The Liberated One's Relationship to the World
The Jivanmukta does not withdraw from the world but engages with it from the recognition that the world IS Brahman — every encounter becomes a form of Brahman recognizing itself in Brahman.
The Yoga Vasistha's extensive description of the Jivanmukta's way of living resolves the apparent paradox: how does one who recognizes only Brahman relate to the apparently multiple world? The answer: fully. The Jivanmukta engages with the world without the ego's self-protective, self-aggrandizing distortions — they see more clearly, feel more freely, act more wisely than the ordinary person precisely because the ego's defensive operations no longer distort their perception. Their vision: every person they encounter IS the Atman, appearing temporarily in this particular form. Every situation IS Brahman's self-expression, unfolding without need of personal interference. Every action they perform arises from wisdom (Jnana) and compassion (Karuna) rather than from ego-desire. The Yoga Vasistha calls this 'Sahaja Avastha' (natural state) — the Jivanmukta is not in a special meditative state but in the natural state of a consciousness that no longer superimposes ego-constructions on reality.
The Jivanmukta sees Brahman in all beings, all beings in Brahman, and Brahman in themselves. They are everywhere at home.
Philosopher Martin Buber's I-Thou mode of relationship — in which the other is met as a full subject rather than as an object — describes the quality of engagement that characterizes the Jivanmukta's relationship with others: seeing the full reality (Brahman) in every encounter rather than a useful or threatening object.
Yoga Vasistha
Written about in
- What Advaita Vedanta says about letting go of results
Nobody withdraws in this picture. The Yoga Vasistha describes the freed person as fully engaged with the world and at home everywhere in it.