Moksha
Traditional Moksha (/ˈmoʊkʃə/;[1] Sanskrit: मोक्ष, mokṣa), also called vimoksha, vimukti, and mukti,[2] is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, nirvana, or release.
[8] In some schools of Indian religions, moksha is considered equivalent to and used interchangeably with other terms such as vimoksha, vimukti, kaivalya, apavarga, mukti, nihsreyasa, and nirvana.
According to Jain scriptures, it is a combination of two Sanskrit words, moh (attachment) and kshay (its destruction)[13] The definition and meaning of moksha varies between various schools of Indian religions.
This release was called moksha, nirvana, kaivalya, mukti and other terms in various Indian religious traditions but as per Hindu scripture veda one can attain mokhsha by giving up shadripu ( kama, lobha, krodha, moha, mada and matsarya).
[22] This question led to the conception of an afterlife where the person stayed in heaven or hell, in proportion to their merit or demerit, then returned to earth and were reborn, the cycle continuing indefinitely.
Moksha release in eschatological sense in these ancient literature of Hinduism, suggests van Buitenen,[23] comes from self-knowledge and consciousness of oneness of supreme soul.
Vaishnavism, one of the bhakti schools of Hinduism, is devoted to the worship of God, sings his name, anoints his image or idol, and has many sub-schools.
[15][35] The Katha Upanishad,[36] a middle Upanishadic-era script dated to the second half of the first millennium BCE, is among the earliest expositions about saṃsāra and moksha.
In Book I, Section III, the legend of boy Nachiketa queries Yama, the lord of death to explain what causes saṃsāra and what leads to liberation.
Yama explains that suffering and saṃsāra results from a life that is lived absent-mindedly, with impurity, with neither the use of intelligence nor self-examination, where neither mind nor senses are guided by one's atma (soul, self).
[38][39] Liberation comes from a life lived with inner purity, alert mind, led by buddhi (reason, intelligence), realization of the Supreme Self (purusha) who dwells in all beings.
Sarasvati's reply in the Upanishad is: It was through me the Creator himself gained liberating knowledge, I am being, consciousness, bliss, eternal freedom: unsullied, unlimited, unending.
My perfect consciousness shines your world, like a beautiful face in a soiled mirror, Seeing that reflection I wish myself you, an individual soul, as if I could be finite!
A finite soul, an infinite Goddess – these are false concepts, in the minds of those unacquainted with truth, No space, my loving devotee, exists between your self and my self, Know this and you are free.
[49] Instead of moksha, the Mimamsa school of Hinduism considered the concept of heaven as sufficient to answer the question: what lay beyond this world after death.
The significance of these rituals was to reproduce and recite the cosmic-creation event described in the Vedas; the description of knowledge on different levels – adhilokam, adhibhutam, adhiyajnam, adhyatmam – helped the individual transcend to moksa.
Yoga gained wide acceptance in ancient India, its ideas and practices became part of many religious schools in Hinduism, including those that were very different from Sāmkhya.
[78][80] Yoga, during the pursuit of moksha, encourages practice (abhyāsa) with detachment (vairāgya), which over time leads to deep concentration (samādhi).
Such steps are claimed by Yoga school as leading to samādhi, a state of deep awareness, release and bliss called kaivalya.
For example, the Ekasarana dharma denies the sayujya form of mukti, where the complete absorption in God deprives jiva of the sweetness and bliss associated with bhakti.
The four essential conditions, according to Vivekachudamani, before one can commence on the path of moksha include (1) vivekah (discrimination, critical reasoning) between everlasting principles and fleeting world; (2) viragah (indifference, lack of craving) for material rewards; (3) samah (calmness of mind), and (4) damah (self restraint, temperance).
[87] The Brahmasutrabhasya adds to the above four requirements, the following: uparati (lack of bias, dispassion), titiksa (endurance, patience), sraddha (faith) and samadhana (intentness, commitment).
This realization instantly removes ignorance and leads to moksha, and is considered timeless, eliminating the cycle of birth and death (samsara).
[94] The Dvaita (dualism) traditions define moksha as the loving, eternal union with God and considered the highest perfection of existence.
[97] Among the Samkhya, Yoga and Vedanta schools of Hinduism, liberation and freedom reached within one's life is referred to as jivanmukti, and the individual who has experienced this state is called jivanmukta (self-realized person).
The other four are: brahman (the one supreme god head, not to be confused with Brahmin), atma (soul or spirit), karma (actions and reciprocity, causality), samsara (principle of rebirth, reincarnation).
The moksa state is attained when a soul (atman) is liberated from the cycles of deaths and rebirths (saṃsāra), is at the apex, is omniscient, remains there eternally, and is known as a siddha.
[125] In Jainism, it is believed to be a stage beyond ethical perfection, states Paul Dundas, because they can perform physical and mental activities such as teach, without accruing karma that leads to rebirth.
In the Digambara tradition of Jainism, women must live an ethical life and gain karmic merit to be reborn as a man, because only males can achieve spiritual liberation.
[136] Jain texts often add samyak tap (Correct Asceticism) as a fourth jewel, emphasizing belief in ascetic practices as the means to liberation (moksha).
