knowledge and wisdom

[Anand Hudli]

>Question: The wise who have reached atman ( it ), must have travelled
>the same path as we mortals. Unless they were born enlightened, in which
>case they have no business to exist as mortals here in any case. If so,
>do they not remember that for many of us mortals here, facing a grim
>battle of faith, a small sign from them ( a miracle maybe? ) would be
>enough to fortify us? Having reached atman, surely they must be
>omnipotent. Why do they then not reveal themselves, atleast for the
>faithful? Are they sadists? Or are they following a grander design which
>we fools do not understand?

  I interpret "the wise who have reached Atman" as jiivanmuktas, those
  who are liberated while still living. VidyaaraNya, the author of
  Panchadashi and jiivanmuktiviveka, who was a jiivanmukta himself, says
  that a jiivanmukta may not have any external characteristics which may
  distinguish him from others like us. A jiivanmukta does not have to
  have superhuman powers. Certainly, becoming a jiivanmukta does not
  have anything to do with superhuman powers, because these powers
  are still within the realm of maayaa! If a person had acquired such
  powers as the ashhTasidhhi, etc., before he became a jiivanmukta,
  then, of course, we could ask him to use those powers for our
  benefit. But more often than not, such people do not like to use
  such powers to convince other people of their jiivanmukta state.

  Imagine that a jiivanmukta becomes as light as a feather and
  starts flying around showing people his superhuman ability.
  People are more inclined to be wonderstruck by this power than
  by his teaching about Atman. So they will neglect his core
  message about Self realization and try to acquire similar
  powers, wealth, etc. After all, people like us are very prone to
  be victims of maayaa's tricks!

  But having said all this, I am led to believe that a jiivanmukta, as
  a Guru, may perform some "miracle" when it will help his overall
  "mission." We see an example in Shankara's own life as described by
  Madhava Vidyaranya in his Shankara Digvijaya. During the debate with
  Mandana Mishra, Shankara quit his body and entered the body of a
  King just so that he could answer some questions raised by the
  opponent. Similarly, many people who have visited Sringeri and other holy
  places, say that they have experienced miracles such as the cure of an
  incurable disease, etc. But the whole focus here has to be on Self-
  Realization, and on nothing short of Self-Realization. Even
  superhuman powers become impediments to Self-Realization if such powers
  are mistaken to be the ultimate goal.

  The acquisition of omnipotence by jiivanmuktas or videhamuktas or anybody
  for that matter, is ruled out by the Brahma suutras as per the Shankara's
  commentary. Only Ishvara or God is omnipotent. Those who worship the
  SaguNa Brahman will reach the Brahmaloka where they enjoy powers almost on
  par with Ishvara but do not become the same as Ishvara. They lack the power
  of creation, for example. But by mere volition, they accomplish things.
  If they had exactly the same power as Ishvara, then the world would be
  thrown into confusion. It would be as if the world were being controlled
  by many independent, omnipotent Gods. For this reason, Shankara denies that
   a jiiva can become equal to Ishvara. Ishvara is one and unique. A jiiva
   (individual soul) can realize that it is the *same* as Brahman and that
   Ishvara is the same as Brahman, but not that the jiiva is the same as
   Ishvara, in the vyaavahaarika sense. Also, the foregoing shows that there
  is volition or free will even upto the level of Brahma loka.


  Anand