Attainment of liberation is clearing of all the karma (both good and bad). Now my question is will a man attain liberation, the second both his good and bad karma will get nullified i.e. his karma will be zero.
If it is the case, can one attain liberation even at the age of a student?
Previous karma that has been set in motion in this lifetime before liberation will continue. Swami Vivekananda says that for a jivamukta (liberated while living) it is like cutting the axle on a pair of wheels. There may be some inertia from before that keeps the wheel moving for some time, but because the axle has been cut, no new inertia (karma) is generated.
Any new actions that are done generate no new karma for that person -"The fetters of the heart are broken, all doubts are resolved, and all works cease to bear fruit. " (Mundaka Upanishad II. ii. 8)
Yes, one can attain liberation even at the age of a student. Age is no barrier for liberation. The fire of knowledge burns all actions good and bad whenever it takes effect. So the Gita says:
yathaidhāṁsi samiddho ’gnir bhasma-sāt kurute ’rjuna
jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi bhasma-sāt kurute tathā [BG - 4.37]Meaning
As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities.
So age is not a barrier and one can find many examples where many persons at the age of student got liberated. But mostly it happens that they have tried for liberation through various ways in their past lives.
But when actions become zero due to realisation of the Self, the body doesn't fall off. It still remains due tot he effect of Prarabdha:
utpanne tattvavijñāne prārabdhaṃ naiva muñcati [NadaBindu Up. - 22]
- Prarabdha doesn't go away at the advent of knowledge of the Self.jñānenājñānakāryasya samūlasya layo yadi
tiṣṭhatyayaṃ kathaṃ deha iti śaṅkāvato jaḍān
samādhātuṃ bāhyadṛṣṭyā prārabdhaṃ vadati śrutiḥ [Adhyatma Up. - 59,60]Meaning
The ignorant person asks, "If the actions done out of ignorance get destoryed completely upon the advent of knowldge, then how can the body exist?". The Shruti in a superficial manner says its due to prarabdha.
Such a liberated person is called a jivan mukta who spends rest of his existence in the bliss of the Self. Some symptoms of that state are: discrimination will go away, desires will go away, thoughts will vanish, even concept of liberation will go away. There will be nothing to know. The person will always feel blissful. One great example of such a personality is Shriman Ramana Maharshi who got liberated while at the age of a student.
The answer of the question lies in the word ZERO. According to vedas, the most prominent answer to define Param Atman is Shunya ( Zero ). Another thing to help is Bhagwat Gita, every action ( Karma ) has a response and that too equal in nature, meaning if your did good you'll get good in return not only in the same form but also in the same amount.
Moving forward if you haven't done anything, you have actually neither gained good or bad, you are in Zero Karmic State, or Zero itself, partially the Param Atman.
But There cannot be 2 Param Atmans, their only one exists and will always exist. In such case the 2 combine or merge to become one, which in results acts as liberation of the soul.
Bottom Note : No Karmas then No results, hence Liberation. And the soul's PARAM goal is to attain Shunya or Param Atman. And if you did Karmas you are destined to get results from it, whatever manner or intention you have applied to it. But if you do in manner of not doing its equal to Shunya ( or No Karma at all), this is considered under Akarmic States of Soul.
Will a man attain liberation the moment his karma is nullified? YES, whatever age he is in, student, mature or sadhu. Once the Atman is liberated it vanishes, you may only find body lying under, many would consider it death, and that could also be. There have been incidents when the world has lost people who were neither old, nor had any type of body deficiencies but died, those can be liberation but not death.
