Answer & Solution
Answer: Option
C
Solution:
The correct answer is (C) Ramanuja and Madhva.
Here's why:
* Jivanmukti refers to liberation while still living. It means achieving enlightenment and freedom from suffering before death.
* Advaita Vedanta (Shankara) supports the concept of Jivanmukti. Shankara believed that through realizing the oneness of Atman (soul) and Brahman (ultimate reality), one could attain liberation even in this life.
* Vishishtadvaita Vedanta (Ramanuja) and Dvaita Vedanta (Madhva) generally do not accept Jivanmukti in the same way as Advaita.
* Ramanuja emphasized devotion (bhakti) and the eternal difference between the individual soul and God. For Ramanuja, liberation is attained after death in service to God. Jivanmukti is seen as problematic because the sense of self and devotion to God remain even in liberation.
* Madhva strongly advocated dualism (Dvaita), emphasizing the eternal difference between the individual soul, God, and the world. For Madhva, liberation is enjoying bliss in the presence of God after death. Therefore, a true "Jivanmukti" in the Advaitic sense contradicts Madhva's core principles.
* Vallabha is the founder of Pushtimarg, a Krishna-centered tradition within Vedanta, their view is different from this question.
* Vacaspati Misra was an Advaita scholar, a follower of Shankara's philosophy.
Therefore, because Ramanuja and Madhva maintained a duality between the individual self and Brahman, the idea of complete liberation *while still living* is logically difficult to reconcile within their systems.
