Last updated: December 21, 2023
What Does
Mumukshutva Mean?
Mumukshutva is the intense longing or burning desire for liberation, freedom and self-realisation. It is a particularly important concept in advaita vedanta and jnana yoga, which both see it as an essential requirement for finding moksha or liberation. They believe that a practitioner is not ready to hear the truths of the sacred scriptures until they have mumukshutva.
In order to reach their goal, aspirants must let go of all worldly kamas or appetites for sensual pleasures, such that mumukshutva becomes their only desire.
Yogapedia Explains Mumukshutva
Some say that once yogis have equipped themselves with the previous three stages on the yogic path, cultivating viveka or wisdom, vairagya or dispassion and shad-sampat or the six virtues, mumukshutva will come naturally. This is because by cultivating the other qualities, the mind loses its fixation on external objects. Then, with no resting place left in the known universe for the mind, the longing for deliverance from the cycles of death and rebirth arrives.
If someone finds themselves without the intense longing of mumukshutva, they are advised to practice the other three stages or sadhanas vigorously until the burning desire for salvation comes. Once an aspirant has all four qualities including mumukshutva, they are ready to hear the truth of the scriptures. It is through deep meditation on them that they can find self-realization.
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