Param Mukta

परमुक्त

A supremely free soul. (1) The param mukta has been liberated from the actions commited by his soul in delusion during all incarnations. (2)

The freed soul has attained a state of final liberation. Also known as an “ascended master” or siddha (“perfected being”), it has detached itself from all karmic involvements and united with God. (3) The param mukta nevertheless retains its individuality; while the karma of the soul’s incarnations have been released into the infinite, they remain in the memory of the omniscient being. (4)

The param mukta no longer has need to reincarnate. The soul may, however, return to the world of maya as an avatar (“descended being”) to uplift the consciousness of others.  (5) Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteswar, and Paramhansa Yogananda had attained to the level of supreme consciousness. (4)

References
  1. ↩ The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, explained by Paramhansa Yogananda.
  2. ↩ The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, explained by Paramhansa Yogananda. Chapter 16, “The Supreme Science of Knowing God.”
  3. ↩ Religion in the New Age, by Swami Kriyananda. Chapter 5, “Bliss-Avatar?”
  4. a b The New Path, by Swami Kriyananda. Part II, Chapter 32, “‘I Am Spirit.'”
  5. ↩ The Essence of Self-Realization, by Paramhansa Yogananda. Chapter 10, “Working Out Karma.”