________________
liberated as soon as he is free from ignorance, because of his acquiring knowledge of the self i.e., his self is free and independent of his body and he is also free from happiness and suffering or joy and sorrow, and he needs no shelter or refuge. He does not crave for any grace or the will of God. One who always desires devotion to satpuruşa, is very firm and unaffected whenever he has to undergo suffering.....
For such a person, God's will and his own destiny or prārabdha are one and the same. He remains calm and free from attachment or aversion, whenever he comes to suffer or enjoy. As he is in his nature , he needs no help or support. His independence in the form of equipoise is more powerful than even the will of God. Dependence on the support or the help of the will of God may be proper for an aspirant who is practising devotion; but for a jñāní , who is independent, everything is the same, or it may be said that a jñāní is selfdependent i.e., he lives his life and suffers fruits of his own karmabandha very dispassionately as he is established in his own nature and is stable in it. For him there is nothing to be done. Thus, he is indifferent to all that happens, good or bad. If one desires anyting, one may depend on the will of God, but the case of an enlightened one or jñāni is altogether different. He has
196
