Greed means insatiable desire, where humans forget the soul’s completeness and seek happiness in external objects. Both the Gita (16.21) and Manusmriti (7.45) call greed the gateway to hell. It is an extension of lust—when desire is fulfilled yet satisfaction never comes; instead, there is only more wanting. Greed is actually the manifestation of the soul’s sense of lack, pushing humans into endless struggle.
Anger means the rage or vengeful impulse that arises when desires are thwarted. According to the Gita (2.62-63), when lust remains unfulfilled, anger is born. Anger burns the mind, clouds wisdom, and destroys self-control. Shankaracharya said that anger is the fire of rajas, which destroys the clarity of consciousness.
Delusion means confusion and ignorance, the false vision that sees the impermanent as permanent. Both the Gita (2.63) and the Mahabharata (12.171) describe delusion as an obstacle to knowledge. Delusion is that mental blindness which erases the distinction between truth and maya. When consciousness mistakenly identifies the body, mind, and senses as the self, delusion is born.
Pride means arrogance or vanity, which veils self-awareness. According to Manusmriti (7.45) and Mahabharata (12.171), pride is self-glorification—satisfaction in body, wealth, knowledge, or position. It is the inflation of the “I”-sense, causing humans to consider themselves above others and drift away from Brahma-awareness.
Jealousy means envy, that is, feeling pain at others’ success. In Manusmriti (7.45) and Mahabharata (12.171), it is mentioned as one of the six inner enemies. Jealousy is the expression of self-dissatisfaction—where individuals, not knowing their own completeness, burn at others’ gains. It makes humans suffer at others’ joy and leaves them empty within.
These six—lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and jealousy—are the six inner enemies of the human psyche. Vedanta says that until these six enemies are completely removed from the mind, the soul cannot establish itself in its pure nature. The Gita (5.23) says—”He who can endure the impulses born of desire and anger before giving up the body—he is truly disciplined and happy.” Thus Vedanta teaches that conquering these six inner enemies brings peace to the mind, and in a peaceful mind, the soul awakens to its own bliss—which is the beginning of liberation.
In Shankaracharya’s commentary (Brahmasutra 4.1.15-16) it is said—”After the arising of knowledge, the fruits of prarabdha karma remain for one who still identifies with the body. But there is no connection with new karmic fruits.” That is, even after attaining knowledge, as long as the body remains, the fruits of prarabdha karma are experienced, but no new karma is created. Therefore, the liberated-while-living remains engaged in action yet unbound by karmic results; they are not the doer, merely a witness.
Yoga Vasistha (Uttara 5.8.126) says—”When the mind becomes completely peaceful, beyond thought-constructs, ever-alert, then one becomes Brahman, with consciousness unified in Brahman without shelter.” That is, when the mind is completely peaceful, free from mental modifications, and constantly awake, that person attains Brahma-hood. In this state, the mind does not think; rather, consciousness itself remains awake—this is the nature of jivanmukti consciousness.
The primary signs of jivanmukti are—complete elimination of desire, ego, attachment, anger, fear, etc.; equanimity in pleasure and pain and non-attachment; participation in action but absence of doership; stillness and clarity of mind, senses, and psyche; satisfaction in the Self alone—no other dependency; the non-dual experience of knowledge and bliss—”The knower of Brahman becomes Brahman itself.” (Mundaka Upanishad, 3.2.9)
That is, one who knows Brahman becomes Brahman. Here “brahmavit” means one who has directly realized Brahman as Self-knowledge, and “brahmaiva bhavati” means that such a knower no longer remains a limited individual—they become unified with the supreme nature of their own consciousness, that is, Brahman.
Shankaracharya explains in his Mundaka commentary—”Brahma-knowledge results in oneness with Brahman; for that knowledge perceives nothing other than Brahman.” That is, Brahma-knowledge is that knowledge which brings about unity with Brahman; because Brahma-knowledge does not perceive any reality outside the Self.
Here knowledge and experience, knower and known—all become unified. The knower then no longer “knows Brahman” but “becomes Brahman.” Just as light is not separate from the sun, knowledge and Brahman are also non-dual.
This statement is the fundamental pillar of Advaita Vedanta—knowledge itself is liberation, and knowing is being. One who knows is no longer a seeker of knowledge; they become their own true nature. Jivanmukti is not liberation after death, but the complete free flowering of consciousness after the destruction of ignorance while living—where humans remain in the body yet are beyond the body, engaged in action yet unattached to action, alive yet immortal and deathless.
Understanding the relationship between karma, prarabdha, and liberation in Vedanta means comprehending the complete mystery of existence. Here it is said—no human is born already wise or liberated; birth itself means the manifestation of karmic results, and karma means bondage to ignorance and desires. But breaking this cycle is also possible—through knowledge. This principle is clearly explained in Advaita Vedanta through Shankaracharya’s Brahmasutra commentary, Gita commentary, and the Upanishads.
Vedanta first divides karma into three categories—sanchita, prarabdha, and agami. Sanchita karma is the accumulated results of countless births that have not yet manifested. Prarabdha karma is that portion which has begun to bear fruit and has caused the present body. Agami or kriyamana karma is the newly accumulated karma in the present life, which will bear fruit in future births. Shankaracharya says—”After the arising of knowledge, only the prarabdha results remain, not the connection with new karmic fruits” (Brahmasutra Commentary, 4.1.15). That is, in the case of the wise, only prarabdha results persist; no new karmic fruits are connected. This analysis of the three types of karma is also clearly found in Vedantasara (62-64).
