G. Asa M1 173 asht. A. G. Ramkali M1 Asht 286. A. G. 906. Japu Ji, Pauri 2. A.G. Gurmat Nirnna, Maru M1, Solhe, 230. Dr. Nirmal Singh Gill, 116.

Continuation of life after attaining moksha Now we can conclude that by eradicating ones ego and being Godconscious, one is then freed from the plight of samsara and thus attains moksha. Since both could be and must be attained when one is alive, this confirms the possibility of jivanmukti in Sikhism. Given this definition of moksha, one should then note that jivanmukti is the ideal put forth for the Sikhs and this is the reason why I would say Jivanmukti is given a strong affirmation in Sikhism. Someone may then argue that the above requisites only show that moksha has to be attained when alive, but they do not point out that the mukta will continue to live once they are fulfilled. This means that it is still possible for the mukta to drop the body once the two requisites are met. Nevertheless, the Adi Granth shows a number of signs of continuation of life after moksha being attained. During life, he remains detached, and does work he got from the Lord.17 Ego eradication leads to peace of mind one becomes light and merges into the All-Light.18 Here during life and peace of mind suggest the continuation of present life even when moksha is attained. The word jivanmukta even appears in the Adi Granth for a few times. In Adi Granth, Jivanmukta is he, who is freed of ego.19 Base on the above, we may then conclude that Jivanmukti is achievable and essential in Sikhism. One should then note that a jivanmukta in Sikhism is not like a sannyasi who live an ascetic way of life, instead, judging from the appearance of the jivanmukta, it is impossible for us to distinguish a
17 18 19

A.G. Asa M1 Asht., 184. A.G. Gauri GuareriAsht, 139. A.G. Maru M1 ast., 325.

Sikh jivanmukta from a normal person as they seemingly live the same kind of live, that is a social life. As a matter of fact, Guru Nanak advocated social activeness as the ideal of a jivanmukta. Guru Nanak said, A God-conscious man takes to the Name, and remains equipoised in meditation. This is how he starts his day. He earns a living out of true labour, that is, truthful earning by the sweat of his brow, and donates to the needy from his earnings.20 This verse implies that even a jivanmukta has to engage himself in society by earning a living and the ideal of helping society as the responsibility.

The purpose of a jivanmukta

Dr. Nirmal Singh Gill mentioned in Moksha (Salvation) that mans duty on earth can be summarized into two kinds, first attaining jivanmukti and thus working for the redress of humanity at large21. In fact, the Adi Granth advocates a jivanmukta has to help others to cease all the effects of Haumai and attain moksha. They who swim across and help mankind to swim across22 He is a philosophers stone who transmutes others into Gold.23 These references simply point out to the demand for a jivanmukta to help others attain moksha.

Jivanmukta to teach the true knowledge So far as it is concerned, the Adi Granth did stress the importance of a Guru on the path towards moksha. Through service of the Guru, God is realized the truth is realized which takes one to the door of
20 21 22 23

Rattan Singh Jaggi, Guru Nanak Bani (Amritsar: Madan Publishers), 61 Dr. Nirmal Singh Gill, 81. A.G. Maru 1 Sohile, 357. A.G. Gauri M1, 142 Asht.

Mukti24 Dream not Mukti without the gracious Guru and cycle of birth and death stops not. These verses point out the role of a Guru as the enlightener. The second verse even implies that mukti cannot be achieved if one is not assisted by a Guru. As a Guru is indispensable in the process of mukti, this further infers that a Guru, who must also be a mukta, must continue to stay in the world or else no one could attain moksha since there is no Guru to take refuge to. Adi Granth reveals, If we meet the perfect Guru, we receive the jewel of discriminative knowledge.25 We may see that the rationale behind the claim that a Guru or a jivanmukta could help others to attain moksha is that they could teach other people the discriminative knowledge, that is the knowledge to see the Self and thus to eradicate ones ego. The eradication of ego, as I have mentioned before, corresponds to moksha in Sikhism.

Nonetheless, one should then note that though due to the difficulty to identify the true Guru, the tenth Guru Gobind Singh dispensed with the physical form as a human creature of a Guru and declared the Adi Granth as the eternal Guru26, this does not mean that a jivanmukta does not have to perform the role as a Guru, which stands for a spiritual teacher. The only difference here is that the jivanmukta will succeed the role and spirit as succeeded by the Ten Gurus.

24 25

A.G. Gauri Bairagan M1, 150. A.G. Sri Rag. M1, Ashapadis, 96. 26 Pashaura Singh, Sikh Dharam, Religions of South Asia : an introduction (London: Routledge, 2006), edited by Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby, 135.

Videhmukti Final merger Last but not least, one should take note that the stage of jivanmukti is not the ultimate state for some individualities, that is the body, still remain. Dr. Nirmal Singh Gill added the point that a jivanmukta is only on a lower step on the ladder than a videhmukta as the union with God is possible only when the traits of personality are negated27. This means that one has to drop ones physical body to attain the final union with God. Adi Granth presents the strongest proof to this claim, He bestows upon us His Grace and grants merger into the Supreme, the highest perfection of all28 This suggests that merger, which refers to videhmukti, is the ultimate goal, but not jivanmukti. After all, sameness in essence with God could be attained and non-duality is achieved.

Conclusion
Unlike the ascetic traditions, Sikhisms definition of jivanmukti could be best summarized as a detachment while in social activeness through the eradication of ego and being conscious to God. In this sense, jivanmukti could be said to be the free from bondage resulting from the realization of Self. Given this definition, jivanmukti is thus held possible as the realization of Self does not lead to immediate dissolution of the body. The doctrine of jivanmukti provides a support for the teaching of social participation in Sikhism. Sikh Gurus also laid down a clear guideline for the jivanmukta to do and reinforced their role in helping others attain moksha. Based on this doctrine, the Sikhs
27 28

Dr. Nirmal Singh Gill, 120. A.G. Guari M1, 142.

developed into a society-affirming community and actively engaged themselves in worldly affairs with a view to attaining the moksha as defined by Guru Nanak.

Bibliography
Andrew O. Fort. Jivanmukti in Transformation. Albany: State University of New York Press. 1998. Print. Dr. Nirmal Singh Gill. Moksha(Salvation). India: Arun Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. 1995. Print. Dharam Singh. Sikh Theology of Liberation. New Delhi: Harman Publishing House. 1991. Print. Walpola Rahula. What the Buddha Taught. Taipei: Torch of Wisdom. 1983. Print. Adi Granth. Sri Guru Granth Sahib English Version Vols. I to IV. Delhi: Gurdas Kapoor & Sons Pvt. Ltd. Print. Rattan Singh Jaggi. Guru Nanak Bani. Amritsar: Madan Publishers. Print. Japu Ji Sahib. http://www.boloji.com/sikhism/japujisahib/js01.htm. September 1999. Web. 14 March 2011. Duncan Greenlees. The Gospel of Guru Granth Sahib. Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House. 1953. Print. Pashaura Singh. Sikh Dharam. Religions of South Asia : an introduction. London: Routledge. 2006. Edited by Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby. Print.