Living Liberation in Hindu Thought

Andrew O. Fort is Associate Professor in the Department of Religion at Texas Christian University. Patricia Y. Mumme is Assistant Professor of Religion at Capital University.

• Figures Preface Introduction: Living Liberation in Hindu ThoughtAndrew O. Fort Chapter SummariesNotesPart I: Living Liberations in Vedanta Traditions 1. Living Liberation in Sankara and Classical Advaita: Sharing the Holy Waiting of GodLance E. Nelson IntroductionLiberation in Sankara's ThoughtLiving LiberationJivanmukti: Difficult to Justify but Necessary for SalvationSankara's Justifications of Living LiberationIs Jivanmukti Complete Liberation?Justifications of Jivanmukti in Post-Sankara AdvaitaReservations about Jivanmukti in Post-Sankara AdvaitaIsvara as a Paradigm for Living LiberationEven Isvara Suffers LimitationConclusionAbbreviationsNotes 2. Is the Jivanmukti State Possible? Ramanuja's PerspectiveKim Skoog Introduction: Ramanuja's Three ArgumentsRamanuja's First ArgumentRamanuja's Second ArgumentRamanuja's Third ArgumentAnalysis of the First Argument: Jivanmukti as Self-ContradictionAnalysis of the Second Argument: The Jivanmukti-Videhamukti Dispute Is Verbal in NatureAnalysis of the Third Argument: False Analogy in the Two-Moons AnalogyBasis for the Jivanmukti and Videhamukti-Only PositionsScriptural Basis for JivanmuktiEmpirical Evidence for JivanmuktiDoctrinal Considerations Regarding the Jivanmukti and Jivanmukti-PositionsView of the SelfMetaphysicsPerformance of ActionsFructifying KarmaTheological ConsiderationsConclusionAbbreviationsNotes 3. Direct Knowledge of God and Living Liberation in the Religious Thought of MadhvaDaniel P. Sheridan IntroductionMadhva in the Context of Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century AdvaitaBondage and Liberation in Madva's TeachingThe Practical Means to Liberation According to MadhvaThe Direct Knowledge of God While LivingConclusionAbbreviationsNotes Part II: Yoga and Renunciation in Living Liberation 4. Living Liberation in Samkhya and YogaChristopher Key Chapple IntroductionSamkhyaKnowledge and Non-Attachment in SamkhyaLater Vedantic Interpretations of SamkhyaYogaDistinctions between Samkhya and YogaYogic Liberation as the End of Afflicted ActionA Comparative Analysis of Living Liberation in Samkhya and YogaPossible Jaina Elements in the Yoga SystemConclusionAbbreviationsNotes 5. Liberation While Living in the Jivanmuktiviveka: Vidyaranya's "Yogic Advaita"Andrew O. Fort IntroductionThe Nature of JivanmuktiThe Jivanmukti as One with Firm Wisdom (Sthita-Prajna)The Threefold Means to Obtain JivanmuktiJivanmukti and Videhamukti in the JivanmuktivivekaThe Purposes of Attaining Liberation While LivingRenunciation and JivanmuktiConclusionAbbreviationsNotes 6. Modes of Perfected Living in the Mahabharata and the Puranas: The Different Faces of Suka the RenouncerC. Mackenzie Brown IntroductionThe "Empty Form" of Suka in the Mahabharata: The Revelation of Inscrutable IndifferenceSuka and His Models in the Bhagavata Purana: Enlightened Idiots of Dazzle and DirtSuka in the Devi-Bhagavata Purana: The Reluctant HouseholderConclusionAbbreviationsNotesPart III: Living Liberation in Saiva Traditions 7. Aspects of Jivanmukti in the Tantric Saivism of KashmirPaul E. Muller-Ortega Introduction: Placing the TraditionThe Problem of JivanmuktiJivanmukti in Early TextsKashmiri Constructions of Bondage and LiberationThe Seven ExperiencersEmbodied EnlightenmentConclusionAbbreviationsNotes 8. Living Liberation in Saiva SiddhantaChacko Valiaveetil, S.J. IntroductionSaiva Siddhanta LiteratureThe Advaita of Saiva Siddhanta and the Jivanmukti IdealToward JivanmuktiThe Odyssey of the SoulContinuity of Bondage (Samsara) and Liberation (Moksa)God's Quest for the SoulThe Spiritual SadhanaThe Descent of Divine Grace (Saktinipata)Growth in the State of JivanmuktiFreedom from the Bonds (Pasavitu)Removal of the Root Impurity (Anavamala)Removal of Karma and MayaAttaining the Feet of the LordUnion in KnowledgeUnion in LoveMeans to Persevere and Grow in God-ExperienceThe Conduct of the JivanmuktaDetachment from CreaturesLife of Service of the JivanmuktaIs the Jivanmukta Beyond Ethical Norms?Love as the Ultimate CriterionInjunctions for the JivanmuktaRespect for the Sacred EmblemsWorship of God in the TempleConclusionAbbreviationsNotes Conclusion: Living Liberation in Comparative PerspectivePatricia Y. Mumme Jivanmukti: The Concept and the TermStrong, Medium, and Weak Positions on Living LiberationJivanmukti and Scholastic MetaphysicsThe Lord and LiberationKarma and Conscious Experience in the Penultimate StateThe Need for Enlightened TeachersThe Behavior of the Jivanmukta: Dharma, Karma, and FreedomConclusion: Prospects for Future StudyNotes Contributors Index

"In asking 'what is the nature of jivanmukti,' with all the ramifications that this entails (how does it occur, when does it occur, where does it occur, what part does karma play, and so on,) the authors not only provide the reader with a clear conceptual handle of each school's position, but also their strengths and weaknesses." — John Grimes"This is a challenging and informative collection of essays that addresses a fundamental problem in the history of South Asian religions: granted the possibility of some kind of ultimate perfection or liberation, is it also possible to achieve this final state while embodied? If one can achieve transcendence, what then happens to the body and situation of the liberated one? In answering these questions the authors also raise numerous fascinating issues pertaining to soteriology, cosmology, ethics, theology, and philosophy." — Glen Hayes