In his
Brahmasūtrabhāṣya 1.1.4, Rāmānuja argues that the knowledge of the liberated person precludes ignorance and its effects, and therefore precludes
the possibility of
jīvanmukti (embodied liberation). The Advaitin replies that the knowledge of the liberated is consistent with a certain kind of
karma that prolongs embodiment, hence
jīvanmukti is possible. In his
Bhagavadgītābhāṣya 2.12, however, Rāmānuja points out that even if the
jīvanmukta (embodied liberated person) still experiences appearances, he does not count them as reasons for acting, and therefore does
not act. Hence Rāmānuja’s objection to
jīvanmukti is both conceptual and practical, and it is the practical problem that is the more difficult to resolve.
Keywords Śaṅkara - Rāmānuja -
jīvanmukti
-
Bhagavadgītā