The Gita states—”As blazing fire reduces wood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge reduce all actions to ashes.” (4.37). Just as fire turns wood to ash, Self-knowledge burns up all karma. This burning means the loss of karmic seeds’ capacity to function. Shankara says—”Liberation comes only through knowledge from all causes.” (Brahmasutra Commentary, 4.1.15)—that is, knowledge is the sole cause of liberation. In the Gita, Krishna again says—”One whose actions are burned by the fire of knowledge is called wise by the learned.” (4.19)—one whose karma has been burned in the fire of knowledge is called a sage.
The question arises—why does the body persist when knowledge dawns? Shankaracharya answers—”Just as cut grass and creepers, sustained by the flow of prarabdha results, continue; so too the body of the wise remains until prarabdha is exhausted.” (Brahmasutra Commentary, 4.1.15). That is, even after grass is cut, if there is energy in the roots, it remains green for a while; similarly, the wise person’s body persists until prarabdha is exhausted. Therefore the Gita says—”One who is unattached everywhere, who neither rejoices nor hates whatever good or evil comes—their wisdom is established.” (2.57)—the wise remain undisturbed even in the face of favorable and unfavorable results, because they know these are all plays of prarabdha.
The cause of rebirth is ignorance and desire. As long as desires remain, rebirth is inevitable. But when knowledge awakens—”I am not the body, I am Brahman”—then all desires are exhausted. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.4.6) says—”Then the wise one has no more rebirth”—one who has known has no rebirth. The Mundaka Upanishad (2.2.8) says—”That immortal Brahman is known… he does not return again”—one who has realized Brahman does not return to worldly existence. The Kaivalya Upanishad (1.15) says—”When all desires dwelling in the heart are released, then the mortal becomes immortal”—when all desires of the heart are destroyed, then humans become immortal.
This burning by knowledge happens at three levels—first, sanchita karma is completely burned; second, agami karma is no longer created, because the sense of doership is destroyed; third, prarabdha karma continues as long as the body remains. The Gita says—”One who sees inaction in action and action in inaction—they are wise among humans, disciplined, performing all actions.” (4.18)—one who sees non-action even in action is the true knower.
The wise person, while remaining with the body, is inwardly free—this state is called jivanmukti. For them, action is no longer bondage but play. The Mundaka Upanishad (3.2.8) says—”As flowing rivers merge in the ocean… so the wise one, freed from name and form, reaches the Supreme Person”—just as rivers merge into the ocean, so the wise cross beyond the limits of name and form to merge with the Supreme Person. When prarabdha is also exhausted, they become videhamukta—completely absorbed in Brahman.
Some come with knowledge-impressions from birth—that is, some souls have done such deep practice, meditation, and Self-inquiry in previous lives that the imprint or impression of that practice remains indelibly in their psyche. After death, though the physical body is destroyed, the subtle impressions of mind and intellect do not dissolve; they remain dormant in the causal body and manifest again in subsequent births. This is why some humans are born with spiritual inclinations, dispassion, or love of knowledge from birth, while others are born completely pleasure-seeking.
In the Bhagavad Gita (6.45), Krishna clearly speaks of this condition—”The yogi who strives with effort, purified of sins, perfected through many births, then attains the supreme goal.” That is, the yogi who has purified the mind through practice over many births becomes fit for knowledge-attainment from birth itself and progresses toward the supreme goal, that is, liberation.
Shankaracharya explains in his commentary on this verse—this yogi can easily enter the path of knowledge due to the strength of past-life impressions. He says, “Due to the strength of past practice impressions, there is greater ease in that contemplation in the present birth.” That is, the practice incomplete in previous lives brings its impressions to the next birth, so the mind is already oriented toward Self-knowledge.
This state is called “sanjatajnana” or birth with knowledge-impressions. This means knowledge has not yet fully dawned, but its seed is active in the depths of the mind. With just a little satsang, guru’s instruction, or hearing scriptures, that seed sprouts and Self-knowledge blossoms.
For example, some feel deep attraction to religion, meditation, philosophy, or Self-inquiry from childhood, while others of the same age are attracted only to sensual pleasures. The root cause of this difference is—the variation in past-life impressions. Those born with knowledge-impressions already have prepared consciousness; therefore their liberation in this life becomes relatively easier.
Birth-impressions of knowledge do not mean that someone is born already liberated or completely wise; rather, it means their inner instrument has been so purified by past-life practice that they can realize truth with minimal instruction. This is why the Gita says—”perfected through many births”—without the preparation of many births, supreme knowledge does not dawn; but when those impressions are complete, knowledge blossoms instantly, like fire immediately blazing when a spark touches dry grass.
Liberation means a state free from ignorance—where desire, karma, and birth are all dissolved. This state is a higher level of supreme knowledge and consciousness, where the soul manifests in its true nature. In Indian philosophy, especially according to Vedanta, liberation is also called moksha or nirvana. It is not merely the absence of suffering, but is a desireless, detached, and blissful state. In this condition, the individual soul becomes free from worldly bondage and unified with the infinite.