[Solved] Advaita Vedanta: Achieving Mukti through Gyana (Knowledge)

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

[Chhattisgarh P.C.S. Prelims 2015]

Detailed Solution & Historical Context

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.

Authentic Source Evidence

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.

Analytical Breakdown

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.

Conceptual Deep Dive & Logic

"Why is Karma considered insufficient for Mukti in Advaita?"

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

Examiner's Mindset & Pro-Tip

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

Topic Clusters (click to see related topic questions)

Jnana Marga 3Brahman 8

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