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Chhattisgarh P.C.S. Prelims 2015

Advaita Vedanta Philosophy

Authentic Past Paper Standard Evaluation

By which of the following according to Advaita Vedanta, Mukti can be obtained?

Solution & Analysis

Answer: A

Concept In the school of Adi Shankara, liberation is not a state to be 'achieved' but a reality to be 'recognized' by removing the veil of ignorance.

Explanation Advaita Vedanta teaches that Gyana (Knowledge of the Self) is the only direct means to liberation. Since bondage is caused by ignorance (*Avidya*), only its opposite, Knowledge (*Vidya*), can remove it.

Logical Breakup
Logic 1: Option A is correct. While Bhakti and Karma are useful for purifying the mind (Citta Shuddhi), they cannot directly grant Mukti in this system.
Logic 2: Shankara argued that 'Knowledge' is not an action but a sudden realization of the truth of the identity between Atman and Brahman.

Active Recall

Question

Why is Karma considered insufficient for Mukti in Advaita?

Answer

Because action (Karma) is a product of duality, and duality is the root cause of bondage; only knowledge of non-duality can end it.

Core Insight

In Advaita, 'Knowledge' is not intellectual information, but a lived experience that dissolves the ego and the world-illusion.

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