Great souls like Adisankaracharya and Swami Sivananda, Sri Ramana Maharshi have made clear what is liberation and who is a Jivanmukta (liberated one).
According to my point of view, if any idea, view, saying, teaching of the modern spiritual teachers it is not in accordance with them, this idea cannot be accepted as true.
The Great masters have said that liberation is the complete death or elimination of the ego, root and branch. It is the destruction of all samskaras and vasanas even in their seed-state, seated in the causal body.
" A Jivanmukta is a liberated sage. He is emancipated while living. He has cut off all bonds.
He has destroyed his mind. He is in a state of mindlessness. He is absolutely free.
He has identified himself with Brahman or the Absolute Consciousness. He has no identification with the body. He is free from egoism, lust, anger, greed, selfishness, pride, likes, dislikes, exhilaration or depression.
He is balanced in pleasure and pain, censures and praises, honour and dishonour, respect and disrespect. He has equal, vision. He has supreme knowledge of Brahman.
He is a Brahmajnani. He is a Brahmavid or Knower of Brahman. He can clear all your doubts. You will feel extreme elevation and inspiration in his presence. He radiates joy and peace everywhere."
~ Swami Sivananda
" 299. So long as one has any relation to this wicked ego, there should not be the least talk about Liberation, which is unique.
300. Freed from the clutches of egoism, as the moon from those of Rahu, man attains to his real nature, and becomes pure, infinite, ever blissful and self-luminous.
301. That which has been created by the Buddhi extremely deluded by Nescience, and which is perceived in this body as "I am such and such" – when that egoism is totally destroyed, one attains an unobstructed identity with Brahman.
303. As long as there is a trace of poisoning left in the body, how can one hope for recovery ? Similar is the effect of egoism on the Yogi’s Liberation."
~ Adi Sankaracharya
"The spiritual practice adopted by the jiva (the individual, or
individual soul) is complete when it destroys the ego in its origin"
"The Ego must, die, must disappear together with the inherent vasanas (desires and egoistic tendencies)."
"The death of the ego in the unlimited Silence (the non-dual Truth) and the shining forth of the Self is the attainment of Oneness (Kaivalya-Siddhi) In that State of Jnana, pure Bliss will gloriously blaze forth as one's own True Nature. "
~ Sri Ramana Maharshi
Unfortunately western advaita teachers and specially neo-advaitin spread many erroneous ideas about enlightenment, awakening and liberation creating confusion to spiritual aspirants.
For example they say that purity is not so important for self-realization, that the liberation is only the conviction ‘I am awareness’ or that for liberation is not necessary the complete dissolution of ego and that after realization the ego remains in the periphery. These ideas are futile and without a basis.
The great spiritual masters say that purity is the basis in which all other spiritual practices can give positive results and self-realization.
'The way to liberation or freedom or perfect happiness and peace is through perfect purity of mind and heart, of every act, of character and life…'
~ Swami Sivananda
‘Therefore it was also said that the sole necessity for Self-realisation is purity of mind.’
~ Tripura Rahasya
‘ All that is needed is to purify the mind so that it can realize its identity with the Self’.
~ Nijargadatta Maharaj
' While your minds and hearts are impure, how can God live in your hearts?'
~ Haidakhan Babaji
'…to get liberation, is a thing easy after (Purity) shuddhi, impossible before it.'
~ Sri Aurobindo
”The pure mind is in fact absolute consciousness”
‘Good conduct or sat karma purifies the chitta or mind and gives you chitta suddhi (pure mind). The pure mind attains jnana, which is what is meant by salvation.’
~ Sri Ramana Maharshi
‘The truth of the Paramatman is extremely subtle, and cannot be reached by the gross outgoing tendency of the mind. It is only accessible to noble souls with perfectly pure minds, by means of Samadhi brought on by an extraordinary fineness of the mental state’.
~ Adi Sankaracharya
The conviction I am awareness without direct realization and the complete dissolution of ego is not liberation. In fact such a conviction is not possible without the direct realization and the complete destruction of the ego.
Another false idea is that there is no enlightenment or nobody is enlightened. If it is so why have appeared on earth great teachers to show us the way to enlightenment, freedom and perfection?
Of course the enlightenment is neither for the ego or the personality nor for the Consciousness or Being which is already enlightened. It is for the Buddhi which has become impure due to the rajas, tamas and ego. The Buddhi regaining its purity by intense sadhana realizes its identity with the consciousness and merges in the ocean of consciousness losing its apparently separate existence.
"Perfection is attained when the buddhi (intellect) becomes as pure as the Atman itself!"
This is liberation in life and the individual becomes a Jivanmukta.
"Perfection is attained when the buddhi (intellect) becomes as pure as the Atman itself!"
~ Swami Sivananda
This is liberation in life and the individual becomes a Jivanmukta.