krama-mukti (krama-mukti)

(Language: Sanskrit)

Short Description: gradual, or deferred, liberation

Long Description: gradual, or deferred, liberation; a state of partial deliverance obtained after death, corresponding to the Heaven of the Judeo-Christian tradition; total liberation is deferred to the pralaya (dissolution) at the end of a kalpa (world-cycle); to be distinguished from jîvan-mukti, the state of total and immediate liberation attained during this lifetime, and videha-mukti, the state of total liberation attained at the moment of death.

Sources: The Essential Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, edited by Dr. Rama P. Coomaraswamy