Daśama-prakaraṇam (Karma-yoga) · Verse 9

मायया व्यावृतं जीवं विद्वान्मायां विलापयेत् । तदा ब्रह्मस्वरूपः स्याज्जीवन्नेव स मुच्यते ॥

māyayā vyāvṛtaṃ jīvaṃ vidvānmāyāṃ vilāpayet | tadā brahmasvarūpaḥ syājjīvanneva sa mucyate ||

This verse presents a strikingly direct approach to liberation, emphasizing the active dissolution of māyā as the primary means of achieving jivan-mukti, or liberation while living. The vidvan, the wise one, is not merely to observe the illusion of māyā enveloping the jiva, the individual self, but to engage in vilapana—a forceful, deliberate dissolving of that very veiling effect. This is not a passive acceptance of truth, but an energetic confrontation with delusion. The result of this active engagement is a profound transformation: the jiva, once obscured, becomes of Brahman nature, signifying a union with the ultimate reality. This process mirrors a key concept found in the Upaniṣads, where the ātman is ultimately identical with Brahman, yet here it is framed as an active process of becoming rather than a state of inherent being. The jivan-mukta is one who, through this precise action, experiences release not just upon death, but in the very midst of life, demonstrating a lineage of yogic practice that seeks to directly alter the fabric of conscious experience.