Sankaracarya's Vivekachudamani 435

गुणदोषविशिष्टेऽस्मिन्स्वभावेन विलक्षणे ।

सर्वत्र समदर्शित्वं जीवन्मुक्तस्य लक्षणम् ॥

guṇadoṣaviśiṣṭe'sminsvabhāvena vilakṣaṇe |

sarvatra samadarśitvaṃ jīvanmuktasya lakṣaṇam ||

(Sankaracarya's Vivekachudamani 435)

Seeing everywhere with an eye of equality, this world riddled with elements possessing merit and demerit, characteristically different one from other---this is the indication of a jivan-mukta.

A pure devotee sees the soul and the Supersoul in everyone's heart and treats every living entity according to its position and in a way that is most beneficial for its spiritual progress.

A surrendered person does not make any distinction between species or castes. The brahmana and the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a cow, or an elephant may be different from the point of view of species, but these differences of the body are meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned transcendentalist. This is due to their relationship to the Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as Paramatma, is present in everyone's heart. Such an understanding of the Supreme is real knowledge. As far as the bodies are concerned in different castes or different species of life, the Lord is equally kind to everyone because He treats every living being as a friend yet maintains Himself as Paramatma regardless of the circumstances of the living entities. The Lord as Paramatma is present both in the outcaste and in the brahmana, although the body of a brahmana and that of an outcaste are not the same. The bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and the Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality. The similarity in the quality of the soul and the Supersoul, however, does not make them equal in quantity, for the individual soul is present only in that particular body, whereas the Paramatma is present in each and everybody. A devotee of the Lord has full knowledge of this, and therefore he is truly learned and has equal vision. The similar characteristics of the soul and Supersoul are that they are both conscious, eternal, and blissful. But the difference is that the individual soul is conscious within the limited jurisdiction of the body, whereas the Supersoul is conscious of all bodies. The Supersoul is present in all bodies without distinction.