Guiding Light: The process of mukti

Every action has a process, a channel. If we pause to take note, every activity has a particular way of unfolding itself in front of us — from cooking to eating, from sleeping to waking up; and the act of maintaining a fit and healthy body. To live a good life, to lead a successful life, special activities in life such as serving the Lord or the absence of this service attitude in one’s life — each of these activities have an underlying process to it.

Likewise, those on the path of spirituality may enquire about mukti. A mukt state can’t be achieved by all, without working on its prerequisites. Just like having a good life requires one to carve out good, relevant activities in the first place, a person without putting their hard work in his or her learnings or without earning a proper skillset, cannot expect their lives to flourish, no matter how much hard work is put into it.

Even though that tool of good learning and knowledge may go missing, when this is replaced with meaningful and inherent skills within, this leads one to a path of success and growth. If we look back towards those countless names who, once did something big in life, they all have eventually implemented their thoughts with ample heed and care. Same way, mukti also demands that we should acquire a certain skill set to allow us to propel forth this divine journey.

Ingredients of unconditional surrender towards knowledge, towards their spiritual master, followed with qualities of a spirit who is willing and ready to sacrifice, also possess a deep hunger towards knowledge and an equal amount of sincerity in living life. These traits when learnt and then carried out with perfection enables one to find out how infinite this universe and its energies are, how his or her spirit can grow from here into a free spirit, in other words — achieve its mukti. Gaining powers while living one’s life becomes their reason for their invocation, for their powers beyond human, for a free spirit, and become mukt of all worldly bondages.

(The author is a spiritual yogic master. Founder, chairman and course director of Akshar Yoga, and president of the World Yoga Organisation)