As explained in the Shastras

1. Ordinary mukti (Ordinary moksha)

2. Videh mukti

3. Jivanmukti

4. Param mukti     

1 Ordinary mukti is achieved only after death by some exceptionally God-fearing, Truth-loving, good souls; and this mukti usually comes three to five days after the soul has left the body .Since this mukti is attained without the body, the individual soul enjoys only bliss (anand); and although power and knowledge are there, such a Mukta cannot experience them Such a liberated soul is conscious only of the bliss of Union, and for him Creation no longer exists, thereby bringing to an end the constant round of births and deaths.

Nirvikalpa samadhi must not be confused with this ordinary  mukti or moksha state. Should a soul reach the mukti state ,it does so after the death of the physical body. Such a soul reaches God, but this occurs only after death. Thus there is an important distinction between  ordinary mukti on the one hand  and  Nirvikalpa samadhi on the other, because the latter is experienced while the soul retains the body and thus becomes Videh Mukta.

2. Some God-realized souls known as Videh Muktas retain the body for three or four days after becoming realized. Their consciousness is merged completely in their own Real Self (God), and they are not, there f o re, conscious of their bodies or of Creation. They experience constantly the infinite bliss, power and knowledge of God, their own Self now, but they cannot consciously use them in Creation, nor help others to attain liberation. Nevertheless, their presence on earth, for the few days they remain there, is a centre for the radiation of the infinite power, knowledge and bliss of God; and those who approach  them, serve them and worship them are immensely benefited. Others retain the body for years according to the momentum of their “ prarabdha.” The Videh Mukta is the Brahmi Bhoot,

3. The Jivan mukta in turiya avastha  enjoys All-Bliss, All-Knowledge and All-Power, and his consciousness is of the “I am God” state, and also of the three  spheres—the gross, subtle and mental; but, being without duty, he does not use the bliss, knowledge and power for others.

4. The Param Mukta, who is known as the Perfect Master or  Sadguru, comes back to normal consciousness after God realization, and is simultaneously conscious of the “I am God” state and the three relative existences and their corresponding spheres . He not only enjoys All-Power, All-Knowledge, All-Bliss, but uses them in all the planes of existence through the universal mind and the universal body.

Such Param Muktas are conscious of themselves as God, both in His unmanifest and manifest aspects. They know themselves both as the unchangeable divine essence and as the infinitely varied manifestations . They experience themselves as God apart from Creation; as God the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer; and as God Who has accepted and transcended the limitations of Creation.

The Param Mukta constantly experiences and uses the absolute peace and perfection of the trio-nature of God—sat-chit - anand. He fully enjoys and suffers the divine sport of Creation. He knows himself as God in everything and is there f o re able to help everyone spiritually, and can make other souls realize God as any of the four types of Mukta. He is indeed the helper of humanity in particular and of Creation in general.