JIVANMUKTI VIVEKA: Part 1: Post-7. Swami Guru Bhaktananda.

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Sunday 25, January 2026. 06:00.
JIVANMUKTI VIVEKA: 
Part 1: 
Pramana Prakarana: 
“The Evidence of Liberation”: 
IN 5 PARTS: 
THE ENQUIRY INTO LIBERATION 
2. THE “BAHUDAKA” SANNYASIN:
REFLECTIONS: Swami Gurubhaktananda. 

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2. THE “BAHUDAKA” SANNYASIN:

5 If the person is Shaktah, able-bodied, and has a very good physique and is capable of taking much physical strain, then the settled life described above may not befit him. He may opt for a more active life of being a wandering Sannyasi known as Bahudaka. If he is healthy and has an adventurous temperament, he may go constantly on pilgrimage from one place to another, most probably on foot in Sri Vidyaranyaji’s times. It would be like the life led by the ‘backpackers’ of today, except that it would be quite austere. 

‘Bahudaka’ literally means “one who drinks many waters”. This reflects his wandering lifestyle, which requires him to be adjustable in more ways than one. For instance, he cannot go around carrying his own ‘bottled mineral water’, as people do today! 

He has to adjust to what he gets wherever he goes. He has to adjust to places and people and learn to get along under any circumstances. That itself is good training for a Sannyasin. He has to eat whatever is given to him, regardless of whether he is a north or south Indian. Roti or idli – both have to be accepted with equanimity. In the life of a Bahudaka Sannyasi, one cannot afford to be choosy, fussy or too rigid in his ways. He learns to be flexible and adaptable to all kinds of habits. 

3. THE “HAMSA” SANNYASIN:

6 Now we come to the Stronger Vairagi, the second in the Major category. The first type in this category is the Hamsa Sannyasin. As one may expect, this person has more Vairagya than the two Sannyasi types in the previous category. With greater dispassion, he is also able to strive for a greater goal. The previous two Sannyasis strove for a place in the heavenly planes, collectively called Pitru Lokas, or the “heavens of the ancestors”. This type is able to strive for the highest among these heavens, known as Brahma Loka. 

The word Hamsa means “swan”. It is a white bird. This itself signifies greater purity than the previous category. A swan is said to be very selective in what it drinks. It is said that it can drink only the milk from a mixture of milk and water! How true that is, is not known, but the point of comparison is that a Hamsa Sannyasin is also very selective. He discriminates in all that he does. He selects the pure in the midst of the impure. This is the identifying characteristic found in the true Vairagi or Vikrakta. 

Such a Sannyasi is able to use his discrimination to give up the desire for all the heavenly worlds, but he still has some attachment for Brahmaloka. He wishes to taste the glory of living there, even if it is only for a short period. Hence, he falls into the category where the goal is Krama Mukti, and not Jivanmukti. 

4. THE “PARAMAHAMSA” SANNYASIN:

7 Now we come to the most advanced among all the categories of Sannyasis – he is known as the Paramahamsa Sannyasin. With a little more Vairagya, he is able to give up the desire even for Brahmaloka. He has no interest even in this highest among the heavenly worlds. There is a verse in one of the Vartikas which says about this type of Sannyasin: “He considers even Brahmaloka to be like a Naraka (hell)! As long as a man is not dispassionate right up to Brahmaloka, till that time he does not become an Adhikari (qualified) for Brahma Jnana.” Without fiery dispassion, a person will have no interest in this type of Sannyasa. 

For this category of Sannyasis, and this category alone, is the goal set as Jivanmukti! We can see from this the unique place of Jivanmukti throughout the full range of the Hindu spiritual tradition. The Paramahamsa Sannyasin is the only one who desires Jivanmukti. It goes without saying that this book will apply only to this category of Sannyasis. Why is this class of Sannyasis so special? What strikes them out to be so unique? 

8 Saakshaat: “the direct approach”. One reason is that they are not interested in any fanfare on the way to the goal, be it the heavens of Pitruloka or of Brahmaloka. They wish to go directly to the goal of attaining Oneness with Brahman. Nothing less will satisfy them. Well, they have the Vairagya for it, so they are ideally suited for this task, and they have the mental willpower to succeed in their quest. Theirs is the supreme privilege of leading the world along the path of Absolute Truth, independent of any cultural roots, religious affiliations, or organisational support. 

The Paramahamsa Sannyasin is the “daredevil” among Sannyasis. Nothing can stand in his way. His faith in the Reality is so supreme that it bestows upon him the fearlessness to face every obstacle cast along his way. He is fit to be an Emperor; he is spoken of as King among kings, he is the perfect “Universal Citizen”. He alone, in the ultimate analysis, is fit to lead men out of material civilisation into the realms of spirituality. 

What makes him so “outrageously qualified” to do this? It is his high score in the Vairagya quotient. He is willing to give up anything under the sun to reach his blessed goal of union with the Supreme Reality. Nothing can bribe him from the goal he has set for himself. He makes no compromise to achieve it. And none can dare to stop him from achieving it! 

This book is dedicated to singing the glory of such a great Sannyasin – the exclusive variety called Paramahamsa Sannyasins. 

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Next
THE THREE DEGREES OF DISPASSION 
(Slokas 6, 7 and 8) 
Slokam- 6: 1. Description of “Weak”, Temporary Dispassion 
Continues

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