The Secret Doctrine of Goddess Lalita
(Sri LalitaAṣṭottara Rahasyārthamu)
49. sadyaḥ prasādinī; 50. yajamāna svarūpiṇī
She who bestows Her grace immediately.
She who is in the form of yajamāna, the one who directs sacrificial fires.
Liberation is not a goal that can be realized only after death. It is possible to attain it right here and now. The moment Knowledge of the Self arises, liberation is attained. Devī is sadyaḥ prasādinī. She bestows results right away. Unlike dharma puruṣārtha, the results of mokṣa sādhana are immediate. A seeker will have to wait until after death to enjoy the results of the dharmic actions he performs in this current life. A question arises at this point. Karma (ritual) is action, and actions produces immediate results. On what basis can we say that the results of the dharmic actions we perform in this current life will come to fruit after death? What is the proof? According to philosophers of mīmāṃsā, Vedic rituals and dharmic actions produce extremely subtle results that are not visible in this life time. According to them, as soon as prārabdha (past karma) is exhausted and the body drops, the jīvā transmigrates to another realm and body, taking with it, in subtle form, the results of its virtuous actions. Hence, the results of dharma puruṣārtha are not immediate.
One the other hand, there is no delay in enjoying the result of mokṣa puruṣārtha. It is immediate. The moment Knowledge rises, mokṣa is experienced because mokṣa is Self-evident, ever-present Consciousness. There is no need to perform any rituals or actions to attain it. jñāna (Knowledge) alone is necessary. Knowledge or Consciousness is the very nature of mokṣa. Hence, there is no need to go to heaven or some other place to attain it. The triad - individual, heaven, and the act of going there - are all Knowledge. Knowledge is Experience itself. Therefore, there is no means other than Knowledge to attain liberation. If any effort is required, it is only in removing the ignorance that conceals the Knowledge. The way to do so is by realizing that ignorance (anātmā) is also not different from Knowledge. When the Knowledge of the Self rises, anātmā disappears. When anātmā disappears, the seeker, the object sought, and the effort of seeking disappear. Nothing remains. When nothing remains, the seeker who is engaged in jñāna yajna (sacrifice in the form of Knowledge) experiences everything as the Self. That is the reason why Devī is called yajamāna svarūpiṇī. Experiencing Devī and Her entire manifestation as one’s own Self is Devī presenting Herself as yajamāna svarūpiṇī. External rituals and the materials necessary to perform the rituals are not yajamāna svarūpiṇī, since they are based on duality. They involve the individual, the act of performing the ritual, materials to perform the ritual, and a heaven or some other world to enjoy the results in. Since the results of external rituals come to fruit only after the death of the current body, there is no way a seeker can verify if this is true. He will have to believe in the scripture. But mokṣa is not like that. Since everything is perceived as one’s own Self, one can experience the Self right here and now. There is no need to wait for another life to enjoy the results of our effort to see the One. There is no need to doubt if this is true. The scripture and the direct experience of great sages provide ample evidence. Since mokṣa puruṣārtha produces lasting peace and happiness, it is the supreme goal of human life. Hence, every sincere seeker must strive for Self-Knowledge and make himself or herself worthy of the ultimate experience of the Self.