Why should one not seek liberation and why it is not good for us?

The reason for not desiring liberation can be understood in several ways:

1) We all want perfect happiness. Liberation is a state of no experience, or absolute peace. This means that you are not experiencing any pain or any happiness. We attain such a state every night in deep dreamless sleep. While in that state we do not experience anything. Only when we awaken or when we start dreaming do we start experiencing pleasure and pain again. A state of no experience that extends forever and ever is the state of liberation. So liberation is undesirable because it is not a state of happiness, it is a state of no experience. However, if you attain God in His personal form (sakar brahm) then you get to experience Divine happiness, which is perfect and unlimited and you are also free from pain.

2) In the state of liberation, the soul loses its personal identity and merges into formless God (absolute non-dual state). The soul still continues to exist, but has no personal identity because the body and mind are destroyed forever and only the soul remains. Without a body or mind, the soul has no means of experiencing anything, not the world nor God. So even though the soul has merged into God, there is no experience of God or even any self awareness that you exist. So liberation is undesirable because you remain bereft of any experience of God. However, if you attain God in His personal form, then you receive Divine mind, body and senses with which you can experience God. You can see God, touch God, hear God, etc. You are not separate from God, but at the same time, there is a duality which allows you to experience God and God's Bliss. You enter into God's Divine abode and stay there forever.

3) The Bliss of liberation is called brahmanand. This is the Bliss of formless God which is unlimited, but which is unexperienceable once you merge into God. The Bliss of Radha Krishn is called premanand. This is the Bliss of Divine love. It is said to be uncountable times greater than the Bliss of formless God. Liberation is undesirable because if you get liberation, you remain bereft of premanand forever.

4) If you attain premanand, it includes liberation. You are automatically liberated from maya and the cycle of birth and death when you attain God's love.

Swami Nikhilanand, Radha Madhav Dham. © 2011. All rights reserved.