Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 736: Shri Muktida (ōṃ muktidāyai namaḥ)

From Nama 684 to 741 the glories of the Divine Mother were discussed.

The Divine Mother Grants Liberation or salvation from Samsara cycle to Her devotees.

Liberation for the souls is gaining Moksha or getting salvation and or bliss at the Para-Brahman. Every universal being has some attachment to nature in some form. It is trying to escape from these attachments. As soon as a child is born, its crying shows to the world, its hunger for food and thirst for water. This is the process of attaching it to others. It gets temporary relief from hunger and thirst attachments which are not permanent. Lying flat on the ground for a human is a form of attachment. By shaking hands and legs, the flat human is trying to release his attachment. He succeeds a bit. Likewise, the soul is trying to get out of such attachments all through its life. Such actions are termed as seeking Mukti. In many previous births, the souls tried to get out of attachments. Through the Divine Mother’s grace, the souls get the strength to leave such attachments. Along the way, new troubles come up for the soul. Their efforts to handle new troubles is a process of seeking Mukti. In this Maya controlled universe, for souls to get out of attachments is not an easy task. Souls have learnt through many previous births. The Divine Mother with Her grace and kindness, through Her scheme of things, shows the path to Mukti for each soul having varying maturity level. By surrendering to the Divine Mother each soul tries to get Liberation from samsara cycle.

Due to ignorance, the souls assume that the current body is their permanent place. When they realize they were part of the Para-Brahman or the Divine Mother, they seek Liberation. Even before getting Mukti, the soul was part of the Divine Mother and the ultimate Par-Brahman. The souls have attachments to worldly things. On getting the Divine Mother’s grace, the soul gets out of samsara cycle. So, the soul in effect has not achieved any new state for itself on getting Mukti. The Divine Mother releases Her devotees from their ignorance and the related attachments to grant them Liberation or bliss.

According to the Kumara Purana, ‘Anyone desiring salvation should take refuge in Parvathi or Paramesvari, who is the soul of all beings and the essence of Shiva.’ Also, Brahmanda purana says, ‘Those who worship the Parashkati, whether according to the rules or not, do not get entangled in samsara (birth and death) cycle. They are liberated; there is no doubt.’

Mukit is not just Liberation after death. It can be experienced while being alive. One who welcomes life as it comes and goes forward and having overcome desire and anxiety with a mind attached to nothing and not dwelling on the fruit while doing any action, is a liberated soul. There are many such liberated souls or persons in India and elsewhere even today. They are known as Jivan Muktas-liberated while still alive in their current life.

The Divine Mother grants Liberation to Her devotees.

C N Nachiappan

Singapore, 30 January 2022; Updated 03 April 2025

References:

1.      The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.      Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

3.      The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Sithbavandar