*** Read Part 1 ***

Note that there has been some discussion on Part 1 and there may be some overlap with this new (concluding) part.

Reasoning

The reasoning behind the differentiation (between enlightenment and liberation) is straightforward:

• The scriptures tell us that we are already Brahman.
• Since Brahman is eternally free, so must we be.
• Initially, the jīva does not know this.
• Consequently, the teaching of a qualified guru is needed.
• If it were something that is ‘produced’ (i.e. not existing before), it could not be permanent.
• Mokṣa is ‘nitya siddha’, ever accomplished. It is automatically ‘acknowledged’ when the knowledge triggers akhaṇḍākāra vṛtti.
• It is not ‘produced’ by the teaching, since mokṣa is already the case and something that is permanent cannot be produced. ‘Liberation’ is a figurative concept in the sense that there is never any real bondage.
• The notion that we are bound is a mistaken superimposition (adhyāsa) that is sublated (bādha) by the teaching.

There is extensive support for these definitions, from both scriptures and Śaṅkara bhāṣya-s, emphasizing that the realization of our already existing reality as Brahman (liberation) comes only from knowledge. It is the efficacious attainment of that knowledge that is called ‘enlightenment’ as explained by the metaphor of the ‘tenth man’.