Advaita Vedānta affirms that realization of Brahman is fully possible while the body and mind continue to function in the world. This state is described as jīvanmukti, liberation while living, and is also spoken of as mokṣa when understood as the final freedom from ignorance. In this realization, it is seen that the individual self (Ātman) and ultimate reality (Brahman) were never truly separate. What occurs is not a new event in time, but a recognition of what has always been the case: the Self as pure consciousness, not confined to the body–mind. The tradition emphasizes that Brahman is not an external object to be newly encountered, but the ever-present reality of one’s own being.

This realization is characterized as aparokṣa-jñāna, direct and immediate knowledge, and is cultivated through a disciplined process. Classical Advaita describes a progression: śravaṇa (hearing the teachings), manana (reflective inquiry into them), and nididhyāsana (deep contemplative assimilation), culminating in sākṣātkāra, the direct recognition of non-duality. Through such inquiry, the habitual identification with the limited body–mind is undermined, and the understanding “I am Brahman” becomes firm and unshakable. The shift is primarily one of knowledge rather than a passing mystical episode.

For the jīvanmukta, the appearance of duality does not vanish; the body, senses, and mind continue to operate, shaped by prior karma. Perception of a world of objects and others persists, yet it is known to be nothing other than Brahman, just as waves are understood to be nothing but water. The liberated one thus moves through ordinary life, but without the fundamental misidentification that gives rise to bondage and sorrow. This is not a temporary exalted state, but an abiding clarity in which all multiplicity is recognized as Brahman appearing as the world.